Colleen is not exactly what we’d call a traditional bride. It’s just one of her many qualities that we love, and what made shooting her laid back urban Chicago wedding a joy. She had flown us in a night before the wedding and invited us to what she called a “super casual 100% optional non-rehearsal dinner,” at their favorite neighborhood bar. Catered of course by Pizzeria Serio. Catered is just a fancy term for getting your pizzas delivered. You gotta love the girl, nothing is better than getting off a plane and not having to dress up for a fancy rehearsal dinner. Photographic coverage I don’t think was expected, but me without a camera is like a Chicago neighborhood bar with no Old Style sign. So as soon as we were done checking into the lavish Renaissance Blackstone room they set us up in, I grabbed a camera, a flash, and a 50mm lens- the bare essentials for dive bar photography. We were soon in the familiar backseat of a Chicago cab on our way to Roscoe Village. If you’ve never been to Chicago they have bars on corners in residential neighborhoods, and they all are very much dives. Millie’s Tavern is really no exception, but it is extremely quirky and comfortable, perhaps just the dive bar version of our couple. We recharged on pizza, got to know Colleen and Nick’s people, and recorded more legit romance than Millie’s has ever been a party to - guaranteed. Can’t wait to post the wedding!

- Josh