Featured

Cristina Sent on 10/13/2024

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Essence for the win!

Could not have been happier with the services and product we received! We picked Nora as our photographer as it seemed like she was great at using natural lighting and did a good job with capturing photos that weren’t posed. We were not disappointed! Nora made the process as easy as humanly possible and very comfortable. She was able to read us easily and could tell when the group was getting restless and even could tell if I wanted certain photos without me saying. Nora was the only photographer but managed to capture all the photos we could have hoped for. The ceremony photos were beautiful but the reception photos perfectly captured the night. The quality of the photos when we got them was spectacular. Additionally, the entirety of the photos were sent to us within just over 4 weeks despite the fact that they had 8 weeks. Lastly, we booked the DJ through essence as well (spinning’ discs) and Nora and the dj worked together great which made it that much easier. If you’re considering essence, do it - you will not regret!

+3 photos

Aimée Sent on 12/04/2025

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Incredible vendor!

Essence was incredible to work with for our wedding. We used the photography, videography, Photo Booth services as well as the groomsmen formal wear. This is such a well run and professional vendor who anticipate all your questions and have great communication. We liked that there was a backup photographer or videographer available just in case. Filling out the wedding worksheet made it great to have a plan together for the day off. Then our meeting the week of our wedding with our photographer Kari confirmed and reviewed these details. Kari, Joe, and Kenneth were an awesome team for our ceremony and reception and even braved the elements while it rained during our planned photo time. Absolute pros!

Ariana Sent on 09/18/2025

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Review for Jolanta – Wedding Photographer Superhero!

We had the absolute pleasure of working with Jolanta for our wedding, and we cannot recommend her highly enough! From start to finish, she was incredibly professional, calm under pressure, and so easy to work with.

Our ceremony unexpectedly got rained out, and to add to the chaos, I was in an arm cast—but Jolanta handled everything with grace, quick thinking, and creativity. Looking at our photos now, you would *never* know any of those hiccups happened. She made the most of every moment, adjusting seamlessly and capturing everything beautifully.

The photos themselves are stunning. Jolanta has an eagle eye for candid shots—those little in-between moments that feel so real and joyful. Each time we look through our gallery, we’re transported right back to the day. Her ability to catch the emotion, fun, and love in every frame is truly special. If you are looking for a photography group, go with Essence.

We are speaking from experience this was our 2nd wedding celebration, and the photos from Essence turned out better than the photographer from our other celebration that cost $5k.

Thank you, Jolanta, for giving us such gorgeous memories to treasure forever. You are a true talent!

+10 photos

Justin Sent on 06/30/2025

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The BEST photographer!

Our photographer Ben was the kindest, most patient photographer. He braved the heat and took photos with us for hours with a smile on his face. He was constantly reassuring us that everything was going well and made us feel comfortable and happy the entire day, even when we felt very overwhelmed! We loved getting to know him! We can't wait to see the photos!
We also used the photobooth and videographer services too. Both our photobooth attendant and videographer were very nice and personably too!

Katie Sent on 06/21/2025

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Literally perfect

We had Joey (photography) and Julian (video) for our wedding and they were absolutely incredible. Joey made us feel so comfortable and confident with our photos. He’s such a professional but also so sweet and down-to-Earth. Julian was so chill and so brilliant, and we got to talk geeky stuff with him! I cannot recommend those two enough. The photography and videography was so important to us, and it was literally perfect They made our day so magical.

Rob Sent on 04/07/2025

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Stylish, Professional, and Truly Exceptional Experience

Essence Formal Wear went above and beyond for me and my best man. Gerry and his team were incredibly knowledgeable, helping us find the perfect fit and offering expert advice on how to coordinate ties and socks with our suits and shoes. Their attention to detail made all the difference. We looked sharp, felt confident, and got so many compliments on our look. The entire process was stress-free, professional, and honestly enjoyable. I can't recommend them enough for any groom or wedding party looking to make a stylish impression. Thank you, Essence, for helping us look our absolute best!

Alyson Sent on 08/30/2024

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Great to Work With!

I am the owner and lead planner of Birdcage and Blushers Weddings and my couple booked Essence for both photo and video services. The Director of Photography and Video, Peggy was super helpful and responsive leading up to the wedding. On the day-of, the photographer Jolanta and the videographer Jason were both great with communication, were very professional and really flexible to work with! I'm excited to see how the photos and video turn out!

Sarah Sent on 08/26/2024

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Peggy is the best!!!

If you need a good and reliable company, choose Essence! Specifically, we had Peggy & she was phenomenal! She really gets to know you and your personality as a whole and works really well with what your vision is! She got our engagement and wedding pictures back to us SO incredibly fast! If you want the best, request Peggy!

Nae F. Sent on 05/28/2024

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ForeverFerguson Wedding

We recently had the pleasure of working with Peggy for our wedding, and she exceeded all of our expectations! Peggy captured all our beautiful moments perfectly, creating memories we will cherish forever. From the candid shots to the posed portraits, she delivered everything we asked for and more. Her attention to detail and ability to capture the essence of our special day was truly remarkable. We couldn’t be happier with the results and highly recommend Peggy to anyone looking for an exceptional photographer. Thank you, Peggy, for your incredible work!

Edgar Sent on 03/14/2024

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Beautiful experience.

We had our wedding on July 1st 2022. Three months prior to our wedding we were able to find out about Essence Photo & Video and we're extremely grateful we did! We can't imagine having hired anyone else to excel our experience and expectations on first timer bride and groom. We went into this experience with ideas in our heads but working with Chris and Gerry, they gave us their utmost honest professional opinion and guided us toward our dream wedding. Their professionalism and care towards the bride and groom is amazing and they go above and beyond what you would imagine. Our photographer Essi was extremely courteous towards what we wanted and what she knew would become beautiful and natural photos to show our most natural flow of love. We had the full experience with Essence Photo & Video and we're so glad we did. Our day was wholesome and it was an experience we will never forget and with a business, or family, like Essence, everything just fell into place. We thank you to everyone in this business. Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez.

Chris Sent on 03/05/2024

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Thank you, Essence!!

The efficiency, professionalism, and quality of service provided by Gerry and Essence was truly amazing. They got me and my gentlemen fitted for tuxedos which were so sharp! Customizing save the dates and invitations were so easy and options were endless. I recommend them over anyone!

J N Sent on 12/13/2023

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Awesome! Awesome!

We used Essence for our DJ, photography and men’s attire. Everything was simply awesome. Their prices are very very reasonable. The team that was assigned to our event were professional and very easy to work with. You must check them out!

Joseph Sent on 11/03/2023

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5 Star Service

They went above & beyond for us when we were in a time crunch. They made it a quick and seamless experience, which made the decision making easier. The follow up was great. Highly recommended!

Mckenna Sent on 10/09/2023

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Our Dream Wedding

A huge thank you to Essence Photo & Video for making our day an unforgettable experience. We booked the photography, videography, and DJ services. Firstly, the day ran so seamlessly. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to make this day so perfect. A HUGE thank you to our wonderful photographer Peggy. I am in awe of the photos!!! They are unreal and have totally exceeded my expectations. She is a bride’s super hero. I am OBSESSED. Jesse, you were the life of the party and an absolute pleasure to work with. Cody and I will cherish our Wedding Video for years to come. By the way…those dance moves were next level!!!!!!! Speaking of dancing - DJ James kept our dance floor alive the whole night. Extremely professional gentleman and so much fun!!! Thank you so much everyone. I will be recommending Essence and especially Peggy, Jesse, and James to anyone looking for nothing less than an OUTSTANDING outcome. From the bottom of our hearts, you all were an integral part of our day. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Peace and Love,
McKenna & Cody Harrison

Dominique Sent on 10/02/2023

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Essence is Amazing is Highly Recommended 10/10

My Wedding was September 22, 2023 and Essence Photo and Video did absolutely AMAZING on my wedding day. My Photographer's name was Peggy and my videographer's name was Jesse. They were so patient and kind to everyone in and out of my wedding party. If you are looking for an extremely professional experience, but also very fun and easy-going crew I would say don't hesitate to book with them. They truly helped make my wedding day experience everything I dreamed it would be. I received preview pictures right away from my photographer and they are BEAUTIFUL. I also used their DJ services. His name was Ceasar, and everyone raved of how good of a DJ he was. He had everyone on their feet and having a GREAT time. Essence is HIGHLY recommended in my book. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Alexis Sent on 09/25/2023

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Happy bride

We got married 9/3/23 and I can’t brag enough how wonderful our wedding day went with our awesome crew from Essence.. dj terry was so much fun & photographer Joe and videographer Ken were so great with capturing out photos and video footage.I have 100% faith that they will blow us away. I would recommend them time and time again! They are the best! Also Chris the GM,Gerry and Peggy were awesome and super responsive made the whole planning experience very easy and helped with getting all the groomsman in the right tux for them.

+5 photos

Amy R. Sent on 09/17/2023

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Working with Essence was the best decision we made

We went through Essence for our photographer, DJ, and photobooth. Booking was straightforward and easy, and Ron and Sheila were both very responsive. Our photographer Allison did an amazing job on pre-ceremony shots at the Garden of the Phoenix, and when an emergency came up, her boss Peggy stepped in and took over seamlessly handling both the ceremony and reception. Both Allison and Peggy really captured our best sides, despite neither of us being particularly photogenic. The photos turned out great, and the turn-around time was unbelievably fast!

Christopher Sent on 09/06/2023

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They are simply AMAZING!

The team at Essence is absolutely incredible! My wife and I had been engaged for nearly 3 years due to covid and decided to throw together a wedding with 10 days’ notice. Chris and the team at Essence were able to get tuxedos for me and all my groomsmen in just 3 days! They went above and beyond and ensured that everything fit perfectly and were willing to work late hours to make alterations to ensure we looked great! They also were able to provide photography and videography for the wedding itself, and we ended up with stunning photographs and video footage from the wedding! We truly cannot thank them enough, and I highly recommend their services to anyone who is getting married. Their work is outstanding, and their customer service is phenomenal! Without their help, it truly wouldn’t have been possible for us to get married with such short notice. To anyone reading this, save yourself the trouble and stress, and go with Essence!

Marie Sent on 09/03/2023

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Amazing and helpful

The photographers, Peggy and Joe were outstanding! There were a few hiccups in the road, but they were so reassuring! Peggy was wonderful and gave the best direction. As a quieter person, having a photographer that was able to direct everyone and help set up shots was NEEDED. The videographer, Ken, was a sweetheart and got the shots we needed. I can only highly recommend their services. The photo booth as well was a HUGE HIT, high quality photos and a gorgeous set up! And Chris was a hit with the family and was very pleasant to work with! Thank you to all who helped us!

+6 photos

Anna Sent on 09/01/2023

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Wedding service review

We had our photo, video, photobooth, DJ and tuxedo rental from Essence. Everything turned our perfect and planning went smoothly. Made our wedding day truly memorable. All the guests had a great time as well. I highly recommend them.

Neil Sent on 08/31/2023

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Incredible Photography & Experience

We can't speak highly enough of Essence. The photography that Peggy and Joe were able to capture of our wedding is exactly what we were looking for: Beautiful framing, true to color, and all the special candids throughout the night. They were extremely professional with clear communication, timely arrival, and flexibility when the moment required. Our friends & family loved the photo booth which included props, printouts, and an attendant to help the guests all night. After exploring many boutique photography options, Essence stood out in both quality and value. If you want photographers who will truly enhance your event, Essence is the clear choice.

Michelle Sent on 08/08/2023

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Extremely positive

We used Essence for our wedding and we couldn’t have been happier with the way everything turned out! I was able to get everything done in one spot, even get my dress! Such a huge convenience during a very stressful time. Can’t recommend Essence enough!!

Brittany Sent on 08/03/2023

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5 Star Services!

We could not be happier with the services we received from Essence! We did a package that included: photography, videography, photo booth and DJ and we are beyond thrilled with our choice. It helped so much knowing that everyone had already worked together and it truly helped our day flow smoothly! From our first meeting with Mike to our engagement session with Peggy we knew we had found the right fit. Not only were our photos for our engagement session and our wedding AMAZING but we also got them back so fast! Our video and photo booth photos came back to us quickly as well! Everyone on the team was so kind, organized, experienced and efficient and truly helped us to make our day incredibly special and exactly what we were hoping it would be. We highly recommend Essence for your wedding day!

Kevin Sent on 07/24/2023

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Great to work with

We loved Essence for our wedding photo, video and formal wear for men in the wedding party.

Gerry was amazing to work with and provided great insights on trends, what looks good with different themes and made us felt like we were VIPs through the whole experience.

Chris was proactively communicative through the whole process, responded quickly to inquiries, extremely flexible to ensure our wedding went as planned with photo/video/photo booth and was awesome to work with the day of the wedding.

I already have one person from our wedding party using Essence for their wedding and a couple other's planning on going to them when they begin planning their weddings.

Really happy that we were able to work with Essence for the wedding!

Deanna Sent on 07/12/2023

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Highly recommended for a stress-free and memorable experience for all your wedding needs!

I recently had the privilege of working with Essence Wedding for my dream wedding, and I cannot emphasize enough how amazing their services were! They provided me with a comprehensive range of services, including my gorgeous Wedding Dress, Formalwear for all the guys, Photo, Video, DJ's and Photo Booths. Having all of these services conveniently available under one roof was an absolute game-changer! The prices were SO competitive that we were able to use our money saved for an extra special Honeymoon. I highly recommend Essence Weddings to anyone looking for a stress-free and memorable experience!

Claire Sent on 07/11/2023

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Great photographers!

**This review was completed based upon our experience leading up to and day of the wedding. We do not have photos back yet, but this review will be updated once photos are received.**

We had a fabulous experience with Essence! We worked with Karen and Ron to get everything scheduled, and they were prompt with responses to emails and very accommodating when a year out our date changed.

Our primary photographer Tommy and secondary photographer Jesse were both incredible to work with. They were both on time and they both brought great energy to the day. They both were very kind and fun to be around. They gave clear direction for the posed photographs, and they made sure we got every photo that we had requested.

Ariana Sent on 05/19/2023

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May 2021 bride

May 2021 bride here.
I don't remember how is stumbled upon Essence but I'm sure glad I did. Being a one stop shop for photography, videography, picture booth, and even the men's suits was a blessing. They also offer a dj service but our venue had a dj, otherwise I would've booked that too. I had no idea where to start when it came to wedding planning. This made it insanely easy to book everything and coordinate the day off.

My husband raves about the formalwear service. He loved how simple the process was. And for less than what most rentals cost, the groomsmen were able to even keep their suits! Gerry, who handles the formalwear, went above and beyond. Our wedding was still in the mix of covid related back orders and shipping delays. Our suits were delayed in transit days before our wedding. Gerry tracked down the packages and drove to intercept them at a warehouse. Amazing customer service.

Our pictures are something I will cherish forever. They were better than i imaged. Essi Ala-Kokko was a photographer and he was so easy to work with. He knew how to position us for the formal pictures and was able to get communicate effectively.

Lastly, I had concerns with our wedding video. After discussing these concerns with Chris, general manager of Orland location, Chris did everything in his power to make me happy. We decided on a song change and a re-edit because the song I chose just made the video boring. Peggy, wedding director, also went above and beyond. She was he one who approved to re-edit the video and she stayed on top of the editing team. Side note: I didn't reach out about my concerns until well over a year after my wedding and they still did everything they could to help me. I am incredibly please with the final product and am so happy to have been able to work with such an awesome team. They truly care about their clients.

+2 photos

Greg Sent on 05/18/2023

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You’ve found the best

Essence Wedding services in Orland park has been an amazing help with my wedding. I went in to meet with my fiancé and family for their photography service, and I ended up walking out with their formal wear service as well. I had already rented a suit a few hours prior but had canceled the rental after having an amazing service at essence. Chris Sigl was who greeted us with a warm welcome the day we arrived for the appointment. We originally went for the photo service when Chris began to ask if we needed any other services. At first I was unaware that they did any other services than the photography, Chris provided information about what they had offered. I mentioned that I had already rented a suit when he showed me the amazing selection they had at the great prices they offered. He was very knowledgeable about all the products and I got fitted to utmost perfection the Very same day and looked amazing. Gerry was the gentleman who helped measure and prepare the suits for me and my entire wedding party. Gerry helped with the selection for the colors of each of the suits for the guys and I am thrilled on the results. Before the suits we went over the photography, the presentation was amazing and the pictures that Essence took from other weddings were gorgeous! Chris provided a breakdown on the different types of photos as well as an explanation on how the day would play out. Chris and Gerry had made my wedding complete and my wife and I am very blessed to have had a chance to meet them and use their services. As far as I am concerned they are part of our family and we will be back to use their services for any other occasions we made need. I recommend Essence 200% and you will not be disappointed.

Greg McLain

Bill Sent on 11/14/2022

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Helpful and Prompt!

The Essence Team is top shelf. Have a question? They are there for you. Itinerary tight? They will be prompt to every location! Our photographer even helped us find a new first look spot on the fly because....well...Chicago weather. She found a spot that was perfect for us! Thank you again, Essence Team!

Lisa Sent on 11/07/2022

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Great experience with vendor!

Great service and beautiful Tuxedos! Gerry Avi and Chris Sigl are the best! I highly recommend.

Janet Sent on 11/06/2022

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One Stop Shopping...Stress Free Experience

First time bride here...on the older side and had no idea where to begin for a photographer, videographer, and DJ. I stumbled across Essence Photo & Video in Orland Park (very close to where I live) via WeddingWire and gave them a call.
I worked closely with Chris Sigl (General Mgr of Orland location) and he was great! He contacted me in less than 24 hours. He made the entire process stress-free for me. We ended up hiring everyone; our photographer, Nora, the videographer, Augustine and the DJ, Clint. They worked together like a well oiled machine. Nora had such a great personality and came with an abundance of energy. Augustine was always around but because he is the videographer he stays quiet...until there was a break in the action and we had a chance to chat. Augustine is a very nice person and we enjoyed talking with him. Clint, the DJ, and I worked ahead of the wedding on my playlist which I built myself. Clint was so easy to work with and helped me with my song for me and my Dad; my Dad's knees would not last a 5 min song, so Clint cut the song three different ways and sent them to me so that I could choose which one would work best. That was great!
I knew we were in the right place when we had our engagement session with Peggy. She was great. She had the best suggestions and even taught us how to do a proper dip! The pics were amazing!!
Last but not least, we also used Essence for the men's formal wear. Gerry Avi (formal wear director) was great and easy to work with as well. He's been in the formal wear business for some time and his expertise showed through.
Essence has it figured out...one stop shopping. Their bundled package was the best price out there vs. hiring individuals from different companies. I highly recommend them!!

Pauline Sent on 08/15/2022

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One Stop Shop!

We had a great experience with Essence Photo & Video for our wedding last month. We ended up using their photography, videography, DJ, and photo booth services.

Peggy and Ryan were our photographers and they were such an amazing duo. They both knew what they were doing and made sure we had a fun time while we were at it! Peggy also did our engagement photo shoot and she has been a joy to work with since day one! We haven't received the wedding day gallery as of yet, but the few sneak peaks we have seen are exactly what we were envisioning for our wedding photos.

Clint was our DJ/MC. He's the best! We gave some suggestions and requests, but mostly tried to give him the freedom to create the playlist and vibe. And he nailed it! We received so many compliments about the music and how smooth Clint's MCing was. Definitely was a great time because of Clint!

The overall process of planning and communicating with Essence was great! There are a couple communication portals you have to keep track of (and my email did not always notify me when there was a response), but our questions were always answered in a timely manner.

Bridget Sent on 06/24/2022

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Great service

We used Essence for both our photography and DJ. They were a great service and I'd highly recommend them! Our photographer Peggy was awesome to work with. She made our family photos rub smoothly, and really listened to us to make sure we got the type of photos we wanted (or didn't want.) The photos were beautiful and the turnaround time was quick! Pur dj was great. We gave him a few specific songs and some guidelines, but he filled in the rest. We had some unusual requests he was able to find and he read the room to see what the crow responded to. He kept the party going! The sound system was perfect for our space: clear, but not overwhelmingly loud. We also used their photo booth. The attendant had a lot of props, and kept the photo booth running smoothly. We had our photos quickly too! All around a great business for your wedding services.

User6183395 Sent on 03/03/2022

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Very professional!

Our original photographer we selected had a poor experience at a wedding with covid restrictions not being followed so they were not shooting and we had a last minute change with who our photographer would be.
Essence handled the situation very well and our pictures turned out beautifully!

Alyssa Sent on 10/18/2021

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Nothing short of AMAZING

My husband and I got married on October 9, 2021. I found out about Essence on The Knot, and I could not be more happy with our decision on working with them! From the start they were very professional and helped with all the planning for our big! We were matched with Thomas and he was nothing short of AMAZING! Me and Thomas were on the same page from the first time we spoke. We agreed on the types of pictures we wanted to be captured and more. When I saw Thomas on the wedding day, I was so excited! He was the perfect mix of professional and fun! I cannot say enough great things about Thomas and the whole Essence team! We are about a week and a half from our wedding day and we are still having people rave about how great Thomas was! Thank you to all the Essence team for helping make our day PERFECT! And Thomas, thank you for being you! You truly have a gift!

Alyssa & Brandon Conkle

Diana Sent on 10/10/2021

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Easy to work with

Tommy (photographer) and Steve (videographer) were wonderful. They were both easy going and easy to work with. Tommy had some great ideas for pictures and even researched locations for bridal party photos. They both took the time to make our day special. I would recommend them for any occasion.

Brooke Sent on 09/28/2021

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Prepared, professional and beautiful photos!

We got married July 31 and had a great experience with Essence Photo and Video. We wanted to add a second photographer after we already booked and signed for one, and they made the process smooth for us to do so.There were some last minute changes that had to happen before the wedding, but Peggy and the rest of the team were very helpful with working all of the details out. The day of the wedding, the photographer showed up early to the location and got all of the shots we asked for. Both photo and video were very professional and prepared. We love how the pictures turned out and can't wait to share them with our family and friends!

Shahadah Sent on 06/05/2021

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Recommend Wholeheartedly.

Omg I had THE best experience with Essence. The day of my wedding Peggy was so helpful and amazing. She was so knowledgeable about the wedding flow and timing. She worked seamlessly with my wedding planner to ensure everything went smoothly. She even got me several edited photos back 1 week after the event. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The videographer was great as well. My bridal group and I wanted to do lots of TikTok and he was helpful and he got lots of the parts on camera. Photos turned out amazing. They really know how to get the shot. Peggy had these helpful mini tutorial meeting with me and my hubby on how to best get certain shots when it came to the wedding and it was so helpful. Overall just had an amazing experience and would 10/10 recommend wholeheartedly.

Allison Sent on 05/24/2021

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Highly recommend

We worked with Amanda for our photographer and she was EVERYTHING WE WANTED AND MORE. She was very attentive to everything I wanted done and made sure to keep everyone on track to make sure we got everything perfectly. She was very creative in her shot selection and listened to exactly what we wanted. I would recommend her to ANYONE AND EVERYONE who asked. We also used their videographer and she was also AMAZING. I am unsure on her name because she was too busy capturing everything we wanted her to on our special day. Both had so much fun and made our night PERFECT. Thank you!

Jennifer Sent on 03/03/2021

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Absolutely amazing & very professional

Gabe & Elle were our photographer’s which were absolutely amazing! Both of them had an eye to make the Bride, Groom & wedding party look amazing! Peggy who is the photographer manager helped with all the behind the scene stuff which was amazing with getting us through all the details. All together I was SO PLEASED WITH having this company do my son’s wedding.. they all are truly amazing & I truly will recommend them to all my friends who are getting married

Kimberly Sent on 10/16/2020

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So helpful and friendly!

From the beginning Essence was amazing. Chris did our consultation and was so informative and helpful with everything. Leading up to our wedding Kathy, Karen and Peggy were so helpful answering all my questions/emails. We unfortunately had to postpone our original April date twice. They were amazing with our rescheduling and replying frequently to my emails when everything was constantly changing. They quickly got us our new contracts and dates changed. A week before the wedding we got bad news that our original photographer we had picked had to leave town due to a family emergency which we totally understood but were also extremely nervous not knowing what was going to happen. Peggy called me and explained everything to me, she was so sweet. We were assigned Kamil, he called me that night and we talked for about a half hour in regards to the schedule, timing, locations, what we liked and what we didn't like. He seemed to excited and thrilled. After hanging up with him he sent me a follow up email restating everything we went over to make sure he had everything correct! Come the day of the wedding everything with Essence went super smooth, Kamil was awesome! Super friendly, making jokes, keeping us all laughing throughout the day, while we were getting our dresses on he took some photos I didn't even request but absolutely love the eye he had for photography. Our location for post-ceremony pictures was extremely wet/muddy so the generic grassy pictures were out of question but Kamil did not disappoint with how he posed my Husband and I including our bridal party. We are absolutely in love with our photos. We had one photographer and received over 2,200 photos! Our videographer was extremely kind as well and really seemed to love his job and knew exactly what he was doing. When we received our photos I noticed there were certain ones missing that I knew we took, I wasn't sure if maybe someone's eyes were shut or they were blurry but I thought I'd ask. Peggy called me and had me explain these pictures specifically to her so she could find them since our upload had stalled due to there being so many photos! She found the photos I was looking for and uploaded them to our album. I know there are some mixed reviews but my experience was nothing but the best. Thank you Essence for making our wedding day to memorable!

Jannett Sent on 06/26/2020

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Wonderful experience!

We got married on 2-22-2020 and found out about Essence Photo & Video at a bridal expo. There were other photo/video/photobooth vendors there but Essence's booth was very inviting so we decided to stop by. We met Chris and he happily introduced us to their services and showed us their samples and portfolio. We were impressed and proceeded to schedule an appointment to discuss in depth what we wanted for our wedding. At the consultation, Chris was very informative and helpful. He made suggestions based on our wants and needs. For everything we wanted, Chris managed to give us the best deal for photo, video and photobooth. We ended up saving over $2000 by bundling all services versus hiring 3 different companies to do each service. The other companies we spoke to at the expo were charging so much for mediocre work!
The communication between us and Essence was wonderful. Throughout the planning process, Kathy and Erik were always prompt with answering all my questions. They helped me with the wedding day timeline to make sure that we stayed focus on all the shots we wanted done at the wedding.
We were given several choices for our main photographers and we chose Gabe. We had Patrick as our videographer and Tommy as our 2nd photographer. Both Gabe and Patrick reached out to us about a week before the wedding to discuss timeline and asked what we wanted included in the shots/poses. Gabe, Patrick and Tommy were very professional, friendly and fun. We loved the guys’ personalities and they all made us comfortable and it showed in our photos and videos. I’ve seen pictures where smiles and poses were just so awkward-looking and I think that it has a lot to do with the wedding party not being comfortable with the photo/videographers.
We also enjoyed the photo booth. They have an open booth concept so more people could fit and they had a touch screen camera so we and our guests had a lot of fun with that! They also provided really fun props and we enjoyed looking through all of the photobooth pictures the day after the wedding because the attendant left us a USB with all of the photos taken at the booth.
A couple of weeks after our wedding the pandemic started and everything shut down. We were afraid that we would not get our pictures and video for a while because of the lockdown and offices being closed but to our surprise we received an email that our proofs were ready almost 2 weeks early and the video not long after that. The pictures and the video were so wonderful! The shots that both photographers took were great and the video captured things that we didn’t see at the wedding.
There were some people and portions of the wedding that were important to us that weren’t included in the edited version of the video (we completely understand why they weren’t included since the editor wasn’t at the wedding). I reached out and Chris was so helpful and courteous by getting us in touch with Peggy who handles the designs/editing part of the process. They both quickly made sure that our concerns were addressed and went above and beyond to make sure that our issue was resolved. It was nice to look back and relive our wedding.
We are so happy that we went with Essence to capture the most amazing day of our lives. Can’t thank you guys enough for being “our eyes” at the wedding and allowing us to experience our wedding day all over again.

+9 photos

Debbie Sent on 03/04/2020

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Amazing!!!

Wish I could do 10 Stars!!!! We used Essence for our DJ, Photo & Video and couldn’t have been happier!!! They went above and beyond our expectations. The DJ had the dance floor full all night. The photographer & videographer were amazing. They got all the regular weeding shots but also got stuff I never would have thought that we wanted..but we did!!! And every time I had a friend taking a pic of us the photographer was there to take a professional picture for us!!! I would recommend Essence to anyone who is looking for a great, caring, professional experience for their wedding!!!

Danielius Sent on 01/21/2020

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Essence - Great Experience

We first learned of Essence at a wedding expo event and booked a consultation. The first day we met with Chris at Essence, we booked! From Karen in the front office, to the prep the week of with Allison and Kuni/David (photo/video), we could not have asked for a better experience. The portal essence utilizes is a fantastic resource to have. Every conversation and every request is recorded. When speaking with both Allison and Kuni, they were looped in on all of our requests and made the process very easy on us. Our date was July 26th, 2019.

Photo - Allison quickly became one of the wedding party. We had an absolute blast with her! Throughout the craziness of family photos, she was able to take lead and get them done in the most polite manner. Our wedding party enjoyed every moment! Everyone had a great time, while getting great shots. As a bride and groom, Allison was able to capture intimate moments and create those once in a lifetime shots throughout celebratory group photos. It was a perfect combination!! Thank you Allison for your vision, professionalism and being a fantastic piece of our special day

Video – Kune and David were also fantastic! They both had worked together before, which was great to hear. I loved seeing their creativity come to life. Kune was able to be subtle and captured intimate moments beautifully! We loved his ability to sneak in and out and get really got shots on the dance floor. Thank you Kuni and Dave for your hard work, teamwork and ability to capture our big day!

Essence collaborated on every aspect from start to finish. Keep in mind, you do not hear from your personal photographer/videographer until the week of the wedding. We set up calls with both our photographer and videographer the same day and made us feel comfortable for the wedding day. If you use the portal provided through out planning process, you should get everything you need ahead of the big day.

Robby Sent on 12/19/2019

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Good choice

5 stars. Our wedding was October 11, 2019 and we booked Essence for photo/ video for 10 hours. (Seems long but the staff really feel like family and not a bother) Prior to this, we were totally naive to the pricing of these roles in a wedding and after a lot of research it had us worried our expectations would not be met for our budget. We found essence and immediately booked a consultation. They took care of us right away showing us all options. Leading up, we were constantly in contact through the portal with our expectations and poses we found on Pinterest; not sure if other companies offer this but it did help to build that relationship even before meeting our photo/ video men. Thankfully they were reasonable enough to even upgrade the video quality which now receiving our video is awesome- the picture quality is so crisp/ clear! We have already recommended 2 couples and are thoroughly excited to see the style of video they choose and will continue to do so. Thank you for capturing our special day and making it beautiful!

Becca Sent on 12/03/2019

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Professional, Efficient, and SO talented!

My husband and I are so grateful for Essence. We hired them for photography, videography, and photo booth services for our wedding on 11/30/19. They were so thorough and informative during our initial meetings and we felt confident in choosing them to document our day.
Chris (photographer) was incredible and worked so well with our entire bridal party and family to capture as many beautiful and creative pictures as possible. He was so organized and efficient and kept us stress-free and ahead of schedule the entire day. Kuni (videographer) was amazing as well and was so kind and professional. Everyone had a blast showing off their dance moves and we are so grateful for his efforts to capture the ceremony and other special toasts and moments as well. Mario was also fantastic with the photobooth! There was a continuous line from the start to the end of the photo booth duration, and people really seemed to enjoy it! We are still getting comments from our guests about how friendly and professional all three of them were, and we've already recommended Essence to several people in the wedding planning process without hesitation.

Kristin Sent on 11/09/2019

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Great photographer and DVD/album

We did the combo of photo, video, and photobooth with Essence. Our photographer Ryan was AMAZING! We (and my family/friends) would not hesitate to use him again. We recently got our wedding album and love all of the photos, it was hard to choose!

Vicky Sent on 10/05/2019

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Absolutely Amazing Photos

We could not be happier with our choice of photography for our wedding. Our photographer Penny did an amazing job. She was very friendly and attentive.. she captured every photo-op that we requested.. She did an amazing job.. our proofs look absolutely stunning.. We definitely made the correct choice.. Thank you Essence for everything..

Maura Sent on 09/30/2019

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GREAT photographer, customized experience

Allison was our photographer through Essence and she was WONDERFUL! We got to customize our experience with her and received every shot we asked for. She did not stop snapping pictures the entire time she was with us and would pop up at the reception throughout the venue to get tons of shots, too. She was so accommodating and adapted to our style so quickly. Loved her!!

+5 photos

Mary Sent on 09/18/2019

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Amazing and extremely reasonable

Looking for a photographer was a stressful process. I had researched and spoke to a quite few different companies. Majority of the time I felt no connection with the company as I was just emailed a pricing flyer. Then I found Essence. Not only were they quick but brought my fiancé and me in immediately for a consultation. Mike explained the entire process and wanted to get to know us and our story. I felt comfortable and very eager to talk about my fiancé and I’s journey. Choosing Essence was a seamless process. They care so much about making the couple happy and finding the right photographer to do just that. Their pricing is unbeatable. Other companies honestly want to charge so much money for their services. I understand for some couples money isn’t an issue but for us budget conscious brides I didn’t get a sinking feeling in my stomach when we went over prices. I thought they were extremely fair and reasonable for what we choose. I highly recommend scheduling a consultation with Essence.

Luke Sent on 09/09/2019

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Choosing Essence and Engagement Photogrpahy

Our experience with Essence so far has been a good one. Unlike other companies, Chris and the Essence team were responsive to our questions and set up a time to meet within 24 hours of our inquiry.

When we met Chris, he explained all the packages that they offered and worked with us to create an experience that fits our budget. Chris did not pressure us to sign with Essence and asked at the end of the meeting what Essence can do to create a better experience for the next couple to inquire about their services.

The Essence portal is great for keeping in contact with them. Kathy is very quick to respond and great in answering questions. We scheduled our engagement photo session and picked our wedding photographer through the portal with ease.

We chose the standard location for our engagement photo session with Dave as our photographer. The standard location was at the Schaumburg Municipal Center, which is close to their Schaumburg office. Dave texted me the day before to confirm that the plans were still on and gave me his cell phone in case we couldn't find each other.

Dave was a great photographer that has more than 13 years of experience. He has taken pictures at that location for years and knows all the good spots for the best pictures. He shot over 100 photos in less than an hour, at more than 5 different locations, around the park/pond. At the end, he made sure that we took all the pictures we wanted. The turnaround on our photos from the session took less than a week and most of the pictures came out the way we wanted them. We were put in a couple awkward poses that we tried out and those pictures did not come out as well as the others, but that was only 6-10 pictures out of 110-120 photos.

We have not had our wedding yet, so I cannot comment on their photography/video for the event. I plan on updating this review once the wedding pictures and videos are in my possession.

Katarina Sent on 09/01/2019

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Flawless from start to finish! Amazing experience!

Everything was flawless! From the moment we sat down with Chris Sigl to talk about options, we signed right away. The services, vibe of the company, and pricing made us know it was a done deal. We signed before we even left that appointment. From that day forward, everything fell perfectly into place. We worked with Karen through their portal for any questions that we had and were promptly answered. No matter what we came to them with, nothing was a "problem" and they were so helpful and understanding.

Then the day of the wedding quickly came, Chris Caizer was amazing! We could not have dreamed for a better photographer experience for our wedding! We went in with no list of photos we wanted and Chris had a ton of ideas and was super efficient! We never felt rushed or uncomfortable in any poses.

Chris has an awesome eye for anything out of place and quickly adjusts for the perfect photo. I had gotten ready at a hotel and he was able to get those perfect dress hanging in the window pictures with limited space and the room looked spacious. He took really cool shots too of the cathedral veil, from the getting ready to pictures with my husband, he was able to truly capture the beauty of veil.

Lauren was our second photographer and her and Chris worked wonderfully together. She braved the cold day to take photos of my husband and his groomsmen outside on the riverwalk. She captured the fun that they had before the ceremony.

Chris and Lauren seamlessly worked together with David Tikalsky, our amazing videographer. So many people at our wedding commented at their professional, respect (especially during our religious ceremony) and never seemed to get in each others way. I've already watched the video 3 times since we got it a few months ago! David captured our best day perfectly! He went with the flow and captured so much more than we could have ever imagined. I recommend doing the video SO much! There were several parts of the video I didn't even realize what happened with guests or distracted during parts of the ceremony to notice all the details. I now can relive it all whenever I want.

Kathy went above and beyond too! She helped us get our photos and when I was having trouble downloading them, she troubleshooted with me and offered to help another way to get me the photos. I thought it was the sweetest! Even though we had already had our wedding and our photos were ready, Kathy still valued me as a customer and wanted to ensure we were all set.

Everyone should work with this group for their wedding! There was a huge weight taken off our shoulders by working with this company for our photo and video. They truly allowed us to cherish our wedding and capture every moment. I will forever be thankful for their amazing work and dedication in giving us photos and a video of a lifetime!

Devon Sent on 08/08/2019

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Awesome job

Essence made our photography process easy and smooth. We also loved our photographer, Ryan, from them! He was fun and exactly what we needed for our day! I would definitely recommend essence to people looking!

Jennifer Sent on 08/06/2019

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Great Company to work with

I highly recommend Ben for your wedding day. He made me feel so comfortable in front of the camera. He’s very professional and personable. I loved all my pictures and can’t wait to receive my wedding album

+4 photos

Quisha Sent on 08/04/2019

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Excellent experience.

Our photographer name was Chris and he did an amazing job. We are overly satisfied with how our pictures came out. The photographer was very professional and flexible. We love our pictures and would recommend others to get their wedding pictures done with this company.

Melissa Sent on 06/15/2019

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Great Company to work with!

We first met with Chris during our consultation and he made us feel so comfortable and kindly answered all of our questions (we had a lot haha) We went over the different packages they offered. He showed us photo and video samples and we loved their work! We knew we wanted to work with them as soon as we saw their talent! They provided us with an online portal so if we ever needed help planning or has any questions we can easily login and Karen would answer through the portal! Super easy to use and super convenient! We had Chris as our photographer and Patrick as our Videographer the day of the wedding. Chris was super energetic and outstanding to work with! He was super outgoing and came prepared with a lot of posing ideas for myself, my fiancé, and bridal party. We talked over all the details a few days in advance to make sure we were on the same page. He made everyone feel super confident and comfortable! Patrick was great, friendly, and super professional! He showed up on time and made sure we had enough time to make it to the next location to set up his equipment. I can't wait to see our photos and video soon! Thank you Essence!

Virginia Sent on 06/08/2019

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Amazing team of professionals

When my (now) husband and I met with the owner, Mike, we instantly clicked and loved his candor. So, when he mentioned he would not be the photographer for our wedding, I admit I was skeptical, but something about his confidence and the fact that he seemed to "get us", eased my mind. He did not disappoint.

I can't say enough great things about Ryan. Within the first minute of our conversation, we knew he was the right fit for us. He communicated with my bridal party and offered guidance without being pushy. He blended in well with our guests and didn't feel invasive. He truly made us feel comfortable and was such a pleasure working with. We strongly recommend Ryan and look forward to seeing all the images captured from our magical day.

Mike you're a match maker! Karen, you are a rock star!

Sara Sent on 06/07/2019

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They are great!

We first met with Chris to talk about different packages, and he helped us decide the package that would best fit our needs. He also recommended getting a photo booth, which I highly recommend because everyone had a blast with it. They have this super cool online portal that you can access any time. They let you view the portfolios of different photographers and pick which one you like best. The portal also allows you to communicate with Karen, who answers any questions you may have. Karen was able to help us pick a great picture location near our venue. About a week before our wedding, our photographer was in an accident and was injured and unable to photograph our wedding. Essence automatically assigned another photographer to our wedding and he was AMAZING. He was super friendly from the beginning, and let me know what was happening every step of the way. Michael was able to recommend a cute place for my husband and I to take our first look pictures. He also was able to deal with our crazy families. He was glued to my side the entire time and was able to get pictures with anyone who asked to take a picture. I was so incredibly happy with everything that Essence was able to do for my husband and I. I would definitely recommend them to everyone.

Joanny Sent on 03/04/2019

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Very good quality on their work!!!! Excellent prices and completely dedicated to make you Big day even more special.

My husband and I got married on Sep 1st, 2019. We were living in Denver Colorado while planning a wedding in Chicago, IL (you can only imagine how crazy that is). We shopped around for video and photography, which are not easy things to do when you are out of state and prices can be ridiculously high. The things we loved about Essence were the availability, PRICES and flexibility to work with us. The first person we talked to was Chris Sigl. He was not a pushy salesperson!!! THANK YOU FOR THAT!!!! (believe me, it is very common to find pushy people while shopping around for vendors) Overall, he understood our stress of planning our big day out of state, and took the time to explain and walk us through the entire process.

Then, he sets your portal login where you can ask questions and review their photographers (and their previous work-so you can based on that select who would you like to work with). Karen responded very quickly through this portal (and believe or not!!!! even after work hours- side note- this is huge plus when you like to plan every little thing!! the constant communication was huge for my husband and I).

We decided to work with John for the photography. We felt that his previous work really captured what we were looking for. Prior to the wedding day, we got to speak with him about what we wanted and how we wanted it. He was very receptive and provided additional ideas. and not only that, but he helped us a lot with the logistics for him and the videographer on the big day. Again, communication is key on your wedding day!!!! He was on time, ready to work and really understood my stress the day of. His patience and consideration was key!!!

Timothy was our videographer. He captured beautiful footage of our wedding. They stay the entire time with you, which is awesome because once you get the final product you get to enjoy parts of the wedding that you probably did not notice.

Finally, the wedding album IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. Very good quality too!! They really took the time and followed our feedback and revisions with the best attitude. I received previous of the photos with no issues!!! Just talk to them and they will get them to you. The wedding video was totally worth it!!! It includes a chapter menu that makes it feel like a professional film.

I recommend them not only because of their great prices, excellent service or their high quality, but for their people skills! You want someone that can make your big day better and not a complete stress and chaos.

THANK YOU ESSENCE!!!

John Sent on 02/11/2019

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Perfect Pics

Our experience with Essence was GREAT! We hired them for photography, videography, and a photo booth. Our initial encounter was with Chris, who was very friendly and helpful. He listened to our needs and was able to offer us a great package at a competitive price. Once hired, we gained access to the Portal, which helped making planning so easy. All you have to do is log on and enter the information. Any questions, just ask in the portal and Karen will get back to you with an answer in no time. In the days before our wedding, both the photographer and videographer reached out to us to confirm all the information, leaving us worry free. Our wedding video came out better than we could have imagined. the Wedding and Dance montages are the best and can be easily jumped to using the video's chapter menu. The chapter menu also helps you jump straight to the introductions, speeches, and dances so that you do not have to fast forward through the entire video when showing family and friends. Finally, Kathy did such an AWESOME job on our album. The pictures she recommended we use helped a great deal and the way she was able to make it flow was fantastic. Planning a wedding is stressful and Essence helped make everything a LOT easier!

Katie Sent on 02/11/2019

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Photography and Videography

My husband and I had a great experience with Essence! We used them for photography and videography. Our photographers were Sergio and Eleanor. They were AMAZING! They listened to our requests and we ended up with beautiful photos! They were very fun to work with and mixed well with our wedding party! Our videographer was TJ. He was also OUTSTANDING! He captured great moments throughout the day. We are so happy that we have such great photos and a great video to remind of us of how great our special day was. The office staff at Essence was also very helpful! Karen was great at planning the day out for us. Her assistance with timing and other details was very much appreciated! You will not be disappointed!

Rachael Sent on 02/10/2019

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A great company to work with

We had an amazing experience working with Essence Photography. Before going into the first meeting (we booked online several weeks ahead of time), I didn't really know what to expect - my assumption was that we would receive a brief (15 minutes tops) session outlining services and costs and then we'd be on our way. It only took a few minutes meeting with Chris to realize he would completely exceed our initial expectations and then some. The first meeting lasted more than an hour - Chris was extremely thorough and helped us brainstorm the best ways to optimize our photography/videography while maintaining our budget, and all of this was before we even committed to Essence. The fact that he spent so much time working through options with us, and never once made us feel like we were taking up too much time, meant so much to us both personally and as customers. We would absolutely recommend Essence to anyone looking for professional photography, whether it's a wedding or something else - the quality is incredible, the cost is reasonable, and the staff/owners really care about their clients.

Samanth Sent on 02/06/2019

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Excellent!!

Start off before the wedding, working with Chris to learn more about the company and the different things they had to offer was beyond wonderful. My now husband and I used three services from Essence Photo & video! We will start off with the best photographer around which was BEN!!! My best friend used him for her wedding and I loved his work for hers and wanted to have him for ours and was not disappointed! He made sure to get all the photos that I wanted including as many as he could from the Pinterest board I created! If I could give Ben 10 stars I definitely would! Keegan was also our videographer and he did a great job as well making sure to be in the right spots to get everything we wanted for our video. They provided a portal in which you could fill out all your information as well as get answers to any questions that you may have had during the process. I used this quite often and was getting responses within the day to my questions by Karen. She was a pleasure to work with. We also used the photo booth and had some issues with getting our photos at the end of the night but was later resolved by speaking with Kathy from customer service which was a pleasure to work with and got the answers I needed within a timely manner! Both our Wedding album and the wedding video were great and again working with Kathy for answering any questions was quick and completed in a timely manner. There is also a feature on the Wedding video where they provide a chapter menu, this is convenient for If you want to show your family a certain part of the video, you won't have to go through the whole video again to find the exact spot. Overall would highly recommend any of their services to any bride to be.

Stephanie Sent on 02/02/2019

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This Company is Excellent!!!

We got married on Aug 11, 2018 and Essence was everything I ever could have hoped for and more. Chris was phenomenal to work with, we met at his office and he sat down with us and showed us the different types of photographs, and even sample wedding videos! He answered all of our questions and was super responsive, we even got to look at samples of wedding books before ordering our own! He kept in contact with us the entire time and truly made sure that our wedding would be the wedding of our dreams! The wedding books were outstanding, I honestly couldn't have been happier with our album, we upgraded to the big coffee table album and everyone who comes over falls in love with it! Kathy was such a big help at answering our questions and she even picks photo suggestions for the album! She did such an amazing job with it. We did the Photo Booth for our wedding and it was a HUGE hit! They had real props and the Photo Booth was large enough to fit about 5-6 people in there. They made sure to put all of the photos on a flash drive for us so we can save the wonderful memories :). Our wedding video was also fantastic, Jennifer did an amazing job as our Videographer and made sure to capture all of those special moments! We were able to pick our own songs for the wedding video, we chose our first dance song for the sentimental parts and we chose an Avicii song for the part of the video that captured everyone dancing. It was so wonderful seeing everyone enjoying all of those moments with us out on the dance floor. The video included getting ready, the ceremony, the cocktail hour, the cake cutting, speeches, dancing etc. It was literally an entire recap of our wedding day! It's so fun to watch it and relive those moments. Karen is in charge of the online portal, all of our questions were answered on there and she was very prompt at getting back to us. The portal was SUPER easy to use and we were able to upload everything as far as samples of photo ideas we wanted, and enter in all of our information for the day of the wedding such as time, location, etc. The sample photo ideas I found on Pinterest were captured exactly as I wanted them. Our Photographer was John, and let me tell you he was phenomenal!! He fixed the train of my dress the ENTIRE time before taking a picture, he really cares about you getting the absolute best photos you deserve. He captured every single moment I would have wanted for my wedding day. We both gave some great suggestions and he always made sure everyone looked their best before taking a single photo! All of our family loved John and his amazing photo skills, even our family photos looked killer! ;) Everyone kept in contact with me up until the day of our wedding, and everyone called and went over the day of the wedding to make sure it was exactly what I wanted. I couldn't have been happier with this company and I highly recommend them to everyone! They are truly amazing people to work with. :)

Lisa Sent on 12/30/2018

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Great experience!

We met with Chris to talk about photo and video options for our wedding and had such a positive experience. He thoroughly explained all of the options and the packages that would work best for us. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and really seemed interested about learning about my fiance and I. We were unimpressed with the two consultations we had with other photography companies prior to meeting with Chris so we were not necessarily looking forward to our meeting. However, meeting with him was exactly what we were hoping for. We are very much looking forward to our big day and look forward to working with Essence!

Nicole Sent on 11/18/2018

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down the aisle to become a dial

Essence photography was amazing, they were a little most costly than we wanted to spend but photography was not something we wanted to try to cheap put on. Our original selected photographer had a last minute family emergency so we were introduced to Sergio. Sergio was stressed with the fact he was assigned last minute to 3 unplanned weddings on 1 weekend. Ours was the last of those 3. Sergio showed up with a smile and was ready for the action. He was very nice has lots of ideas great shots. We ended up with nearly 1000 photos and we love every single one of them.

Evan Sent on 10/15/2018

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Incredible

Essence Photo and Video was just a wonderful experience! Chris worked with my wife and I a lot on our package and pricing to get us everything we wanted and needed and within our budget. We will definitely be using them again in the future for other events and HIGHLY recommend for anybody getting married or needs for any other types of events.

Andrea Sent on 10/09/2018

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Our experience with Chris was awesome! He was the only vendor to take the time to call me immediately after inquiring info and met with us right away.

During our meeting, Chris was very transparent and did an excellent job at answering all of our questions. He was not overwhelming and did not make us feel pressured into making our decision right then and there.

We are very impressed with their services and their price for the quality that they provide. - We are excited to work with Essence Photo & Video and would highly recommend them to our friends and family!

Rachel Sent on 10/06/2018

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If you're not sure where to start with photo/video for your wedding, go with Essence- they know what they are doing. Chris is extremely easy to work with. He did a very good job of putting together a great package for us that was customized to our needs. It was a quick, sit down haggle-free, transparent experience. Plus, you get to pick out your photographer and upload types of pictures you like to the online portal. Price is good too for the quality! We are VERY happy we have chose Essence photography and video. The photos we have seen are beautiful, high quality, and the videography they provide is top notch!

Deborah Sent on 10/06/2018

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I loved my photographer (Maria) she arrived on time and was so fun to work with. She had a lot of great ideas for incorporating my 6 month old and my fur baby in the wedding pictures. Also, whenever she saw a good spot for a photo she would come up to me and ask if I wanted to take a picture. I would definitely choose this vendor again and request Maria. I can’t wait to see how the pictures turned out!

Jill Sent on 08/20/2018

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I worked with Essence as a Maid of Honor in my sister's wedding and our photographer Ben was great to work with. We were facing rain and he was able to fit in all of the photos we wanted while still having a great time with us. We laughed like you wouldn't believe and the photos turned out great. Booking Essence for my own wedding this spring and I was very impressed with their flexibility! Would definitely recommend them!

Katie Sent on 08/08/2018

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After becoming engaged and booking a majority of our vendors for our wedding, my fiancé and I began the nerve-wracking task of selecting a photographer and videographer for our engagement and wedding photos. After hearing countless horror stories from family and friends about their experiences with photo and video from companies they selected, we knew we wanted to take our time and choose the best company for us that fell within our budget but did not sacrifice on quality. After all, we knew at the end of our wedding all we would have to take with us is our photos and video so we wanted to put a lot of energy and time into this selection.
Essence was the first company we met with after finding them online, and right from the start we could tell what a great fit they were. We met with Chris who was thorough, personable, and went out of his way to understand us as a couple and what our needs were. Our interaction never felt like a sales pitch, but that he truly wanted us to feel comfortable with what Essence had to offer. Their packages were customizable and we were able to add an engagement session, second photographer, and album all without feeling we were breaking the bank. We even had the opportunity to view demos of several photographers they had on staff to make sure their style matched what we wanted. Of course since Essence was the first company we met with, we went to go see two other companies (1 independent and 1 high volume) and at the end we went back to Essence as their package best fit our needs. An added bonus was their video package included a cinematic 3-5 minute trailer that we were unable to match at the other companies. Through their online portal we have already been able to schedule our engagement session with Karen, their wedding coordinator, and I will say we are impressed by the quick response times and like the fact everything is stored in a central location so we don’t have to go back-and-forth over emails.

Kelli Sent on 07/23/2018

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So far just have met with Chris but he was awesome. He took the extra time to call me and find out my needs while other places just emailed me. He came in on his day off to meet with my mom and me. I love their online portal to have communication with everyone. They also have back up people in case anything happens which really makes my stress level go down. I will update again later!!

Audrey Sent on 07/19/2018

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I cannot say enough wonderful things about Kathy. She was responsive from setting up the first meeting all through getting our final photos. We have so many wonderful photos, we don't know how we will choose favorites! Kathy was early day of wedding and our day ran seamlessly with her. We laughed all day, and the fun and love show in our photos!

+5 photos

Saumbera Sent on 07/15/2018

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When we first decided to work with Essence, we were super excited to see Eric's portfolio. His style was exactly what we were looking for, and he had also done other weddings at our same venue. For over a year, we were really looking forward to working with Eric as our photographer. But four days before the big day, we received an email from Karen that said Eric was no longer available for our wedding. His mother had passed away, and he (understandably) needed to be with his family during that time. Karen also informed us that Allison was the back-up photographer for Essence that weekend, and that she was very experienced and artistic, with a similar style to Eric's. It was really stressful to have what felt like such a big change happen so close to our wedding day, and we had such mixed emotions about the entire situation. But that same evening, we received a phone call from Allison to go over all of our wedding details, and as soon as that call ended we felt completely reassured and 100% at ease with her stepping in. Our personalities clicked on the phone, and it was clear to see that Allison would be so easy to get along with. On the day of the wedding, Allison arrived at our venue almost thirty minutes early! She got to work right away, and was so open to all of our photography ideas. She kept a copy of our timeline and inspiration photos from my Pinterest board on her phone, and really went above and beyond to make sure she was capturing all of our special moments. Allison was professional, but also relaxed and easy to talk to. She got along well with our families and wedding guests, and was such a trooper in the afternoon heat. She also did an amazing job blending into the background, and we never felt forced or obligated to pose for specific shots. We were truly able to be ourselves in front of her, and we can't wait to see the results of her hard work!

Sara Sent on 07/02/2018

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From the first meeting with Essence while I was trying to interview photographers, I was instantly hooked.

Essence is very organized and methodical with how they approach the wedding. As an out of town bride, and a very organized, Type A personality this was perfect for me! I was able to communicate with them leading up to the wedding, and fill out an online planner sheet. This was especially important in case my photographer was not able to make it for whatever reason (illness, family emergency, etc). In addition to the online planner in case of emergency, Essence pays some of their photographers to be on standby for busy wedding dates so that they are sure that someone that they know and trust is available in case something happens, they are not just hiring you some random person that they don't know.

Eric was my photographer for the day of. He was incredible! There were a ton of pictures that we needed to get done before the ceremony and during cocktail hour, before we could even get to pictures of my husband and I together. He had a method to the madness and it worked great. We flew through the pictures as fast as possible with them still looking nice! We are very excited to see how they turn out!

Crystal Sent on 06/25/2018

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I went to a Bridal Show and talked to a rep for Essence and looked at there sample books and loved there quality of work right off the bat. We met with Mike for a meeting to discuss budget and options and the meeting went really well. They discussed all the options and packages with sample books and videos which made the decision process even easier for us. Mike explained that we would get an email from them to a website to provide the photographer all the info on pictures that were most important to us and we thought that was pretty cool that they would incorporate what we liked into our special day. As of right now everything has gone great and I would highly recommend Essence Photo & Video for your special day, we cannot wait to continue to work with them.

Alyssa Sent on 05/31/2018

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We met with Chris at Essence last weekend to see if they would be a good fit for our upcoming wedding and the appointment was a breeze.

I had submitted a request for pricing on their website and Chris followed up with a phone call to go over all the details and address any of our questions or concerns. He even met with us on a Saturday evening so my fiancé and I could both be at the appointment.

When it came time to discuss which plan worked best for our wedding he offered multiple options an tailered a package to fit all of our needs.

I would highly recommend Essence Photo & Video for your big day, we cannot wait to continue to work with them.

Natasha Sent on 05/25/2018

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Working with Chris was one of the best experiences I’ve had when planning my wedding. He was professional, helpful, friendly and most of all never pushy. He listened to both my, and my fiancés needs/wants. Chris took the time to figure out what we were truly looking for from our photographer and matched us with the right one. Chris also took the time to help us understand different styles and helped us prep for the big day. ALL of this happened before we even signed a contract because he wanted us to be sure we had no regrets or confusion on what we were committing to. I’m so thankful we found this company and am looking forward to our big day. It’s a great relief knowing that the photography, the pictures that we’ll keep forever, is something I don’t have to worry about. Thank you Chris!

Rosa Sent on 04/25/2018

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Eric Lipe was our wedding photographer, and we cannot say enough good things about how professional, friendly, and creative he is! During the planning period Eric was open to viewing a Pinterest board that I created with different poses that I wanted to incorporate, and he made sure to capture those on our wedding day. Eric exceeded our expectations on our wedding day! From checking in with us throughout the day, making sure we were on time without making us feel rushed, reassuring me that we would get great shots when photo locations fell through last minute, to going above and beyond and standing in the rain to get the perfect shot of us standing on the balcony, at the Ivy Room. He took so many beautiful photos, made sure to capture all of the important guests/ family members and moments we wanted captured, all while making us feel like we've known him for years. He has such a great energy about him, we received so many compliments throughout the day that everyone felt great when having their photos taken. We chose to have a second photographer during the reception and were extremely happy with the venue décor shots he captured. Both Eric and his assistant managed to get beautiful, candid, shots without making the reception feel like a photo shoot.

The final product was beautiful, we have so many amazing photos from our wedding day, and a beautiful coffee table album. Since that day, I have always said that I would chose Essence Photo & Video to photograph my wedding if I could re-live it all over again. This was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding and we couldn't be happier or recommend anyone else. Working with Essence Photo & Video was very easy, their entire team is very professional and friendly...they really made us feel like our wedding was a priority, and the vast experience of their photographers is reflected in the quality of their photography.

Jorge Sent on 03/22/2018

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We came across Essence Photo & Video at a bridal expo, which is where we met Chris. From our first interaction with him, we knew this was the company we were going to choose. He was very friendly, informative and transparent with the services they offer. We appreciated the fact that he didn't try and up-sell us at any point, never being pushy and only recommending stuff we'd actually need. And when It comes to pricing, they are very competitive!! We cannot wait for our wedding and hope that the pictures and video turn out as good as our experience has been with Essence so far!!

Amanda Sent on 01/31/2018

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We had met with a couple companies before deciding on Essence. Our first meeting was very relaxed and we could tell we would enjoy working with them and booked on the spot. We love some of the ideas they have given us for photos to take on our special day and cannot wait!

Izabella Sent on 01/24/2018

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I am writing this review in a reflection of my consultation with Essence Photography.

As I began my search for a photographer, I went through probably at least 15-20 companies' portfolios that I had found through WW. Yes, every single photo of each portfolio because I am that picky. I was able to narrow it down to about 8 companies I liked. After that, I looked at reviews and general pricing info that was available on WW. And alas, I found myself with a top 5 that fiancé and I liked, including Essence. We met Essence at a bridal expo, along with 2 other companies from our top 5, and Essence left us feeling the happiest. Mike was professional, informational, and not pushy with sales. We decided to proceed with booking a consultation, and I am VERY glad I did!
We got to meet with Mike again, and rather than him just sitting us down and shoving pricing & sales pitches down our throats, Mike talked with us to get to know us better as a couple. He tried his best to get a general understanding of our personalities, our families, and what we are looking for in a photographer. It was a very laid back experience, laughs were shared, and Mike helped us better understand what we should look for in a photographer. He was really good at explaining things we had never known, and also brought our attention to things we never knew to look for. Of the 4 pages of questions I brought into our consultation (told ya, I'm picky!), there were only 2 that Mike had not touched on.
After the experience we had at Essence, we are canceling a previously set consultation we had made with one of their competitors, as we have realized how much the experience and bond you have with your photographer means, meaning, we do not want a big chain company that's just there to make some $$$.
Thank you, Mike, for such a pleasurable experience and for all your help!

Alyssa Sent on 01/17/2018

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Today, my fiancé (Zack) and I had the pleasure of meeting with Mike from Essence photography and videography. Zack and I recently got engaged and have begun the very intimidating process of planning our wedding. Both Zack and I are not the most photogenic people in the world so meeting with photographers was one thing we were a bit nervous about. Approximately five minutes into the meeting, both Zack and I knew we wanted Essence to be our photographer and videographers (as well as providing us with a photobooth!).
Walking into this meeting, I expected to meet for about 20 minutes, discuss pricing, wedding information, etc. Instead, the meeting lasted for about an hour and was centered around getting to know Zack and I. Mike asked us about our engagement, how we met, our family, what we were truly looking for in a photographer, and much more. Mike made us feel like he didn’t just want to show up at our wedding and take the “normal” pictures that everyone takes. Instead, he wanted to photograph our wedding day to creatively reflect our relationship and who we truly are, in additional to capturing the “normal”/ “traditional” wedding shots. After really getting to know Zack and I, Mike walked us through the online portal that Essence offers which allows couples to be in constant contact with their photographers. Additionally, we were able to see various wedding albums that displayed some of the amazing work that Essence does, as well as watching an example wedding video.
The one thing that really confirmed my interest in Essence photography was the genuine advice that Mike offered to us. He gave us so much advice that took away some of the stress and “not-knowing” that comes with the beginning steps of planning a wedding. The advice that he offered was very genuine and not in a direction that was pushing us to spend more money. It was very clear that he just wanted us to have the perfect wedding day.

Janelle Sent on 01/17/2018

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We met with Tim for a consultation and were very pleased. He was very thorough and listened to what we were looking for, providing examples of photos from their photographers and videos. He was very accommodating and reasonable with the packages and their prices.

Jennifer Sent on 01/14/2018

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I met with Essence because i was interested in photography, videography and photobooth for my wedding and a friend recommended them. I had a consultation with Mike and was very impressed with the professionalism and detail he went into. Mike painted a clear picture of how my wedding day would look and even included samples of video so i would know what the video would come out like. Being a detail orientated person, i was very excited to see the portal Essence uses to keep the client and photographer in the "loop" with each other. I am happy to say that i 100% will be booking with this company, and i now have a piece of mind that my wedding day will be captured perfectly!

Tierney Sent on 12/27/2017

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We met Essence through a bridal expo and ever since day 1, they have been amazing to work with. We met with multiple photographers/videographers and no one came close to the professionalism or prices of this company. I am having a very early ceremony and they have been incredibly flexible to fit my needs. They respond fast to emails have stayed open after hours to meet with myself and my fiance.

They have an online portal where you can organize the day of your wedding. You can also upload a Pinterest board to make sure the photographer knows what type of pictures you want. Seriously a great great company! Professional, affordable, flexible and very easy to work with:)

Sara Sent on 12/19/2017

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Essence was so great to work with from start to finish! We used them for photo and video and do not regret any of it. My bridal party all had a blast while doing our pictures because they made it fun and quick for us. By the end of the night I had numerous people come up to myself, my husband and my parents inquiring about our photographers. Saying how great and nice they were! The pictures came out gorgeous and was worth every penny!!

+8 photos

Alanna Sent on 12/16/2017

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I have not seen my wedding photos yet, but I am reviewing already because I am thoroughly pleased and ecstatic that I hired Essence Photo for our wedding day! I loved the ability to communicate with Karen anytime I needed to via the portal, the ability to tell them what I wanted and give them the link to my Pinterest inspiration board. I also appreciated the ability to set up a payment plan.

We had a wonderful experience with our engagement photographer! He took wonderful photos and made the process painless and gave us good practice for our wedding day.

We had Eric Lipe do our wedding day photos and WOW is all I can say! He was incredibly kind, funny, upbeat, and had the most encouraging and enthusiastic personality! My bridal party, family and friends all loved him! My husband even remarked “Eric was the best part of our wedding day!” For someone like him who is hard to please, I was floored to hear he was that impressed with something/someone that much!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Eric for making our wedding day the best day ever! I have no doubt that our wedding photos will be phenomenal!

Shasta Sent on 12/14/2017

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Like several other people I went to and researched numerous photographers before going to Essence Photo & Video. Very quickly it was obvious that they were going to be the best choice for us and they definitely delivered! Our photographer Eric was so much fun and captured everything I asked for even when I dragged him out into the cold and snow! My nephew had fun following him around and watching everything that he did and Eric was so great with him taking great pics while showing my nephew what he was doing. Anything I requested I got with no complaints at all and he was just so friendly that it was as if he was part of our bridal party and had gone through the whole experience with us. I did not get to speak with our videographer, Kuni, nearly as much as Eric but anytime I looked to see if a moment was getting captured, Kuni was right there always! I never had to give them any direction as they knew enough from their online portal and wedding photo guide that I filled out beforehand that told them exactly what we wanted. I could not have asked for better people and I got perfection. I hope I find events to work with them again in the future as they were just incredible.

Melissa Sent on 12/02/2017

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I highly recommend Essence Photo & Video!!! Our photographer, John S., was in a league of his own. He was PHENOMENAL!!! Not only professional but accommodating with our requests. He went above and beyond to capture our special day!!! Our videographer, Leo, was AMAZING! Both Leo and John worked extremely well together.

Andrea Sent on 12/01/2017

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Mike was amazing to work with. He took the time to get to know us in order to understand what we were looking for. I can't wait to see the pictures from our big day! Thank you Essence Photography

Andrea Sent on 11/15/2017

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We met with Essence because they did a close friend's wedding and we loved their pictures and video so we decide to try them out. Our consultation was with Chris, and we connected right away. They care about your budget and the vision that you have for your wedding. They addressed all the question I had for them and it was quite a few let me say. Of course after the consultation, I came up with many more questions to ask and Chris was super responsive which is a big plus for me because I hate when you meet with someone and they take days to respond. I love that he had a sense of urgency to every call and email from us! We have met with a few other places and Essence is the best fit by far for what they offer and at a great price. If you are on the fence on visiting them, just do it! You don't have nothing to lose but a lot to gain from them!!

Sharon Sent on 11/14/2017

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I highly recommend Essence! From the moment we sat down with Mike for our initial consult we knew we were working with the right people to photograph the most important day of our lives. Mike was so enthusiastic and passionate that we wanted book them right away! Our photographer was Ben. He called me a few days before the wedding and I felt like I was talking with an old friend. He made me feel comfortable and I immediately felt less stressed after speaking with him. He was so thorough and professional. The day of the wedding he was on time and ready to go! I don't think he missed a single moment. He was so efficient and we were on a time crunch for pictures. I have a big family and he managed to get them all together for pictures. He also helped direct us through the day. Anytime we felt unsure of our next step we just looked at Ben and he showed us what to do. So not only was he a great photographer he was also a huge help! I can't thank him enough and I am so excited to see our pictures!!! I highly recommend Essence!!

Sylwia Sent on 11/13/2017

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My fiancé and I have met with a few wedding photographers and this company really blew us away! Chris was so helpful in answering all of our questions and guiding us through the entire process. He made our decision a no brainer! Their photos are stunning and the price is much less than what we expected! In addition to an already awesome package, we also received a free engagement session! They are very organized and professional. Can't wait till our wedding day!!

Alyssa Sent on 11/02/2017

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Booking with Essence has been one of the easiest decisions so far about planning my wedding! From the moment we met Mike, he made both my fiance and I feel welcomed. He sat down and genuinely wanted to get to know us, and not only just us and how we met, but our families as well. It never once felt like a consultation where he was trying to sell us something or trying to get us to buy this package. He gave us his honest opinion about what he thought we needed, without trying to upsell. When it came time to talk money, he was upfront and answered all of our questions. We booked on the spot! We are really looking forward to working with Essence as we make our way to 7/14/18!

Heather Sent on 10/21/2017

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Ben was our photographer and he was truly amazing. We had a huge family that needed to be shot and he made sure everyone was included. He got right in there to get all the shots I wanted.

Randi Sent on 10/18/2017

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Excited to have booked with Essence! They photographed my soon to be brother-in-laws wedding a few years back and we were happy with the work, then meeting with them was great too. There's a lot that goes into planning the wedding and meeting with Chris he really helped us figure out the best packaging for US rather than being really pushy with getting everything, which is such a nice relief when you have so much else to worry about while planning!
We met with more than just them and overall everything offered, being able to personalize it and not take what we don't need while adding in what matters to us, the pricing was VERY competitive and they were very thorough with the consultation. Will keep posted as time goes on but as of right now very happy with how everything has gone!

Heather Sent on 10/16/2017

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Before we met with Mike we met with a few other photographers. Our meetings with the other companies did not go nearly as well as our meeting with Mike. Instead of just going through a brochure with their pricing and then sending us on our way, he made the meeting about us. He asked us so many questions to understand us as a couple and what we expect out of our wedding. Our meeting with Mike has definitely left an impression on us. We are still weighing our options, but Essence has definitely become our top pick.

Lluviana Sent on 10/16/2017

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We have chosen Essence to handle our photography, video, and photo booth for our wedding in July 2018. I met Chris at the Bridal Expo in Rolling Meadows where he initially told me a little bit about the company and the packages available. I decided to make an appointment for my fiancé and myself to visit their office to learn more. Chris was very friendly and informative. He went through everything in detail, from wedding albums, to specifics about the video. Moreover, he spent time showing us samples of their work so we knew exactly what we were getting. Since our first interaction customer service has been great. We are looking forward to working with them for our wedding!

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