Bride and groom walk through Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward, the bride looking back while her groom carries her dress during their wedding portraits.

ILLINOIS WEDDING & FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER

Groom in a white tuxedo smiles at his bride dancing during a lively, 1920s-inspired wedding reception at Turner Hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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NOW BOOKING 2028 COUPLES GETTING MARRIED IN ILLINOIS & BEYOND

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NOW BOOKING 2028 COUPLES GETTING MARRIED IN ILLINOIS & BEYOND /

Newlyweds lean close together during golden-hour wedding portraits at Ethereal Events in Woodstock, Illinois, with the bride gently touching the groom's face.
Newlyweds lean close together during golden-hour wedding portraits at Ethereal Events in Woodstock, Illinois, with the bride gently touching the groom's face.
Bride laughs with loved ones during a candid, intimate micro wedding celebration at Ethereal Events in Woodstock, Illinois.

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.

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Expectant mother in a white off-the-shoulder dress cradles her baby bump during a sunlit outdoor maternity photography session in McHenry, Illinois.
Expectant mother in a white off-the-shoulder dress cradles her baby bump during a sunlit outdoor maternity photography session in McHenry, Illinois.

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.

See the details →
Dramatic close-up of an engaged couple during their at-home taco date engagement session before their destination wedding in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

The Experience

  • 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+

    Explore Weddings →

  • 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+

    Explore Elopements →

  • 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+

    Explore Destination Weddings →

  • 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+

    Explore Families & Lifestyle →

Parents smile and play with their baby during a candid outdoor first birthday family photography session by a creek in Richmond, Illinois.
Parents smile and play with their baby during a candid outdoor first birthday family photography session by a creek in Richmond, Illinois.
“Every moment she captured feels real, not staged — and looking back at them brings us right back to how the day felt.”
— B & D
Two children smile cheek to cheek during a candid outdoor family photography session at the lake, where they spent time fishing with their parents in Twin Lakes, WI.
Two children smile cheek to cheek during a candid outdoor family photography session at the lake, where they spent time fishing with their parents in Twin Lakes, WI.

Get on my 2027 portrait & 2028 Wedding Calendar

"My husband and I are both shy and introverted and she had us laughing and posing like pros in no time."
— K & J