My very favorite weddings are typically classic as can be. I’m all about elegance and formality paired with family and tradition. Oh and if a Monique Lhuillier ballgown happens to be involved, you certainly won’t hear me complaining. So just imagine my excitement once I got my hands on these images from Jose Villa. True to form, he perfectly captured a celebration inspired by decades past, brought to life by Kehoe Designs and Reva Nathan. Follow me to The Vault for a glimpse into the moments that made up this day.
From The Bride…Our wedding was at our family home in the suburbs of Chicago. It was important to both of us to get married in an intimate setting where we could create the vision we had for the evening without a ton of constraints. We were inspired by images with lots of greenery and exuberant amounts of delicate flowers. With this in mind, we wanted to highlight the natural beauty of the venue and create an environment dripping in decadence. Our main goal was to try and create an over-the-top party inspired by decades past with elements of art deco and an abundance of gold – these juxtaposing ideas were executed flawlessy by our event team by utilizing a transparent tent and lining the tent was with trees. This gave the illusion that guest were dining al fresco while the tables had overflowing boxes of flowers and endless amounts of vintage pastel China lending to the air of luxury and extravagance.
Through the entire planning and execution of our special day we wanted our personalities to shine through and make a lasting impact on all who were in attendance. Since I am a Chef & Brian loves to eat, food was a huge part part of the puzzle for us and we added little surprises all along the way to pay homage to our other true love- some of the highlights included a sushi station by our favorite local restaurant (sushi dokku), an entire tent fashioned into a bakery named after my pastry company, Sweet Lyon, complete with a neon sign and all! The pastry tent was stocked with desserts from all of our favorite bakeries across Chicago and there was custom packaging branded for the day to send guests home with goodies. Late night we had a pancake food truck (Baby Cakes) and a portable wood burning oven making the most delicious pizzas for guests to take on the buses back to the city by The Nomad food company.
Photography: Jose Villa Photography | Cinematography: I Do Films | Event Design: Kehoe Designs | Event Planning: Reva Nathan | Floral Design: A New Leaf | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Cake: Amy Beck Cake Design | Stationery: Elizabeth Grace | Bride's Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Rings: Tiffany & Co. | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bella Bridesmaid | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Monique Lhuillier | Catering: Sushi Dokku | Catering: Bacco Ristorante | Catering: J And L Catering | Catering: The Nomad Food Company | Band: Chuck Wansley After Hours | Groom's Attire: Tom Ford | Officiant: Rev Dana Thomas | Ceremony Music: Pasquale Laurino | Transportation: AFSL Inc | Transportation: Cosmopolitan Custom Limousine | Venue: At Home | After Party Music: DJ Pat Valley | Dessert: Babycakes | Dessert: Glazed And Infused | Dessert: Floriole Cafe And Bakery | Dessert: Jennifer Clarke At The Peninsula Chicago | Photo Booth: Brooke Courtney Photography | Rentals: Halls Rental | Rentals: Frost Productions | Rentals: BBJ La Tavola | Rentals: The Festive Frog | Rentals: Classic Party Rentals