Professional Services in Elmwood Park

Lively photographers play off their high-energy subjects, moving around the studio as families, kids, and pets laugh, play, and display their natural character during relaxed in-studio portrait sessions. While cute and cuddly subjects often light up PortraitBug's flashbulbs, the photographers welcome a variety of other subjects, from families and expectant mothers to professionals in need of resume-worthy headshots and teens looking for the right glamour shot for their social-networking profiles. A link to a password-protected gallery grants continued, unlimited access to any previous shoots, shareable with friends and relatives for direct viewing and ordering.

To achieve a style that it describes as "fine-art photojournalism," the boutique studio employs an award-winning team of photographers and videographers. Instead of churning out the usual stand-and-smile wedding shots, Funico's crew focuses on capturing the little moments, the candid moments of laughter and tears, the subtle gestures of a deep, abiding love, and the living, breathing human rhythm of your celebration (see here for examples of recent engagement photos). After your shoot, you'll receive a webpage with a slide show set to music and an online gallery to share with loved ones, plus two high-resolution images of your choice that you can treasure forever and reprint as often as you like—use them for save-the-dates, wedding invitations, or to blow up for life-sized cardboard cutouts of yourself for your living room. To reserve your slot, make sure to contact Funico Studios at least seven days ahead of time.

Ovando follows the Gregorian calendar's lead with a seasonally changing array of fresh-cut flowers. Peruse Ovando's secret garden of seasonal arrangements, white blooms, and orchids arranged by owner Sandra de Ovando in stylish minimalist designs. The Romance in Red arrangement ($150+), housed in an ice vase, conveys amorous affection better than a cherry popsicle. The Floating Flower Ball ($125+) is a planet of petals ideal for a home, office, or top-secret surface-of-the-moon astronomy station. Be Prince Charming with the Lady Slipper orchid ($100), or wake up from a slumber of plastic petals with the fresh blooms of the Sleeping Beauty ($95+).

Pure Cleaners provides quality, personal service and state-of-the-art garment care, expertly removing stains and fishing-vessel stink with a detailed personal touch. Utilizing environmentally safe equipment and cutting-edge closed-loop machines, a trained staff and an army of grime-blasting cleaning robots clean shirts, skirts, pants, sweaters, and blouses ($5.75–6.50) as well as specialty fabrics ($1 extra for silk and linen). Remove cocktail sauce from a brand-new three-piece suit ($16) or pudding stains on a raincoat ($20). View the dry-cleaning pricing for all garment types here.

Good-Life Gourmet’s is a case study in multitasking. In its open kitchen, Chef Eric, an alum of the French Culinary Institute, routinely fries his signature falafel, teaches his cooking techniques to budding chefs, and prepares gourmet catering spreads. Although Chef Eric accomplishes a lot when he’s working, he maintains a fun, light-hearted environment, playing whimsical pranks on his coworkers, who include his three brothers and a team of local high-school students.

At Good-Life’s sandwich shop, a rotating menu gives palates the royal treatment with the aforementioned falafel, sliced-steak wraps, and butter-poached lobster rolls. Meanwhile, the kitchen’s BYOB cooking classes cover topics ranging from tapas to basic knife techniques, such as how to turn two meat cleavers into a huge pair of scissors. The culinary team tailors its catering feasts to each event, and pours its remaining creativity into the pop-up restaurant, Restaurant Maize, open occasionally in locations throughout the city.

Stephanie Reinish employs high-end lenses and a low-tech playful approach to capture moments both fleeting and profound in the lives of families, infants, and four-legged friends of any phylum. During a 45-minute on-location session, candid models can feel free to test out ideas of their own or simply allow Stephanie's keen eye to hone in on a vibrant backdrop or adventurous pose. After the shoot, clients choose an image from a lineup of 10 proofs, pointing out a portrait to imprison in an 11”x14” print on charges of identity theft. Groupon holders also get 10% off additional prints, such as 4"x6" ($45) to spruce up a barren work space or an 8"x10" ($45) to brighten up a barren mantle.