Arcade Elopement & Engagement Photos at Galloping Ghost

May 23

Looking for an arcade near Chicago for fun, candid engagement or elopement photos? Galloping Ghost might be the spot for you!

I recently photographed a 2-hour elopement session for a couple who had their ceremony at Chicago City Hall. After the ceremony and portraits at City Hall, we headed to Galloping Ghost in Brookfield, Illinois, a retro arcade filled with classic games and plenty of personality.

But what made this location even more special was that Galloping Ghost was where my clients had their very first date!

I absolutely love when couples choose locations that are already part of their story. It makes the session more personal and fun for them.

Why Choose an Arcade for Your Engagement Photos?

Not every engagement session needs to take place in a park, on a beach, or against the Chicago skyline. If you and your partner have a favorite arcade, restaurant, coffee shop, or other place that means something to you, consider bringing your photographer there!

An arcade like Galloping Ghost gives your photos a fun and energetic look while also giving you plenty of opportunities for natural interaction.

Planning an Engagement Session at an Arcade

One of the most important things to remember when choosing a non-traditional location is to talk to the venue ahead of time.

My clients brought up the idea of Galloping Ghost before our session, which gave me enough time to reach out to the staff and find out whether professional photography was allowed and what their requirements were.

I asked about:

📞 Whether professional photography was allowed
⏰ How long we could photograph
💰 Whether there were any photography fees
👥 Whether there were any crowd or capacity considerations
📋 Any other rules or terms we needed to follow

Thankfully, the Galloping Ghost team loved the idea and was happy to host us for a one-hour session!

Photographing During Business Hours

What's interesting about this session is that we didn't photograph before opening or after closing. We actually arrived around 12 p.m. while Galloping Ghost was already open.

Since the couple's City Hall ceremony was at 11 a.m., this worked best with our timeline. I coordinated with the staff beforehand to make sure our session wouldn't interfere with their busiest hours, and they were completely fine with us coming in.

This is why communicating with a location ahead of time is so important. You may not always need a private or after-hours session—you just need to find a time that works for both you and the venue.

Things Couples Should Consider

📋 Make sure you understand their rules before arriving.
🕹️ Think about which games or areas are especially meaningful to you.
❤️ If the location is part of your relationship story, tell your photographer!

Let the Session Be Fun!

Once we arrived, we introduced ourselves to the staff and got started.

Rather than immediately posing my clients, I wanted them to simply play some games and enjoy being together. This resulted in some of my favorite photos from the session because their reactions and interactions were completely natural.

Of course, I still provided posing guidance when needed, but my main goal was to capture what it felt like for them to be back at a place that meant so much to their relationship.

And that's one of my favorite things about incorporating meaningful locations into an engagement or elopement session. You don't always need to pose for every photo. Sometimes, you just need to give a couple the space to have fun together.

Is Galloping Ghost an arcade Worth Considering?

Absolutely!

Galloping Ghost is such a unique option for couples who want something fun, colorful, and different from the typical engagement location like a beach. With all of the retro arcade games, there are tons of opportunities for creative portraits.

And if you already have a special connection to the arcade, even better!

I had such a great time photographing this couple here, and I can't wait to go back for another fun session!

Jesse Leon

My name is Jesse Leon, and I’m originally from Woodstock, Illinois. Growing up, I always loved movies, but I never imagined working in the film industry or becoming a filmmaker myself. That changed during my sophomore year of high school when I took a multimedia production class and discovered my passion for working with cameras. I loved filming as a way to document the world around me.

One day, my professor encouraged me to start thinking about life after high school. At the time, I hadn’t considered any colleges, but she introduced me to Columbia College Chicago—a school known for its strong programs in media, film, and the arts. I was inspired by the creative freedom Columbia offered, and in December 2021, I received an email notifying me that I had been accepted for the Fall 2022 semester. I was thrilled, and I couldn’t have imagined the journey that was about to begin.

During my first semester, I enrolled in a class called Film and Television Production. For our final project, we had the choice to create a short documentary on a subject of our choice or direct a short scripted film. Directing a scripted film didn’t appeal to me as much, so I decided to make a documentary about my older brother, who had recently become a father at 19. Although I had never made or even watched many documentaries before, I was drawn to the idea of observing real life through the camera lens. That curiosity motivated me to teach myself how to film and edit a documentary.

After completing the project and sharing it with my class, I discovered a new passion—telling stories through real experiences. I realized that documentaries offer a powerful way to explore our society and humanity as a whole. Through this passion, I also began to gravitate toward photography. I hadn’t taken many photos before, but filmmaking helped me recognize photography as another way to document the world.

Through both filmmaking and photography, I’ve learned the importance of capturing the moments that define our lives—the celebrations, the milestones, the love. These memories, preserved through a photograph or a film, can live on forever. That’s what draws me so deeply to these art forms: their power to tell human stories and preserve them for generations to come.