Emily+Brian's River Roast Wedding

The Proposal: Emily and Brian got engaged on Sandy Beach in Rincon, Puerto Rico in late January.  They had decided a couple years ago that they would try to 

take a full week vacation each January to get a break from nasty Chicago winters. The engagement itself was well planned by Brian,

but a complete surprise to Emily. Emily has always loved a good picnic, so they decided to have cocktails and snacks on the beach

as the sun was setting on the second night of vacation. Emily and Brian had your usual upscale foods like chips & tostito salsa (a fav of Emily’s), pistachios,

your finest Puerto Rican meats, cheeses, and a $6 bottle of Pino Noir. Emily as she is known to be was distracted by some beach-goers down the beach, allowing Brian some time to change the music to The Hold Steady, and grab the ring from his bag. Emily turned back around

after a tap on the shoulder to find Brian on one knee with a ring. The result was instant tears! She then flagged down a friendly beach-goer who patiently followed orders to snap photo after photo to make sure every moment of this night was captured on film as to always remember the special moment.

The Wedding: Emily is a talented designer, and along with her mom, planned the wedding with some help from Darcy Gerber from River Roast Social House! Everyone got ready at the Marriott Hotel. Makeup was by Alex Kelley, and hair was by Tina Sclafani from Magnificent Brides. Emily wore a gown by Edgardo Bonilla from Dimitra's Bridal. He's from Puerto Rico, and happened to be in town when she was there looking for a dress! He helped customize the top of her dress and gifted her the sketch of her gown as a keepsake. She paired the gown with BHLDN shoes, a bracelet her mom selected, and earrings that have been passed down through the family. Bridesmaid's wore JCrew, and the Groom wore a Hart, Schaffener, & Marx custom suit, which he paired with a $5 tie he found on Ebay then slightly altered.
Finally everyone was ready for the wedding day, and we took Emily to see Brian for the first time outside the Wrigley Building. After the two had their moment we proceeded to take photos of the whole bridal party before continuing on to Assumption Church for the ceremony. Flowers were by Blumgarten & Co. and Emily designed her own stationary and invitations! (E Lovett Design)
The reception was held at River Roast Social House, and Emily told me she is STILL getting compliments about how good the food was! Cake and cupcakes were by West End Bakery, with music by Noah from Style Matters DJs. A great time was had by all!
Congrats Emily+Brian!

Erica+Doug's Salvatore's Ristorante Wedding

The Proposal: Late July 2013, Erica traveled to Paris with three girlfriends for 10 days. Doug had been invited but declined, stating he needed to save for “things". What Erica didn't know was that he was already planning to come to Paris to surprise her with a beautiful engagement ring! Doug was aided by Erica's best friend, Karina, and his friend, Jacek. 
On August 1, 2013, Karina and her Parisian friend Rafael, were going to take the girls for a night out, so they got all dressed up and met Rafael on the Bridge of Love, the lock bridge Pont des Arts.  Rafael was taking pictures of the girls on the bridge, and kept complaining about some guy  photobombing behind them. After several complaints, Rafael showed Erica the photo, and the photo-bombing offender that showed up on the camera screen was none other than Doug! Erica turned around only to see he really was there, looking handsome as ever. The couple walked towards each other, kissed and hugged, then Doug told Erica he loved her and wanted to “lock it down for life",  got down on one knee and blew her away with one gorgeous engagement ring. Of course, she said “Oui!” and they all celebrated into the wee hours of the Parisian Night, at Aux Trois Mailletz, an amazing Jazz Club, where the group danced on tables and toasted with plenty of champagne!

The Wedding: It's no surprise that after that amazing proposal, Erica and Doug would let subtle parisian themes come into play on their big day. Erica and the girls got ready at the Bride's own condo, with hair by Abby from Sharon Daniel Salon, makeup by Sara Parisi from Bella Lei Studio. Her gown by Enzoani from Dimitra's Bridal fit her perfectly. She paired it with bright orange heels by Nadia from Lord & Taylor, earrings from France, and a bracelet that was a gift from Doug.

 The Bridesmaid's had free reign to pick their own dresses! The Bride requested they be pink/red coral and short. Erica designed a piece of gold and tiffany blue jewelry for each of her girls with Sarah Savage of Driftless Jewelry. Doug and the guys got ready at the aloft City Center Hotel, and they wore suits from JoS. A Bank. Erica and Doug chose not to see each other before their ceremony at Old St. Pat's, but shared a little moment together (without peeking) and a prayer before mass.

After this fun couple officially tied the knot, we took some family photos in the park, then swept up the wedding party and headed out for their creative photography time around town. Hitting up the Board of Trade, one of the beautiful Chicago bridges, and Lincoln Park before heading to Salvatore's Ristorante for the intimate reception. Florals were by Keith Davis of KEDesign, cake by Oak Mill Bakery, and the macaroon wedding favors were by Pamplemousse Bakery. The reception fun featured a photo booth by ActionBooth, and music by DJ Skittles and DJ Masters Worldwide. 

Congrats Erica and Doug!

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