What an unbelievable year this has been!  I don’t know about you but 2011 has been the craziest year of my life!!  My life changed so much this year and it will never be the same.  Through the joy and the tears, I can only thank God for having blessed me with the incredible experiences I’ve had.  This year to me, meant leaving my full time job as a middle school choir teacher (a job I LOVED by the way), it meant brining in a new member to our family, our precious baby boy….and it meant picking up and moving to Evanston to start something new as my husband entered Kellogg business school at Northwestern!

My photography business has boomed in ways I never could have imagined and I am so incredibly grateful to all the beautiful couples and families who let me into their lives to capture their special moments.  That being said…it was so SO unbelievably difficult to pick my top 12 favorite images to bring in the new year.   I think you’ll notice that I’m slightly biased towards couples and people in love…maybe because I’m a hopeless romantic.  I hope you enjoy….

#12. Ariadna’s Quince!

This year was a year of a few firsts with my photography.  I finally got to shoot a Quinceanera!  If you’re at all wondering what that is …you need to read the blog post here.  I met Ary when she was only 5 years old and it was such a joy to shoot her 15th birthday!  What a beautiful young lady you have become.

#11.  My other first this year was doing a maternity shoot!  Thank you Courtney and Eric for being the perfect models.  I can’t wait to see baby Anderson in the new year!!  Read about their shoot here.

#10.  I LOVE this shot of Christina and Chris as they walk down the pier to the celebration that awaits them!  They were blessed with such a gorgeous evening!  You can check out all the gorgeous details of their wedding here.

#9. This year I had the opportunity to test out my fashion photography skills with Urban Offering.  That handsome fellow on the far left is my husband :).  I am so proud of the work he is doing to get this business up and running.  It is SO SO close to launching officially and I can’t wait!  Make sure to “like” their fan page to keep updated on their happenings.

#8. Oh, what can I say about this next picture.  Tina’s wedding was truly one of my favorites.  This picture explains Tina completely.  I love the relationships she has with her sisters.  Thank you for sharing your special day!!!

#7. Paul and Cassandra….one of my favorite engagement sessions!  I LOVE this picture because you can totally see their personalities shine.  We had such a fun time shooting at Millennium Park.  Congrats you two!  So glad I get to see you at all the family gatherings.

#6.  I love this shot of Lauren and Ryan.  Can you tell they’re in LOVE?  These are the moments I strive to capture, the natural in between moments when the couples show off their true smiles.  Can’t wait for your wedding!!

#5.  This next picture easily makes the top of my list. Kristen and Steve are just so darn cute together…and they were so natural in front of the camera!  The lighting was perfect, the weather was gorgeous and we had a ton of fun!  I’m looking forward to your beautiful spring wedding!

#4.  Next on the list is Katherine and Heath.  I met Katherine on the bleachers as we cheered on our husbands in a game of flag football.  These two are just so darn cute …don’t you think they belong on the cover of a J.Crew magazine?!

#3.  Heather and David’s wedding was another first!  My first Jewish wedding!  How fun?!  I love this shot of the two of the at the bottom of the stairs.

#2.  I’m still so in love with this next shot.  In fact, I love it so much it is now the starring picture of all my business cards.  Thank you Dane and Katherine for allowing me in on your special day!

#1. And I am just COMPLETELY obsessed with this picture of Mark and Grace’s wedding.  I just can’t get enough.  I was so thrilled to shoot at the Chicago Botanic Gardens and so happy to have captured their love 🙂

AND….my ULTIMATE FAVORITE OF THE YEAR…….

You know… it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t put my own kid up here :).  So blessed to have this little guy (who is not so little anymore) in our lives!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of you who trusted me to capture your special moments.  I am so blessed to do what I love and in doing so bless others as well!

Happy New Year!!

Keren