Rachael Watson Photography Inc.

ographer. I first met her when she photographed our surprise proposal. Even though we hadn’t met before, she captured that moment so beautifully and naturally that I knew right away I wanted her for everything else. She later photographed our engagement session and, of course, our wedding day—and each time she exceeded every expectation. Rachael isn’t just a photographer—she’s a cheerleader, coordinator, hype woman, and genuine support system all rolled into one. From the moment she arrived on our wedding day, she brought calm, positive energy and made sure we felt cared for and confident. She checked in with both of us throughout the day—not just to manage the timeline, but to make sure we were actually enjoying ourselves and soaking in each moment. It truly felt like she was invested in our experience, not just our photos. When it came to taking pictures, Rachael made everything feel natural and fun. She gave just the right amount of guidance to make sure everyone looked their best while still capturing the authentic joy of the day. Our photos are not only stunning but full of emotion and personality. They perfectly reflect how the day felt. We are forever grateful we had Rachael by our side to capture some of the most important moments of our lives. Her talent, heart, and presence made a lasting impression—and four years later, we’re still singing her praises. If you’re lucky enough to work with her, you’ll understand why.

hout our wedding. From our first phone call with her to the final photo gallery, our experience was excellent. Through the entire process, she was easy to communicate with and very thorough in capturing what we were looking for in our wedding photos. She was very flexible working with our desired timeline and stayed on schedule, which was something that was very important to me. The pictures she captured are gorgeous and we could not be happier! Thanks Rachael and team for a great experience and beautiful lasting memories.

recommendations, and thorough responses to all our preferences and comments. The preview posts are also such a sweet touch when you're antsy to see photos before the full deal comes out! We had the pleasure of working with Cassie for our photos, who was a burst of positive energy during our engagement photos and through our wedding, and such a sweet human all around. Cassie took command of lining up specific details and poses so that the photos came out looking stunning, something that is very important to me. Courtney was our second shooter and also did a great job capturing some behind-the-scenes photos and short clips. The entire RWP team is so personable and made us feel so cared-for, and of course so much love fo our absolutely stunning photos that our friends and family can't stop talking about. HIGHLY recommend!!!!

gy. At the beginning, she provided us with a rough timeline for the wedding day which was helpful when it came to planning with the rest of the vendors. Throughout the planning process, she was extremely responsive and kept us updated on what the next steps would be. Our engagement picture session was one of my favorite days ever, aside from our wedding day. My now-husband generally does not like taking pictures, but Rachael made us so comfortable in front of the camera which helped us practice for the actual wedding day. We also decided about 1 month prior to the wedding to take wedding party pictures at a venue that required a photography permit, Rachael communicated directly with the venue to get it all squared away. On our wedding day, Rachael and her 2nd photographer Gina arrived so full of energy. My family commented how great Rachael was with my nieces/flower girls who are ages 4 and 6, they literally listened to all of her directions and truly looked like they enjoyed themselves. Rachael directed us and the bridal party on how to pose and made it so easy, comfortable, fun, and kept things moving at a good pace. Not to mention, Rachael and Gina were troopers for taking pictures under the hot sun. Rachael is so talented and truly has passion for what she does! We LOVE our wedding photos and I know we will cherish these photos forever. Without any hesitation, we would choose Rachael and her team over and over again! Thank you so much Rachael!

completely at ease. The photos were stunning—each one perfectly reflected who we are as a couple and the excitement of the journey ahead. On our wedding day, Rachael and her assistant were nothing short of amazing. They didn’t just take beautiful pictures; they captured the true essence of every moment, from the quiet, intimate glances to the lively, joyful celebrations. Rachael went above and beyond for us…After the ceremony, I was struggling to bustle my dress, and without hesitation, she stepped in to help. It was such a thoughtful and kind gesture that made a potentially stressful moment so much easier. It's moments like these that show how much she truly cares about her clients. The photos are absolutely breathtaking—each one is a perfect representation of our special day. Rachael has such a talent and it’s clear she poured her heart into every shot she took! We are so grateful to have had Rachael as part of our wedding day. Her warmth, professionalism, and genuine care made the entire experience so memorable. We can’t recommend her enough—if you want a photographer who will capture the beauty of your day and go the extra mile to make it perfect, Rachael Watson Photography is the one!

She makes you feel so comfortable while taking photos it is a breeze. When we talked to Rachael about the kinds of photos we liked and didn't like, she listened and there is not one photo we don't absolutely LOVE from our wedding day! I would recommend Rachael Watson & her AMAZING team for any event. I wanted to hire Rachael for my Bridal shower to take photos but she was already booked that date, she had her team member Cassie come and do it and she is equally just as amazing as Rachael! Rachael has a fantastic team and every one of them was so awesome to work with! Words can't express how much we LOVE our wedding photos <3 :)

e sent us a wedding day timeline based on our discussion. It was SO helpful in planning out our day with other vendors. Leading up to our wedding, Rachael was fantastic at communicating. She reached out often, responded to emails quickly, answered all of our questions, and made sure everything was on track. Our engagement and wedding photographer was Rachael's Associate Photographer, Cassie. Cassie was AWESOME! She instantly made us feel comfortable during our engagement session, which helped on our wedding day. Our wedding day moved along so smoothly thanks to Cassie. She was even there to help buckle my shoes and fix my hair. Our families and wedding party are still talking about how wonderful Cassie was on our wedding day. All of the photos turned out BEAUTIFUL! There are so many to choose from and Rachael got them back to us extremely fast. We are so happy with our decision to work with Rachael and Cassie, cannot recommend them enough!

ingly does it with ease. Rachael’s incredible personality, positive energy, and mastery of her craft will quickly win over any nervous bride or skeptical groom. Rachael came up with creative and beautiful shots along the Mag Mile in Chicago for our engagement photos and the second we saw them we knew we were in great hands for our wedding day as well. As our wedding day approached, Rachael assisted us with every question we had quickly, professionally, and even provided some of her wedding knowledge to help us make decisions about timeline and shots to include. Finally when our wedding day arrived, Rachael was punctual, organized, and played a huge part in making our wedding day magical alongside her wonderful associate photographer Cassie! I can’t say enough positive things about both Cassie and Rachael. The quality of their photos, their personalities, their ability to get to know our wedding party and make the process fun during hours of photos impressed my wife and I immensely. In case I haven’t been clear enough yet, the best decision you can make for your wedding day is choosing Rachael as your photographer.

that call, she even sent us an initial photography timeline for our wedding day, which was so helpful during the wedding planning process. Rachael also did our engagement photos, which turned out beautifully. On our wedding day, Rachael and her team made my entire bridal party feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera. She took time to get to know the names of each member of our bridal party, which was very sweet. My bridal party kept saying how wonderful the photography team was! During our reception, Rachael even showed us a few same-day photo edits, which was so cool! Our wedding photos turned out AMAZING, and we got them very fast. We’ve received so many compliments on the photos! I highly recommend Rachael for your engagement and wedding day photography!!

dding day, Rachael was so thorough and organized with her planning, and she truly cared to make sure that every single detail my husband and I felt was important was something she captured. Your vision is super important to her, and we felt that throughout the entire planning process. Plus she really cares to get to know you as a couple, which made spending wedding day together so much more fun! She also has so many wonderful resources for you to use throughout your planning process, like her blog and website which I found to be so helpful! We had such a great time at our engagement session and it really helped to ease our nerves. Rachael taught us all the best poses and made it feel so natural to be in front of the camera. On wedding day, Rachael knew the perfect poses for bride and groom, family, and the bridal party. She made it fun to take photos for hours on end, and the end results are better than anything I could have hoped for :). She also helped keep us on schedule all day which we were so grateful for. I also loved the variety of photos she took of me and my husband - she took us exploring around the venue and I was stunned by some of the shots she got in places I never would have thought to take photos in front of! She has such an incredible vision and it made for the BEST photos. All our friends and family complimented how incredible Rachael and her team were on wedding day - they were professional and kind and were able to quickly and efficiently get our large family photos done. We also had Rachael photograph our rehearsal dinner, and she stayed late to make sure she captured some of the best moments. I will never be able to thank her enough for her kindness and her thoughtfulness. Some of my favorite photos of the weekend were captured at our rehearsal. Rachael - you captured our day so beautifully. We love every single photo and can’t wait to cherish these memories for the rest of our lives. Thank you for your passion and your kindness, we had so much fun working with you! I can’t wait to work with you again for anniversary photos, family photos or just any excuse to work with you again :)

eryone. She cares about what your vision is for your wedding day. She knew all the best pictures for portraits, couples pictures, and group pictures. She did our engagement pictures as well and they looked great on our save the dates. On the day of the wedding, she took control of all the people involved and we were right on schedule for the whole day. After receiving our pictures back, we were amazed at how beautiful they were. She is truly professional and kind. Plus, she has a great website to view and order your pictures from. I wish her nothing but success.

She did both our engagement and wedding day. Racheal’s business is definitely a must select! From the time we met her, she made us feel like we were close friends—-very welcoming and asks the perfect questions to ensure we get what we wanted! I appreciated all the work she did up front because it set our wedding timeline and ensured on the wedding day we did not miss anything—-like taking a family photo!

eat support in the months leading up to the wedding. She made us super comfortable in front of the camera during our engagement session and taught us simple poses that can be used anytime. Then, in the months of planning, Rachael's wedding expertise was super helpful as we built our day-of schedule and decided on the little details of the day. The photos all turned out beautifully and she thought on her feet when the weather was not on our side on our day. Our sneak peak and gallery were finished so fast after our wedding, we were barely home from our honeymoon when we got all of our photos back wonderfully edited. We would highly recommend Rachael to any bride in the Chicagoland area!

eferred vendors along with on the Knot. If you are recently engaged and in need of a photographer for engagement photos and your wedding do yourself a favor and hire Rachael!! She is so organized, detailed and takes the best photos I have ever seen. I love that she helped us along the entire way, told us how to pose and everything in between. Our wedding photos turned out AMAZING, and we are so happy to have worked with Rachael for this very special day. We're already wanting to use her again in the future for any special events. :)

ael is so creative and was very flexible! The photos we received from our sneak peak are absolutely gorgeous!! We would hire them again and again!

round you almost as much as your bridesmaids/groom the day of - so I wanted someone who was positive, encouraging, organized, detail oriented, a natural leader and essentially my “hype woman” to help me feel confident in front of the camera. Rachael is ALL these things and more. I said this over and over again to friends and family that one of the best decisions I made for our wedding, next to marrying my husband John, was choosing Rachael as our photographer. She had a detailed timeline for our wedding from day 1 - before we had even chosen her as our official photographer or put a down payment. This was so appreciated because it had us thinking about details we wouldn’t have considered early on. Looking back on our wedding day photos, I feel like I am reliving every moment and even the moments I wasn’t able to witness or be there for. The joy and authenticity of the photos is only something a truly talented photographer can capture. Rachael went above and beyond from our day 1 initial call and all the way to sending our full gallery to us less than 2 weeks from our wedding day. She is talented, personable, positive, and timely. We are so grateful!!!