Intimate Wedding at Mayslake Peabody Estate and Osteria Via Stato

E&W did it their way — A Sunday afternoon and 10 of their closest people.

An intimate wedding in its truest form. A long walk to the chapel between the bride and her father, being greeted by her tearful brother, an emotional down-the-aisle first look, a brief meaningful ceremony filled with tears, laughs & Windex, extended portrait time around the stunning venue, and an intimate dinner party to close out the night at Osteria Via Stato.

While visiting Mayslake Peabody Estate with the couple prior to their wedding, all it took was one look at this stunning venue and the long walk from the main building to the chapel to get the vision for how I could adequately capture what I envisioned would be a sweet, long and emotional walk to the aisle between the bride and her dad.

Normally for intimate wedding days with a small guest count like this, I operate solo. However for this one, I knew having a second photographer, even if only for this long walk, would be so worth it. It was something I knew I could technically pull off solo, but it would require a lot of literal running on my part hahah given that loooong walkway, and I didn’t want to be a distraction during what would be a quiet, emotional moment. I found a second photographer just in time, and while I was stationed at the chapel photographing the groom and the guests inside and the bride and her dad upon their approach to the chapel, my second helped me achieve the 360 vision I envisioned.

After their ceremony, the newlyweds wanted to maximize their portrait time, leaning into editorial posing that resulted in timeless portraits, heavy on the B&W, that they can frame throughout their house. It was so fun getting to flex the creative editorial muscles throughout the halls and grounds of this historic estate. The two were fully riding the post-wedding high, so with just some light direction from me, the results were effortless & natural, as they were in their own little post-nuptial bliss.


This was a unique and very special wedding day for me to be a part of, and I couldn’t have been more grateful. I’m here to document your celebration, big or small.

Ceremony Venue - Mayslake Peabody Estate @dupageforest

Reception Venue - Osteria Via Stato @osteriaviastato

Photographer - Gretchen Wittry @graphsbygretch

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