Asking someone to marry you can be a pretty nerve racking thing. So is hosting a surprise party. When you combine the two and throw a surprise engagement party for 50 of your closest friends without letting your new fiance hear about any of it, man... Talk about stressful. I attempted to pull this off in the fall of 2011 and to my surprise, it went off without a hitch. My one concern was that with all the excitement, the night would fly by without us stopping to take note of what was happening. Enter Tracy Peterson. With an elegance and professionalism that I hadn't seen before, Tracy captured the greatest night of our lives without so much as a hint of interruption. I've been to parties where the host has hired a "Party Pix" photographer - where the entire night was only about the pictures that person is trying to get... Ugh. Tracy was not like this at all. The night was completely about us. She captured every important moment, every smile, every toast, every hug, every look of surprise. Our engagement party photos from Tracy Peterson Photography are some of our most favorite ever. We can't thank her enough for capturing such a special evening! read more

My husband and I got married this October and wanted to have a low-key, party-like, budget-friendly wedding. A friend of ours recommended we get in touch with Tracy Petersen and I am so very glad that we did! She was more than wonderful. Both my husband and myself are somewhat camera shy. We don't like lots of pictures of ourselves and didn't want an obtrusive stranger at our wedding. But, of course, this was our wedding and even we couldn't deny the importance of a professional photographer. After meeting Tracy, I knew we would feel at ease with her! She was willing to work with with our budget, understood what we needed, and was incredibly kind and professional. She was just as excited for us to get married as we were! The official family portraits were quick and painless (my husband was glad...) and she gave us lots of lovely detail photos as well. It's obvious that Tracy loves what she does and I would happily recommend her to anyone! read more

My husband and I had a budget, off-beat wedding this past September, and didn't think we wanted to have a formal photographer shooting the event. The idea of posing for hours and getting dozens of shots of our wedding bands or gazing into each other's eyes while secretly thinking how much our feet hurt didn't hold much appeal. But there were a few shots of the ceremony I wanted, such as walking down the aisle with my dad, and my husband and I saying our vows, so we decided to set off on the difficult search of finding a photographer who would be in tune with that. That search didn't take long. From the first moment I talked to Tracy Petersen on the phone, I knew we had the right photographer. She was just as excited about our ideas as we were, and was able to run with them in the most creative way. She developed a plan that worked with our schedule and budget, shooting our ceremony and group walk to the reception with amazing results. And most importantly, she was so much fun to have around! At no point in the day did the picture-taking seem obtrusive or like overkill. She wrangled our families (including several over-sugared kids) together for quick group shots, and had us out the door and sashaying our way to the reception before we knew it. It wasn't until after the wedding, when we received the proofs, that I realized how well Tracy understood what we wanted. We had a wedding chockfull of tiny details that meant the world to us, and Tracy gave each detail credence with a breathtaking image. For a couple who didn't think they'd want many professional photos, we found ourselves ordering prints by the boatload. This is a long post, but I could go on and on with compliments. Tracy is a magician. No matter what you're looking for, she can do it. read more

We recently hired Tracy Petersen to capture our engagement photos and couldn't have been more pleased with the results! The photos are fantastic and the entire experience was so easy and fun -- Tracy made us feel comfortable, she suggested fantastic locations around the city and she really listened to what we wanted to accomplish. With Chicago as a third "star" in the photos, the resulting images are just perfect. Her prices are really reasonable, and the quality of the photos was more than I could have asked for. My fiance and I have never looked so good! read more

I can't say enough about how amazing Tracy is! During the wedding planning process I lived in California and my fiancé lived in London, England but because I am from the Midwest we decided to have our wedding in Chicago so his family and friends could fly easily to the US. Needless to say my wedding planning was long distance. I did a ton of research on photographers and finally came upon Tracy's website and fabulous yelp reviews. The first time I spoke with Tracy over the phone I felt as though I was speaking with my best friend. The conversation was effortless and she eased any fears I had about photographing my wedding. I made a trip to Chicago in February to tie up the wedding plans and met with Tracy to go over the day's events. Again, it was as if I had known her for years. She was lovely, fun, and very organized. I left feeling excited and confident in her abilities to capture my day. She was a complete rock star on my wedding day. I had a very small wedding but wanted a lot captured so I kept her running all day. I have to say she was so professional and even though she was run ragged she did it all with a smile. My guests even commented on how great she was. I couldn't have been happier with the day and with Tracy. She posted a little teaser the next day on FB which was a nice surprise to wake up to and when the rest of the pictures came in (very quickly I might add) they were everything I had hoped for. They are ah-mazing! People have told me they are the most beautiful wedding photos they have ever seen (of course I agree)! I would recommend Tracy to anyone who is looking for a fabulous wedding photographer. I am just sad that I now live in England and won't be able to work with her again! read more

My girlfriend, her family and I take photos at the museum park. She is really awesome. All the pictures look fantastic and she really gave us lots of suggestions about how to make a pose. I love it. read more

We hired Tracy to photograph our wedding in 2011. We were thrilled with our choice. She met with us before the wedding to make sure she knew our preferences and timeline for the day. At the wedding, we received many comments about how well Tracy interacted with the families, especially the kids. After the wedding was over, our pictures were ready in less than 2 weeks, and we were completely floored with their quality. Not only did she manage to be in every place (not a shot was missed), but Tracy truly captured the emotions of the day. After seeing the pictures, our friends told us they were the best wedding photographs they had ever seen and that the shots were "magazine quality." Plus Tracy's package included digital copies of ALL of the photos taken at the wedding...it was an amazing value. Hire Tracy! read more

I was just reviewing all the photographs Tracy took of took of my grandchildren in our backyard. They were beautifully photographed. Tracy had the patience to work with the girls, so they were relaxed. Everything appears spontaneous and not stiff and posed. The girls' personalities shone through in each picture. Even though portraits of our girls were the main objective of the shoot, Tracy took time to pose the girls to show off our yard as well. She made our urban backyard appear to be woodland setting. We have something we will always treasure. I would highly recommend her very professional work. read more

What can I say??? Tracy is AMAZZZZZZZZZING!!!!! She is everything I could have ever asked for in a photographer! My fiance contacted her a couple of months before he proposed to me because he wanted her to capture our special moment. He knew that I wanted a picture or two of the actual proposal and he sure hit it out of the park. Not only did I get one picture, I got more than I could have ever dreamed of! The pictures are absolutely BEAUTIFUL and it is all because of Tracy's creative eye and wonderful suggestions. She was very easy-going and flexible. She made sure to integrate what we wanted, along with ideas we hadn't thought of. She is so friendly and warm and she made the entire experience so memorable. I will forever remember this day and I am so glad that Tracy was a part of it. We were able to see the pictures very quickly and she provided us with all the information we needed to retrieve them. She worked very hard at making sure that we got all of the pictures that we wanted! It is quite obvious that Tracy loves her job and she genuinely enjoys capturing special moments in people's lives for them to re-live forever through her pictures. Tracy was very warm and welcoming to me from the moment that I met her. I would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone who is looking for a photographer for any occasion. She really is wonderful! read more

I had the pleasure of working with Tracy Petersen twice, first for my engagement photos and then for my wedding. For the engagement photo shoot, she offered to drive from Chicago to my hometown in the northwest suburbs so we could get local backgrounds. Tracy was very casual and positive and at the end of our shoot, when she informed us that she had just learned she was expecting and would be 8 months pregnant during our wedding, we told her we'd still like her to shoot our wedding if she could manage. She had a back-up and was in constant communication with me. Although it's a business, Tracy makes you feel like family. There were a few conversations with her when I talked 10% of the time about photos and 90% vented about the wedding stress. She was great. Before the wedding date, Tracy went to the location to scope out backgrounds and get ideas for photos. The actual wedding day it was literally 100 degrees out and Tracy was 8 months pregnant. The ceremony lasted 40 minutes, plus photos after, in the blazing heat. The entire time Tracy was very collected, kept the wedding party on track and was incredibly professional. After the wedding, she got the photos to me very quickly and I couldn't be happier. My friends and family are blown away by how many amazing pictures there are. My officiant said it the best- Tracy "captured the happiness" of the day. People have commented about how the photos show an accurate representation of how the day went, and feel like they're re-living the day when they look through the pictures. Every time I go through the pictures I have a huge smile on my face. After getting the photos to me, Tracy was still in constant communication with me, making sure I was satisfied with the photos and asking if there was anything else she could do. She was wonderful. A few of my friends got married around the same time I did and used different photographers, and I can honestly say there's a dramatic difference in quality of work. Tracy is very talented and you can tell that she loves what she does not only based on how much time and attention she spends on the photos, but also how she values her clients. The photos speak for themselves! read more