Jai Girard Photography

THE BEST WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER IN CHICAGO. I AM OBSESSED WITH MY WEDDING PHOTOS!!! I feel sooooooo lucky that I had enough advanced notice to be able to secure Jai for our wedding. The photographer was one of the most important decisions to me, and I knew I wanted to have the best. After doing a lot of research, there was no doubt in my mind that Jai was the best. When we met with Jai I knew I had made the right decision. She is so personable and it was an absolute pleasure to work with her and her team the day of our wedding. There is not one thing I would change about our pictures. Some pictures are edgy, dramatic, daring, and unique, and others are classic, necessary and traditional. They are PERFECT and everything I could have ever wanted and more. Can I give Jai a hundred stars please??? HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you won’t be disappointed!!!

Jai is amazing, enough said. The problem with Jai is that you don’t know how good she is until you see her work… so it’s easy to settle with a photographer within your budget. There are plenty of average photographers for $ 4000 – 6000 … DO NOT MAKE this MISTAKE! Splurge on Jai. Spend the extra $! She’s worth every freaking penny!
So was out of my price range… but so was my Vera Wang dress… and both I could not be happier with!
Jai was on time, professional, her assistant Mariah was great, and she does throw mini artists fits but you don’t care because her photos are so good! Example — 20 million people came to my suite to see me get into my dress (thanks mom!). And I was overwhelmed… Jai wanted us out of the suite and on to photos ASAP. She was shouting that there we too many people — god love her.
She took amazing photos at the trump… inside and out (FYI get married at the trump because you gave full access to everything! And the trump is amazing!). Then she took great photos after the ceremony in Lincoln park with the zoo lights.
Lastly I didn’t want to be the crazy bride yelling constantly at people And family to get into a photo– Jai does that for you so you just smile and she gets everyone in line. I would not have done well with a quiet, easy going photographer. Let’s get this done people! And let’s get it done Jai Girard style which is 150 times better than any other wedding photographer.
Thank you Jai, you were amazing!

I wish there were ten stars that I could give Jai! Jai is simply the #1 photographer in Chicago. Period. I looked at 13 high-​end photographers in Chicago before meeting Jai because I felt like the photos would be the only thing we had left to enjoy after the event ended. After seeing Jai’s incredible studio and her portfolio on her website and getting to meet her and experience her upbeat personality, we hired her right away. (Even 18 months ahead of time, she had multiple inquiries for our wedding weekend, so we were lucky to get her!) Following her on Facebook, where she posts a few photos each week, helped me get really excited for our wedding! Jai spent two days of our four-​day wedding weekend with us and she and her team are amazing! Jai is incredibly passionate about what she does and brings intensity, excitement and joy to the room. We had such a great time spending time with her and she really heightened the enjoyment we got out of our special day. She did a great job interacting with our guests and family — kept everyone «in line» to get all the family photos done efficiently while always being professional, positive and fun. My family just loved her. Jai is incredibly creative and goes way beyond the standard posed photos of large groups of people that other photographers charge you an arm and a leg for. Her photos are creative, gorgeous and unique — they show the specialness and romance of a wedding day without being cheesy and made everyone look absolutely gorgeous. And she is tireless! We went all over the city until my feet simply couldn’t carry me anymore — so much fun! I can’t wait until we have another reason to call Jai for more photos!

Jai! OMG!!! 5 Stars is certainly not enough. I wish I could have Jai at every event! She is by far the best in the city, if not the country. Truly a visionary in photography. We hired her for our wedding weekend where she and her team did photos all day Saturday and Sunday. The photos came out amazing and she was the BEST to work with. We met with a number of other photographers all of which blended together and looked the same. Once you meet Jai and see her work you’ll be blown away. There is no comparison! Book early as she is in VERY high demand!

We have had Jai take our family portrait for the past three years (we first saw her work from a friend’s wedding photos). Her work is simply incredible. She has an awesome «eye» and your photos are guaranteed unique. She is clearly dedicated to going above and beyond for her clients and that will be evident in your photos.

I completely agree with C.G.‘s review: we need the option of bonus-​point stars for Jai! Jai Girard Photography is MANY steps above the rest.
Let me start by saying that it is not easy to plan a long-​distance wedding. While our wedding was in Chicago, my home town, my husband and I live on the east coast, so my mom graciously volunteered to be the face at all of our preliminary meetings with photographers. It was clear to both of us after looking at her work that Jai was going to be our photographer. We soon found out that her personality is as unique and incredible as her photos.
Jai made sure that she got to meet me and my then-​fiancé before our wedding. This made everything much more personal and made the two of us feel much more comfortable about decisions we’d made long distance. Furthermore, she made sure that we talked (on the phone, since it is more personal than email) during the week before the wedding so everyone was on the same time schedule. This is only the pre-​wedding work!
On our wedding day, Jai and her team appeared at the exact minute she said they would. They were all dressed in black and looked both unobtrusive and professional. Jai was so friendly and made me feel so special as she started taking pictures. My bridesmaids, my mom, and my mother-​in-​law all loved her enthusiasm as well; she definitely put our getting-​ready room in a celebratory room! My husband and I have HUGE families and she was able to take beautiful family portraits of each family and still stay on schedule. It was easy to take pictures with Jai, even for over 12 hours, because of her great energy. I don’t know how many people can say they had a great time taking wedding portraits but I know I can!
I have seen a few pictures from our wedding on Facebook and I am SO excited to see the rest because they are phenomenal. I think Jai and her team can make anyone look like a supermodel. If you want pictures from your wedding day, you have a large array of photographers in Chicago. If you want unique, meaningful, STUNNING wedding memories on film, RUN to Jai Girard Photography – she is, hands down, THE BEST!

Can I give 10 stars? Jai Girard is the best photographer in all of Chicago. Period. And I researched TONS of photographers for my July wedding. During our consultation, we liked Jai’s enthusiasm and her talent was very evident by the photos in her studio. She is not your typical photographer who takes picture after picture of groups of people. My husband and I appreciated her detailed nature and we could sense her passion for wedding photography. On the day of, Jai brought her A-​game. She has a take-​charge attitude and made sure that my day ran smoothly and on time. She was very professional and was able to handle all family situations with grace and ease. She was at the church ahead of me, and when I got there, she made sure we were where we needed to be and handed me my bouquet! I felt like she went above and beyond her photographer duties. She also knew the whole bridal parties first names after just a short time. I would hire her again in a second and would recommend her to anyone. She is worth the price. I haven’t received my pictures yet, but will try to update once I get them. I am so happy that Jai was a part of my wedding!

I just had Jai shoot my wedding and couldn’t be happier with our choice. She was so much fun all day and Dean and Clark were fantastic as well. They took some really different pictures and I cannot wait to see them. She is different then every photographer I looked at. You will be thrilled with her work.