ILLINOIS WEDDING & FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER
NOW BOOKING 2028 COUPLES GETTING MARRIED IN ILLINOIS & BEYOND
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NOW BOOKING 2028 COUPLES GETTING MARRIED IN ILLINOIS & BEYOND /
For couples Getting Married & families who want all the dirty details
I’m Nicole Kilday, an Illinois wedding and family photographer based in Chicago’s northwest suburbs since 2016. I photograph backyard and at-home weddings, weddings in the places closest to your heart, your dream wedding venue, and real family life across Northern Illinois, Chicago, Milwaukee, Lake Geneva, Southern Wisconsin, and destinations worldwide. For couples who are here for the marriage, families who live for the beautiful chaos, and everyone who shows up for both.
What are the dirty details?
Grass stains from dancing barefoot in your parents’ backyard. The dog asleep on your dress train. Blankets still tangled on the couch after a slow Saturday morning. Kids mid-bounce on the trampoline, hair everywhere.
They’re the parts of your life you’d never think to stage, and the ones you’ll want back the most.
I photograph them in an unposed, candid, documentary way. I’ll guide you when it helps, then step back the moment something real takes over. Camera shy or the loudest one in the room, you have the room to be yourselves. Just hold on to each other and invite me in.
Years from now, you won’t just see how it looked. You’ll remember how it felt.
True to life, Vibrant color. Candid wedding & family photography
The flowers you picked. Your kid’s impossibly blue eyes. Everyone a little flushed from the dance floor. I want those things to look familiar when you open your gallery.
My style blends candid, documentary wedding photography with creative portraits and natural family photographs. Real expressions, movement, and the way you reach for each other without thinking. I’ll find the light, bring ideas, and give you direction when you need it—then keep photographing when you get distracted by each other. You’ll never be wondering what to do next because you’ll be swept up in the guided moments.
If you’re drawn to natural wedding photography with vibrant, true to life color, you’re in the right place. My editing keeps skin tones natural, colors true to the scene, and depth in the light and shadows. Photographs that look like your life—and bring you right back to it.
The Experience
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For the hand-holders, the barefoot dancers, your puppy curled up on your dress train. At home, your dream venue, or somewhere special. Full wedding day coverage & a pre-wedding day session included.
Starting at $8.5K+
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For the runaways, the vow-yellers, the ones who’d rather write their own rules. Elopements with no guest list, micro weddings with only your favorite people, a horse pasture, a lake at sunrise — whatever feels like you. And yes, I can sign your marriage license too.
Starting at $4.5K+
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For the ones who chose somewhere on purpose. Cliffside vows in Italy, salt air in Mexico, a Hawaiian sunset you’ll still feel decades from now. A destination wedding that’s part adventure, part love story — with every bit of travel included, so all you have to do is be there.
Starting at $12K+
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For the couch snugglers, the sandbar regulars, the flour-on-the-counter bakers. At home or somewhere that matters to you. Maternity, newborn, milestones & the everyday — your people, exactly as they are right now.
Starting at $900+
— B & D
Get on my 2027 portrait & 2028 Wedding Calendar
— K & J