Elegant Summer Engagement at Ping Tom Memorial Park

Colorful and creative, Karli and Patrick wanted to document their love with this elegant summer engagement at Ping Tom Memorial Park. As a kid, Karli used to frequent the park making it such a great spot for these Chicago natives to capture sweet moments. We just know you’re going to love these photos by Joshua Harrison Photography!

HOW THEY MET

Karli and Patrick met in 2017 through her cousin and some friends, and when Patrick asked Karli out, they planned a simple dinner date at Maggiano’s in downtown Chicago. But what they had planned as a simple dinner became a much longer event, as the pair spent hours and hours talking late into the evening. From that moment on, they were inseparable. To use Karli’s words, “The rest is history!”

THE PROPOSAL

Karli is a huge Christmas lover, so when it came time to pop the question, Patrick knew he had to incorporate Karli’s love of the December holiday season into his proposal. Karli and Patrick got engaged in December 2019, and I have to give Patrick some big props for getting creative and using the couple’s Elf on a Shelf to help with the proposal. I can’t imagine how surprised and happy Karli must have been when she found “Holly” the elf holding her new engagement ring!

ENGAGEMENT SESSION

As Chicago natives and huge White Sox fans, Karli and Patrick new they needed to have the iconic Chicago skyline featured in the engagement session pictures. We briefly considered doing the engagement session on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago; I also tossed out the option of the Wrigley building. But that wouldn’t do — it was the wrong baseball team!

I partnered with Karli and Patrick to plan their summer engagement session at Ping Tom Memorial Park Chicago IL because of the wide variety of scenes the park allows us to create. With a prominent view of the Chicago skyline, Ping Tom Memorial Park features beautiful, open green spaces, as well as a colorful boathouse and several murals. We chose to use the blue mural for some of the photos from Karli and Patrick’s engagement session because it paired so well with their outfits!

While shooting Karli and Patrick’s engagement session, I learned that Karli is a crafter! I always love it when couples bring a personal accessory to their engagement sessions, and Karli really delivered by creating a hand-made wedding sign to celebrate their engagement. Created from wood and custom appliques, Karli’s sign was a beautiful and fitting addition to their engagement photos.

I was even more excited when I learned that Karli is a small business owner, too! Through her brand, KNF Kreations, Karli creates a variety of hand-made custom products for weddings, baby showers, parties, and more. I’m excited to share even more about KNF Kreations in an upcoming blog post!

We especially enjoyed creating Karli and Patrick’s engagement session Ping Tom Memorial Park Chicago IL because the site was special to Karli — when she was a kid, her father frequently brought her to the park to play on the playground. As we adventured through the park, Karli gave us a mini-tour, recounting fond memories of trips with her father as we explored and created new memories together.