When it comes to beautiful ceremonies, this one takes the cake!  This beautiful wedding began at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL.  The ceremony took place at the exquisite church Queen of the Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church which is  located  LaSalle, IL.  Finally, the reception took place at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Seneca, IL.  As a Chicago wedding photographer I get the opportunity to travel to a lot of wonderful locations all over Illinois.  These are some of the best when it comes to rustic beauty!  See more Seneca Oak Ridge wedding photographer photo’s here, and Seneca Oak Ridge wedding photography here.

The natural light coming through the stained glass in this church was simply amazing.  It allowed me to shoot without a flash and capture all of the shadow and light detail.  What I love about this photograph is stunning shimmer of the gold wall.

Shooting from the organ/choir loft here gave me a different perspective and allowed me to capture more of the detail of this beautiful wall.

The shallow depth of field in this image draws your attention to the emotion in Audrey and Marks faces without losing the beauty of the background.

Here the architectural detail of the balcony adds to the drama of this high fashion group shot.

Getting down low and using the low sun to silhouette

Thank you guys for the wonderful time!  We had a great time taking the golf carts for a ride and freezing our butts off LOL.

-Corlis :: Contact Me

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This amazing wedding took place at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL.  Just about an hour and a half southwest of Chicago.  Starved Rock has to be one of my favorite places for a wedding getaway.  The lodge is beautiful and the scenery is second to none.  This wedding was no exception.  I have to say, Laci and Ian are, what I like to refer to as, “beautiful people”.  We all wish we were as good looking as these two.  At least I do, lol.  It was virtually impossible for me to take a bad picture of them.  To top it all off, they were genuinely just good hearted people which made my job just that much easier.  For this Chicago wedding photographer, this is as good as it gets.  See more Ottawa, IL wedding photographer photo’s by Corlis Gray here, and Ottawa, IL wedding photography here.  You can also see Laci & Ian’s Chicago engagement session here.

I probably looked pretty silly from other people’s perspectives, but laying on the floor and adding a slight camera tilt, gave this shot a little edginess.

Here the shallow depth of field draws your attention to the groom gazing at his soon to be wife.

I love the very editorial look of this photograph.  The punchy colors ad to the drama of this photo.  Just a small note, this was NOT posed.  I just captured a really stunning moment of Laci gazing out the window of the trolley, just soaking in the days events.

Here the shallow depth of field and the sharpness of Laci really brings out her eyes.  They are almost mesmerizing.  It doesn’t hurt that she’s done some modeling either.  LOL.

In this image I placed a flash behind Laci and Ian as they were dancing to capture a silhouette of them dancing while using another flash to give a slight fill light.  With the long shutter speed I could grab some of the ambient light surrounding them and in the background.  I think it’s a wonderfully romantic image.

Ian and Laci, you are truly two very wonderful people, and I wish you all the best.  Your wedding was almost as rockin’ as you!

-Corlis :: Contact Me

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Thanks again guys for being so fun to work with.  I can’t wait until the wedding!!!

-Corlis :: Contact Me!

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So being that they have more school loans than the U.S. deficit, but all the love in the world (literally).  God was smiling on them one day and led them to me.  I just so happen to do 3 pro bono weddings per year for couples in exactly their predicament.  After reading the most heart warming email from Abby, I decided to meet with them.

We met in a little coffee shop in Morris, IL called Brewed Awakenings.  From there we sat over a couple hot cups of joe and got to know each other.  The rest is history.

See more Starved Rock engagement photographer photo’s here,  Starved Rock engagement photography here, and Starved Rock engagement photos here.

Here is their engagement session shot at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL

Thank you Abby and Ben for the great time we had!

Your Friend,

Corlis – Contact me!

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Chase and Karen had a beautiful destination wedding in the Bahamas.  Unfortunately I wasn’t invited LOL, but I did get the opportunity to photograph their reception when they returned.  The reception took place at Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Resort in Utica, IL.  At first I was a little apprehensive about what the quality of their banquet facilities might be since this is more of a family getaway facility with water parks and carnival rides.  But I have to admit, the banquet hall was stunning!  It was really well decorated with beautiful lighting and a superb staff.  Not only that, with a “carnival” near by it was ridiculously fun!  hopping on rides with a wedding party is more fun than you might think .  Here’s a little taste.

See more Ottawa, IL wedding photography here, from Ottawa wedding photographer Corlis Gray Photography.

I caught these two love birds having a quiet moment outside of the banquet hall.  I love the direction lighting falling on the couple and the tonality it adds to the picture.

I thought this cool ambiant light the DJ had set up along the wall really made the cake pop.  A little camera tilt gave the image a little more flair.

This silky black and white image beautifully captures Karen and Chase happily gazing at each other during their first dance as husband and wife.

I know this seems out of place but I just couldn’t resist.  At Grand Bear they had this cute baby leopard.  Check out the bling this cat is rockin’!

The lovely couple riding this awesome carousel at the amusement park.

And last but not least, who can resist a quick kiss in front of the swing buggy?!  It’s like blinky light heaven! LOL.

A special thanks to Chase and Karen for the amazing time we had at your beautiful reception.  And an extra extra special thanks to the wonderful staff at Grand Bear Resort.

-Corlis :: Contact Me

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It was about 11 am.  I started packing up my camera bag with all the essentials…you know…camera’s, lenses, flashes, cards.  I headed out for a quick brunch and ran some errands.

Sounds like a normal day as a photographer.  I headed out at about 2 to scout the area where I’d be shooting Tim and Madison’s engagement session.  Little did I know I’d be driving around for the next 2 hours back and forth past the very place I needed to be.  LOL.  Nobody’s perfect right?  Good thing I left 2 hours early.

Enter Gebhard Woods in Morris, IL.  A pleasant little treasure trove of green foliage and manicured lawns.  We had a great time hiking and getting a little dirty to get some great shots

See more Morris engagement photography here.

Thanks to Tim and Madison for the great time

-Corlis :: Contact me!

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Audrey and Mark are some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met.  They are truly genuine and kind spirited people.  I really enjoyed this shoot because they were just so playful! They had no problem gettin’ a little dirty AND WET.  It was just like going hiking with two good friends I’d known for years.  The engagement photography was done at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL.  (It sure does seem like I’m there an awful lot doesn’t it? Maybe I should just move out there and become the “Starved Rock Photographer” LOL.)  See more Starved Rock engagement photography here, by Starved Rock engagement photographer Corlis Gray, and Starved Rock engagement photo’s here.

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I just love doing this shot.  People are always so much more relaxed when the pose isn’t really a pose.  The greatest expressions always come when a couple is simply interacting naturally.

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This shot is so great!  I told Mark and Audrey to play and have some fun and that is exactly what they did.  All of my clients and friends know I like to get a little dirty when I’m shooting, so I’m glad they joined in the fun.

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This shot is great because Mark was being such a gentleman.  He volunteered to carry his lovely fiance’ out of the water.  Plus the contrast of the rock behind them was just beautiful.

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I love this depth of field photograph.  It really draws the attention to the flip flops in the sand and gives you the impression they’re in some cove in the tropics or something.  Even though their just at Starved Rock.

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Genuine Smiles!  They always come after the fake one people give for the photographer.  LOL.  This is one of those special moments I look for when people think I’m not shooting.

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Audrey has some beautiful eyes and I wanted to capture that.  I love how they are dead center and your eye is drawn there immediately.

Thank you guys for such a fun time.  You know how I like to get dirty and roll around on the ground and you had NO problem with that.

-Corlis :: Contact Me!

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I separated Jonathan and Jamie and shot with a wide angle lens to show the immenseness of this canyon.  The vintage processing really gives this photograph an aged appearance and brings out the contrast detail of the waterfall.

Here the sun is acting as a hair light intensifying the dimension and the separation from the background.

Here the shallow depth of field diminishes the distractions of the background and brings your attention to the beautiful couple.

I love this natural pose.  It really shows a true interaction between Jamie and Jonathan.  No fake smiles here.

I used a lot of negative space in this photograph to accentuate the towering trees and show how vast this forest really was.

This canopy of evergreens was just too beautiful to pass up with the sun setting behind them.  The long shadows add to the drama along with Jamie and Jonathan being silhouetted with a halo of light around them.

Thank you Jonathan and Jamie for spending the day with me in such a beautiful place just getting to know each other.  It was great to share a walk in such a beautiful place with some great conversation.

-Corlis :: Contact Me

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