The Monte Bello Estate Wedding – Michael & Jennifer

Michael, his groomsmen, and parents prepared for the ceremony inside the Monte Bello Estate’s expansive basement “mancave”.

The bridal prep suite at the Monte Bello Estate has ample natural light and other features you’ll see later in the set.

Jennifer’s mother helps with a pearl necklace and then poses for a classic mother daughter portrait. Can you tell if she loves her daughter much?

The groomsmen in Monte Bello Estate’s basement mancave.

Jennifer’s father sees her for the first time in her dress. They sweetly practice their father daughter dance. He’s just beaming and these are the kinds of moments we love capturing.

Michael looking dapper in the estate’s dining room. Bay windows let in a striking bank of soft light.

The groom’s mother seeing Jennifer in her dress for the first time today.

We stepped outside with Jennifer’s family for some pre-ceremony portraits utilizing lush ivy covered walls.

Michael & Jennifer had a reveal or “first look” prior to the ceremony because their cocktail hour began immediately after the ceremony. This allowed them to have some portraits and enjoy cocktail hour mingling.

A heartfelt embrace as J&M see one another for the first time today. Michael’s cousins watch from inside the estate.

A lovely classic portrait close up. I have a photo similar to this of my grandma and grandpa on their wedding day.

Re-entering the Monte Bello Estate’s Narnia inspired front doors. Carvings of Aslan the lion and a witch can be seen here.

The groomsmen were truly a band of brothers.

Neo-classical goodness right here. I love it when we can capture a quite moment between a bride and her flower girl. It’s not always so easy!

A wall of paper flowers made for a unique photo op.

The bridesmaids wore soft flowing full length dresses in a nude neutral color. It played into the softness and natural theme at the estate.

Jennifer and her father share a moment before walking down the aisle.

Indoor Ceremony at Monte Bello Estate. Lemont, IL

Walking the aisle.

Michael just beaming.

The flower girl follows along in the program and then decides to play peek-a-boo with the photographer.

The Montebello Estate has an add on with lovely wooded views. It made for a wonderful alternative indoor ceremony spot due to the somewhat cold conditions outside.

Rev. Jim Rehnberg is The Rent-a-Rev. He’s always a warm, humorous, and personable officiant.

M&J had a ring warming during their ceremony.

M&J had a ring warming during their ceremony.

The ring exchange.

First Kiss!

Bubble exit down the aisle!

The kids enjoyed cocktail hour.

Photography was very important to Michael and Jennifer. I love how they tied in the family history with this wedding photo display as well as using some of our engagement photos in a guest sign in book.

I just loved Jenny & Michael’s cake topper. The sun beamed in during sunset as they cut their cake.

The toasts are always a lot of fun to capture as guests listen intently or laugh. Sometimes the reactions are downright wild.

The toasts. This groomsman appears to be giving the speaker the signal to wrap it up soon.

Jennifer’s sister recounted a story about how she’d borrowed her pound puppies t-shirt without asking once and got into an accident that required paramedics to cut it off of her. Here she has brought Jennifer a replacement. They also sang a song together. It was pretty great.

The Monte Bello Estate at twilight is truly magical and inviting with the warm light streaming out of the windows.

The clocktower.

The first dance got real.

Mother Son dance.

Marty Micheff AKA DJ Jamz kept the floor swinging, swaying, and bouncing.

The fire pit in action during the wedding at Monte Bello Estate.

Jennifer’s father sang and the whole family joined in.

It was a night to remember. Thank you for having Wes Craft Photography capture it with you. We can’t wait to share them all very soon. There are a lot more where these came from.