Chicago lies along Lake Michigan in Illinois and caters to millions of tourists each year. It is famed for its bold 20th century architectural style, vibrant art scene, and beachfronts. With numerous possible beautiful backdrops around the city, we listed down our top favorite places for wedding portrait and engagement photos.
- North Avenue Beach
Imagine a stunning city line at the background, a still lake during the blue hour, and the calmness of a couple sharing a moment above it all.
Perfect, right? In every engagement photo we take, we aim to capture these incredible moments. And with a beautiful landscape like North Avenue Beach? It is definitely one of our favorite spots.
- Board of Trade Building
The Chicago Board of Trade Building was designed during the heyday of the Art Deco movement. Its rich geometric and ornamented exterior lets us explore unique perspectives with our clients.
There are still more to discover about this iconic building and its stylized structure is just one of the reasons we love taking engagement photos here.
- Millennium Park
Located in the heart of Chicago City, this lively public park serves as a sanctuary for the busy business district. In this photo, the contrast of elements between Roman Doric-styled columns against towering buildings made Wrigley Square one of our favorite mini-locations in the area.
Public arts in display, including Cloud Gate and the Crown Fountain, drew an exciting touch to wedding photos we did here. Of course, Millennium Park has a lot more to offer.
- Museum Campus
Three of the most notable museums in Chicago are located in the Museum Campus – the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Shedd Aquarium. It is home to the NFL Chicago Bears and houses the largest convention center in North America, McCormick Place.
We adore taking bridal and wedding portraits for our clients in this exquisite site. As the golden hour does its magic, the landscaped greenery against a picturesque coastline in Museum Campus is truly a magnificent sight to behold.
- Chicago Cultural Center
This landmark building houses the official reception venue for hosting Presidents, Royal dignitaries, and community leaders visiting the city. The center is also one of the most prominent wedding venues in Chicago.
Its masonry walls designed in a neoclassical style heavily influenced with Italian Renaissance elements present a breathtaking milieu for any photo session. But wait until you see the inside of this building in your wedding photos (no spoilers though!).
- Art Institute of Chicago
The Art of Institute of Chicago building provides several settings in its vicinity for wedding portraits and engagement photos.
The façade of the main building is decorated with Gothic and Renaissance elements featuring the use of modern materials such as iron and glass. The entrances alone are already amazing locations and inside is just as impressive.
- Monroe Harbor
You don’t have to be into boating to love this spectacular location right in the harbor of Lake Michigan. Monroe harbor is the focal point of the lakefront and we love to evoke its scenic environment into our photography style.
It is an underrated spot for wedding portraits or engagement photo sessions in Chicago, but is certainly one of our favorites.
Chicago is a lively city and there are still more locations you can choose from. Nonetheless, we enjoyed every session we did in these seven places and we do recommend them for your photo shoots.
Studio Soo work closely with couples to make each engagement photo and wedding portrait unique. We are always honored to capture these once-in-a-lifetime moments for you.
**Do you have a place in mind where you want to do your engagement and wedding photo session? Let us know in the comments!**
