real anticipation events' weddings Archives | Page 39 of 43

modern rock and roll wedding at the hard rock hotel

Katie & Jeff were married at the Hard Rock Hotel on Michigan Avenue on 9.10.11. A fantastic date to get married and even more special because while they celebrated their wedding weekend, Katie’s parents celebrated their wedding anniversary too! It was so sweet! I am particularly tied to this crew as I had the pleasure of helping Katie’s sister Elizabeth with her wedding to Mike last year. It was so fun to see the whole family again!

Katie and Jeff shared their first look before the ceremony and then had their bridal party join them for a photo shoot around the city courtesy of Mr. Michael Rastall himself.

Back at the Hard Rock we were ready to begin. Katie’s dad escorted her down the aisle to her beaming groom.

One of the major style elements Katie wanted to do was transform the Hard Rock’s conference room into a beautiful space to get married. We nearly set the room on fire with massive amounts of candles. We created aisle decor using records, ribbon and paper flowers and Janessa of Forget Me Knodt made sure we had some towering floral pieces in the room. The biggest piece I made was the floral backdrop. It included paper, satin and grosgrain ribbon along with dozens of strands of flowers made from tissue paper, deconstructed faux flowers and yes, coffee filters. Who’d have thought? (this girl!!)

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Some vintage sheet music punched into heart shapes played into the vintage rock & roll theme we had going on and guests were invited to shower the newlyweds with love on their way back down the aisle…

…and showered they were! (Side note: I found these miniature cups at the craft store and they were perfect for holding a handful of confetti. They are meant for individual portions of mixed nuts and therefore called “nut cups.” Katie and I found that pretty hilarious and it was pretty tough to type it or say it aloud to each other without giggling uncontrollably.)

I hit the jackpot one afternoon at my neighborhood thrift store and feverishly send texts to Katie about finding a giant box of old 45’s that we HAD TO HAVE. She agreed (I like her SO much) and even though we weren’t sure at the time how we were going to use them. To go with their vintage rock and roll theme, I built a structure out of PVC to hang the place cards from (I mixed my own concrete for the first time, which was as awesome as it sounds.) Each couple received a hand-painted record with their name and table number on it, we used light pink, ivory, silver and gold and strung them from black ribbon via clothespins. This really turned out exactly how I envisioned in in my dreams (yes, I dream about bring crafty) which almost never happens.

We hired Chicagoland Photobooth to entertain their guests and boy, did they ever — complete with props Katie gathered up and a guest book so they could enjoy each ridiculous photo after the fact!

We used some of the remaining records to create Mr. & Mrs. signs for the back of Katie & Jeff’s chairs, the cake table and the card box. Katie found this amazing cake topper on Etsy and we had many a conversation on whether she wanted to spend the money on it. Totally worth it, it’s so stinking cool.

Yum. Amazing cake by Swedish Bakery for the cake topper to reign over.

One last photo shoot with Michael Rastall capped off an incredible evening for Mr. & Mrs. Jones. What a fantastic party for a fantastic couple.

Katie & Jeff’s Vendors

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Hard Rock Hotel Chicago
Planning & Styling: Anticipation Events
Photography: Michael Rastall Photography
Florals: Forget Me Knodt
DJ: Alexander with Cage & Aquarium Productions
Cake: Swedish Bakery
Ceremony Musicians: Panache Entertainment
Photobooth: Chicagoland Photo Booth
Cake Topper: Tilly Biedron
Groom’s Custom Fingerprint Wedding Band: Fabuluster
Invitations: Invited Ink
Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew
Bride’s Shoes: Vera Wang Lavender
Bride’s Jewelry: Nadri
Bride’s Dress: Tara Keely (Fall 2010) from Wedding Belles

outdoor barn wedding at byron colby barn

Stephanie and Brian’s wedding at Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake in August was the outdoor barn wedding of our dreams. Both Brian and Stephanie are super creative and artistic and put a ton of effort into making their day unique to them. Which is my MOST FAVORITE thing. Brian’s hat and bowtie were so dapper and Stephanie rocked an amazing dress and killer shoes:

Stephanie’s dad has passed away but Stephanie kept him close by all day long on her bouquet.

Stephanie and Brian were super troopers trucking through the fields surrounding the barn with Jeremy Lawson to get these shots. Stephanie even brought some little insect friends back with her trapped in the layers of her wedding dress! And yes, that was just after they shook hands with Mr. Ed.

Then it was time to get married!

So I rallied the troops: Stephanie’s brother escorted her down the aisle, they exchanged rings, shared a smootch.

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Brian just could not help himself: a fist pump on the way out of the ceremony.

I mean, when you are marrying this girl, who wouldn’t be?

Fabulous details from the party follow. By now you know this is my absolute favorite part, right? Right.

Stephanie collected doilies that we fashioned into table runners and blue mason jars that Nancy filled with gorgeous wildflowers.

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Stephanie and her family made these magical magic wands for their guests to shake and wave as Stephanie and Brian walked back down the aisle as a married couple. Then they shook them when the bridal party was announced, and when they shook their booties on the dance floor and I’m hopeful they shook them back at the hotel and at brunch the next morning as well!

A lot of laughing, singing, drinking and dancing capped off an incredible day celebrating two incredible people. S & B: It was so much fun to be a part of your day and may you always be able to laugh off the bugs that fly up your dress!

Stephanie & Brian’s Vendors
Venue: Byron Colby Barn
Photography: Jeremy Lawson Photography
Planning: Anticipation Events
Florals: Nancy Rolison Designs
DJ: Stax-O-Wax
Catering: Catered Productions

destination vintage vineyard wedding in michigan

Melissa and Pete were married in June at a vineyard in Michigan. They live in Chicago and wanted to have a mini-destination for their friends and family that were coming from all over the country. Melissa is a graphic designer and spent so much time on the paper and graphic elements of the day which were amazing. Melissa got ready in the bridal cottage with her mom and two bridesmaids and got a lift to the top of the aisle in a rolls royce.

Even though the night before it was raining, they were married in front of their family and friends with not a drop of rain in sight. After the “i do’s” the took a stroll through the vineyard and grape vines with Sarah & Kevin.

In the spirit of the winery, Melissa and Pete made place cards from wine corks, table numbers and adorable mini-wine bottle favors for their guests to take home at the end of the night. From the lace motif Melissa created for the invites and paper goods to the lace wrapped votives, rustic bird house card box and antique framed signage, everything perfectly fit into their vintage vineyard theme.

Congrats Melissa and Pete on a beautiful day and many fantastic years to come!

Photography courtesy of the lovely and talented Sarah Anna Photography

vintage wedding at architectural artifacts

Working with Eli + David was great. Both were so involved in making their wedding day special and uniquely them. From the mason jar wine glasses for each person, the vegan meal served for dinner and the homemade jam jars for favors (Eli is a natural foods chef!) to the carbon offsets, ‘no cut flowers’ mantra and a first dance set to salsa music, the day was completely theirs.

After looking at many venues to find one that suited them, we landed at Architectural Artifacts a fantastically eclectic venue. One of the best things about Architectural Artifacts is that they let you use all of their inventory at your wedding. I designed Eli and David’s centerpieces using globes, springs, milk jugs, books and boxes. We brought in orchids and other flowering plants and I covered them in burlap so that we still had gorgeous pops of color but no flowers were harmed and everything could be replanted. Guests loved taking them home at the end of the night. Eli’s brother grew microgreens for some of the tables and we even found a couple of bicycles we used in the centerpieces (David’s other true love!) from fair trade company Ten Thousand Villages. Eli and David sourced soy candles, their friend made pickles and Eli even whipped up truffles the week of the wedding to complete the tablescape.

We used an old metal locker to hang table cards using twine and clothespins that were made from leftover paper they used to create their invitations. Chalkboards were consistent throughout on the mason jars, table numbers, glass pick-up station and other various signage throughout the day. Every detail was well thought out and Eli and David’s wedding came together in an amazing way. A million moving parts converged into a day full of love and laughter that left no trace– other than thousands of memories, some pretty fabulous pictures and a beautiful beginning for Eli and David. Prepare yourselves for the fantastic-ness that follows!

Eli & David’s Vendors

Venue: Architectural Artifacts
Photography: Lark Photography
Planning and Styling: Anticipation Events
Videography: I Do Films
Band: Stu Hirsch Orchestra
Catering: Karyn’s
Ice Cream: George’s Ice Cream and Sweets
Service Staff: Service Is Us

city wedding at old st. pat’s church

Traci and Luke’s city wedding at Old St. Pat’s Church and The Tasting Room was definitely a party! Check out some eye candy from the day and of the handsome newlyweds!

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