I’ve known Monica since our grade school days back at St. Charles Borromeo. We’ve basically played basketball together our whole lives… when she played up on the 8th grade team as a 7th grader for a game (I’ll never forget she was so terrified when I passed her the ball it went right through her hands, so the next time down the court she shook her head at me and said, ‘don’t pass it to me!’ haha love you, Mon), then in high school when we played Varsity together and all those fears went away as she became our rockstar point guard, and even to this day we still play in a recreation league together… so to photograph her and her fiancé PJ was a little bit different than what we’re used to, but that just made it so much more fun. I also know PJ from high school… and to see these two growing up, starting their lives together, planning on buying a house – I couldn’t be happier for the both of them.

We met at Jackson Park – a location that none of us had been to before – and wandered around finding the best spots of light, greenery, and even climbing into a little weeping willow cave-ish area – all while trying to stay out of the way of the soccer practice that was going on nearby. Like many couples who don’t take photos together professionally, they were a little nervous. But looking through the photos… those genuine smiles, PJ’s “smoldering” look, and the real laughter (that may or may not have been generated by me telling PJ to whisper something sweet and romantic in Monica’s ear and he says, “Oh yeah… we’re gonna sit on the couch and watch some good TV later…” Ha! Loved it. To Monica + PJ, it was so much fun seeing you guys again and photographing you together. You both look amazing and I can’t wait for the wedding next year!