Wedding photography in Illinois
You want to actually be at your wedding. Hug your people. Belly laugh through the speeches. Sneak away together when the light gets good, then come back for the song you’ve been waiting for.
I’m Nicole Kilday, an Illinois wedding photographer documenting days like these across Northern Illinois, Chicago, Lake Geneva, and Southern Wisconsin since 2016. At home, your dream venue, or somewhere close to your heart, you get me—learning who matters to you, making time for just the two of you, and leaving room for my weird ideas. You live it. I’ll make art from all the dirty details you’ll want to remember.
Wedding photography that brings you back to how it felt
Before we talk timelines, tell me how you want your wedding to feel. Everyone gathered around one long table? Loud, a little feral, happy tears everywhere? A slow morning together before the people you love start arriving?
I want to know what you’re looking forward to and who you can’t imagine the day without. Then we’ll build your photography timeline with room for those things. Time to love on your people, sneak away together, and let it sink in that you just got married.
When it’s time for portraits, you can hand me the reins. We’ll chase the light, get you moving, and try a few of my weird ideas—inspired by getting to know you and a decade behind the camera. When your person pulls you closer or you both dissolve into laughter, I’m paying attention to that, too.
The grass-stained hem is part of it. So is how tightly you were holding each other when it happened. I want to make photographs that bring you back to both.
See what that looks like in Faith & Luis’s summer wedding story.
Is this your kind of wedding photography?
You’re here for the marriage. And when you think about the day you get to start it, you want to…
Actually be there—hugging your people, hearing the speeches, getting swept up in it all.
Hand the reins to an eye you trust, with time to chase the light and see where a few weird ideas take us.
Steal moments for just the two of you—to breathe, hold on a little tighter, shake your @$$, and remember why everyone’s here.
Let the day leave its mark. Grass-stained hem, champagne down your sleeve, your dog asleep on the dress train.
Have photographs that feel like you—the way you love each other, the people you love, and all the dirty details tangled up in it.
Pull those photographs out years from now and feel it all over again.
Then hi—I’ve been waiting for you.
A decade behind the camera. My whole heart in it.
I’m Nicole—a light chaser, mom of two feral little boys, and still in love with the boy I met at 20. I started in art school and switched to psychology, but kept coming back to the same two things: creating and connecting with people. Photography gave me a place for both in 2016.
After 134 weddings, I know how quickly a room can shift from belly laughs to everybody crying. I’ve learned when to speak up, when to try something a little weird, and when to quietly keep photographing. Getting to know you gives that experience somewhere meaningful to land—your people, your relationships, the things you’d want me to notice.
I take a small number of weddings each year because I want to know whose hand you’re holding and why it matters. Your story gets my attention, my eye, and my whole heart.
Get to know me before you invite me into yours.
How we get from here to your wedding day
01 · Tell me what you’re dreaming up
Send me your date, your place, and a little about you two. What are you looking forward to? What do you want it all to feel like? You don’t need a finished timeline or every answer. I’d love to hear where you’re starting.
02 · Get into the dirty details
I’ll personally review your inquiry. If your date is available and we sound like a good fit, I’ll send my wedding guide with the collection, investment, and all the dirty details. Want to talk it through? We can hop on a call, too.
03 · Make it official
If it’s a “hell yes, it’s you we want, Nicole,” a signed agreement and retainer reserve your date. Then we get to know each other better and start making photography plans around your people, your priorities, and the day you want to live.
Your wedding photography collection
One collection. Your whole heart in it.
Getting ready, the shaky hands before your vows, everyone gathered around the table, and whatever happens on the dance floor. We’ll build your photography timeline around what you want to experience, with time for your people, portraits, and letting it all sink in.
Whether your celebration runs six hours or ten, you’re reserving the same collection—and me, personally invested in how it’s experienced and remembered.
Starting at $8500
-
Up to 10 hours of continuous wedding photography
One photographer—me—start to finish
Photography timeline creation & assistance
A 30–90-minute pre-wedding session
Sneak peeks within seven days
An online gallery with high-resolution and web-size downloads
A personal print release
Full gallery delivery within 4–16 weeks
Travel within two hours of Hebron, Illinois
-
Up to 10 hours of continuous wedding photography, with one photographer—me—start to finish.
Your collection includes photography timeline creation and assistance, a weekday engagement session for local and regional weddings, sneak peeks within seven days, and an online gallery with high-resolution downloads and a print release.
We’ll make room for the photographs grandma wants on her mantel, time for just the two of you, and the celebration happening around you.
-
Your included 30–90-minute engagement session takes place Monday–Thursday, within two hours of Hebron, Illinois. Want to go somewhere farther? Travel can be added.
For weddings four or more hours away and destination celebrations, you can choose a session within that home travel radius or save it for the evening before your wedding. That time can include portraits, a little of your welcome gathering, or both—all on the same day.
Wedding-day travel within two hours of Hebron is included. My wedding guide explains travel beyond that area and additional celebration coverage.
“No matter how big or small the moment is, Nicole is sure to preserve that moment in time in a way so uniquely you. She’s truly the greatest investment you could ever make to tell your story now & for years to come.”
A few more wedding photography details
-
Give me at least 30 minutes with just the two of you. We can keep that time together or split it into a couple of pockets throughout the day, depending on the light and your plans.
It gives us time to get you moving, try something creative, and let you settle into each other. We’ll also plan family and wedding-party photographs separately so your time together stays yours.
-
Absolutely. We’ll look at your locations, ceremony time, the light, who needs to be in the family photographs, and what you actually want to experience.
Then we’ll make room for it. That might mean portraits before the ceremony so you can join cocktail hour, or sneaking out for a few minutes at sunset. I’ll work with your planner and vendor team on the photography pieces so we’re all working toward the same day & feeling.
-
I photograph weddings solo, and that’s intentional. I love being folded into your people, getting to know the room, and following the day as it unfolds. Working this way lets me stay close to the story and personally connected to the photographs I’m making.
You get me, start to finish—with a decade of experience, thoughtful planning, and my whole attention on your day.
-
Yes—welcome-party and rehearsal-dinner coverage is available to my booked wedding couples, subject to availability. We can make room for portraits that evening, dinner, the toasts, and everyone settling into being together.
If your plans span another full celebration day, that’s available, too. My wedding guide explains both options.
-
I photograph with cameras that save each image to two memory cards at the same time, and I carry backup cameras and lenses. After your wedding, I back up the files again in multiple places.
The photographs matter too much for one copy of anything.
-
I plan to be there, and I also have a plan for the circumstances nobody can predict. If a true emergency prevents me from photographing your wedding, I have a trusted circle of photographer friends whose work I know and love to contact for backup.
Your agreement explains how replacement coverage would be handled. You deserve to understand that before booking.
Want me there for it all?
Tell me who you’re marrying, where we’re celebrating, and what you can’t wait to remember. I’ll personally read your inquiry, check your date, and see if we’re a good fit. If we are, I’ll send my wedding guide with all the dirty details. We can hop on a call, too, if you’d like.