Katie Beverley

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

katie — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:09:38 +0000

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!

Four Years Ago…

katie — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:49:17 +0000

…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:

Jonamac Orchard Shoot…

katie — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:28:29 +0000

…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…

Kristy and Andrew are Getting Married!

katie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:54:44 +0000

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.

Katie is wrapping it up for the year…

katie — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:20:30 +0000

To all of the great people I have gotten to know this year and to my fabulous clients, new and returning, thank you so so much! I’m super excited for Spring to be here–am I allowed to say that half way through fall? I can’t help it if my So. California bones are shivering right now!

Meghan and Mark Part II : Life At Home

katie — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:13:23 +0000

I am up late again clearing off cards, burning off images, and preparing for Sarah and Brian’s wedding tomorrow. SO, while my MacPro is busy cranking, I thought I would post the second part of Meghan and Mark’s shoot from a few weeks ago. This family is so fun-loving and goofy and real. I’m going to just let the photos speak for themselves tonight. Also, I recently found out that my comment section is having some major technical difficulties so Mike has to get on that pronto–for those who have tried to say nice things and haven’t been able to, thank you very much anyway! I am so full of gratitude for the kind words that I receive on these posts. I hope to get the problem solved soon.

Meghan and Mark Part I: Engaged!

katie — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:36:52 +0000

Meghan and Mark have one of those love stories that are just to die for. They dated and fell in love, but life had them go their separate ways for several years–only to have them find each other again and realize they were meant to be together. For good. They are two people who you can’t help but like–they are so real and down to earth and they’re just so doggone CUTE together! And did I mention that they are getting married TOMORROW? Even though Mike and I are in the midst of getting our gear ready, I couldn’t help but post a few of my favorites from their engagement session. This is only Part I of their shoot–the other set that I cannot wait to share is on the way. Here are some from their session that make me smile extra big:

And here’s a peek of what is to come…

Happy 6 Month Birthday…

katie — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:56:54 +0000

to my pretty girl…!

I love you so much! Love, your Mama

Me: Featured on The Bokeh Pot

katie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:04:42 +0000

I was so excited to be chosen to be featured on The Bokeh Pot blog. Click HERE to see it in its original form. I am so thankful for their interest in my work and my business… Check it out!

Samantha and Dan are Married!

katie — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:09:15 +0000

It had finally arrived and all of the planning and anticipation paid off. Samantha and Dan were ready to have a blast on their wedding day–so much so that not even the pouring rain was able to put a damper on their spirits. Dan and Samantha dated for 8 years before they were married and they complement each other so perfectly, in a way that is unique to people that have been together for so long. I, of course, felt so honored that they would trust me to capture it for them on camera. Dan and Samantha, thank you for letting me in on your amazing day! Here are a few of my favorites from the day. We spent most of the time at The Ellwood House in Dekalb and made use of its ginormous covered porch–a wonderful place to still get some good light even when it was pouring!

Married!

The beautiful cake!

I’d never seen such cool table numbers…numbering in sequential order is so last year!