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Hi, I'm Kenny Nakai.

 

As a Chicago wedding photographer, I’m lucky enough to document some of the city's most beautiful love stories.

 

I hope you find inspiration here and connect with the feelings I had when I created each photo.

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CHICAGO WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

You'll remember

how it felt.

Your photos

should prove it.

For couples who know the difference between a

photograph that's taken and one that's made.

I'm Kenny Nakai, a Chicago wedding photographer specializing in clean, modern, and timeless wedding photography since 2007. Based in Chicago and available worldwide, I photograph weddings at the city’s most iconic venues. From The Langham and Ritz Carlton to the Chicago Cultural Center...creating images that feel as real as the moment itself.

BEGIN YOUR STORY
VIEW THE WORK →

★★★★★ 5.0 · 61 GOOGLE REVIEWS

AS FEATURED IN

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SOMETHING COUPLES RARELY SAY OUT LOUD

It's not "what if the photos are bad."

It's more personal than that.

What if I don't look like myself?

What if we look stiff, or forced, or like we're just going through the motions?

What if the photos are beautiful, but they're not really us?

I've seen weddings where the photos feel a little stale. Everyone posed, everyone pleasant. But there are no emotions or vibe. That's not what you want. You want photos that make you feel something every single time you walk past them on the wall. That's a different kind of photograph.

chicago wedding photographer kenny nakai in tuxedo on white background

Photo by Wes Craft

MEET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER

What I see now that I didn't see at first

When I started shooting weddings, all I could see was the couple. The dress, the rings, the production of it all. It was overwhelming in the best way. I wanted to photograph everything about them.

 

Now I see something different. I see the room.

 

I see the parents who still remember giving you a bath, watching you become someone who could choose this person and this life. The grandparents who fought their bodies to be there. The friends who flew across the country. The pregnant sister, the aunt who raised you for a summer, the cousin from another country who cries at the toast in a language only half the room understands.

This past fall, I was photographing a father seeing his daughter in her dress for the first time. I heard sobbing next to me — not from him. From her sisters. I turned and made the photo. The composition wasn't perfect. I didn't care. The moment was.

At a wedding I shot last year, the bride's grandmother was on the dance floor — radiant, in motion, joyful. A few months later she fell, broke a bone, and ended up in the hospital. The dance floor frames I'd delivered weeks earlier meant something different to her family overnight.

 

Your wedding belongs to all of these people too. I want to capture their faces during your vows. The way your dad looks at your mom walking down the aisle. The grandmother smoothing her granddaughter's veil. The grandfather wiping his eyes when no one's looking. That's where the real story lives.

ABOUT ME
READ THE REVIEWS →
rooftop four seasons chicago hotel weddingWeddingsPORTFOLIO
fall colors chicago engagement photo with setting sunEngagementsPORTFOLIO
university of chicago proposal pictures quadProposalsPORTFOLIO

HOW IT WORKS

Three things that happen

at every single wedding I shoot.

01

I call you the week before your wedding. Not because it's on a checklist.

Because your wedding day is something I'm looking forward to too.

 

By the time your wedding day arrives, we've already talked through the timeline, the locations, your preferences. I know whether you want me visible and directing or invisible and watching.

That preparation means that on the day itself, the most important day, you're not figuring me out. You already trust me. And that trust shows up in every single photograph.

02

I handle every visual detail so you never have to think about it.

Before I ask you to stand somewhere, I've already walked the space. I've moved the trash, repositioned furniture, found the light, and noted the exit signs I'll remove later.

 

The images on my website look effortless. What you don't see is how much went into making them that way. You'd never know. That's exactly the point.

I'm not doing this for my portfolio. I'm doing it so that when you look at your photos twenty years from now, nothing pulls you out of the moment.

03

I feel the moment before it happens.

After so many weddings, I've developed a sixth sense. I'll be moving through a wedding and suddenly stop: something is about to happen.

 

It can the look in dad's eyes, or the energy building within the wedding party.

 

I'll pause to capture that as it unfolds in a way I couldn't have foreseen.

You can't plan for those moments. But after shooting long enough, you can feel them coming.

THE APPROACH

You Don't Want to Be Posed.

You also want to look amazing.

Both things are true. I've built my entire process around that tension. Ninety percent of my clients have never been professionally photographed before. Most people feel awkward in front of a camera. Not because there's something wrong with them, but because no one has helped them figure out how to position themselves to look their best in a photo. That's my job as a Chicago wedding photographer.

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LIGHT WINS. ALWAYS

I see light before I see anything else.

I know how the sun moves through various Chicago neighborhoods throughout the day. I know exactly sun reflects off the windows along the riverwalk. And how the dawn light crests over the lakefront horizon at 5:30am.

 

Good light is the foundation. Everything else, background, composition, pose, is built on top of it. Beautiful photography starts with light.

"I love taking engagement and wedding photos at night. The light is different. The energy is different. Romantic. Cinematic. Urban in a way that daylight can't touch. Most photographers avoid it because it's technically demanding. I love it for exactly that reason."

THE INVISIBLE WORK

What you'll never know by looking at my website.

Every image has been personally selected, edited, and retouched by me. Not outsourced. Not batch-processed. I remove what doesn't belong: trash, exit signs, flyaway hairs. That random person in the background wearing a red jacket.

 

Sad to say that I have to say this...but I will never use AI to place you somewhere you weren't. Nor will I ever do that on my website or in social media. Every photo on my site is real.

 

We were actually there, when that light was actually happening. I'm a wedding photographer, not a digital artist.

My imagery looks clean and effortless. I minimize distractions during the shoot, and when I have to, I remove distracting elements in post production. Our minds subconsciously see the clutter and it impacts our feelings about a photograph.
chicago botanic garden wedding couple walking on bridge holding hands

FEELINGS OVER EVERYTHING

I've won awards for my composition. But that's not what I'm chasing.

I want you to feel something when you look at your photos years from now. Not cringe at a color filter that was trending this year. Moments are timeless. Love is timeless.

 

There's an anatomy of a laugh. I might deliver five photos of a couple laughing together because I genuinely don't know which one you will love the most. Neither will you until you see all of them. I deliver everything I feel, because you know each other better than I do.

"If the setting is imperfect but the moment is meaningful, I deliver it. This might be a rare time you ever see your parent express their emotions in this way and the feelings trump everything.
SEE THE WORK →

Why This Matters TO ME

The wedding the world

almost didn't get to have.

When people ask me why I still love this work after 19 years, this is a story I come back to.

 

In March 2020, the world shut down. A couple who had been planning a church wedding suddenly found themselves facing something far more urgent. The bride's mother was undergoing chemotherapy. The prognosis wasn't good and there was a real chance she wouldn't be there when the world reopened.

 

They pivoted to a small ceremony at her parents' home. I was faced with a dilemma during a global pandemic: risk my own health and the health of my family, to photograph a wedding that wasn't mine.

Mask on my face, I showed up. The home was decorated as best as you can under the circumstances. It wasn't the wedding they had planned. But it was perfect. We celebrated their love on a day when the world stood still.

Etched in my memory: the photo of the bride and her mother, holding hands and smiling at each other before walking down the aisle.

 

I don't just take pictures. I preserve moments that would otherwise only exist in fading recollections.

 

It was an honor to be there for her wedding. And it would be an honor to be there for yours.

FEATURED WORK

Real Chicago Weddings

 

Real couples. Real moments. Real Chicago Wedding Venues. Nothing recreated, nothing staged.

 

The Langham Chicago. The Ritz Carlton Chicago. The Four Seasons. The Intercontinental Magnificent Mile.

 

chicago langham wedding photography sign marqueeTHE LANGHAM CHICAGOFALL COLORS - INCREDIBLE LIGHT
chicago ritz Carlton wedding photography rooftop sunset John HancockTHE RITZ CARLTON CHICAGOLUXURY DECOR - ROOFTOP PORTRAITS
four seasons chicago hotel wedding jewish ceremony in ballroomTHE FOUR SEASONSSTOP & SMELL THE ROSES
intercontinental chicago wedding photos rooftop bride groomTHE INTERCONTINENTALIN THE CLOUDS OVER MAGNIFICENT MILE

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

"Every shot is a work of art. Months later, I am still getting frequent compliments on our photos, and countless people have told us they are the most beautiful wedding photos they've ever seen."

CHICAGO PHOTOGRAPHER FAQs

You aren't the only one who wants to know.

19 years of experience means I've spent a lot of time thinking about Chicago wedding photography. Here are some answers.

ASK ME ANYTHING →

Yes, and I love them. I know this city: how the light falls at sunset, which rooftops have the best skyline views, where to find the more private locations in our bustling city. I've helped plan alibis, coordinated surprise family arrivals, and always have a quick turn around on files. Learn more about my Chicago proposal photographer services.

Both, actually...and that's the balance. I am always directing. Everything is intentional about my compositions and location choice. But I create a space for you to be comfortable and natural. And that's where the magic happens.

So you won't have is empty expressions, unflattering angles, or stiff poses. We work together to make the session relaxing and memorable.

Probably. With 19 years across Chicago's best wedding venues, there's a good chance I've been there. From the iconic Ritz Carlton Chicago to the 5-Star luxury Langham Chicago. But if I haven't, I'll be there early to scout it beforehand. Working at a "new to me" venue is always exciting as I get to explore and find the best spots. I come ready create the photos that I have pre-visualized in my mind.

Faster than you expect. Three images go live on Instagram the night of your wedding. So when you get back to your room at 2am, there's already something waiting. Your best 60 to 90 images post to the NAKAI Photography blog within 2–3 weeks, right as you're coming off your honeymoon. Your full gallery is online within a month. Your custom USB within three months. Most couples appreciate the speed and the effort I put into their images.

Because the feeling of your wedding day fades. I want you to relive it while it's still electric. Not wait months wondering. You deserve to be excited about your photos, not anxious. There's so much energy from your wedding day and being able to see the pictures quickly helps keep the excitement and memories alive.

Chicago weather is part of the city. I have contingency plans for every scenario. Beautiful indoor locations, covered spaces, and 19 years of experience making unexpected conditions work in your favor. Wind, rain, or cold temperatures. I've shot beautiful weddings in all of it. We talk about it in our pre-wedding call so you feel prepared.

LET'S BEGIN

A bride once told me she didn't remember her cake.

She picked it out months in advance. She ate a slice at the reception. The next day, she could not for the life of her tell you what it looked like.

 

She's not unusual. It's happened to others.

 

That's what your photos are for.

 

Your wedding day moves faster than you can hold onto. The dress, the toasts, the look on your dad's face during your first dance. Most of it blurs by the time you sit down on your honeymoon. The photos are how you slow it back down. How you find the moments your brain didn't have time to record.

They are what you'll show your children. What you'll look at on your anniversaries. What you'll reach for when you need to remember who you were to each other at the very beginning.

If you resonate with anything I've shared on this page, I'd love to hear from you.

3334 N Avers Ave #2 - Chicago, IL 60618

312-298-9721

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I'm Kenny Nakai, a Chicago wedding photographer creating beautiful, timeless imagery since 2007. For couples who value artistry, authenticity, and the moments that last forever.

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