2011 July | Champaign and Urbana wedding photographer

Champaign and Urbana wedding photographer | Holly Birch Photography bio picture

Welcome to my blog!

Hey! Thanks for coming to my blog! If you're here as a bride or groom, I hope you like what you see. I'd love to meet with you in person to talk about your wedding day and how I can help you. I love photographing weddings and hope that shows in my work!

Things I love: the Illini, the color orange, lobsters, my husband, my son, weddings, my Nikon D700, socks, my dogs, Johnny Cash, American Idol, my iMac, The Sound of Music, Hereford cattle, a pair of good-fitting jeans, the Food Network, & macaroni and cheese (and my Grandma Hazel wants me to add her in here too).

Scroll down to view images from recent weddings and sessions! Also, be sure to "like" my Facebook page to keep up with announcements & specials!

Monthly Archives: July 2011

July 27, 2011

Jeanice + Joe | Downtown Champaign engagement photography

Posted in Engagement 3 comments

Jeanice + Joe met up with me on a hot Friday in July to tackle their engagement session. They did great & didn’t look too shiny until the very end of the session. I loved how comfortable they were with each other and how much Joe likes to dote on Jeanice. One of the favorite parts of the session was when he just randomly started kissing her neck and tickling her. I think she was somewhat annoyed at Joe distracting them from the camera, but I think it made for some of the best photos because they were totally unposed and real. Here are some of my favorites!

If they can get 25 comments below this post, they’ll get a complimentary 5×7″ print!

We met up first at Cowboy Monkey since it’s one of their favorite watering holes.

Just look how natural these two are! I did very little posing here… they did the rest!

Yes, I had to lie on the street to take this one. Thanks again to Mark for watching for traffic for me!

This is the part of the session I was talking about earlier!

And then once she finally got him to cooperate.

I loooooooove this one!!!

Thanks, J & J! I can’t wait for your wedding in September!

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Tags: Cowboy Monkey, downtown Champaign, e-session, Engagement

July 26, 2011

Maggie + Mitch | Alice Campbell Alumni Center wedding photography

Posted in Wedding 2 comments

Maggie + Mitch’s wedding day was on the last day of that super heat wave on July 23. The wedding party members were great sports though and I don’t think I heard one complaint all day! At one point during my portrait session with just the B&G, Maggie’s mother even came out to check on us and Maggie reported that she was doing fine! You can tell that Maggie and Mitch have a lot of fun together and I think that is evident in some of these photos. Now buckle up because this post is a long one!

Leave a comment below this post, and after 50 comments, Mitch + Maggie will get a complimentary 16×20″ print!

The getaway car!

I loved the 3 walls of stained glass windows at the First Presbyterian Church in Champaign. So pretty & full of natural light for my photos!

Love this one!!

Vendors:
Ceremony: First Presbyterian Church of Champaign
Reception: Alice Campbell Alumni Center, University of Illinois
Cake: Lori Martin, Cakes by Lori
Florist: Tammie Lawson
Catering/Linens: U of I Catering
Officiant: Scott Keeble
Bride’s dress: Michelle’s Bridal – Casablanca
Bridesmaid dresses: Michelle’s Bridal – Alfred Angelo
Tuxes: Michelle’s Bridal
Photographer: Holly Birch Photography

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Tags: Alice Campbell Alumni Center, First Presbyterian Church, Urbana, Wedding

July 22, 2011

Danielle + Ben | Champaign Hilton wedding photography

Posted in Wedding No comments

Danielle was a bridesmaid in Erin & Brian’s wedding I photographed in 2009, so I was stoked when she came to me about photographing her wedding. After all, Erin & her in all their glory at 40×60″ so I think of them often! I first met Ben when we sat down for their consultation, and we compared my wedding packages to McDonald’s value meals (or at least the economics of them!). He was a hard sell I think, but I eventually won him over and they hired me. They had a very great group of friends surrounding them that day (including 6+ months pregnant Erin!), and we got some fantastic shots despite the heat. I loved their navy and hot pink color scheme, and thought all their hard work and details were perfect. Thanks so much for having Mark and I along for your special day!

Leave a comment below this post and after 50 comments, Ben + Danielle will receive a complimentary 16×20″ mounted print!

We started out at the Church of Christ which has an elevator!

I love photographing portraits in this church because the stained glass is so awesome.

Ready to party!

Remake of a classic

My life is easy when you give me people like these…

One of my new 2011 favorites!!

I love this one… just look at her eyes!

They did a choreographed dance when they entered the reception. It was unexpected and hilarious!

Let me tell you, Ben has a dance-crazy family. This guy was on the floor all night. The saying goes “dance like nobody’s watching,” right?

BM = Best Man (awesome toast, by the way)

MOH was giving me what for!

Vendors
Ceremony: Champaign Church of Christ
Reception: Hilton Garden Inn
Florist: Abbott’s
DJ: Bugbee’s (DJ Dan)
Uplighting: Bugbee’s
Cake: Debbi Logan
Officiant: Tracy Larr
Bride’s dress: Ducky’s
Tuxes: Ducky’s
Bridesmaid dresses: Michelle’s Bridal Shoppe
Limo: Andy’s Limo
Photography: Holly Birch Photography

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Tags: Arboretum, Champaign, Hilton

July 20, 2011

Nicole + Erik | Allerton instrumental and engagement photography

Posted in Engagement No comments

Nicole and Erik are a pair of musicians who regularly play for weddings around Champaign and especially at Allerton Park in Monticello. And it just so happens that they are also engaged! So Nicole emailed me to see if they could get some promotional shots of them as well as a few couple shots. We had a limited time frame to use and it happened to be on a morning during the current heat wave, but we made it work. I’m always up for a challenge!

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Tags: Allerton, Engagement, flute, guitar

July 1, 2011

Ashley + Steve | Monticello + Allerton engagement photography

Posted in Engagement 2 comments

Ashley + Steve met me at Allerton Park just outside Monticello on a humid weeknight for their engagement session. They were excited about the whole process from picking out their clothes to choosing various locations at the park to seeing the final product! I know Ashley is dying to see some more photos from their session, so I worked hard this week to get these ready to post! I’ll have the full set of proofs posted mid-week next week.

And leave a comment below this post and after 25 comments, Steve and Ashley will receive a complimentary 5×7 mounted print!

Fun with the bokeh on my new lens!

I love the colors of outfits they chose!

So cute!!

They chose a more formal look for their second outfit. I am a huge fan! They both looked so great and it gives them both a casual and classy look for their engagement session. Also, I will make for some great pages in their guestbook!

A couple individual headshots…

I told them that this one looked like they were going to the Kentucky Derby. Ashley just needed a big hat!

Love the pose and the sunset peeking through the trees!

Hotness!