Photographing a wedding in brutal Chicago winter is very challenging task. Low temperatures could and will affect the mood of the bride and the groom which in the end will greatly affect your photographs. As a photographer you should always have a plan B, C and D. Don’t go out there unprepared as you most likely won’t be able to get best out of it.
When Roxy and Semir booked me for their wedding which took place on February 27th, I was hoping that the temperatures would clime a little as we are getting close to the winter end. Week before the wedding, forecast showed 15 degrees and I knew I have to come up with a plan on what to do. Roxy and Semir wanted to do a photoshoot in Millennium park in Chicago which is a very popular and great location for these occasions. I new the temperatures would be a huge issue.
How We Started
We got to Millennium Park around 4:30 PM just before sunset. We snapped few photographs and soon after that we felt really cold. It was definitely time to get inside.
Millennium Park Wedding Photos
“Plan B” – Chicago Cultural Center
As I knew what would happen on the wedding day with the cold, week before I did a tone of research on Indoor locations for wedding photographs. Semir and Roxana didn’t want to pay extra for permits so we decided to do it in Chicago Cultural Center as it’s a public building and requires no permits. Unfortunately, none of their wedding rooms were available, but I knew the hallways and beautiful staircase would do it for us. We started on the first floor of the staircase as the marble just look so nice.
From here we slowly built our way up the hallways just to find more amazing spots for even more amazing photographs.
Tip For Photographers
If you are a photographer and are considering using this location, make sure you have enough lighting for the shoot. Chicago cultural center is fairly dark and you will definitely need some sort of lighting. In my case I had 1 flash with 40″ umbrella on a monopod that was held by my assistant. This was a key to this photoshoot. Lighting in there is very unflattering as there is a tone of spot lights which will make your shoot a nightmare if you are not well prepared. In addition to this I used my Nikon D610 and Nikon 24-70 f2.8 lens. I also used wireless flash triggers.
Indoor Locations To Shoot Wedding In Chicago
During my search for a great location for this wedding, I came across a lot of nice indoor locations. Reason we choose Chicago Cultural Center is because it was just across the street from Millennium Park and it is free. It requires no permit. But in my search many of the great locations were considered. One of them is Lincoln Park Conservatory, which is a beautiful botanic garden location in Lincoln Park right by the ZOO. The permit is required and it costs $35 for a shoot. If you are late like we were and you need to rush the review of your permit applications, it will cost you $150. Other botanic garden we considered was Garfield Park Conservatory which also cost $35. Other suggestions for your wedding photo indoor locations are bellow.
Architectural Artifacts at Montrose
