Eclectic Chicago Wedding
This, lovelies, is what happens when a style-savvy bride + planner (of Life Made Pretty, Inc.) marries her handsome beau in a vintage chic meets colorful extravaganza at the Bridgeport Art Center Skyline Loft: one moment after another of eclectic pretty. I'm talking vibrant anenome-filled blooms, glistening chandeliers and a sophisticated vibe that can't be beat. See it all captured by Jason Curescu right here.
And a sweet story from Ben Soleim...
From the Bride... This wedding was my dream come true!
I got to marry my life partner and we got to infuse our love into a wedding celebration. As creative director of my design company, Life Made Pretty, Inc., I knew I wanted our wedding to be spectacular.
Our ceremony was a religious ceremony held at my childhood church, Philadelphia Romanian Church of God which is an amazing architectural church that is a Chicago Historical Landmark. Though I was anxious to walk down the aisle, I felt a sense of stillness and calm right before the doors opened for me. With my dad's hat in my hands, I was ready to walk down the aisle on my own with my dad with me in spirit. In lieu of writing out vows and saying them in person, we created a little film together discussing our relationship and at the end of the video we read our vows. This video made our ceremony, I loved that we were able to share our love story with our guests. (video is attached)
Our reception was held at an equally amazing location -- an amazing spacious loft that had a view of the Chicago skyline. There was element of mystery for our guests who arrived at our reception location. When you walk up to the building there isn't an element of walking to a venue hall. It feels as if you are walking into a warehouse. Upon which an elevator operator awaits on a large elevator made to fit vehicles. As guest were brought up to the fifth floor loft they slowly heard the electric cello playing current pop songs. And when the stepped off the elevator they were wow'd with chandeliers, amazing beverages, a *juice bar* and a vintage lounge area. Since the loft was a bare space, we had a blank canvas to work with. We were able to bring in crystal chandeliers and create an installation of branch arrangements with hanging crystals. With the mirror top tables, the chandeliers and the amazing panoramic view of the city the space was simply sparkled and felt magical.
The overall aesthetic was really an eclectic blend of everything I personally am attracted to. I love glamour, I love vintage elements and I really wanted to capture a swanky formal feeling with bowties and evening gowns. Our bridesmaids each wore floor length evening dresses in different styles. I wanted each of them to feel comfortable but most importantly I wanted each of them to feel absolutely beautiful.
We created custom invites with the help of our designer Jenn Oster -- we created a story booklet of 4 pages. We also created a documentary style film together where we told our love story and then shared our vows. It's a must see! We get to cherish this forever.
Highlights of our wedding reception was seeing my mother-on-law and husband dance to a remake version of "Simple Man". Performed and recorded by my husband and his mom. Watching them dance to the slow acoustic version of this song made me extremely emotional as Benja's mom was recovering for ovarian cancer. It was a moment I will cherish always.
All in all, our wedding was extremely custom, we put thought energy and love into each of the elements whether it was the food, music, fashion, design... we put a lot of heart into our wedding, and for this it will always be memorable because we made it our own.
Best day of our lives.
I got to marry my life partner and we got to infuse our love into a wedding celebration. As creative director of my design company, Life Made Pretty, Inc., I knew I wanted our wedding to be spectacular.
Our ceremony was a religious ceremony held at my childhood church, Philadelphia Romanian Church of God which is an amazing architectural church that is a Chicago Historical Landmark. Though I was anxious to walk down the aisle, I felt a sense of stillness and calm right before the doors opened for me. With my dad's hat in my hands, I was ready to walk down the aisle on my own with my dad with me in spirit. In lieu of writing out vows and saying them in person, we created a little film together discussing our relationship and at the end of the video we read our vows. This video made our ceremony, I loved that we were able to share our love story with our guests. (video is attached)
Our reception was held at an equally amazing location -- an amazing spacious loft that had a view of the Chicago skyline. There was element of mystery for our guests who arrived at our reception location. When you walk up to the building there isn't an element of walking to a venue hall. It feels as if you are walking into a warehouse. Upon which an elevator operator awaits on a large elevator made to fit vehicles. As guest were brought up to the fifth floor loft they slowly heard the electric cello playing current pop songs. And when the stepped off the elevator they were wow'd with chandeliers, amazing beverages, a *juice bar* and a vintage lounge area. Since the loft was a bare space, we had a blank canvas to work with. We were able to bring in crystal chandeliers and create an installation of branch arrangements with hanging crystals. With the mirror top tables, the chandeliers and the amazing panoramic view of the city the space was simply sparkled and felt magical.
The overall aesthetic was really an eclectic blend of everything I personally am attracted to. I love glamour, I love vintage elements and I really wanted to capture a swanky formal feeling with bowties and evening gowns. Our bridesmaids each wore floor length evening dresses in different styles. I wanted each of them to feel comfortable but most importantly I wanted each of them to feel absolutely beautiful.
We created custom invites with the help of our designer Jenn Oster -- we created a story booklet of 4 pages. We also created a documentary style film together where we told our love story and then shared our vows. It's a must see! We get to cherish this forever.
Highlights of our wedding reception was seeing my mother-on-law and husband dance to a remake version of "Simple Man". Performed and recorded by my husband and his mom. Watching them dance to the slow acoustic version of this song made me extremely emotional as Benja's mom was recovering for ovarian cancer. It was a moment I will cherish always.
All in all, our wedding was extremely custom, we put thought energy and love into each of the elements whether it was the food, music, fashion, design... we put a lot of heart into our wedding, and for this it will always be memorable because we made it our own.
Best day of our lives.