Maricel Cruz Photography

Chicagoland Wedding and Portrait Photographer

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I'm Maricel Cruz and I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based out of Chicago, Illinois. This is where I'll share my latest work and maybe a little bit about my life. I hope you enjoy reviewing my work.

My passion is photography first and food comes a VERY close second. Having an "eye" for photography certainly came to me by surprise when I borrowed my brother's camera to take photos of my niece and nephews at a pumpkin farm, which is when I decided to purchase my own camera. I found that I enjoyed photography more than I enjoyed eating my favorite foods... like I said, food is a very close second.

With the support of my amazing family and friends, my photography has evolved from what started out as an obsession to a passion that I am grateful to share with you. I believe my nieces and nephews think I am paparazzi, they seem to run from me when I have my camera in hand. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to feed them good food instead. :)

Blair & Shanti | Navy Pier Engagement

05.16.12 Posted in Chicago, Engagements

Blair & Shanti was a referral from an old co-worker of mine, Sharon, owner of Simple Perfect Peace Events. Thanks Sharon! After booking their August wedding, we scheduled their engagement session on a pretty chilly April day. They were brave enough to withstand the chilly lakefront wind, but I think it was certainly worth it! We decided to go to Navy Pier which allowed us to get the feeling back in our limbs from freezing our butts off. I cannot wait to photograph their wedding! They were so much fun to work with, they have such a wonderful connection and the camera absolutely loves them.

Congratulations Blair & Shanti on your engagement! Here are just a few samples from their session.

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Posted in Chicago, Engagements

by Maricel

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Iveliz & Eric | Chicago Engagement

05.09.12 Posted in Engagements

I love shooting engagement sessions. Most couples have never had professional photos taken, together. There is always a little awkwardness and I love seeing how it eventually goes away and love takes over.

That’s pretty much how this session started. We went to North Park Village Nature Center for their session. We took a couple of family photos for a quick warm up and then we started their session. Iveliz was a little nervous, but once I told them to enjoy each other they almost forgot I was there!

Here are just a few samples from their session that day. You can definitely feel the love…

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Posted in Engagements

by Maricel

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Claire & Jason | Chicago Engagement

05.08.12 Posted in Chicago, Engagements

Claire and I met at work where she assisted my team and I in a 4000 person move. Of course after working closely for 8 months she found out I was a photographer and said to me “When I get engaged, you’re hired!” Ok, not sure if those were her exact words, but that was the gist of it. One day, I walked into work (I’m always the last one there) and said my good mornings. Claire tells me that she might have a wedding lead for me. I quickly turned around, looked at her finger and saw the rock on her finger! She kept her word and hired me for their wedding!

Here are some photos from their engagement session. Congratulations Claire & Jason, I’m looking forward to your wedding in August!

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Posted in Chicago, Engagements

by Maricel

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Anne & Baby P | Plainfield Maternity Session

04.13.12 Posted in Maternity

I love the spring for so many reasons. We get longer days, better weather and the photography sessions start to pick up! One of my first sessions this year is with a very good friend of mine, Anne. We used to work together and became such good friends there, we still keep in touch after she left me…oh…I mean, the job. It was really sad day for me!

When Anne told me she was pregnant I was so excited for her and Brad! Even more excited when she asked me to take maternity photos of her. The camera LOVES this girl, we had so much fun. We decided to stay indoors since there was beautiful light coming from her windows and she had this awesome decorative door we could use as our background. Here are just a few photos of her with Baby P in her belly. She has since had the baby, I’ll blog Baby P’s session soon!

Congratulations Anne & Brad! You guys are going to be such wonderful parents!

undefined During one of Anne’s Baby Showers, her guests helped make these letters for the baby’s room! What a great idea!Isn’t that door fabulous?

Posted in Maternity

by Maricel

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Lena & Sam | Chicago Engagement

02.10.12 Posted in Engagements

Sam & Lena are such a cute couple, I had so much photographing their engagement session. I met them through my friend Anne (Sam’s sister) and have known them for a few years now, but it was nice to get to know them better when they booked me for their wedding. We had so much fun at their engagement session! These two are a little goofy and just have awesome chemistry it didn’t take too much time to get them comfortable in front of the camera.

We started the session outside of The Nature Museum where we were able to capture some nature scenes. It was chilly out but it was so pretty out there. Afterwards we headed over to Lincoln Square to capture some city scenes. I can’t wait for their Wilder Park wedding in June!

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