This Classic Chicago Wedding Is Filled With Elegance and Sophistication
Chic, cool, and totally timeless- this classic Chicago wedding is a must see. Coordinated by K & K Celebrates and designed by Frost Chicago, this dreamy day at The Old Post Office is filled with wow moments. From a lush bridal bouquet to hanging flowers that dazzled as guests entered the reception space, blooms by Vale Of Enna were the exclamation point of the affair. Each moment was elegantly captured in time in the imagery by Bonphotage, visit the full gallery for a closer look.
From K & K Celebrates... Tess and Eric met in New York. It took moving to New York to find each other even though they are both from the suburbs of Chicago! Tess dreamed of having their ceremony at ST. MICHAEL’S OLD TOWN in Chicago, IL as it's the same church her parents and grandparents got married at as well! Tess and Eric's wedding date is very close to the the anniversary of the brides parents which is why they chose their wedding date of June 25th! To celebrate, the reception had a special moment for the parents of the bride on the dance floor! The bride also wore her grandmother's necklace during the ceremony making it truly special and sentimental. The reception took place at The Old Post Office, a historical landmark in Chicago! Tess and Eric were very thoughtful about the experience their guests would have and knew The Old Post Office would be a treat for everyone! Guests headed upstairs for cocktail hour and were able to enjoy the modern lounge with great conversations along the wrap around bar. They could also enjoy the couple's signature His and Her drinks: Eric-Bud Light, Tess-Espresso Martini. The reception took place in the Historic Lobby which stuns in it's Art Deco design. Continuing with the gold leaf ceiling and brass throughout the Historic Lobby, the decor continued to include brass and gold throughout the design. With the grand ceiling height, tall center pieces and candles were definitely able to make a wow factor. The decor was complete with breathtaking hanging florals that left everyone in awe as they walked into the reception room. Tess and Eric opted for a champagne tower but Tess made it more special for Eric by making it a "beer" tower! After the beer was poured, the wedding party came up to join them and grabbed a glass! The bride included a second look for reception that perfectly coordinated with her ceremony gown by Elizabeth Fillmore Bridal. The dance floor was fantastic all night long, Tess and Eric were at the center of it all! Everyone's hearts were tugged when Tess's grandpa grabbed the microphone and sang "My Way" by Frank Sinatra and surrounded him as he took center stage. Dancing ending with Tess and Eric on guests shoulders during their last song "Time of my Life" but the party continued back upstairs for an after party for more espresso martinis and pizza!
From the bride... While Eric and I grew up about 20 minutes from each other in the suburbs of Chicago, we weren't introduced until he moved to New York in 2016. I had been living there for two years when my cousin -- who went to high school with Eric -- reached out to ask if I could show his friend around. Six months of fun, friendly meet-ups passed, and in the fall of 2016, the Cubs were in the World Series. We're both from big baseball families, and we watched the playoffs together in bars across New York City. November 2016 saw a historic Cubs win... And our first date at Brooklyn Brewery. He had apparently asked my cousin for his blessing back in August, and I had no idea! Five years later we made the decision to move back to Chicago, where Eric proposed. When we began planning our wedding, we knew we wanted it to be both a nod to our New York relationship roots, and our family history in Chicago.
Being the youngest of four siblings, with a huge Italian family of many cousins, aunts, and uncles, it was important to me to honor our family traditions while still finding ways to make the wedding feel special to Eric and me. Our ceremony took place at ST. MICHAEL’S OLD TOWN, the same church where my parents, brothers, and grandparents married, as well as where my grandfather was an altar server when he was growing up. To make it our own, we opted to write our own vows in addition to the church vows, which became my favorite moment of the day (Eric had the whole room in tears). We host friends quite a bit, so we wanted our cocktail hour and dinner service to reflect that. I worked closely with our (incredible!) DJ, OKYNE MEDIA, to come up with a playlist and timeline that made guests feel like they were at a restaurant rather than a wedding, and the energy really reflected that all night. While our venue was stunning and elegant, we are a social, more casual couple, so having lounge seating, pool tables, and bocce ball at the cocktail party was very much our speed. Similarly, we made sure to honor the beauty of the Old Post Office's Historic Lobby by keeping decor to a minimum, but added candles and statement florals to warm up the room. The highlight was our Bud Light champagne tower, which was a nod to Eric's favorite drink of choice, in lieu of a wedding cake. Thanks to Al, our caterers, and our coordinators, the timeline ran smoothly so we could get to our favorite part of every wedding: the dance floor. We have many family traditions on the dance floor, from my grandpa's serenade of "My Way" to our crazy, chaotic dance to "That's Amore," and it was so special to not only share with Eric's family, but our friends across NYC and Chicago. When "Empire State of Mind" came on, our whole NYC crew joined in, and I don't think we left the dance floor once. Our family and friends really showed up for us and we felt all the love in the room on our wedding day!
