There comes a point in my day when it’s time to shut down the computer, put away the pretty for another day, and step back into the real world. That point was just after I opened up this wedding. And here I am, hours later, still pouring over every beautiful image from m three studio. I was drawn in by a beautiful wedding and held captive by a relationship worthy of hours and hours (or perhaps days) of my time.
From the beautiful bride… Many brides hire a wedding coordinator to help through all the details of planning a wedding. I had my mother. She was just as excited as I was from start to finish. From helping with picking vendors to organizing all the little details that can so easily be forgotten by a busy bride, my mom ensured everything went smoothly up through the day of the wedding.
We had talked about an outside ceremony but the risk of bad weather and needing to have a plan B was something that held me back. The moment Kevin and I walked into the Patrick Haley Mansion in Joliet, IL, we knew right away this was the place we wanted the wedding. Built in 1889, the mansion had a timeless beauty yet had the most elegant ballroom with oversized windows and French doors on every side that opened to the spectacular grounds. The ballroom had a fabric draped ceiling, large chandeliers and gold accents throughout its décor. The linens were ivory and I choose to add gold flowing sashes on the back of each chair, which brought out the gold in the room and matched the edging on the china place settings. The ballroom opened directly to the back of the mansion to a paved patio with an aisle that took you down to a large white pergola with a hanging chandelier surrounded by flowering plants, trees and running water ponds on either side. What a perfect location for an outdoor wedding and if the weather didn’t cooperate the ceremony can be set up in the ballroom.
There is such natural beauty at the venue that there wasn’t a need for too many flowers. We decided to have Karen our florist attach a long tulle bow on the aisle chairs and line the aisle with a thick row of fresh rose petals that matched the flowers in my bouquet, ivory, blush & a touch of lavender. I loved the elegance of the ballroom as it was and I wanted to keep the centerpieces on the tables simple. Karen was great in helping me decide on a combination of blush rose heads in a small bubble vase filled with crystals alternating with floating tea candles.
My mother in law has such a talent with any DIY project. She helped with all these details from the antique key place cards, the invitations, card box etc.
Inspired by the venue we decided to have a string quartet play classical music for our wedding. Artistrings played beautifully and just added to the atmosphere and timeless elegance of our surroundings.
Many brides have a certain aspect of the wedding that is most important to them. My top priority was the photography. I wasn’t looking for just another photographer to take posed pictures, but someone that will capture the moments in a style and creativity. I found Molly from m three studio. She and her assistant did such an incredible job and were so fun to work with. One of my favorite moments of the entire day was taking the bride & groom pictures. Molly has a gift for bringing out natural moments for each picture and making it fun while doing so.
There were so many memorable moments throughout my wedding day from the excitement of getting ready at the mansion to the anticipation of the start of the ceremony. It was a beautiful sunny day perfect for an outdoor wedding. The time has come for it all to begin. As the string quartet played Mothers Boughs Cannon my dad walked me down the aisle to marry my best friend. Some might say a bride should expect something to go wrong on her wedding day but I can say that my wedding turned out perfect. Everything was exactly as I had imagined and hoped for. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Photography: m three studio | Florist: Flowers By Steen | Cake: The Baking Institute | Makeup: City Lights Makeup Artistry | DJ: Music By Design | Ceremony Music: Artistrings | Venue: Patrick Haley Mansion