Katie Beverley bio picture
  • I'm Katie Beverley, a wedding and lifestyle photographer in the Chicago area. I'm married to my best friend in the whole world, Mike, and we have two amazing little boys and a beautiful baby girl. Welcome to the Katie Beverley blog, featuring the latest images from both my personal and professional life, as well as any other interesting things that I come across. Check back often for my latest updates and don't be shy. Drop me a comment!

    And when you're done checking out the blog, be sure to swing by the main site at katiebeverley.com. You'll find more galleries, contact info, client proofing and more. Thanks!

    Questions? Comments? Email Katie: katie@katiebeverley.com

    NEW! Check out the main site to download your favorite images, iTunes-style, for just $1.99 each.

Cecilie and James are Getting Married!: A Shoot at Sunrise

The setting of this shoot is a chilly October day, at the crack of dawn. I love early morning shoots because the light is absolutely amazing–it is my favorite light of the day! (I love it even more than my beloved just-before-sunset evening light.) But these types of shoots are more rare because not everyone is brave enough to schedule a shoot in the early hours of the morning. Cecilie and James were, even when our Midwest weather was just starting to get really crispy…and oh, how I love and hold a special place in my heart for them because of this. We got countless images like this one…

and this one too…






We walked by some cornfields…


and hid in some corn as well.






Then we went to a few locations in Sycamore I’ve been eyeing for a while…


And here is a preview of my next post… Linus joined us a little later, and my, is he handsome!

Jen H - January 21, 2010 - 1:01 am

Beautiful, as always, Katie! I love the pictures you take! :) Hope to see you soon!

Gail - January 21, 2010 - 9:03 am

Oh my…what a LOVELY shoot! Can I just say — and perhaps it’s because I’m being influenced as of late with the research I’m doing for my hubby and I’s Euro trip and having just seen a chick flick set in Ireland — that this couple has a Euro flair about them? Silly of me to say, but I mean it as the highest form of compliment! They are VERY striking! (third photo from my bottom, is it just me or does he have a little Chris Martin thing going? LOVE IT)

Katie - January 21, 2010 - 9:27 am

Goodness goodness!! I love the early light and how snuggly they are!! :)

Tira J - January 21, 2010 - 12:06 pm

GORGEOUS!!!!! I love shooting at sunrise! Perfect images and one awesome couple. I love her coat!

Meg Lietz - January 21, 2010 - 1:04 pm

Only you could make an open field and an alley so gorgeous!

Michelle - January 22, 2010 - 11:26 am

LOVE these!! Cecilie babysat for my nieces and daughter when they were wee little ones and we have always loved her and her family! Your shots as usual are absolutely incredible. I have a thing for cornfields so those were especially charming!!

Brando - January 23, 2010 - 8:51 pm

9 down blows my socks off! Great Work!

Chrissy D. - February 1, 2010 - 7:01 pm

These are great, Katie! I love the ones with them “hiding” in the corn! :)

Chelo - February 6, 2010 - 12:39 pm

These are so lovely! I love your style, Katie!

Stjepo - March 5, 2010 - 3:00 pm

Katie, these pictures are, as yours always tend to be, truly wonderful. Your eye for this is apt and makes everyone smile.

Four Years Ago…

…I married my Mike! About 9 1/2 years ago was when we went on our first date (the DeKalb High School Spring Dance, of course) and we’ve  been together ever since. Wowza! He is slowly becoming a saint with every day that he is my husband and dad to our three small babes. I am always in awe of how well he puts up with me, how patient he is, and how much I still just love being with him after all this time. You see, I’m a little high strung at times, and he’s, well…not. When things don’t go as expected, he’ll usually just step up to the plate and take care of it…and I have been known to, well, pout. Marriage is huge and wonderful and amazing and hard all at the same time. Whenever we get into a fight, you know, the kind that has a sting to it, he’s always ready to just hug me and keep hugging me till the sting fades. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him! I’ve been absent from this blog for a long long time, and thought this would be the perfect occasion to jump back on the train again. I’ve always wanted it to be a journal, and so here are ten things that four years have given us so far:

1. Johnny, Matthew and Monica are awesome! We love them more than we could have ever imagined. They are daily reminders of how much love grows with service and sacrifice and they’re just plain funny!

2. I now know how to clean a house and remember the time I had to look up online “how to mop a floor” in the first month we were married.

3. I have slowly begun to forgive myself that my house isn’t ever as clean as I dreamed it would be when I was unmarried and dreaming of being a housewife.

4. I now cook better. It was a huge revelation to me (literally it SHOCKED me) that although my mother and grandmother are fantastic cooks, I did not, through osmosis, learn to cook all those years I ate their food.

5. Mike now is definitely a less picky eater. Maybe those early months and years of my kitchen experiments really did kill something in him. Poor Mike.

6. We now have introduced exercise back into our lives after a several year hiatus–it’s tough with kids, but we finally decided to try and make the time for it. We also eat healthier food.

7. I now clip coupons and pay attention to sales.

8. The garage is clean and we are getting better about clearing out clutter.

9. We’re both so lucky to be able to do things we love to do–he is a software developer and I love taking photos!

10. This year we have made new commitment to going away for at least one weekend a year, just the two of us. This is also hard to do when you have kids, but it is SO important. It was New York this past summer, next summer it will be somewhere else.

Hunting through my archives I have found two gems…The first is junior prom!

And last summer in New York!

Last but not least, I have tons that I have been DYING to post. Now that Christmas is over and life is slower, I’ll be showing off some super cute couples soon. Please stay tuned for that! Here is the front of our card this year…These guys are what keep me too busy to blog:

Jen Hannah - December 30, 2009 - 7:46 pm

Katie, happy anniversary to you and Mike!!! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pictures of your beautiful children! Hope to see you all soon! God bless!

Zak - December 30, 2009 - 8:21 pm

Awwww! So sweet! Happy anniversary to you and Mike! And your kiddos are too cute!

Gail - December 31, 2009 - 8:47 am

Ahhhh…I love EVERYTHING about this post! Here’s a quote about marriage I really really love because I think it is SO true:

“We always make each other laugh, have honest communication, and I never take him for granted” — Rita Wilson

Congrats to you on your anniversary and to making such BEAUTIFUL babies! Seriously, your kiddos are ADORABLE!!!!!!

Leigh - December 31, 2009 - 2:44 pm

Aww, katie! I love this post! Reading your memories and your amazing pics! Happy Anniversary!!!

amyhope - December 31, 2009 - 5:47 pm

Happy anniversary, again :) We love you guys! And I am now dying laughing, because I had NO idea your first date was a DHS spring dance…so was ours :) Always knew we were a cool bunch ;) Love all the pics! Happy New Year!

nona - January 4, 2010 - 11:10 pm

Hope you both had a wonderful Anniversary!!How time flies,when having babies,cleaning house,clippin coupons and feeding everyone. You’ll be just as busy 50 years from now. I know!!!”Love” the photos,katie and “LOVE”you all !!!!!

Jonamac Orchard Shoot…

…with some of the cutest little people ever! I love love love trips to the apple orchard, though I admit, I rarely have my camera on hand when I visit. Rather, I am double fisting it with donuts and fudge fresh from the shop. But this shoot was planned out long in advance, and my dear friend Amy can take credit for the idea. The air was warm for an October day and the light was to die for. I headed out last month with our close friends and their kids to Jonamac Orchard in Malta, IL. First up, baby Bella because she is the newest member of the family:

With her cousins…I love this one so much!

Molly liked the apples…

So did Anna and TJ…

I love these of the boys!

Last but not least, Bella likes pumpkins…

Cassie Schott - November 16, 2009 - 7:02 pm

Aww LOVE these, Katie! The first one is just precious.

Tira J - November 16, 2009 - 7:56 pm

Oh Katie! These are fabulous images!

amyhope - November 16, 2009 - 9:57 pm

Um…cutest pictures EVER?!?!? (And not just because I’m quite fond of the children ;) You rock–we are so blessed to have you in our lives!

Amy Lazarus - November 17, 2009 - 12:48 am

You are one very talented lady! I am SOOOO impressed!

Mel Mel - November 17, 2009 - 10:21 am

These are such cute pictures! I love the ones of the boys sitting on the apples and the last one with the pumpkins! Oh my gosh, too cute!

tara - November 17, 2009 - 3:32 pm

I LOVE THESE!!!! #1 IS MY FAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meg Lietz - November 20, 2009 - 8:36 pm

Love love love these pictures!

Jane - November 21, 2009 - 1:09 am

Love your beautiful use of light in these photos Beverley- they are oozing with yumminess! Am always inspired by your work.

Sandy - November 24, 2009 - 4:39 pm

These are all adorable, but the one with the pumpkins is fabulous!

lynn - December 2, 2009 - 1:00 pm

LOVE this session! So beautiful! Gorgeous light and colors. :)

Marijana - December 17, 2009 - 9:53 am

you are so, SO talented! I love them all :)

Kristy and Andrew are Getting Married!

When Kristy e-mailed me several months ago to book me for an engagement shoot, I was so excited right off the bat. Kristy and Andrew are great friends with one of my fabulous couples, Maggie and Alex. Kristy wanted the images from their shoot to scream “Chicago” and document their lives in the city a little bit. As we talked about some of the details, Kristy mentioned that she was going to make a dress just for the shoot… as in SEW it. (This is something that I wish I had the talent for. In the few times I have tried, I swore a lot and got a huge ball of thread jammed in the sewing machine–over and over again.) I was jumping around and squealing when I saw these two in their outfits, and loved them even more when they didn’t mind me being such a nerd over them. Without further ado: Kristy and Andrew in Chicago!
We started out in this gorgeous, quiet spot overlooking the skyline.

Then we spent some time in the Magnificent Mile (my favorite spot downtown). We wanted to reflect the hustle and bustle of the city…I think we succeeded!

Thank you Kristy and Andrew for such a great afternoon! You’re too cute for words and you totally rocked it out.

meg lietz - November 5, 2009 - 8:09 am

love these pics..totally awesome!

Tira J - November 5, 2009 - 11:49 am

AWESOME shoot Katie! Love the variety of the outfits, locations and light! Love them!

Gail - November 6, 2009 - 9:07 am

How SASSY is that hot pink dress? Third shot down is my fave! Just love the composition, framing, everything! Nice work girl!

Anne Nunn Photographers - November 9, 2009 - 4:29 pm

LOVe them! They are so crisp and beautiful. I really like the one with the newspaper stand in back. Great work!

Chelo - November 15, 2009 - 6:47 pm

Girl, you are absolutely fabulous!! These are beautiful— love the ones with the crowd passing by.