Emily and Matt very sucessfully pulled off both a gorgeous and elegant wedding AND an awesome 80's dance party all in one day! It was awesome-- every detail was lovely, and the 80's cover band, The Brat Pack, from Champaign really kept everything dancing and having a great time all night. This was the coldest day in May in a long time (maybe 45 for a high temp?) but they rocked it. Congrats guys!

( click here to view the rest of Emily + Matt's wedding highlights! )

::Karen

{ beyond the well | WEDDINGS, award-winning wedding photographers in bloomington, illinois }

For Susie and Bryan's Beyond The Dress session, we took a few underwater film photos (so dreamy!) as well as some pics on the beach at Playa Del Carmen. Could these two look any more ridiculously good-looking together???? Every day was a blast and these photos were such a great end to our stay there with them. Enjoy!

( click here to view the rest of Susie + Bryan's Beyond The Dress highlights! )

::Karen

{ beyond the well | WEDDINGS, award-winning destination wedding photographers in bloomington, illinois }

Better late than never! Here's some more eye candy from Susie and Bryan's wedding at the Aventura Spa Palace in Playa del Carmen, Mexico!

( click here to view the rest of Susie + Bryan's wedding highlights! )

::Karen

{beyond the well | WEDDINGS, award-winning destination wedding photography in illinois}

Hello blog fans! It's definitely been a while since a post, so I'm sorry to leave you with no pretty pictures to look at lately. We took a much needed vacation at the end of June which included camping in the northwoods of Wisconsin and a cross-country road trip for our anniversary. We've done our best to keep up with photo orders, weddings and emails during that time (there seems to never REALLY be a vacation when you own your own business!) but the blog and facebook definitely got put on the backburner during that time. We have some great weddings to show you coming up, so stay tuned! (And clients, thanks so much for your patience during this time!) Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!!

--Karen

JUST A FEW!!! (And how hard it was to pick them...) so here are some previews from Susie and Bryan's fabulous Riviera Maya wedding (and Beyond The Dress!!) Don't worry, you'll get more later...

( click here for a few more! )

::Karen

{beyond the well | WEDDINGS, award-winning destination wedding photography in illinois}

We walked around North Michigan Ave with Katie and Nathan to take their engagement photos on a beautiful spring day! These guys are super cute together, and we can't wait to photograph their wedding in Champaign this August!

( click here to view the rest of Katie + Nathan's engagement highlights! )

::Karen

{beyond the well | WEDDINGS, award-winning destination wedding photographer, chicago, illinois}

Here are a few gems from a headshot session local Barbizon modeling graduate, Emily M!

( click here to view the rest of Emily's headshot session highlights! )

::Karen

{beyond the well | LIFE, model and actor headshot photographer in bloomington-normal, illinois}

Gina and Erik got married at Grace Church in Normal on 04.17.10. It was a beautiful day, and we had plenty of time to take fun photos at a nearby park. Enjoy the highlights and the peacock feathers!!

( click here to view the rest of Gina + Erik's wedding highlights! )

::Karen

{beyond the well | WEDDINGS, award-winning destination wedding photographers in illinois}

Spring! Another great season for engagement photos. Who knew a cloudy day could be so colorful! :-) Erin and Eric picked just the right things to wear for their Navy Pier engagement session. Awesome! Loving these pics!

( click here to view the rest of Erin + Eric's e-session highlights! )

::Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

We spent an evening in downtown Chicago with Nancy and Bryan for their engagement session-- just blocks from where they live-- how cool! Looking forward to capturing their wedding pics in the Lincoln Park neighborhood soon!

( click here to view the rest of Nancy + Bryan's e-session highlights! )

::Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Here are some highlights from Libby and Bob's Bloomington engagement session! We went to a few spots in the downtown area and then out to a park for some nice evening light photos. Can't wait for their July wedding!

( click here to view the rest of Libby + Bob's e-session higlights! )

::Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Another beautiful November day for Jodee and Jayson's wedding! Lots of emotion in this group of photos- so touching. We also got some cool after-cark photos at the country club complete with swans!

( click here to view the rest of Jodee + Jayson's wedding highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Something has been bugging me, and I'm finally to the point where I want to write about it. This is my first blog absent of photos, so it's sort of a big deal for me, but I feel strongly about what I'm about to write and hope other small business owners will carefully consider what I'm about to say. Basically, if you get political on social media, you are potentially crippling your business. As someone who has many Facebook friends, sometimes I have to cringe when I pop into Facebook and take a look at my news feed after something major happens politically. It's staggering, and amazing to me the generalization, insensitivity, and intolerance that happens in 140 characters or less. And yet, I bite my tongue.

If you're reading this and worried that I might be singling out you or someone else specifically, don't be-- I see tons of small business owners guilty of this. If you are only friends with your family and close friends, fine, have at it! But I think this would be rare. If you are friends with your clients on social media, you need to remember that everything you post or tweet about they will read. Seems pretty basic, but I don't think a lot of business owners are getting it. Some clients might be able to overlook the fact that you disagree with them on a particular topic because your work is good enough to do so, but why take the risk? Is it that important in the long run? (For the record, I do understand that some businesses actively campaign for certain causes, and I am not talking about a business taking on a specific charity or cause in an official capacity (which some choose to do because it's essential to their business plan). I am talking about the casual political speech written by owners of small businesses from their personal social media accounts that are viewable by the public.)

And I'm not just stopping at tweets and updates, but also the pages you "fan" and groups you join. What message are you sending as the owner of your small business if you were to fan a page like "This is America, We Shouldn't Have to Press 1 For English". Sure it's a mild annoyance to have to press one for English at the worst, but these groups are so racist and xenophobic it sickens me. What are your current or potential clients going to think when they sign into Facebook and see in their feed you've become a fan? (I used this as a random example, and not something I have seen anyone with a business do.) The same can be applied for all types of social and political causes. I get invited to join political causes on Facebook daily, and I respectfully decline all of them, even if I believe in the cause. If I believe in the cause, am I helping the cause by being a fan on Facebook? Probably not as much as if I were actually doing something REAL to help the cause, and I'm probably alienating some of my current and future client base in the process of being a fan. Not worth it. I actually care about my clients, and I respect that they may have different opinions than my own!

Sometimes, it's not even the cause itself, but the manner in which it's presented. Most tweets and updates are short, which lends them to being terribly written. They can come across as angry, intolerant, uninformed and/or passive-agressive. And if you think I'm referring to one political stance over another, you're wrong. I have seen it coming from people of all types of political beliefs. Facebook is not the place for political mud-slinging-- your clients are watching!!

Now, I understand some things you may feel passionately about, and there is something you can do to get your feelings out there if you really can't help yourself, and still keep your clients as friends. Use the tools that social platform has given you to protect your privacy. Create friend lists that include or exclude your current and future clients, and post your updates so they can't see them. (Personal disclaimer: I don't do this-- for me, what you see if what you get-- what everyone gets.) Let's face it, you're not going to convert them to your way of thinking with your political posts but just anger and upset them instead.

So, small business owners, why are we pushing our clients buttons by posting policital speech in our social media networks? Would we say the same things in a client consultation or on the job? Is your political cause worth alienating future clients and losing future business? And I'm not a lawyer (yet), but sometimes I wonder about the legalities of some of the statements people make on social media as a mouthpiece for their businesses-- specifically with regards to anti-discrimination laws.

And believe me, I am not someone who is apathetic to political causes. My family and close friends know I feel strongly about many things, and am outspoken about what I care about, but you won't see me writing about such things all over social media. Keep it professional, folks! You never know who is reading! And if you want to know my feelings on a particular subject, let's sit down face to face over a drink, and I'll be happy to talk your ear off about it. :-)

::Karen

Nicole and Will got married on the warmest November day ever! It was about 70 degrees on 11.07.09 so we spent tons of time outdoors. It was gorgeous, and so was their ceremony at Evelyn Chapel. (And sunny!!) Special treat at the reception for Ghostbusters fans!

( click here to view the rest of Nicole + Will's wedding highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

I traveled to Milwaukee to shoot Brittany and Tyler's engagement photos in the always awesome Historic Third Ward this past November. They recently got married on New Year's Day, and I'll be posting those sweet pics soon too! Wooooo!

( click here to view the rest of Brittany + Tyler's e-session highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

The October rains held off for us on Megan and Josh's wedding day! It was sunny and beautiful and the fall colors were amazing! Their reception highlighted their love of movies and their favors scratch off lottery tickets. Bonus! One of the portraits I took of Megan is going to be published in a book about wedding photography posing (more on that later!) Enjoy!

( click here to view the rest of Megan + Josh's wedding highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Kourtney and Nick had a wonderful ceremony and reception in Decatur IL on 10.17.09. What a great day!! Congrats guys-- you deserve it!!

( click here to view the rest of Kourtney + Nick's wedding highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Kate and Nick got married in probably the shortest outdoor ceremony ever! on 10.10.09 in Pontiac. Probably a good thing since it was COLD!! They were such good sports though for the photos, and it was worth it! Congrats guys!

( click to view the rest of Kate + Nick's wedding highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Gonna be a great day in July when these guys get hitched! Plus, we'll get to shoot our first reception in the new Normal Marriott! w00!

( click here to view the rest of Rachel + Matt's engagement highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Becca and Tom are going to have an A MAZING wedding this fall at a vineyard in Southern Illinois. I can't wait! Until then, we all get to enjoy these sweet fall engagement pics taken at Ewing Park and downtown Bloomington. With Tom's Harley Davidson motorcycle! B.A.

( click here to view the rest of Becca and Tom's engagement highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Here are a few gems from Emily and Matthew's engagement session in Bloomington! Can't wait until their wedding this May at the Kickapoo Creek Winery. I hear a trip back to the 80's might be involved... Woo!

( click here to view the rest of Emily + Matt's engagement highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Deanna and Eric had a beautiful wedding at a beautiful historic venue! The Patrick C. Haley Mansion is in Joliet, Illinois. They had hope for an outdoor ceremony, but the weather just would not cooperate (October was SO rainy!!). Fortunately, we were able to take some photos of the two of them outdoors, but thankfully, the mansion also provided some beautiful photo spots inside. One of our past brides, Amy, even designed awesome the programs!! Enjoy this set-- it's gorgeous!!

( click here to view the rest of Deanna + Eric's wedding highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Katy and Andy dodged the rains for their Mackinaw Valley Vineyard wedding. The wacky weather gave us some sweet clouds in the sky though. Check out the awesome old skool cufflinks and other fun details. Congrats guys!!

( click here to view the rest of Katy + Andy's wedding highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Missy and Cris had a GORGEOUS Overture Center for the Arts wedding in Madison, WI on 09.25.09. The last time we were at this amazing venue was Emily + Drew's wedding in January '09, and we couldn't wait to get back! Plus, Missy and Cris could be straight out of a magazine in this place. It rained that day, but if ever there were a place to be "stuck inside" on a wedding day, it would be this place! So many amazing spots to shoot. Enjoy!

( click here to view the rest of Missy + Cris's wedding highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS

Nick is my mom's cousin. Sort of crazy I know since he's only a year older than Nate! So that makes him my first cousin once-removed I think. Anyway, Nick married Trisha on 09.19.09 in the Chicago suburbs. Their church had the biggest wall of windows (not stained glass) I have ever seen-- holy backlight! It was cool though. The group was a fun bunch-- especially when they got dancing! Enjoy!

( click here to view the rest of Trisha + Nick's wedding highlights! )

:: Karen, Beyond The Well™ | WEDDINGS