J.R. Owen & Co.
Chicago area wedding photography, videography, & photobooth
Welcome, we’re glad you’re here!
Likely you’re here because you are soon to be planing one of the most momentous and memorable days of your life. Congratulations! It’s likely you’re also feeling incredibly overwhelmed if not drained with all your vendor choices, but that’s where we can help. We turned our incredible passion for photography into a livelihood on the firm grounds that we would commit to giving every wedding our all and see couples through with quality service from the moment they walk in the door to a relationship the extends well beyond the wedding day.
Click any thumbnail above to see one of our beautifully designed albums.
We take the utmost pride in offering the most unique album selection of any photography company in Chicago. We have searched the globe (literally) to find the most reputable vendors to trust with creating your album heirloom. Each album is custom designed by a digital artist and every photo meticulously placed and retouched. Every piece (fine-art or album) that our studio produces comes with a life-time guarantee.
About Us
With over 2,500 weddings experience between the two of us we have realized one thing above others: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told is Your Own. Your story and your wedding will be unique from anyone else, and we commit to photographing it as such.
We firmly believe the key to capturing emotion and relationships in our photography is by getting to know the people we photograph, and that goes both ways. We’re happy to tell you about our hobbies, how we met, what it was like being photographed at our own wedding, our funny wedding stories, and more.
J.R. Owen & Co. quality products available to you and your family.
Click above image to view our portfolio
J.R. Owen & Co. wedding photography is located in Lemont, IL, and provides high quality wedding photography for Chicago area and suburbs.
J.R. Owen & Co. is owned by Rachel and Jeff Owen. We are full time photographers with thousands of weddings experience between us. For busy dates we also have a small number of associates that shoot with us as well. We have the ability to each book events separately as primary photographers. This allows us to be more affordable than other high-end independents.
Our full-day package has no hourly limit and is designed to make sure you don’t have to compromise when it comes to capturing all the memories from your special day. We really have only one package, and it has everything you need included. We would love to have a chance to go over all the details of our package with you. An assistant/second photographer, back up equipment, and standby personnel are standard on every event. The “show must go on” as they say, and we make sure that all the right tools and people are there to do it correctly and reliably.
We are creative and organized. Often this is not the case with many small studios and individual photographers. You will receive your high-quality photos quickly after the event, exactly as promised.
We take great pride in our work and it shows in all of our 5 star reviews on the Knot, Google, and Wedding Wire. We have won “Best of the Knot” 6 times, and we are proud to announce winning the “Hall of Fame” award with the Knot. Our dedication to high-end wedding photography will have you raving about us as well. Our personalized service is how we consistently meet and exceed expectations. We take the time to get to know you and listen carefully to make sure we are on the same page with style and expectations. To do this there are at least two meetings with you and your fiance’, and we invite you to bring other important people to those meetings as well. Many of our brides and grooms bring parents, close family, maids of honor, best men, etc. The more we can plan the day, the less stress you will have. This personalized attention will result in a well-planned day with the right blend of styles and realistic expectations.
We have chosen some of the finest wedding albums and fine art products for you all offered ala-carte. During our initial consultation we will explain them in detail for you.
We have spent years training and developing our photographic skills to bring you the best in quality photographic artistry. We both specialize in weddings, but each of us have other passions as well. Rachel is developing “Glamorous” boudoir photography along with her newborns, seniors, and families.
We have both attended workshops, international conventions, seminars, and much more throughout our careers. We also compete at the highest professional levels and feel the accolades and awards are something that set us apart from others in the field. Our services are highly personalized too, with years of experience and knowledge. We do not limit our coverage to just Chicago and the suburbs either. We love destination weddings! We have special packages designed for destination weddings and highly encourage you to check out the advantages of hiring us to capture your memories both near and far.
If you are looking for high-end photography at affordable prices, we encourage you to consider us.
Click any image above to see our first look gallery
To Look or Not To Look, Is that the Question?
Most brides and grooms do not need to do a first look. We only recommend this option when it is really necessary. When we do please try to understand that we do really want you to make a well informed decision. We understand that mom may gasp, guests may be whispering, grandma may be offended, and you may be stuck in the middle. A lot of couples today are torn between the concept of seeing each other before the ceremony or trying to fit a lot of photos into a small amount of time. Know that if you do not leave enough time something will have to suffer. Ultimately you, the bride/groom, are the only ones who can make the choice. The average recommended amount of photography time on a wedding day for the bride/groom and bridal party is 1.5 hrs. Some photographers may want more, and some may prefer less. The average amount of time recommended to leave for family photos is 30 minutes. If you have a large family you might need more. Add travel times to these and you’ll have an idea of how much time you should leave on your wedding day. As a professional photographer I’ve seen many couples chose to do a first look, and many who have not.
Here are some things to consider:
- “I Really Regret Having a First Look.” Said No Bride Ever
Every single bride that has had a first look has told me it was the best decision she made for the wedding.
- If You Calculate How Much You Spent Minute Per Minute on The Cocktail Hour, You Probably Don’t Want To Miss It
Just tell this to inquiring minds; it usually gets them off your back.
- The First Look Reaction is Always Better Than Walking Down the Aisle
Because your first look will be arranged in a private area you’re free to be yourselves in the moment. You can kiss and talk to each other and there aren’t 100 people staring at you. Not to mention you photographer can control the light and background for your photos.
- It Doesn’t Make Walking Down the Aisle Any Less Special
Seeing each other before the ceremony takes the edge off. You’re not nearly as nervous walking down the aisle so you can better absorb the moment. Because you’re not so focused on each other you can take in everyone looking back at you.
- If You Don’t Greet Your Guests Before Dinner, They Will Try to Greet You on The Dance Floor
The bigger the wedding the harder this is to deal with. I’ve seen couples heart broken to spend only the last songs of the reception on the dance floor because guests wanted to greet them, and they couldn’t be rude. I highly recommend a receiving line during cocktail hour.
- Why Not Extend Your Day
You only get this day once in your life. Why limit it to 6hrs? If you see each other before hand you are basically having a pre-party with all your closest friends and extending your wedding day.
Still Not convinced?
If you have your heart dead set on seeing each other for the first time walking down the aisle then you might try moving the start time of your ceremony earlier in the day. I know it’s cheaper and easier to have your ceremony flow right into your cocktail hour, but is it worth the expense of sacrificing the quality of your photos? If your not willing to move your ceremony time/location try extending your cocktail hour to 1.5hrs or leaving a gap in between. Work with your photographer to be extra organized about rounding up family for photos so you can maximize every minute of your time.
Need more information?
Fill out the info below and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Share our page on facebook
Ask us Questions
We'd love to hear from you!
Use the form to the left or click button for more options.