Sunday, November 11, 2012

Brianne + Jeffrey Wedding | Chicago, Illinois | Felix Hotel | Prairie Production | Chicago Fall Wedding

i am so excited to share the photos of this gorgeous chicago fall wedding!!  no..not excited...that's an understatement.  i am an ear-to-ear grin type of giddy!! (and yes that sentence makes sense in my head).

i met brianne and jeffrey over a year ago over a cup of tea at sip coffee on the near west side of chicago and i left our meeting with a stitch in my side from laughing so much.  i know a lot of photographers say this, but my words are 100% truthful when i say they are one of the most fabulous couples i have ever met, and to get to know them is something special. 

brianne and jeffrey have a love that is fun, energetic, and downright romantic; the kind of roll in the ocean romantic that we gush over in movies.  when they look at each other they radiate and any onlooker can't help but smile. needless to say, i knew that their wedding was going to be amazing and fun and i could not wait to get them in front of my camera!!

the day started at the hotel felix; a sleek, green, and LEED certified boutique hotel in chicago’s near north side. the bridal party noshed on “brie” cheese and sipped champagne, and i held a private photo session with the bride draped in only her gorgeous custom-made veil, with vintage lace.  brianne was a timeless vision in her lazaro for tara keely dress, and she wore her grandmother’s vintage jewelry.  jeffery was fetching in his hugo boss suit with custom bow tie by shrine on oak.  The guys wore their own black suits, and the ladies did the same in their own black cocktail dresses; allowing their own styles reflected in the big day, an important detail of the bride and groom.  the bride's bouquet as well boutonnieres and corsages were created by sprout home, and featured deep red roses, rosemary, and organic mosses which accented the black and white attire classically.  red was the visual pop of the day, and it played beautifully against the black furnishings and stark white interior of prairie production where the ceremony and reception was held. 

brianne and jeffrey wanted their wedding to have personal touches that highlighted what they value most in life. their dogs raspberry beret and mike jones were the flower girl and ring bearer; mike jones donned a bone shaped pillow by designs by bam found on etsy, and raspberry wore a lovely corsage by sprout home. guests arrived to a surprise "welcome reception" by being greeted with libations and live rock music setting the mood for the day.  brianne, an interior designer, and inspired by her creative background, created cones made from her favorite wall paper, lacquer strie by philip jeffries, and filled them with white rose petals that hung from the chair backs along the aisle.  after raspberry beret was escorted down the aisle, guests were prompted to help throw the petals to the floor…since raspberry could not do it herself.  the bride walked down the aisle to the classic "concannon d" in the electric guitar, and after the couple exchanged their own written vows, they left the ceremony to the tune of "sweet child o'mine" by guns'n'roses, performed live on the electric guitar by andrew lothianIn lieu of a traditional cake, the bride and groom opted for a tower of oreo cookies, and the bride and groom dipped them in milk while the cookie monster song played .  the “cake” was topped with awesome watch over voodoo dolls purchased by the bride in palm springs.

vintage touches added to the décor by way of a vietnam relic bell rung during the ceremony to honor those no longer present, candle holders and vases that were collected by brianne, vintage door knobs, collected by the mother of the groom, held the birch table numbers and the deep red leather guest book was a perfect find at the vintage bizarre market. many DIY touches were laced into the day, inspired by the bride’s artsy profession.  birch bark was gathered by a bridesmaid from her yard and used for the menus and table numbers.  votives acted as escort cards, and glowed throughout the evening which added to the already dramatic lighting of the room. the favor cards, a donation to the anti-cruelty society, were an homage to the flower girl and ring bearer.

after the ceremony, the bridal party rolled around in the official chicago cubs trolley for some nighttime portraits, and we ended on chicago ave. in front of japonais, in order to reenact the second “chance meeting” of brianne and jeffrey…the one that led to happily ever after.  back at the venue guests enjoyed latin guitar by will yanez, margaritas, and latin inspired hor d’ouerves by pure kitchen catering.  dinner was all sustainable, locally sourced food by PKC, and served family style so leftovers could be easily donated to a local soup kitchen.  dj j. rose got the party started, and the guests danced into the night and enjoyed custom jones soda refreshments as the evening came to an end (jones being the bride’s new last name).  it was such a joy to see all of brianne and jeffrey's hard work come together beautifully, and even more fun to document all of the love and warmth that surrounded them on their wedding day.








































1 comment:

  1. Wow! What a gorgeous couple! Both of them look fantastic together. I am so in love with the pictures. I must also book one of the event halls for rent for my pre-wedding photoshoot. It’s just superb. I liked everything about this post.

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