“I wore the gown my mom and aunt both wore, altered a bit to fit my tastes, along with my great-grandmother’s aquamarine necklace,” said this Chicago bride. And if you ask us, it was a wedding style home run! Taylor Lord, with assistance by Justin Tearney, captured this summer city celebration, planned by LK Events, absolutely dripping with beauty. From the classic elegance of the Chicago History Museum to the dreamy Jenny Yoo bridesmaid dresses, your eyes are in for a fabulous feast straight ahead!
From the Bride… Rob and I met in college, but didn’t start dating until after college while traveling Europe with a group of our friends. We bonded over our love for adventure and never looked back. We lived in Dallas for a few years before moving to Chicago for Rob’s career. After five years together, Rob proposed to me at Trump Tower overlooking the Chicago River and the next day we took off for French Canada to spend a few days celebrating together and talking about our next and best adventure.
We decided to get married in Chicago even though neither of us is from here. It’s the place where our relationship grew and blossomed and it will forever hold a special place in our hearts. We wanted to find a venue that had a Chicago vibe to it. After stepping into banquet hall of the Chicago History Museum, I got teary-eyed imagining us getting married there and quickly knew that was the right spot.
The day of the wedding, the girls got ready at the Public Chicago. The bridesmaids wore grey floor-length Jenny Yoo gowns and I wore the gown my mom and aunt both wore, altered a bit to fit my tastes, along with my great-grandmother’s aquamarine necklace.
Before heading to the museum Rob and I shared our first look in the privacy of the hotel room. Rob looked handsome in his custom Hickey-Freeman tuxedo from my family’s store in Dallas, Culwell & Son. The first look was my favorite moment of the day! I was pretty nervous all morning, but seeing him before we walked down the aisle was just what I needed. It was a perfect quiet moment for us to have all to ourselves and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
After we said our vows, we had another moment to ourselves to have a quick bite and a glass of prosecco before heading out to the terrace for cocktail hour. I loved that we had taken pictures before the ceremony and got to spend even more time with our guests who had traveled from all over the country.
The reception began with the cutting of our cake and then dinner was served. One of Rob’s favorite things I do for him is cook. The catering company, Food for Thought, re-created Rob’s favorite dish that I’ve cooked for him which made dinner really special and unique. Instead of giving speeches after dinner, we had done them the night before at our rehearsal dinner which was smaller and more intimate. After dinner, we moved to the dance floor for our first dances and soon after, the rest of the guests had joined.
We knew that we wanted our reception to feel like one big party and to us that meant great music and dancing. The incredibly entertaining and talented Gold Coast All-Stars played the entire night and guests danced for hours! The very last song was our favorite though. Our guests gathered around us in a big a circle swaying back and forth as we danced in the middle and as the song came to an end, they all ran in around us creating a huge group hug of sorts. It was a really special and emotional moment for us that we weren’t expecting.
Film photographer, Taylor Lord captured our entire day exactly as I had imagined. Her artistic eye left us with dreamy, ethereal images that captured the sweetest, candid moments of the day and her cheery personality put everyone at ease. The entire night ran perfectly without a hitch under the direction of Nicole Zenner of LK Events. She was the kindest, most thoughtful, and most patient wedding planner we could have asked for! We felt blessed to have worked with such amazing people who made the start of our new lives together everything we had imagined.
Photography: Taylor Lord Photography | Event Planning: LK Events | Floral Design: Stems, inc. | Wedding Dress: Patti Flowers | Cake: Amy Beck Cake Design | Invitations: Bella Figura | Rings: Dana Rebecca | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Catering: Food For Thought | Makeup: Brian Sutherby | Calligraphy: Heather Bloom Of Design Roots | Band: Gold Coast All Stars | Groom's Attire: Culwell & Son | Officiant: Dave Angle | String Quartet: Artistrings | Venue: Chicago History Museum | Photography - Assistance: Justin Tearney