Cheese! A shoot with Nicee!

"Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese!!" That is the word that best describes my shoot with little miss Kara!  Every few moments she'd yell cheese with the biggest smile she could muster. She definitely wanted to make these the best holiday cards ever (got a preview of the cards and they're awesome!!), with the help of her smoking hot parents of course!!! I mean really, how cute are they?!

-Nicee

Chilled Out Family...

This is one of those couples I wish I could introduce to everyone, cuz surely you'd love em too. They are one of  the sweetest, most down-to-earth couples.

You know how people say animals take on the traits of their owners? Well thankfully, for the world, Ryan & Emily's 3 month old son, Owen seems to already be taking after his super cool parents as he's super mellow, didn't cry even once! I've seen adults act less put together.

Congrats on the lil' man!

Cheeks... A Shoot With Nicee.

Now if this isn't thee most laid back, chilled out baby I've ever met, I don't know who is!! Once Aidan nestled down in the crook of his dad's arm he was set to go. He never made a peep. No matter how we posed him, he was content and maintained his absolute adorableness. And his cheeks...Oh his cheeks!! Oh how I adore a baby with soft round cheeks. And his were to die for!

Thanks for spending the afternoon with me Susan & Chris. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!!

-Nicee

Boys Will Be Boys...A shoot with Nicee

Boys will be boys! Peter & John are no exception which works out great to get some fun shots of them and their lovely mother by the trees.  Plus the Christmas hats she brought along were a fun addition. (: 

Their enthusiasm and brotherly love was refreshing, even when they put each other in head-locks! Lol. The bond between these brothers is strong and I look forward to watching them grow closer throughout the years!!

Happy Holidays!!

Trading Snow For Mud... A shoot with Nicee...

It's amazing how children are instantly drawn to mud. Even in a park with bridges, grass, sidewalks, and benches the mud is always alluring. Upon approaching this amazing family the first words I heard Dad tell Emily was "stay out of the mud". By then, little miss Emily already had a nice mud smudge on her light brown Uggs. Now while a  smudge on my boot would totally ruin my day, Emily was all smiles and had no effect on her cuteness!  Emily & Will are thee most adorable bro & sis ever! Totally enjoyed my time with you guys!

Speed Racer...

Ooohhh my goodness how precious is little Sophia!! I guess that makes sense considering her two gorgeous parents. She may look like a doll but I'm pretty sure she'll be a soccer player like her mom & dad cuz that child musta ran a mile in our brief session! (:

It's all good, gotta work off my holiday obsession; eggnog chai. Seriously... It's epic you probably should go to Starbucks, get a cup, and read the MMP blog of course. (:

Cheaper By The Ten...

About to go old school on ya, you ever see the movie Cheaper By The Dozen? Ok... I guess it's not THAT old school but the point is I feel like this is that family. Big on numbers, (There's only 10, I counted) (:  big in heart, and this may sound weird but it feels like the holidays when I'm with them. No... It's not because there's a festive wreath in the background of our pic either. The 60 degree weather, though brilliant for Chicago in December, doesn't help it feel like the holidays. Maybe it's because  I shot their daughter's wedding in the wintertime? or maybe they're all those type of people you just want to be around. (I guess that's the opposite of the holidays for some. Not me, love you familam!)  all this to say they're a great family and I appreciate the times I have with them.

Family TIme... A Shoot with Nicee...

Loosing my teeth was no doubt an awesome experience growing up, but I don’t remember being as cute as Miss Julia is!! I mean seriously. How adorable is she?! With her soft blonde curls and big smile, I could not help but take a million and one snapshots of her! From the moment I entered their home, I felt like an extended family member. Nicole and her husband were so welcoming and warm. And Julia, well Julia, was just a doll. She even offered to let me play with her dolls in her dollhouse. How precious is that? ! There’s no doubt she’s gonna be an amazing big sister to the beautiful Lyla Rose!

What a precious family! Thanks for sharing your Sunday afternoon with me

Not Your Average Picnic...

Don't get me wrong, I love gardens, parks, the beach, and forest preserves with the best of em but I was pretty stoked to hear that a previous bride & groom of mine wanted to take their family pics in an area that wouldn't be the norm. If you by-pass the iffy- nature of the location, and the skateboarding documentary goin' on in the background this was actually a sick location to shoot. 

You may want to by-pass the weather too. Not everyone can be a rockstar in the temps like 2-year-old Emma. Seriously, she handled it the best out of all of us.

And MY GOODNESS is she CUTE! 

So glad I got to reunite with this family. (:  

Awesome Family...

I've fallen in love...

With this family.

Considering they book a photoshoot like every other week (Sorta kidding but not really) I've grown kinda fond of em. (: 

Luckily we still have Mallory & Joe's wedding yet to go otherwise I may just go on McGowan withdrawal. 

For real...You guys are awesome. 

Yes...Even you T-Mac. (: 

The Day I was Cool...

Okay... Before I totally sounds like I had a deprived childhood since I claimed I didn't have many name brand toys growing up, my family is the most generous, loving, and inspiring group I know. That being said... Yes, I spent more time picking "berries" off of our floral couch than I did with Barbie. 

Totally attribute my creativity to the imagination I was encouraged to have. Now my clothes...I had to get creative with those early on. Brand names? Not a chance. At the time wasn't so fun but I'm now the deal queen! But when you're ten...? You just wana be cool. Today's family, a long time friend of mine made me cool for a day. At summer camp she lent me not only a hemp neckless with rainbow beads in it, but dare I even say it an ADIDAS shirt (Gasp! My dream at the time!) AND.... a pair of black umbro shorts! Most of you don't even know what Umbro is and for those of you that do you're probably chuckling that it was as epic to me as it was. Oh...how cool I felt that day. 

After many years of soccer camp we reunite 10 years later while attending the same college and dominating on the soccer team. Miss Jeanne... Yeah... the one in the red... She was All American. 

And our team... We were national champions.  

Juuuuuussttttt saaaaayin'! (: 

And we're still friends to this day. Shot her wedding. Went to her baby shower, they too support us when we go to India, they're kinda great. And it is SO fun seeing her with her kids. 

You can just tell she's an amazing mom. 

Love you Jeebs. Thanks for comin' and spending the day with me and my camera. (: 

Love Love!

My Cabbage Patch Doll...

Back in the day my friend had a Cabbage Patch kid doll. I didn't have too many "name-brand" toys growing up:  mine woulda said like "Baggage Batch doll" but the real deal ones were the cutest and I coveted them. I never did get one; that is till today... The pic on the right....That's the kid I had always wanted. Unreal blue eyes, perfect baby skin, even the knit hat. I'll have to change my expectations cuz my Greekness & my husband who's 50% Spanish & 50% Italian can't produce the blue eyed gem that I always have adored. The minute you see Zac's mom & dad, a previous bride & groom I had you'd say: "Yep, that makes sense..." They're gorgeous. 

They're incredibly patient and to be honest impressively laid back parents especially for it being their first. It was a tad bit chilly that day. Okay, most adults were complaining, it was full out cold and here we are runnin' around the property trying to stay one step ahead of the potential tears from the little man who is only 4 months old by the way. Most first-timers would be at home with their humidifier on sanitizing that hands that walk through the door. Zac... You've got cool parents, always remember that. No... For real, you do. 

Jason & Kristi, so stoked for you guys. Not surprised at all that you two would have a gorgeous kid. 

Congrats and maybe I'll see more cuties runnin' around in the future. (: 

Good As Gold...

When you first pull up in the lot it's a bit unassuming but it ain't foolin me. I know this place is photo gold. Historic mansion, rose gardens, a farm, pots of gold everywhere. Ok ok... Before I go all leprechaun on you (no there's nothing Irish about it) I'll just say its a contender for one of my top 3 spots to shoot in the country.

Back in the day, I shot today's couple Steven and Amy here for their wedding. So it's ultra sweet to be back here now with their two kids.

They have hearts of gold! Ok I swear I didn't mean to have that theme throughout this but it's true, these guys are just the sweetest! Steven even changed my flat tire in the frigid and i mean brutally cold weather one day when my husband was out of town and I was in a rush to get to my next shoot. Seriously, they're the best, and their kids are pretty adorable as well.

Reid, their oldest literally ran to me when I first saw him melted my heart!

So glad I got to reunite with this family! 

Sibling Adventures...

A photoshoot/blog from Nicee!

Some of my fondest memories growing up are of times I spent playing with my big brother. Whether we were playing cops & robbers, hide & seek, or having tea parties (Yes! I made my brother have tea parties occasionally) there was never a dull moment in our adventures.  From my brief time with Sammy & Charlie, I could tell that they too shared many many awesome adventures together.  Their joy and enthusiasm was contagious and for a moment, I felt like a kid again as I ran with them snapping candid’s along the way.  What was even more amazing was watching them be so gentle and nourishing to their new baby sister.  The warmth and love I felt with this family truly warmed my heart.  I know that Rose will have many fond memories with her big brothers someday!

-Nicee

Mini Shoot With Nicee...

The one word I’d use to describe the adorable siblings from this shoot is personality!  Whether it was sitting on pumpkins, walking down the street, or playing together in the grass, it didn’t matter, there were havin’ fun and lookin’ cute every step of the way.  They were super adorable, each of them displaying stunning features from their gorgeous mother, Tesia!  So glad I had the opportunity to hang out with this beautiful family for a bit.  Thanks for spending the day with me!

-Nicee

Yep... He's Adorable.

There's two things to gush over when I see these pics. For one... Those long lashes! Kardashians pay for lashes like those! Second, common now... The raccoon costume? HOW STINKIN' CUTE!!

 I'm sucha sucker for kids dressed as animals.

Jen & Ian were a bride & groom of mine a few years back and I've loved getting together every now and then to capture their little man Zach. Have I said how cute he is yet? 

Nicee & I tag-teamed this shoot which I was pretty stoked about because I just adore this family and knew she'd love em too! From sharing new music, them supporting our work in India, to random Facebook comments, I can say I'm grateful to have gained two friends (and a baby crush) with them. 

Smize...

Only if you watch ANTM would you know what Smize is. Shoot (horrible photography pun intended)  that'd be the only way you'd even know what ANTM even stands for. 

Well todays couple had me at Tyra...They had fierceness right off the bat! 

Turns out I even worked a wedding with em in the past. Same favorite tv show and same gig? The similarities are eerie. And cue horrible Halloween reference. (: Actually, upon re-reading this "bat" coulda worked too. Bam, double Halloween reference. 

Happy day for me to work with couples like this and happy day for you to secretly hoard excessive amounts of candy to yourself.  I eat a 10 pack of Reeses for a snack people I'm in no place to judge. And that officially is my last reference to antm. Done and done. 

For real though guys, so fun working with you!  (: 

Old Friends New Mini...

As fun as it is to meet new couples & families it's always great to get together with long time friends. Derek & Tatum have been been friends of ours well... Before there was a Derek & a Tatum! Played soccer with Derek in college, shot their wedding a few years back, many parties at each others house's later and even with the busyness of photo season and them chasin' around their two cuties Bradon & Ava I'm glad we still get to see each other once in awhile.

I can't believe how big the kids are getting! 

Thanks for joining us guys. (: 

Next $50 mini-session's comin' up. This Saturday in Wheaton. 

Contact us if you want in. 

Potential mini for Dec. 2nd may be added in so keep in touch. ( :

melissamariephotography3@yahoo.com

Mini-Session Models...

3 years and two kids later we re-visited the exact location of where Mike & Jill got married to take some pics of their ridiculously gorgeous family at our first official mini-session. I seriously said "your kids could be models" an embarrassing amount of times but it's true; they're absolutely stunning! 

Besides making me feel old I love when I get to be a part of a families journey. Often times I meet the couple before they're even married, get to celebrate with them in the exciting engagement stage, gush over all the beautiful details of their wedding day, and get so stoked when I get the call that their havin' bambinos! So today was all the more fun to shoot this family this spot has even more meaning for them now that they have kids. 

Wanting family pics? We have another $50 mini session coming up in Wheaton IL. on Saturday Nov. 3rd. And if we get enough interest we may be adding another one in on Sunday Dec. 3rd.

If you're interested or want more info you can contact us at: melissamariephtography3@yahoo.com

McGowan Family Mini-Session

A couple weeks ago I posted about a bride I have who I've deemed my "Ralph Lauren" bride cuz she's like a living catalogue of beauty. Well... This is her family. Minus her. 

Thought it was funny for the family to do "family" pics without their daughter Mallory but I got over that pretty quick cuz these people are crazy photogenic. Plus, the mom, Monica, her mannerisms remind me so much of her daughter that it was kinda like she was there. Plus her sister looks just like Mallory. Loved getting to meet the rest of the fam before Mallory's wedding later next year. 

These pics came from a $50 mini-session we did. If you're wanting pics we have another coming up in Wheaton IL. on Nov. 3rd and potentially will be adding one in (if there's enough interest) for Dec. 2nd. 

Want more info? 

Contact us at: 

Melissamariephotography3@yahoo.com