I am SO excited to share Rachel and Aji’s wedding pictures with you all.  If you haven’t already read about how they met, you should definitely check out the blog post from their engagement session.  I absolutely love Chicago Botanic Garden wedding pics so I was thrilled when Rachel said she wanted to take her wedding photos there!

Their wedding day started out bright and early at their homes.  One thing I love about the Indian weddings that I’ve had the privilege of photographing, is that the family gets together at their homes and prays over the couple.  It is such a wonderful way of supporting the couple as they get ready to make their lifetime commitment to each other.  We then headed to Lakeview Church for the ceremony.  Rachel and Aji had a traditional Indian ceremony but included several things to personalize the ceremony.  They had the Evanston Bible Fellowship worship team lead the congregation in a few songs.  The EBF pastor also had some time to say a few words to the couple and my favorite thing they did was they had some time just the two of them in a separate chapel to recite their vows to one another.

After the ceremony, we headed to take our Chicago Botanic Gardens wedding pics.  What’s not to love about the Chicago Botanic Gardens?  We headed straight to the English Walled Garden which is one of my favorite places to photograph there.  Our last stop was the reception at Astoria Banquets.  I absolutely LOVE Indian wedding receptions.  There is hardly a moment to rest but it is filled with so much fun.  Each couple in the bridal party walks into the reception with their own song.  Then the couple has a traditional milk ceremony where the mothers present their new daughter or son with a cup of milk to welcome them into the family.  After dinner and toasts, the couple is then presented with several choreographed dances by their friends and family.  I think you can see through these pictures just how loved these two couples are!

Ceremony: Lakeview Church | Reception: Astoria Banquets | Photography Location: Chicago Botanic Gardens | Videography: Lexoria Wedding Films | Cake: Baking Institute | Make-up and Hair: Tamara Make-up and Hair Artistry | Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal | Suits: Suits 20/20 |