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This weekend was one of the best wedding-related experiences I've ever had. Yet I wasn't actually photographing a wedding! Instead, I had the wonderful privilege of being the big brother of the bride.

My sister Katie is getting married, so we traveled to Chicago this weekend to search for her gown.

Our friend, Amanda, owns Belle Vie Bridal Couture in the Windy City. We met Amanda this Fall in Southampton, NY and were immediately impressed by her creativity and entrepreneurial energy.

Belle Vie's gracious staff attentively guided Katie through her search for the perfect gown. And she found it! It was the third gown she modeled, and it is absolutely stunning. It's a Christos gown, but I can't reveal any more details...the groom could be eavesdropping! (Hi, Michael!)

Katie is beautiful, inside and out, and I can't wait to watch her walk down the aisle with my father on October 20. Rachel and I are so proud of Katie and Mike!

Here are photos and videos from our weekend in Chicago:
The Crown Fountain in Chicago's Millennium Park.

Watch this video of Rachel exploring the The Crown Fountain in Chicago's Millennium Park.

Watch this video of us calling my other sister, Sudie, in Ireland, to tell her that we found Katie's gown.

To celebrate, we toasted over crabcakes and cocktails at Shaw's. Rachel ordered an entire lobster, so our server brought her a BIB! Ha!
Our family self-portrait in Cloud Gate in Chicago's Millennium Park.

We return to Chicago in February to photograph an exclusive event at The Peninsula Hotel. Stay tuned for photos.

We're thrilled to announce that the wedding Mark and Erin photographed of Cameron and Matt has just been published in Arizona Bride. Their wedding was such a unique celebration. Cameron pulled out all the stops for her art deco themed wedding. Even all their guests dressed in '30s and '40s attire!

Cameron is a talented wedding photographer based in Flagstaff, AZ who will be attending our Business of Storytelling workshop in February.

The lovely and talented Scarlett of Captivating Studios in Jacksonville, Florida came to Atlanta this weekend to shoot a wedding with our friends Katie and Chris Torres of 6 of Four Creations. We took advantage of the opportunity to get together with Scarlett and Katie for a girls lunch at Highland Bakery downtown. It's always fun to catch up and talk photography!

Andreas Gursky "99 Cent II Diptychon", 2001, 207 x 337 cm

Pricing one's work seems to be an eternal struggle for many photographers. It's all too easy to look around at what others are charging and simply try to price competitively or similarly.

But never underestimate the value that your work may have to other people.

Andreas Gursky holds the record for the highest price paid for a photograph by a living photographer for his work, "99 Cent," which sold last year for $2.48 million. View the PDN Article about the sale.

Also last year, Edward Steichen's print "The Pond-Moonlight" sold for just under $3 million, which is the highest price paid for any photograph.

Anytime I visit photography galleries, I frequently see photographs selling for tens of thousands of dollars. And if you look at records for what photographs have actually sold for, some of the numbers are incredible!

And this makes me so excited. I love knowing that there are people out there who value photography this much.

After spending too much time in front of our computers lately, we decided to take advantage of a weddingless weekend to enjoy some Atlanta nightlife. We headed over to East Side Lounge in East Atlanta, where they play really good '80s music on Friday nights. And because we totally believe in mixing business with pleasure, we were joined by our friends Adam Linke, Pictage Pro Consultant for the Southeast, his wife Jenn Linke, who runs The Decisive Moment Wedding Photojournalism, and the lovely Melissa Roth, who works with LaCour, and her husband Jeremy, who works with CNN.