Yay! Hooray! We won! Okay, it’s not like we ran a marathon or even accepted the Bachelor’s final rose, but we’re so thrilled to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards for 2011 from WeddingWire! It means we’re in the top 5% of wedding planners nationwide and more importantly, it means our brides (and grooms!) are happy with the work we do for them. And we feel so lucky to be able to do it! Looking forward to another fantastic year.
So you already know that Elizabeth & Mike got married. And that it was a glorious, intimate Chicago wedding at A New Leaf. But you need details! And pictures! And fluffy clouds and rainbows! So here you go….
It all started with a little yellow pair of shoes at The Sofitel downtown.
Elizabeth got a finishing touch on her veil before seeing her groom for the first time while Mike got all spruced up and ready for his bride.
So Elizabeth picked up that gorgeous train and hailed a cab instead.
A photo shoot downtown occurred, until that pesky “day-of” timeline insisted that they stop and come get married already! So they walked away until these guys insisted on one more song…
Back at A New Leaf things were ready to go and a bridal party was demanding to be photographed!
Mike and Elizabeth had one last quiet moment together alone…
It was time…
and just like that, they did it!
Elizabeth’s sister (and Maid of Honor) Katie, gave a hilarious toast to the newlyweds.
They shared some cake, a dance and some quiet time in the ribbon room before the party ended and they jetted off to Italy for their honeymoon.
It just could not have been easier or more fun working with these two incredible people. To Mike & Elizabeth, I loved being “the other Elizabeth” in your lives during the ups and downs of wedding planning. Seeing it all come together for you on this day was beyond rewarding. While my in-box felt strangely empty after it was all over, I am so grateful to know that I will be seeing you again at another Lindner extravaganza in 2011! In the meantime, may your sandwiches never have mayo, your stockings be full of sauerkraut and your glasses full of mojito! (You truly won’t regret it.)
Elizabeth + Mike’s vendors:
Ceremony & Reception: A New Leaf
Catering: Food Evolution
Guest Accommodations: Sofitel Chicago Water Tower
Rehearsal Dinner: Gino’s East
Photography: Michael Rastall Photography
Florist: Rachelle with A New Leaf
Wedding Style: Anticipation Events
DJ: Kristin with Toast & Jam
Ceremony Music: Panache Entertainment
Hair: Sine Qua Non
Make-up: MAC
Cake: made by family members!
Alcohol: Binny’s Beverage Depot
Wedding Planning: Anticipation Events
Well hello there. Meet Mike and Elizabeth:
Amazing. They are amazing. Their families and friends are amazing. Their wedding was amazing. Want to see more?? I knew it! Their fabulous photographer Michael Rastall captured their wedding and reception that was held in late August at A New Leaf in Chicago. I’m going to break this up into two posts and first show you all of the things I made for their day. Elizabeth and Mike were planning from Washington DC and Elizabeth basically said, “here’s what we want, I trust you, go for it.” Music to my ears. Angels singing, birds chirping. I had the pleasure of doing their save-the-dates and invitations so I had a pretty good handle on their style, which is sophisticated and classic, a little preppy, urban/modern and so much fun. They let me get a little cheeky as well, which you know I love. Behold:
The save-the-dates were done in their wedding colors of black, white, yellow and gray. Each card had a calendar of August with their wedding date hand-stamped and embossed with a yellow heart. There was also a small tag attached with yellow and white baker’s twine that had the hotel accommodation information on it so guests could start booking right away. We used a gray envelope that I lined with yellow and white striped paper to mail them.
The invitation came in another gray envelope and was lined with floral wallpaper from Anthropologie that gave a subtle nod to the floral element of their venue. The invitation was an accordion fold tied up with a yellow grosgrain ribbon. I drew a line drawing of the Chicago skyline that went across the entire invite so when it was opened all the way the whole skyline was visible. The last panel of the invitation was and RSVP postcard that was perforated so that guests could fill out their RSVP, rip it off and drop it in the mail. Easy-peasy!
Using scrap paper from all of the various paper projects I worked on for them, I created a backdrop for their ceremony space. It turned out to be one of my very favorite things. The pictures Rastall took aren’t too shabby either!
I also created programs for the ceremony. I used black linen cover stock to make a little cover for them and punched a heart shape from the wallpaper we used for the invitation liners for the front (we used this everywhere, wait and see!) Simple, classic, effective. The two page program was printed on white linen paper and affixed inside of the cover for guests to look over before the ceremony began.
This kissing ball was put to excellent use by their adorable flower girl—yellow flowers and a gray satin ribbon.
To welcome guests (and let them know they were in the right place, since it is a flower shop and not a traditional wedding venue) I made little signs out of chalkboards and ribbon:
For their favors, Mike and Elizabeth wanted to give their guests a little “taste of Chicago” so they got bags of Garrett’s “Chicago Mix” popcorn. Heaven! I created little thank you tags for them out of them with a thank you message from Mike and Elizabeth on each. I backed them with the wallpaper, tied them with the twine from the save-the-date and embossed a yellow heart on each, just so we could all come full circle.
And of course, a little thank you banner for their thank you notes.
*All good photos were taken by the outstandingly talented Michael Rastall Photography. Simply amazing he is! All crappy photos are my own. Le sigh.
Also, I failed to mention that Annie and Jared’s wedding was made famous by the gorgeous blog, Green Wedding Shoes. Check it out!
Felisa and Matt got hitched in April at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and then partied the night away at Architectural Artifacts. Felisa and Matt met at Lollapalooza (which is awesome) and working with them was such a pleasure.
They got ready to go to the church:
and then, they were off.
One of my favorite things about this wedding was two little lines on the time line that Felisa had written for this moment:
M to wait for F + F to walk to M
Once they were husband and wife, Michael Rastall stole the bridal party for a magazine-worthy photo shoot.
Back at Architectural Artifacts, a bevy of people were making things happen so that all of the details Felisa & Matt had planned would be ready and waiting for the guests’ arrival. Ben & Joe, two of Felisa’s friends took on the task of doing all of the flowers for the day. They spent the entire day and night before the wedding creating bouquets and boutonnieres for the ceremony, escort cards made up of individual pails with single white roses for each guest and multiple pails of white roses for the table centerpieces and cocktail tables.
They were amazing and I hope they were able to sleep for the entire next day. We used antique candelabras from Architectural Artifacts along with the flowers to create dramatic and eclectic centerpieces.
I hung a moss-covered monogram from the arch to welcome guests that Matt’s dad made.
Again I’ll say it: I get to work with the best couples who surround themselves with some pretty fantastic people. Felisa and Matt’s wedding was truly a celebration of their love for each other, filled with a whole lot of joy. I can’t wait to see what life brings these two crazy kids.
And rain or shine, as long as Matt keeps waiting for Felisa and Felisa keeps walking towards Matt, their life together will be quite the party.
*all photos in this post taken by the heroic and charming Michael Rastall of Michael Rastall Photography
Felisa + Matt’s Vendors:
Ceremony: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Reception: Architectural Artifacts
Catering: Food Evolution
Photography: Michael Rastall Photography
Florist: Ben & Joe, friends of the bride
DJ: Leslie with Toast & Jam
Transportation: M & M Limo
Cake: Lindsay, friend of the bride
Day-of Coordination: Anticipation Events