As the third most populous city in the United States, Chicago is a bustling metropolis that is home to some of the world’s best wedding photographers. We’ve compiled a list of the top 20 wedding photographers in The Windy City to help you find the perfect one for your big day. Please note that this list is not in any particular order and each of these photographers would be a fantastic choice for your wedding day.
1. Pawinski Photography
Peter Pawinski discovered his love for photography during college, and began his photography career as an international press journalist. He has since shifted gears to focus on wedding photography and has shot over 250 weddings, taking great pride in memorializing the events of a couple’s most important day. Peter is an award-winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association, Fearless Photographers and the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers and his work has been published in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today and Business Week.
Peter has been a professional wedding photographer for 16 years, and his basic package starts at $2,500. This package includes edited high-resolution files with print release, online gallery, online slideshow and 8 hours of shooting time.
2. Steve Koo Photography
Steve Koo’s fine art background and love for photojournalism enables him to capture the love, joy and emotion of each wedding day in vibrant and timeless images. His imaginative vision creates pictures that tell each one-of-a-kind story with unforgettable expression. Steve is an award-winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association, Fearless Photographers and the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers and his work has been featured in publications such as Grace Ormonde, the Chicago Tribune as well as the top online wedding resources.
Steve has been photographing weddings professionally for seven years. His wedding photography packages start at $3,900 and include 8 hours of coverage. Clients can contact him directly for more information or to create a custom package.
3. Allison Williams Photography
Allison Williams specializes in documentary weddings and her style is a beautiful blend of fine art, documentary and journalistic photography. She ensures her clients receive the most exceptional and unique photographs of their special day and enjoys building the most creative and interesting shoots. Allison is an award-winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association and Fearless Photographers.
Allison has 12 years of experience as a professional photographer. Her basic package is $3,000 and includes 8 hours of coverage.
4. David Wittig Photography
David Wittig and Nancy Beale are known for their serene and unflappable nature at weddings, allowing for natural and authentic moments to be captured. They are most interested in the moments when being photographed is the last thing on anyone’s mind, enabling them to take moving and genuine photos. Both David and Nancy are award-winning members of International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers and the Wedding Photojournalist Association and their images have been featured in publications such as Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, Brides Magazine, Inside Weddings and the top online wedding resources.
David has been shooting weddings for 15 years, and Nancy has been shooting them for 9 years. Their basic package starts at $6,500 and includes 8 hours of wedding day coverage by both David Wittig and Nancy Beale and a fully edited set of high resolution digital files.
5. Jason Kaczorowski Photography
Jason Kaczorowski is a luxury portrait and event photographer. Since beginning his career in the wedding photography industry, he has shot over 500 weddings with a rich and vibrant style, each image depicting bold, saturated color, emotion and dynamic lighting. Jason is an award-winning member of the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers, Wedding & Portrait Photographers International and Fearless Photographers and was recently chosen as one of CBS News’ Best Chicago Wedding Photographers.
Jason has over ten years of experience as a professional wedding photographer and opened his own studio in 2007. His wedding coverage starts at $4,500 and includes his time and talent, an additional award-winning associate photographer, comprehensive image development, an online gallery, triple data back-up and cloud storage, processed high resolution digital files, social sharing files and non-commercial reproduction licensing.
6. John Andrews Photography
Andrew Krowczyk of John Andrews Photography fuses fine art photojournalism with documentary photography to capture the essence of each person in candid and natural moments. He enjoys shooting unscripted and unstaged photographs that make up the true love stories. Andrew is an active member of Wedding & Portrait Photographers International and Professional Photographers of America, and he was recently selected as one of CBS News’ Best Chicago Wedding Photographers.
Andrew has 14 years of experience as a professional wedding photographer and his base package starts at $2,999. This base package includes 10 hours of coverage, all time to crop, color-correct and edit images, artistic processing on Andrew’s selected images, soft cover proof magazine, online previews (password protected) and ordering for you and your guests (6 months), a web-based slideshow of Andrew’s Artistic images set to music to share with your guests, High Definition (HD) video file of Web slideshow provided in popular formats (Computer, Tablet, Phone) and high resolution digital negatives.
7. Steve Matteo Photography
As a former press photographer, Steve Matteo developed and honed his craft with years of experience capturing the moment. His dedication to creating candid images and creative portraits make him one of the most uniquely talent wedding photojournalists in the country. Along with being an award winning news photographer, Steve was named the Wedding Photojournalist Associations’s International Wedding Photographer of the Year in 2012. His amazing images, combined with his very competitive prices make him a highly sought after wedding photographer.
Steve has been shooting professional for over 18 years. His basic wedding package is $2,600 and includes 8 hours of coverage, 1 hour for an engagement session, a 50 page photo book and all high resolution images in color and black and white with printing rights.
8. ZRWeddings
ZRWeddings is comprised of husband-and-wife duo John Zich and Anne Ryan. They are both seasoned photojournalists with extensive experience in the photojournalism industry. Using their expertise, they are able to beautifully document each wedding’s story with all the depth, emotion, spontaneity and beauty that a wedding day brings. John and Anne are both award-winning members of the Wedding Photojournalist Association and their editorial work has been published in the world’s leading publications.
Both John and Anne have over 30 years of professional photography experience. Their basic package is $4,500 and includes photography by both Anne & John and an online photo gallery of 500 color-corrected images with a $300 credit to purchase prints. This also includes high-resolution digital files of all images from the day with no watermarks (usually around 3,500-4,000 images). The images are released to the couple for unlimited printing rights wherever they choose.
9. Genevieve Lauren Photography
Genevieve Burruss’ background in commercial editorial photography and a true passion for the fashion world brought her to the high end wedding photography industry. Her career has brought her to destination weddings all over the world and her work is her greatest love. She currently splits her time between Chicago and Northern California including the Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe and Santa Barbara. Genevieve is an award-winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association and International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers, and she was selected as one of Brides Magazine UK’s Top 25 destination photographers in 2011.
Genevieve has been shooting weddings for 10 years, and did 4 years of editorial portraiture and fashion photography before she switched to focus on weddings. Her base coverage starts at $3,800 and couples have many other a la carte options to create their perfect wedding package. The base coverage includes 7 hours of coverage with Genevieve and one of her amazing associate photographers, an online gallery of final edited images to share with friends and family, a disc or USB key of high resolution edited images with a print rights release and 100 custom announcement cards.
10. Candice C. Cusic Photography
Pulitzer Prize winning photojounalist Candice Cusic worked for the Chicago Tribune for 10 years. She looks life straight in the eye and finds the beauty in it. She captures what’s authentic, stunning and memorable about the world around her, creating photos that will surprise, delight and amaze you. Candice is an internationally award-winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association, International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers and Fearless Photographers.
Candice picked up the camera at age six and never stopped learning. She has a degree in Photojournalism from UNC-CH, worked as a staff Photojournalist for the Chicago Tribune for 10 years and has taught Photojournalism at Northwestern University for over a decade. Investment starts at $3,900 for one photographer and high resolution files. Other services and products are a la carte.
11. Kenny Kim Photography
Kenny Kim’s fascination with the connection between art and photography brought him to the wedding industry world. His love of travel and culture has made him one of the most sought after destination wedding photographers in the world. Kenny is an active member of Wedding & Portrait Photographers International and received the 2010 WPPI Award of Excellence. He has been one of Kodak’s Approved Speakers and Mentors since 2011 and is regularly featured in the top wedding resources. Kenny was named in 2011 by Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine as a one of their Top 20 A-List Destination Wedding Photographers. He is also the author of two books: “Wedding Photographer’s Planner” & Digital Wedding Photography Photo Workshop.”
Kenny has 8 years of experience as a professional photographer. His basic package is $4,000 and includes up to 7 consecutive hours of coverage by Kenny Kim or an approved studio pro photographer, one hour engagement lifestyle session, 90 days of personalized online gallery for proofing & ordering images, a $5 gift certificate for all wedding guests that register online before the wedding and high resolution files available for digital download (approximately 800 – available 6-8 weeks after the event).
12. Will Nunnally Photography
Will Nunnally began his photojournalism career in Boston, shooting for The Boston Herald, Red Sox and Harvard University and has worked in Chicago since 2011. His search for the perfect moment has taken him from weddings in the cornfields of rural Illinois to a World Series at Fenway Park. Will is an award-winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association.
Will has been working as a professional for over 8 years, doing wedding and editorial photography and documentary films for non-profit organizations. His standard package is $2,000 and includes engagement photos (2 hour session, included within 50 miles of Chicago), location scouting and planning, 8 hours availability on the wedding day, post production editing, posting the “Top 100” to a Facebook album to share with friends and family and an online gallery to allow print purchase, delivery of images within six weeks and archiving.
13. Wasabi Photography
Travis Haughton of Wasabi Photography began shooting weddings while working as a newspaper photographer. His knowledge and experience as a photojournalist allows him to apply documentary style techniques to his wedding photography, resulting in natural and beautiful images. Travis is an award-winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association and his work has been featured in major publications such as the Chicago Tribune, the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the Detroit Free Press.
Travis has been shooting professionally for 10 years. Packages start at $3,900 for full day (10 hours) coverage with two photographers and an engagement session.
14. Willow Lane Photography
Lane Christiansen of Willow Lane Photography covers each wedding with a photojournalistic approach as if she was covering a news story. Her responsibility is to capture the genuine moments of the couple’s day and catches all the little details so that she can better tell each individual story. Lane is an award-winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association and also received awards in the National Press Photographers Association Best of Photojournalism competition, Pictures of the Year International and the William Randolph Hearst Photojournalism Competition. Her work has been published in national publications such as USA Today, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.
Lane has been a professional photographer for 7 years. Her base package is $2,900 for 8 hours of consecutive coverage and includes edited high-resolution files delivered for use.
15.Durling Photography
Jonathan Durling fell in love with photography at a young age, purchasing his first camera at just six years old. As a teen, he received a Nikon scholarship for a photojournalism project in Africa, leading to him being trained and mentored by National Geographic’ Anthony Boccaccio. He takes his extensive background and training to create stunning and natural images for couples all over the world. Jonathan is an active member of Fearless Photographers and the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers and his work has been featured in publications such as CS Brides and Grace Ormonde Wedding Style.
Jonathan has 8 years of experience as a professional photographer. His basic package starts at $3,500 and includes 8 hours of coverage, 2 photographers and high resolution files.
16. Sprung Photo
Victoria Sprung began her photography career in the fashion industry but found her niche in the wedding photography industry. She thrives in low light, indoor, night time situations and loves how different and unique each wedding is. Victoria is an award-winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association, an active member of Fearless Photographers and is regularly included in the top online wedding resources.
Victoria is in the middle of her 7th year as a full-time wedding photographer. Her basic package starts at $3,800 and includes coverage by Victoria for the entire day as well as the photos edited and provided in high resolution.
17. Vrai
Kristina Carter of Vrai chose to name her studio because of its meaning in French: true, or real. Her style is to document true moments, real emotion and beauty, constantly watching and waiting for unique opportunities to record the spirit of the day. Kristina is an award-winning member of the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers and her work has been featured in such publications as People Magazine, Brides Chicago, Chicago Style and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Kristina has been a professional photographer for 10 years. Her base package is $4,500 and includes 8 hours of continuous coverage with 2 photographers, an online gallery and retouched and edited low resolution files for viewing and ordering. All other items are available a la carte. Her company also gives back 10% of their profits to environmental and humanitarian charities.
18. Cristina G Photography
Cristina G’s life passion is wedding photography and she considers the opportunity to document a couple’s special day to be an honor and a privilege. Her goal is to tell each story while staying true to your personalities and draw you in with the beauty and emotion of the wedding. Cristina is an active member of International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers, Wedding & Portrait Photographers International and Professional Photographers of America.
Cristina has been a professional photographer for 7 years. Her basic package starts at $4,000 and includes two photographers, 8 hours of coverage, online gallery and high resolution edited images on USB.
19. Deborah Kates Fine Photography
Deborah Kates combines her background in art and her education in photography to create an unforgettable collection of images from your wedding day. Her photojournalistic approach allows her to use her artistic and creative talent to stay on the cutting edge of wedding photography. Deborah is an active member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association, Wedding & Portrait Photographers International and the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers.
Deborah has 10 years of experience shooting weddings. Her basic package is $3,250 and includes an engagement session, wedding day coverage and digital files.
20. Caroline Ghetes Photography
Caroline Ghetes finds inspiration by surrounding herself with creatives and passionate people. She pours her heart and soul into each individual wedding to create a collection of moving images that accurately depict the emotion and joy felt on that day. Caroline is an award-winning member of Fearless Photographers and her work has been featured in the top wedding resources.
Caroline has over 10 years of experience as a professional wedding photographer. Her wedding collections range from $3,900-$6,800 and include full day coverage with 600+ images on a flash drive.
