Chicago has chic down to a science. I don’t know what it is, but couples that call that city home know how to throw a glamorous affair. And this pretty little number from Robyn Rachel Photography and planned by Big City Bride is the perfect example. It’s Louboutin‘s and a gorgeous Rivini gown. It’s the gorgeous ballroom of Chicago Cultural Center filled with twinkling candles and florals from A Stem Above. This wedding is literally overflowing with gorgeous, and you can see it all right here.
From the Bride…Jimmy and I knew that we wanted to get married in Chicago right away- we met in Chicago- in poetry class at Loyola, we had our first date in the city and eventually, 6 years later, he proposed in the city- at the Art Institute at the same Lion his grandfather proposed to his grandmother. We still go to the same church in the city so we knew exactly where we wanted to have the ceremony.
We chose a winter wedding because Christmas is my favorite holiday and I LOVE the city right before the holidays with the lights and music. Everyone always seems to be in a great mood around the holidays no matter what. I wanted something different-after all, I had been in so many weddings, none of which were in the winter. We wanted a wedding unlike any we had gone to before and this time of year was perfect for that.
I would have to say I first knew I wanted a winter wedding when I saw Katherine Heigls wedding back in 2007-It was the first wedding I looked at in a magazine that truly took my breath away. She did all red and white- with candles everywhere which I liked at the time but 5 years later, I changed my mind abit. I wanted more of a glamour/vintage old Hollywood vibe while keeping it classic. I was looking for inspiration in hundreds of magazines and finally I found this one bouquet with amnesia roses- the perfect “vintage” colored flower. Its a pink/purple/beige/blue/gray color and it remains my favorite flower! I chose ivory flowers because that has the winter/snow touch and the light blue berries/ dusty miller also gave it the winter/holiday feel. I knew I wanted candles everywhere and mercury glass candle holders so I chose the textured gold table cloth to compliment the room and the mercuryglass. The candles gave it the romantic/night time feel that I was going for- I had to keep in mind that it was going to be dark outside during the whole reception since I chose to have a winter wedding. Rather than red, I chose eggplant was my “pop” of color to give the flowers, tables and room some dimension. I chose green because it gave that tiny Christmas touch without being too clich. I picked the mirrored Vases because my house is filled with mirrored furniture- I love it!! The baby’s breath at cocktail hour was inspired by the idea of making it feel like there was a huge poof of snow- It was important to me that I still had that winter vibe and since there was no snow outside that day- I am glad we had some inside (even if it was flowers).
I really took the beauty of the room & the Tiffany dome into account when choosing the color scheme. I wanted to compliment the room not compete with it. All the colors together looked so rich and sophisticated and that’s exactly what I was going for! We had round and rectangular tables and there were a total of 4 different tables capes. We wanted a combo of high and low center pieces. We liked the dimension it added to the room and it was important to me that everyone could talk amongst each other at the tables. The fruitwood chairs also gave it that touch of class I was going for.
I know that they like the DIY touches- I went to archivers for the favors and used a die cut to cut out all of the snowflakes and then I bought glitter spray to make them shimmer once they were cut and then I used 2 separate stamps for the “thank you” and the bride and groom. Then we just pre tied them and bought the stickers to make then stay in place on the prosecco bottles. Prosecco is my favorite wine and thats why we chose it as our favors for our guests.
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Photography: Robyn Rachel Photography | Event Planning: Chrissy Magliano, Big City Bride | Floral Design: A Stem Above | Transportation: Select & Royale Limousine Services | Linens: Big City Bride | Lighting: Video Light Sound | Band: Final Say | Cake: Alliance Bakery | Sweet Table: Sweet Mandy Bs | Food: Blue Plate | Invitations: Carlson Craft | Place Cards/Menus: Paper Source | Videography: Lexoria | Hair: Nicci Loiacono | Tuxes: Joseph Aboud | Wedding Dress: Rivini |Shoes: Christian Louboutin | Venue: Chicago Cultural Center