Chicago Athletic Association Hotel Wedding: A Historic Chicago Wedding Venue
Elegant wedding venue in Chicago perfect for any season, where floral design shines against elegant classic venue
A Classic Wedding Venue We Love: Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
Chicago has no shortage of beautiful, elegant and historical wedding venues, and the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel stands out for reasons seen and unseen.
We love the rich historical design details in all the venue’s spaces as well as the guest rooms, giving our clients many photo options throughout the beautiful and elegant hotel.
The Madison Ballroom is a perfect location for ceremonies, with its elegant rich wood details, natural light and beautiful stairs leading up to it providing an opportunity for beautiful decor.
The White City Ballroom is an amazing location for reception where natural light pours in overlooking Grant Park and Lake Michigan. The design details in the room stand out as well, beautiful wood details, fireplaces, an ornate ceiling, marble floors, perfect background for elegant designs in any season.
Location! Not sure if there’s a better view of Chicago than that from the White City Ballroom at Chicago Athletic Association Hotel! Tourists line up for access at Cindy’s Rooftop, and the ballroom has the same view minus the lines. The hotel is within minutes walk from many beautiful wedding photo locations like the Art Institute of Chicago, which is helpful with logistics saving you time and eliminating the need for transportation.
But above all, hospitality is key, the service and attention to detail in menu and guest attention is among the best in Chicago. Friendly staff. amazing food, are elements that are not just seen but definitely felt by our clients and their guests.
Personalized wedding details
Personalizing your wedding vs. DIYing your way through it
YOUR day, your way is something we are big proponents of, BUT the road to a DYI overwhelming Pinterest-full bonanza is a slippery one. When initially talking to our planning clients ( or even our decor only clients) we make sure we find every little way we can to incorporate their style and unique elements that represent their story while melding that within the overall design direction. We also make sure the projects the clients want to execute themselves are doable and won't be an extra burden that will overwhelm them during an already stressful time … some things should just be left to the pros. As always, it’s all about communication and setting expectations and ( just ask our brides) we do build a mean planning timeline, and also do not hold back from telling our clients when their plate is a little too full.
Mollie and Alex’s beautiful fall wedding is a perfect example where the synergy between personalizing their wedding and the design direction we created was perfectly balanced. It was very important for Mollie and Alex that their families played a big role in their day, and also wanted to contribute with personal elements that represented their personality and relationship as well. Because we were part of the planning process we were able to help them navigate the logistics and aesthetic so that the end result was beautiful, fun and personal.
When mom makes your and your bridesmaids attire, dad performs the ceremony, your sister makes an epic 5 tear cake, your puppy is your ring bearer, and you design your stationery …. the stakes are high, and things can get overwhelming fast, but a well constructed timeline and a supportive team of vendors leads to a beautifully personalized day, that is anything but DIY.
In addition, Mollie & Alex also peppered some of their favorite places and vendors into their celebration, they took their bridal party to some of their favorite date spots for photos and ordered cookies and beer from their favorite neighborhood local Chicago vendors and also made sure the rehearsal dinner and day after family brunch sports had special meaning to them as well.
Venue: The Joinery // Photo: Kina Wicks Photography // DJ: Toast & Jam // Getting ready Spot: The Robey // Catering: Food For Thought // Cake: sister of bride // Hair and Makeup: Nika Vaughan Bridal Artists // Bar: Binnies & Pipeworks // Cookies: Bake // Groom’s Attire: Black Tux // Bride’s Dress & BMDs skirt: Mother of the Bride // Planning & Decor: Elena’s Garden Events
garden wedding inspiration in peach and coral
CHICAGO GARDEN WEDDING INSPIRATION IN PEACH AND CORAL
SET at Loyola Cuneo Mansion and Gardens, the inspiration behind this lush summer wedding design was a modern day romantic garden love story merging together traditional elements and modern touches, channeling a current Romeo and Juliet. And what better setting than a historic Italianate mansion on a 100-acre estate? Blending a pallet of bold warm colors centered around citrus hues and living coral, stunning timeless architectural elements and decor, and dramatic elegant fashion, hair and makeup, resulting in an elegant summer dream wedding featuring a lineup of stellar Chicago vendors. All the details were also a nod to the elegant garden ambiance we were creating: the iron gate draped in garden roses, the brie stacked ‘cake adorned with fruit, the lush floral custom paper details, the apricot place cards, the colorful light and airy glassware, rich textured linens, and romantic lighting.
VENUE: LOYOLA AT CUNEO MANSION AND GARDENS // PHOTOGRAPHY: COLIN PIERSON PHOTOGRAPHY// PLANNING & FLORAL DESIGN: ELENA’S GARDEN EVENTS// RENTALS: THE FESTIVE FROG; BBJ LINENS// HAIR: KORENA ROBINSON// MAKEUP: ASHLEY BARBER OF MANIFEST MAKEUP// BRIDAL BOUTIQUE AND GOWNS: ULTIMATE BRIDE CHICAGO; MIRA ZWILLINGER; LEE PETRA GREBENAU; // GROOM ATTIRE: THE GROOMSMAN SUIT; STATIONERY SUITE: EMILY ROSE INK ; MODEL: JAMAICA CACYRIS
5 Reasons Why Hiring a Wedding Planner Is a Need, Not a Want
Let’s start with the premise that you want to enjoy your wedding day and aren’t looking to worry and stress over all the things that need to go smoothly and happen on time. If that’s the case, here are just a few of the zillion things a planner or coordinator can and will do for you on your wedding day so that you, your family, that friend that’s really good at planing DIY parties for her office, and your fiancé can do your job : look amazing and enjoy the most elaborate party you’ve ever thrown.
5 Reasons Why Hiring a Wedding Planner Is a Need, Not a Want
Photo: sallyodonnellphoto
Let’s start with the premise that you want to enjoy your wedding day and aren’t looking to worry and stress over all the things that need to go smoothly and happen on time. If that’s the case, here are just a few of the zillion things a planner or coordinator can and will do for you on your wedding day so that you, your family, that friend that’s really good at planing DIY parties for her office, and your fiancé can do your job : look amazing and enjoy the most elaborate party you’ve ever thrown.
Photo: carascophoto linens and styling : BBJ Linens
1. Setting expectations: Whether our clients hire us to plan and design their whole event and spend 9 months to a year with us, for 6 months of partial planning, or month-of coordination, we set them up with a planning timeline that will map out their planning process and ensure they are staying on track throughout the whole process. Like every excited newly engaged couple, you probably start off with a to do list and have great intentions of knocking things off as you start planning, but things get overwhelming, life needs to be lived, and things fall through the cracks, which eventually ens up costing you more time, money and avoidable drama.
2. Avoiding pit-falls: Speaking of drama, we often play the role of therapist, mediator, and even bad guy when it comes to our clients. We negotiate on your behalf, help flag potential problems with logistics, contracts, family dynamics, and help come up with a plan A, B and C for each potential issue.
3. Wrangling all the loose ends and small details: Because we handle both the design and logistics for our planning clients, we are able to seamlessly merge together the beautiful design elements, and the logistics. This is our expertise, and our clients’ favorite part of the process. With our clients, we put together a timeline, a.k.a wedding planning bible, and plan all the moving parts in a well organized, well thought out forever-tweaked guide that beautifully ties together the whole planning process, and is wonderfully padded for all the “just in case” scenarios.
4. It’s all about the money honey: In an ideal world there would be no wedding budgets, but in real life, even a high budget is a budget, and we pride ourselves in helping our clients navigate them. We help find vendors, services and make decisions that fit your style, budget and timing — this is no small feat and sometimes we have to break the bad news that something is not doable, but our goal is to get to know you ( and your needs) early in the process and avoid presenting you ideas that you can’t have.
Photo: mikaelahamilton
5. Peace of Mind: Your day, and really the few weeks leading up to your wedding should be all fun and no worries, and we do everything we can to ensure that’s the case for our clients. If we’ve all done our homework and checked things off the planning list throughout the process, the goal is to kick back, have fun, have ALL THE COCKTAILS AND BRUNCHES, and to leave all the what ifs to us. Throughout the process, we build trust and you will know that even if things go wrong (and they do), someone other than you in your gorgeous-way-too -expensive-gown, or your uber emotional mom, is taking care of things. Consider us your Olivia Pope (minus the murder and White House intrigue), and trust that we have the tools and that “it’s handled”!
photo: ericfloberg
Cover Photo: angelagarbot
Krysta and Garrett's Effortless, Romantic Wedding at Artifact Events
We loved using the bounty of spring flowers like peonies, garden roses, and anemones in soft colors, with lush greens, paired with an industrial space with a vast courtyard, to bring Krysta’s vision to life.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the preparation, design, planning, though VERY important, are just details that surround a commitment that’s being publicly professed and celebrated. This was not the case with Garrett and Krysta’s spring wedding! Getting to work with the bride, her parents, and the groom’s mother on the design of this event made us feel like we were part of an intimate gathering, a tribe that was all working together to support this new young couple. Their wedding centered around two families truly uniting to support and celebrate the beginning of their life together and blending together as one large family, spanning a few generations, that gathered from different parts of the country.
We loved using the bounty of spring flowers like peonies, garden roses, and anemones in soft colors, with lush greens, paired with an industrial space with a vast courtyard, to bring Krysta’s vision to life.
Krysta and Garrett’s wedding day video captured by Eric Floberg https://vimeo.com/292857634
VENDOR LIST
Venue: Artifact events // Photo & Video Eric Floberg // Floral Design and Coordination : Elena's Garden Events // Music: Toast & Jam // Catering: Big Star // Rentals: Tablescapes