Mandelette Photography

Rachel was so easy to communicate with. She had great ideas for the proposal and then photographed it perfectly. The pictures were truly amazing. But, being able to constantly communicate up until the proposal day was so great. Kept everything at ease and kept me confident it would be perfect. We hope to work with them again

Rachel is the best! We loved working with her for our engagement and wedding photos. She is kind, super responsive, helpful, and the best hype-woman. She made us and all of our family and friends super comfortable. Not to mention the gorgeous photos she takes. We love our photos and how Rachel captured the love and so many special moments from our day. And somehow she had our edited gallery back to us before we even landed from our honeymoon flight. She was easily my best vendor choice and would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone!

Rachel was amazing! She captured every moment of our engagement perfectly! She was very personable and made us feel comfortable with each shot. She guided each of our poses and has an eye for detail. We LOVE our photos and would 10/10 recommend Rachel to anyone looking for a wedding photographer or engagement session. Thanks again Rachel for capturing these amazing moments for us!

Rachel is seriously amazing!! She photographed our engagement session recently and I am obsessed with the photos to say the least. She is so sweet and she made us feel so comfortable during the entire shoot! She will talk you through all the poses and will hype you up behind the camera. She is an amazing photographer and I cannot wait until she photographs our wedding next year!

We absolutely love working with Rachel and her team! The team is so responsive and incredible to work with. We were absolutely blown away by how amazing our photos turned out as well as how quickly Rachel was able to turn them around for us! Stephanie was so great to work with- she found the perfect spots for our photos, posed us so well, and made us feel so comfortable behind the camera. We cannot wait to work with her again!

Rachel is the best photographer that every bride could ever dream of! Our last minute wedding was only planned in 3weeks! Rachel was able to accommodate us in just a very short notice. On the day of my wedding, there's a lot of delays but Rachel and Stephanie (Rachel's co-photographer) had been so patient with us. I am the kind of person who is shy to pose in-front of the camera but Rachel made me feel comfortable with her assuring words of "That's beautiful", "Perfect", and "Yas Queen!". She was able to deliver everything I wanted and so much more! Not only that but she was able to edit and submit the photos in just literally 24hrs after the wedding! She is such a God-sent! I am recommending Rachel to my friends and family, and to all the brides out there who are still looking for a wedding photographer. Don't look somewhere else, Rachel is such a gem! She made our day even more special ✨

Rachel is so great to work with! She will walk you through posing and make sure you feel comfortable in your photos. She is very prompt with communication and turned around our engagement session gallery extremely quickly. Our photos are beautiful, and we can’t wait to have her photograph our wedding. I recommend working with her if you get the opportunity!

Rachel is a sweetheart and so enjoyable to work with. She has a fantastic team around her and I loved working with Stephanie on our wedding day. Our photos came out so beautifully and really captured the magic!

We had Rachel do our elopement & we will forever count her in for future photography sessions! We have received many compliments on our portraits & I can’t thank her enough!

Rachel was amazing! She thoughtfully purchased a fold-out tent prior to our session so we could do multiple outfits in a public space in broad daylight. Rachel has such great attention to detail which was so appreciated! Both in her photographs after the fact & during the shoot. Could not recommend enough!

Wow! Rachel was the most amazing photographer ever! She did my engagement shoot and my fiancée and I had the time of our lives! She made us feel so comfortable and really captured the love we share. She also got us our edited pictures back the same day! She was extremely professional and very personable. We couldn't have asked for a better experience! I can not recommend her enough!! We can't wait for her to do our wedding in the next few years!

I can't even begin to describe how amazing Rachel is. She took photos for our elopement/small wedding in Chicago. She went above and beyond to make our day feel so special. At one point, I was so nervous my hands were shaking, but standing in front of her camera with her kind, calm, and detailed instructions made all my nerves go away. After the elopement, we all sat around talking about how much we all loved Rachel and how comfortable she made all of us feel! Most importantly, she has an AMAZING eye for lights/angles/background. She helped us take photos that I didn't even know I wanted. The photos came out very quickly, and I was able to share them with all my family and friends who couldn't make it to the wedding due to COVID. I highly, highly recommend Rachel. I couldn't have asked for a better photographer to capture our intimate wedding.

Rachel has been a dream to work with and I am so sorry excited to have her photograph our wedding. She is so easy to talk to and she made us feel really comfortable in front of the camera. Our engagement photos came back so quickly and they were stunning! And on top of all of that, she was flexible in working with our budget! I can’t recommend her enough!

Rachel was an absolute DREAM to work with! She helped capture our special proposal in Chicago that we will now have gorgeous pictures of to remember for the rest of our life. Rachel has a bubbly, free-spirited, easy-going personality that makes working with her an absolute joy. She delivered our pictures to us VERY quickly and they are absolutely stunning. I cannot wait to work with Rachel again in the future, I HIGHLY recommend for all your photography needs.

Rachel with Mandelette Photography is absolutely fantastic!! She took me and my fiance's engagement photos in Lincoln Park. She is such a pleasure to work with! She is very kind and patient, which makes the entire photography process so much fun. She also has great vision with her photos, which are GORGEOUS! She had our final edited photos back to us in less than 24 hours because she "couldn't wait to get them back to us"; how kind is that?! They are better than I imagined. I highly recommend her for your next occasion!

My husband and I were very fortunate to meet Rachel at a wedding vendor event. I was immediately drawn to her kind energy and passion for photography (it literally runs in her family… her great grandfather created the Mandelette camera). Her knowledge of the Chicago wedding industry is extensive and we ended up working with many other vendors she recommended. We utilized Rachel for our engagement photos and felt so comfortable during the shoot and happy with the final product that we booked her for our wedding. We were a COVID couple and had to change our plans multiple times. Rachel was extremely flexible and easy to connect with. Our photos arrived very quickly after the wedding and captured the magic of the day so well. She helped design a photo album that arrived promptly. We would certainly utilize Rachel again for a future photo shoot!

Rachel from Mandelette Photography is one of those people you HAVE to have at your elopement, wedding, or whatever photos you'd like for her to take. ⁠ She's fun, kind, hilarious, and knows exactly how to make you laugh. Really laugh - not those fake photo laughs. ⁠ My co-officiants and I have worked alongside her for elopements, weddings, and styled shoots, and we always look forward to working with her. Highly recommend booking her!

y (now) fiancée and I had a session with Rachel yesterday and we could not have asked for a better experience. I used our session as a surprise proposal and finished with engagement photos. Rachel helped me plan and finalize details to make the proposal go as smoothly as possible. Rachel has a way of capturing your emotions and your story in a beautiful way. She made us feel confident, calm, and free to be ourselves. As an LGBTQ+ couple we valued her inclusivity and ability to work with anyone or any couple. I could not have asked for a better experience or photographer and any couple or family would be lucky to have a session with her. My (now) fiancée and I had a session with Rachel yesterday and we could not have asked for a better experience. I used our session as a surprise proposal and finished with engagement photos. Rachel helped me plan and finalize details to make the proposal go as smoothly as possible. Rachel has a way of capturing your emotions and your story in a beautiful way. She made us feel confident, calm, and free to be ourselves. As an LGBTQ+ couple we valued her inclusivity and ability to work with anyone or any couple. I could not have asked for a better experience or photographer and any couple or family would be lucky to have a session with her.

Rachel is AMAZING!!! She’s not only an incredible photographer, but such a kind person and sweet friend. She helped us feel so comfortable in front of the camera and we had the best time with her! We got the photos back SO fast, and we are beyond blown away. Thank you so much for being a part of our engagement Rachel! 💞

Rachel is very friendly and easy to work with. She guided us throughout the whole process. She’s very professional and also fun! She was very patient with our kids and captured the love and craziness of our family of five. She made our wedding a memorable one. Highly recommend!

Rachel is absolutely fantastic. She is professional, hard working, and has such a great attitude. She makes you feel so comfortable in front of the camera and her work is flawless. I highly recommend hiring her for your wedding day!

Rachel was an absolute joy to work with. She was easy to be around and made everyone in my family feel comfortable with taking wedding photos, and even gave us each tips on how to pose in more “flattering” ways. Rachel was also incredibly responsive leading up to the wedding and afterward. Her turnaround time with sending us photos was also extremely fast, much to our excitement!

Rachel shot our wedding and she did an amazing job. Getting married in the middle of Chicago on the river can present a challenge as you don't exactly know what is going to happen, and she didn't break a sweat! Not only is she professional and you can tell she truly loves what she does, but on our special day she brought an energy that emphasized exactly how we were feeling... happiness and joy! She knew how to make us feel confident and really live in the moment for our photos. Would highly recommend her for any major life milestones you are looking to capture with photography!

Rachel was PHENOMENAL. She was integral in how smooth our wedding ended up going, and she continuously made sure that all our guests and members of the bridal party felt confident. She truly went above and beyond from the moment she got there until the moment she left. Rachel was up for hiking among horses and through slightly muddy patches to get those once in a lifetime shots I could only dream of, and she smiled the entire time. Her creative eye caught moments that I would have never seen otherwise. The sneak peeks we got the day after our wedding truly sent my husband and I into memory-land, and they helped jog so many stories from the night before. If you’re looking for a photographer, BOOK HER. My wedding would not have been the same without Rachel, and I cannot thank her enough for the love, dedication, and effort that she puts into her clients and their special days.

Thank you for for capturing the happiness of one of the most important days our lives. You’ve made such a special day even better. Both myself and my husband’s family enjoyed working with you so much. I’m also so impressed that you got our 1 year old crying son to briefly part his lips and smile for the photos! Lol. You are simply amazing. Thank you so much Rachel! Our photos are absolutely beautiful.

Rachel was incredibly sweet and professional. She knew exactly what to say, and knew all the best spots for photos of our big day. She couldn't even wait to send us some pictures before the day was over! Thank you Rachel!

Rachel is an absolute dream to work with! She is flexible and fun, and she will find the best light and scenery for your perfect photos!

Rachel did an amazing job of directing my fiance and I during our engagement mini-session - which allowed for us to have an awesome experience! Her professionalism, experience, and easy going personality made the whole shoot very genuine and the images turned out great! Not only was Rachel easy to communicate with during planning, she also provided wonderful recommendations of other wedding vendors.

Rachel was the photographer for my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding in February. We were very happy with both Rachel and her product. She communicated effectively prior to the wedding, and she was prompt and prepared on the day itself. Her calm, gentle nature made everyone feel comfortable and relaxed. The weather was not great, but that did not stop Rachel from donning her boots and obtaining some beautiful outdoor shots. These are some of my favorites! She accepted last minute requests gracefully and captured such an amazing variety of pictures throughout the entire day and evening. When I contacted Rachel about some questions after the wedding, she was very quick in her response. What mattered to me was important to her. It is clear that Rachel takes what she does very seriously. It definitely felt like my son and his wife’s wedding was more than just a job to Rachel. Although she photographs many weddings, you could tell she understood how important this day was to all of us. Thank you Rachel!

Rachel was so easy to work with! She gave great suggestions on where to take photos. I went into engagement photos with no ideas on where to take them. Rachel was very kind and provided my fiance and me with many awesome recommendations. The photos turned out amazing! You couldn't even tell that it was super windy and freezing. I recceived so many compliments on the photos. If you want to feel very much at ease and comfortable while taking photos, I highly recommend Mandelette Photography!

We can't thank Rachel enough for such a fun and easy-going engagement shoot. We appreciated her casual and professional demeanor. She was flexible with our schedules and easy to communicate with before, during, and after. And delivered our pictures much faster than expected! Highly recommend Rachel!

Our engagement pictures were absolutely beautiful and we had an awesome time with Rachel! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect experience to start off our engagement. We can't wait for Rachel to shoot our wedding!

Rachel is such a pleasure to work with! We shot our 1st anniversary photos with her and we had a ball. I wish we would've used her for our wedding! She made us feel like super models and relieved us of any jitters. She captured so many sweet moments and used the natural environment in amazing ways (I would never have thought to out my wedding ring on bush branch, but it was STUNNING!). We had such a good time at this photo shoot that I am already trying to think of more occasions to shoot with her!! I highly recommend booking with Rachel!

I got married this September and was so at ease and overjoyed to have Mandelette Photography (Rachel as our main photographer) there to capture every beautiful moment. From connecting first off with myself and all of my bridesmaids at the house I got ready at — Rachel really made everyone feel at ease and very causally yet professionally photographed all of our intimate getting ready moments always making sure I was happy with the amount of shots before moving on. Then, she diligently and playfully joined the groomsmen and was able to capture the pure joy and fun had before the ceremony. The ceremony itself and reception went without a flaw— Rachel captured the beautiful and emotional moments of both my husband and me throughout the evening. She quickly turned the pictures around and got them back to us within 2 weeks. The pictures really helped us re live the most amazing day. To this day I still get compliments not just on the beautiful pictures but also on how wonderful Rachel was interacting with all of our family/friends throughout the day. She is amazing and does beautiful work — I definitely recommend her :)

We had the pleasure of Rachel doing our engagement photos. To say we were impressed and overly joyed by the work she did would be an understatement. She is incredibly friendly, an amazing photographer, and a fantastic editor. She provided a unique perspective having worked at our shoot location. Rachel was also able to get the best out of us in what can certainly be awkward for those not used to posting. We also had our dog with us and not only was she accommodating, she was also able to get him to perk up, pay attention and created some of our favorite photos from the entire session. And to top it all off, she was willing to hang on after our time slot to make sure we got everything we were looking for. We would definitely recommend Rachel to be anyone photographer and we can't wait for what she's able to do with our wedding day!

We had a wonderful experience with Rachel for our Engagement shoot in Lincoln Park. She kept things fun and casual. We were laughing the entire time! So many good shots to choose from for our Save the Date! Looking forward to our Wedding and all of the amazing work to come! Thank you, Rachel!!

Rachel has such a great eye and makes you feel (and look!) like a super model. My husband and I shot our first anniversary photos with her. It was such a fun morning! She made us giggle and feel so at ease. I highly recommend working with Rachel for engagement shoots, weddings, EVERYTHING!

As an avid photography enthusiast, I began the search for a wedding photographer with high expectations. There are many factors that come into play when choosing someone to shoot one of the most important events in your life; however, for me it boiled down to a balanced chemistry in style, Image Quality and personality (both in images and communication with clients). Rachel exceeded all expectations. From the initial meet and greet, I could tell that she has a clear passion for people and capturing moments that will last through generations. Rachel's personality is what won me over - there was no question that Rachel wanted to get to know not only my wife and I, but who our family was and what values were important to us (she even got the names of key wedding guests so she could address them personally!). This relationship building aspect of her personality clearly shows in her images through a certain level of comfort between camera and subject. You won't find any fake posed images here. Rachel's photography style can be described as natural and lasting. Pictures that have lasted in the family for generations come to mind, such as portraits that you'd find at grandpa's house. Too many photographers nowadays try to push the boundaries in photography for boldness and a different edge in their pictures. Although Rachel's extensive education and experience can achieve this style, it's not what I was looking for. It was refreshing to hear from Rachel that she would be happy to specifically shoot more natural images like the ones my wife and I described to Rachel. (Other photographers really pushed for an edgy style). Finally, Image Quality (IQ) - I'm happy with the overall IQ that Rachel achieved. Most DSLR cameras today will provide photographers with similar IQ, but the reason why weddings are best left to the pros is because of the fast action and low lighting. Rachel's images did not disappoint. Our wedding shots had a nice use of dynamic range and depth of field. Canon has a tendency to process skin tones on the warmer end of the spectrum with nice highlights in reds, which is exactly what my wife loves (I personally prefer a little cooler tones). This was really highlighted in our images since our wedding theme was "wine colors". Finally, the sharpness in the images was good overall. Rachel shot some parts of the event with a fast prime lens - this resulted in beautiful, creamy backgrounds; however there was some softness around the focus area during action shots. I personally would have preferred a higher f-stop with a bounced flash. If you're searching for a photographer and have not had a chance to speak with Rachel yet, schedule a meet and greet with her. I assure you that you will walk away feeling as if you've made a new friend. Her IQ and photography style speaks for itself, but at the end of the day, it's the chemistry between the subject and the person behind the camera that really differentiates the results. Thank you, Rachel - I hope to work with you again in the future.

Rachel was so great photographing our engagement session! She was very accommodating as the forecast called for rain the day of our shoot, and was great about changing our appointment to a different time to avoid the rain. She is bubbly and personable, and great at directing me and my fiance on how to pose which made us feel very comfortable. She was very timely in sending us the photos (that same day) and they turned out really great! Her services are also very affordable as compared to other city wedding photographers.

My experience with Rachel was fantastic. My fiance and had a small wedding ceremony with many intricate requests. That said, Rachel was both helpful and accommodating when it came to meeting our needs. She was diligent to get the shots we asked for, proactive to get shots we hadn’t thought of, and she was respectfully communicative throughout the entire process. Furthermore, we were amazed with both her speed and proficiency. I had digital proofs of my wedding photos within 24 hours and they were all fantastic! I will absolutely be calling Rachel for all of my photo needs in the future. Cheers!

My experience with Rachel was amazing. I have never done a photo shoot before so I was really nervous at first but once we got started, she made me feel comfortable in front of the camera. Rachel made me and my fiancé laugh throughout the whole time so we had a fun time. She has a talent for capturing unique and beautiful moments. She will go out of her way to make the pictures and the poses the way you want it. Rachel is very professional and responds right away; usually no later than 24 hours. The cost is very reasonable and affordable. She will not post any pictures on social media without your consent. I would very much recommend her for engagement and wedding pictures !

We are SO thankful for Rachel!!! She shot our engagement/save-the-date photos at a location she has never shot at and isn't super familiar with, and they seriously came out PERFECT. We could not be happier. She is not only incredibly sweet, affordable, and flexible, but she is very talented. Besides the main location, I did not have spots picked out I wanted to shoot at, so we ended up walking around while Rachel pointed out spots for good lighting. I can't say enough good things. If you book her, you will not be disappointed!

Rachel photographed my wedding ceremony. She did an amazing job. She is very affordable, but totally professional. When we saw the pictures we could not believe the shots she took. We never noticed her, and we have our beautiful memories captured. Thank you Rachel!

Rachel photographed our wedding day and it couldn't have been more perfect. She knew exactly what kind of photos I wanted and made sure to get them all. She had such a great eye for capturing all the beauty Chicago architecture has to offer. She had such a relaxed energy throughout the day which kept me super calm knowing that she was on top of everything without making things chaotic. I highly recommend her for your special day ♡