Eileen+Joe's Blackstone Hotel Wedding

The Proposal: Eileen moved to Chicago in 2007, it quickly became home for her. She was lucky to meet life long resident Joe, and this is where their story began.  The night of the proposal, after a nice dinner out downtown, Joe asked Eileen to take a walk. They walked down Michigan Ave. and soon arrived at one of the couples' favorite Chicago spots - Buckingham Fountain. They watched the light and music show for a bit and then Joe turned to Eileen and proposed. It was the perfect night!

The Wedding: The day started with Eileen getting ready at the The Blackstone Hotel. Her hair and makeup were by Pin Me Up Chicago, and she wore a dress & bolero by Lea Ann Belter paired with her mother's wedding veil, Kate Spade shoes, and family jewelry.   The Bridesmaids wore Alfred Sung dresses from Bella Bridesmaids paired with their own pearls, while the Groom and Groomsmen wore suits from Men's Warehouse. Finally it was time for Eileen and Joe to have their first look! Then  we headed outside with the whole bridal party for photographs out on the town. After group photos we headed to Old St. Patrick's Church for Eileen and Joe's lovely ceremony. Flowers were by Flower Firm, and stationary was by Village Paperie .  Leaving Old St. Patrick's, we returned to the Blackstone for their reception. Catering was taken care of in house by the Blackstone, cake was by Cake Chicago, and the evenings entertainment was by  Monastero Entertainment.
It was a great night!
Congrats Eileen and Joe!

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!