Mark Trela Photography

One word - PHENOMENAL. Our wedding day would not have been the same without Mark and Magda. They were the glue that held everything together - they were fierce, particular, and thoughtful with their photography decisions while being supportive and calming at the same time. Together, they are an amazing team and were the best decision we made for our wedding. They are beyond talented and artistic and are able to capture all of the special moments unlike any others. The best part of all - they are great people! We highly recommend Mark Trela Photography. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

If you are looking for artistic, warm, intimate photography that captures the emotion of your wedding day, I highly suggest Mark Trela Photography. My expectations were very high for the photography, and they completely overdelivered! Mark and Magda are incredibly professional and personable. Many guests commented that they never even noticed them, yet they captured phenomenal shots. They take the time to sincerely meet with you and learn about your personal story and vision for the wedding day. We opted at the last minute to do a portrait session about a week before the wedding and they worked to accommodate us. They offer creative suggestions, and were open to any ideas we had as well. We were so pleased to have them with us on our wedding day, they both have a very good vibe/calming presence. They were very organized and had even captured some photos before arriving at the hotel in the morning. We received the photos sooner than anticipated and were completely blown away. The images speak for themselves, but wanted to share a review for anyone considering wedding photographers.... Do not hesitate to book Mark and Magda, they were an absolute joy to work with from start to finish. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

The details were coming together. I had said “yes” to the love of my life, “yes” to the dress, signed for our dream venue, picked a date, and was finishing deciding on decorations. ..but we still hadn’t decided on a photographer. We had about a month left because we were being so picky. We were looking for the perfect photographer with the mindset that these photographs would last forever and we would only get married once. As a designer and photography hobbiest, composition, editing style, lighting, and being able to capture real, candid pictures were all really important to me. Thus, it took us 5 months to find the perfect photographer until we met Mark. I just happened to google image “photographers in chicago” (I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of that before. I’d just used The Knot and other sites), as a last minute resort to finding SOMEONE! And as I scrolled through an abundance of happily marrying couples, there were a couple that stood out to me. Surprisingly, they were all Mark Trela’s. I contacted him and went through his portfolio with my then-fiancé. We loved his candid shots, color, and composition, but decided to sleep on it and entertained a couple of other photographers throughout the next couple of days. But the more we did so, we knew he was the one. So just a month before our wedding, we set up a skype call because we weren’t in Chicago and things started to click. Mark was so comfortable, personable, and professional. He took into consideration all of the shots we wanted to take. Asked us about our story, our hobbies, and wanted to get to know more about us. i was just so thankful we had found him. It just got better from there. On the wedding day, he and his partner, Grace, arrived punctually and just did what they did best. Everyone felt very comfortable around them as they took candid photos of us getting ready, laughing, talking, sharing. What I was really impressed about was how he could come into the room, and know how to capture the perfect lighting, what resources laying around to use to make the picture beautiful, it was like he was drawing the story in his head in real time as the events took place! I could tell Mark saw beauty in things and knew hos to capture them to tell a story. My wedding day was the best day of my life. And when I saw my pictures exactly 6 weeks after my wedding (as promised), it really showed. He and Grace had perfectly captured all of our tears of joy, laughs, hugs, kisses... I went through the album twice already. It took about 2-3 hours to do so but each time, I was deeply moved by how I was able to relive each of the joyous moments through his pictures. And he took over 950 pictures! That means he captured more than 100 pictures for us per hour! And all of them were just so beautiful! Thank you Mark and Grace for this irreplaceable, inforgettable gift. We’re so blessed to have found you.

P.S. Mark’s photos got us a spot on The Knot magazine! He’s that talented! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

My husband and I could not be happier with our decision to choose Mark and Magda for our wedding photographers.
I searched far and wide for photographers that could capture the most beautiful and authentic moments of our special day. I'm so happy we stumbled upon them.

Authenticity
My husband and I decided that we didn't want a bunch of cliché photos. You know,
they ones you see at every other wedding photo on Facebook--ring on leaf, bride and groom jumping, dress lifted to show shoes. Although Mark and Magda would happily cater to those requests if that's your taste , I actually loved that they sought to capture more genuine and unposed moments. I have photos of my Papa crying down the aisle, my flower girl curiously looking at me as I change into my wedding dress, my bridesmaids and I touching up like high school girls in the bathroom. These were subtle, but more beautiful moments of the day. Mark and Magda have a gift of capturing these little nuggets of gold.

Professionalism
Mark and Magda are super down to earth and very professional at the same time. They were organized from start to end. Lord knows there are million tasks to worry about involving a wedding. I'm so thankful that photography was honestly the least of our worries. Expectations were clearly outlined from the beginning. Mark and Magda worked so well with our wedding coordinators and were flexible with particular family dynamics. They work extremely well together as a team.

Delivery
With my husband being Ghanaian and myself being Filipino, I requested that our photos reflect a celebration of our multicultural union. They did just that. One of my favorite photos (of the many haha) is a quiet moment of my mother in law helping me put on an African head wrap. It was a rare time during the crazy day where I could just sit down and enjoy some quality time with my new mom. I love that photo so much.

Timeliness
My husband and I were so surprised at how fast we got our photos back. I don't even thi More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Working with Mark and his wife was fantastic. They are friendly and knowledgeable and never pushy. They also have a great attitude which was necessary when it ended up raining much of the day on our wedding. Mark texted me several days before the wedding, saying he's been tracking the weather and it looks like rain is likely. He recommended that I purchase clear umbrellas as this makes for nicer photos. I did and he was correct. I did feel like I needed to be very specific about the photos that I wanted as some staples are missing...like photos with my parents. We never took any!! Oops. I was so scatter brained that I really needed the photographer to remember those kinds of things and regret it to this day. I think there will always be moments you don't capture, so besides that, the experience was great. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Magda & Mark are the best! They shot our wedding and captured the day perfectly. Along with being incredible photographers, they are incredible people. They took time to get to know us and our vision before the wedding which helped us feel very comfortable. They are friendly, efficient, and extremely professional. We couldn't be happier with our photos! You're in good hands with Mark Trela Photography. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Mark and Magda blew our minds! Their creativity, documentary style, heart, and hard work really showed in all the moments they captured for us. The photos were stunning and they really told a story. It was so fun to re-live the day as we looked through the images. It was a joy to spend our special day with these two for this is a true passion of theirs and they were wonderful to work with. They captured everything and were not obtrusive. We really were able to focus on each other on our wedding day because of them. They are very personable, creative, and professional. I highly recommend this powerhouse team who pays attention to the details, the light, the candid moments, and the overall story of our wedding. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

Wow, I don't even know where to start. First and foremost, this review is long overdue. Mark and Magda photographed our wedding in September of 2016 and were absolutely fantastic. From our initial meeting, my wife and I could tell Mark truly cared about providing excellent service and we immediately knew we were in good hands. The planning went smooth. Mark helped pick a first look location and scouted the spot beforehand to make sure it was ideal. Mark and Magda were able to capture the most memorable events of the day without being in your face and controlling. They provided solid advice regarding the best times to shoot and tips and tricks to get the best shots that really made a difference and helped capture the most beautiful wedding photographs I've ever seen (I am a bit bias). One of the best aspects was Mark offers hi resolution images without those nasty watermarks and an online gallery for family and friends to view. Seriously, stop looking for a photographer and hire Mark and Magda right now. You won't regret it. More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

We worked with Mark and his wife Magda for our June 2016 wedding in Chicago and highly recommend them.  We spoke with many wedding photographers, and the first thing which stood out about Mark Trela was he asked us what we wanted and how we envisioned the flow and schedule for our wedding day.  That was refreshing after speaking with several photographers who insisted we skip cocktail hour to take photos, not do a first look, etc.  

The pleasant phone conversation was telling because Mark and his wife Magda were a joy to work with throughout the rest of the process.  We don't live in Chicago, but they made every effort to accommodate our travel schedule and find a time to sit down and meet with us before the wedding.  On the day of the wedding, they were punctual, looked professional, made great suggestions on places to take photos and poses, and were just fun to be around.  After the wedding, they delivered our pictures promptly and worked with us to create a beautiful wedding album.  We were thrilled with the photos themselves - the pictures were natural, candid, not sappy, and truly captured the emotion and happiness of the day.  Many thanks Mark and Magda! More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

We first saw Mark’s work at Indie Wed Chicago and immediately fell in love with their style. We had our engagement session and wedding day photos done with Mark. Mark ensures there are multiple conversations before the wedding to ensure everyone is on the same page. They were very professional and timely each time we encountered. But most importantly, we felt comfortable about Mark and that made our photos turn out amazing. Our number one priority for the wedding day was finding the perfect photographer to capture our big day and I could not be happier with the results. If you have the opportunity, definitely work with Mark Trela for your wedding! (Married Oct 2016) More...

Reviewed on Google Maps