Chicago Wedding from Becky Hill Photography
Family is such a major part of any wedding, and when a beloved family member passes away during the planning process, keeping them a part of the wedding becomes vital. This gorgeous bride lost her mother suddenly in the lead-up to her wedding, and she did a spectacularly lovely job of both honoring her mother's memory and making the wedding the joyous event she would have wanted. Becky Hill Photography did a wonderful job of capturing the day's smiles, and you can see the rest of this classic beauty right here!
And you can see even more of the day's sweetness in this amazing wedding film from I Do Films:
From the Bride... Ryan and I met shortly after I moved to Philadelphia for work. It was love at first sight, and he swept me away to a magical first date to see The Lion King in New York City. Even at the beginning, Ryan understood that I always wanted to move back to Chicago to be close to my family. A year into our relationship, I finally got that opportunity, and we packed up to move to the windy city. Ryan and I got engaged on a VERY hot Friday afternoon in September! I remember opening our apartment door, and Ryan was standing there with beautiful flowers, champagne and all of my favorite foods for a picnic. I should have realized something was up when it was only 10:30 a.m. We walked down to beautiful Dusable Harbor, and just as we were about to pop our champagne, Ryan got down on one knee and muttered those four words that every girl waits their whole life to hear. He had a hot air balloon ride planned and invited my parents down for dinner at Gibson’s Steakhouse later that night. It was the perfect day and one of the happiest moments in my life!
The person most excited about our wedding was my mom. The night of our engagement, she made us a beautiful cake, custom bride/groom shirts and she was the first to pull out the planning checklist! The last memory I have of my mom, before she unexpectedly passed away, was picking out my wedding dress; it is something I will cherish forever. After she passed, we considered not even having a wedding. How could we do it without her? My family encouraged us to move forward and that it was something that she would have wanted. To move on, we tried to incorporate her into our wedding as much as possible. One of the most heartfelt ways was having our relationship solidified by a unity candle that was lit from her memorial candle.
For our wedding venue, we decided on the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. Since we were inviting so many out-of-town guests, Ryan and I thought it would be the perfect location for our guests to fly in and out easily. I also loved the idea of having one location that could host both our ceremony and reception, and the large, renovated ballroom easily allowed for that. For our colors, I fell in love with pink and champagne early on when we chose our save-the-dates and decided to incorporate those soft hues in our flowers, invitations, bridesmaids' dresses and custom logo napkins. One of my favorite details of our wedding was our flowers. I worked at a florist throughout my high school years, and the day I got engaged, I called them to start planning. From the incredible topiary pieces to the crystal-wrapped bouquets, they truly went above and beyond and gave us a wedding better than we could have dreamed!
Wedding Photography: Becky Hill Photography / Wedding Venue + Catering: Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois / Floral Design: Celidan Creations, Inc. / Wedding Cinematography: I Do Films / Wedding Cake: The Baking Institute / Wedding Invitations + Place Cards: With Grace / Menus: hi note / DJ + Gobo Design: Al Okyne of Okyne Medialab / White Dance Floor + Draping: Yanni Design Studio / Ribbon Wands: Craft Up Your Life / Guest Book: Blurb / Wedding Dress: Martina Liana via Wolsfelt’s Bridal / Bride's Veil: Wolsfelt’s Bridal / Bride's Earrings + Bracelet: Anzie via Saks Fifth Avenue / Bride's Hairpins: Bethany Lorelle / Hair: Desi Perna of Exquisite Bride Hair Design by Desi (desiperna@comcast.net) / Makeup: Morgan Marie Beauty / Bridesmaids' Dresses: Lela Rose via Bella Bridesmaid / Bridesmaids' Necklaces + Earrings: Ann Taylor / Bridesmaids' Crystal Hair Accessories: Plume Delight / Men's Tuxedos: Black Tie Formalwear
The person most excited about our wedding was my mom. The night of our engagement, she made us a beautiful cake, custom bride/groom shirts and she was the first to pull out the planning checklist! The last memory I have of my mom, before she unexpectedly passed away, was picking out my wedding dress; it is something I will cherish forever. After she passed, we considered not even having a wedding. How could we do it without her? My family encouraged us to move forward and that it was something that she would have wanted. To move on, we tried to incorporate her into our wedding as much as possible. One of the most heartfelt ways was having our relationship solidified by a unity candle that was lit from her memorial candle.
For our wedding venue, we decided on the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. Since we were inviting so many out-of-town guests, Ryan and I thought it would be the perfect location for our guests to fly in and out easily. I also loved the idea of having one location that could host both our ceremony and reception, and the large, renovated ballroom easily allowed for that. For our colors, I fell in love with pink and champagne early on when we chose our save-the-dates and decided to incorporate those soft hues in our flowers, invitations, bridesmaids' dresses and custom logo napkins. One of my favorite details of our wedding was our flowers. I worked at a florist throughout my high school years, and the day I got engaged, I called them to start planning. From the incredible topiary pieces to the crystal-wrapped bouquets, they truly went above and beyond and gave us a wedding better than we could have dreamed!
Wedding Photography: Becky Hill Photography / Wedding Venue + Catering: Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois / Floral Design: Celidan Creations, Inc. / Wedding Cinematography: I Do Films / Wedding Cake: The Baking Institute / Wedding Invitations + Place Cards: With Grace / Menus: hi note / DJ + Gobo Design: Al Okyne of Okyne Medialab / White Dance Floor + Draping: Yanni Design Studio / Ribbon Wands: Craft Up Your Life / Guest Book: Blurb / Wedding Dress: Martina Liana via Wolsfelt’s Bridal / Bride's Veil: Wolsfelt’s Bridal / Bride's Earrings + Bracelet: Anzie via Saks Fifth Avenue / Bride's Hairpins: Bethany Lorelle / Hair: Desi Perna of Exquisite Bride Hair Design by Desi (desiperna@comcast.net) / Makeup: Morgan Marie Beauty / Bridesmaids' Dresses: Lela Rose via Bella Bridesmaid / Bridesmaids' Necklaces + Earrings: Ann Taylor / Bridesmaids' Crystal Hair Accessories: Plume Delight / Men's Tuxedos: Black Tie Formalwear