If you’ve never been to a Polish wedding and you have the opportunity to, I would definitely recommend it! Joanna and Zak’s wedding was my first experience of this kind.

Even though a photo is worth a thousand words, these images from their day does not begin to come close to the experience and different traditions than what I’m used to, in my little experience with different weddings.

Two things that I believe made this wedding different from others I’ve documented were that: 1. Most of my focus was on Joanna’s family, the Mirowska’s 2. This was my first photographing solo.

The day itself began at Joanna’s home in Chicago. Here, I got images from the bride’s side of getting ready. Having personally known Joanna for about 5 years now from college, it was pretty neat seeing her home and learning a few stories of her past. Her family was very friendly and generous.

From here, we transitioned to the church, which was only a few blocks away. I had never experienced a Polish mass until this day, though if my memory doesn’t deceive me, there were parts in English as well. Another difference of this wedding is that the reception was actually in the suburbs, Homer Glen to be specific. After a decent drive during rush hour, the festivities began!

One of Joanna’s top priorities for me is to capture Zak having some cake at the wedding – and this I did not fail! He’s a very clean eater, so eating cake is not in his day-to-day diet.

I believe these images are a simple recap of the main parts of the day: