Reception- Holiday Inn Mart Plaza (Sauganash Ballroom)- A+
www.martplaza.com
The Holiday Inn was the only venue I ever visited. My parents really wanted us to have the reception at a hotel because the majority of our guests were from out of town. I knew from my extensive research that there were only a handful of hotels downtown that would fit our budget, and out of those, the Holiday Inn seemed to be the most highly reviewed. When I called, the Wolf Point was already booked for the date we wanted but they had the Sauganash Ballroom on the 14th floor available. I wasn’t sure about a ballroom because I worried about another wedding being next door, but they only have one wedding there a night (you get the whole floor to yourself which is kind of nice). Once I met with Barbara, the catering director, and learned about all the options they had as far as wedding packages, I was sold. There is a lot of flexibility as far as customizing the packages to your budget, and I’m not sure you can beat the Holiday Inn as far as the quality of food and service you get for the price at a downtown venue. We had a beef, chicken, and pasta option, and all 3 were excellent. We also used uplighting, which the hotel provided at a very reasonable price, to make the room look a little less meeting room-ish. With that and the chair covers, I thought everything looked great. Our guests also really liked the location since it was close to Union Station and the el, and everyone enjoyed hanging out at the Cityscape bar throughout the weekend.
I can’t say enough about how amazing Barbara is- everyone should have a coordinator like her. I had complete confidence that she was going to handle any issue that came up and that she would do everything possible to accommodate whatever we needed. She always responded to my questions within 24 hours, which I really appreciated knowing how busy she must be. She is not only a true professional but also a really sweet and genuine person. I think she really takes pride in what she does and cares about making sure your wedding day is the day that you envisioned.
I can’t say enough about how amazing Barbara is- everyone should have a coordinator like her. I had complete confidence that she was going to handle any issue that came up and that she would do everything possible to accommodate whatever we needed. She always responded to my questions within 24 hours, which I really appreciated knowing how busy she must be. She is not only a true professional but also a really sweet and genuine person. I think she really takes pride in what she does and cares about making sure your wedding day is the day that you envisioned.
Ceremony- St. Josaphat’s- A+
www.stjosaphatparish.org
Logistically, it would have made more sense to get married at a church downtown, but St. Josaphat’s is the parish we belong to and it was important for us to be married there. Our ceremony was perfect- it felt so intimate and personal to us, which is something I always wanted my wedding mass to be. Our celebrant was the associate pastor, Father Mike Gabriel, who knows both me and my husband from weekly mass and church activities. I thought he really did a wonderful job catering the homily to us as a couple, and we had so many comments from friends and family about how special the ceremony was. I also thought the music was fantastic- Joe, the music director, and all of the musicians he works with did an awesome job. In addition to the piano/organ and a vocalist, we also had a cello and trumpet which sounded so beautiful in that huge space. I’m not sure there were many dry eyes in the house after Sarah’s rendition of “Ave Maria”!
DJ- Style Matters (Ryan)- A
www.stylemattersdjs.com
When we met with Spencer, we knew Style Matters were the kind of DJs we wanted. No bow ties, no colored lights, no line dances- they are pretty much are the opposite of the stereotypical wedding DJ. We had Ryan assigned to us about 6 weeks before the big day. He was really nice and super laid back. We had some beers with him at Moonshine (where he DJs weekly) and went over our suggested artists and do not play lists. At that point, I only had a general timeline for the reception but Ryan assured us that if there were any changes it wouldn’t be a problem. I felt confident that he was going to do a great job and I never worried about the music at all. At the reception, everything ran really smoothly and the dance floor seemed to be packed for most of the night. Ryan played a good mix of music that appealed to the crowd and songs that we had suggested. We had an incident at the reception where the best man got trapped in one of the elevators, and everyone got a good laugh when they returned to the reception to “Love in an Elevator”. I know I was sad to see midnight roll around because I had a blast dancing with my girlfriends- so glad I had bought all of those flip flops!
Photographer- Continuum Photography- A+
www.continuumphotography.com
I hate cheesy posed wedding pictures, so when we were looking for photographers, we definitely leaned towards the photojournalism style. I saw the Continuum website and loved all of their wedding portfolios. I also liked the fact that Josh and Melissa were both going to be shooting (even though Josh is the principle photographer) especially since our wedding day was long. Since they moved to Portland a few months after we booked them, we just talked on the phone a few days before the wedding to nail down some of the details. Josh was really honest with us about what he thought we could fit in in the limited time we had for group pictures, which I appreciated because that was one of my biggest concerns with our schedule. Since we still hadn’t gotten our finalized timeline from our DOC, I was glad he was so laid back and not freaking out since I sort of was :). The day of the wedding, everything ran really smoothly. My brother-in-law even commented how efficient our group pictures were versus a lot of other weddings he has been in. Josh and Melissa are so easy to work with and just genuinely nice people. We got the link to our pictures online a few weeks ago and could not stop looking at them! I couldn’t be happier with the way they turned out. I think Josh was really able to capture the feel of Chicago, which is what we wanted considering it was one of the reasons we wanted a downtown wedding. I’m looking forward to getting our album in a few months.
Flowers- Ashland Addison- A
www.ashaddflorist.com
Out of all the things I was willing to spend money on, flowers was honestly not one of them. I just wanted something that looked nice. My BM and another friend had used Martha for their weddings so I just decided to go with her for simplicity’s sake. I had brought in a few pictures of what I was looking for, and she put together the bouquets based on those. They looked great and really complimented the BMs attire. Originally I had wanted to do my own centerpieces to save a little bit of money, and Martha smartly talked me out of it- and I honestly believe it was to save my sanity more than it was to make more money off me. We came up with 2 different centerpieces and I thought both turned out nice, especially with the room being so big. Martha is great to work with- I really recommend her if you are looking for a reasonably priced florist.
DOC- Simply Perfect by Melissa (Melissa)- B
simplyperfectbymelissa.com
I must preface this by saying that the actual wedding day turned out great and there were no major issues. We were running ahead of schedule for most of the day which enabled me to be able to just sit back and enjoy myself instead of stressing out- which is the point of a DOC. I was especially concerned about the shuttle buses and it seemed like that was all handled perfectly. Melissa also helped me attach my grandmother’s prayer book to my bouquet for the ceremony which was very helpful. It was really important for me to have that with me, and I was having trouble figuring out how it would work since I didn’t have it in time for Martha to be able to work with it.
I think my issue was that the week of the wedding, Melissa seemed to be a bit distracted. I don’t know if it was personal stuff, being overextended with work, or something else but I felt like she had a lot of other things going on. Prior to the week of, I felt like it took a little while to get responses from her sometimes, but that was fine since I knew that the other weddings before ours took priority. But once it was the week of my wedding, I thought we would move up to the top of the “To Do” list and it didn’t feel like that. It took forever to get the master version of the timeline- I don’t know when they are normally finished for other DOCs, but ours was not finalized until 2 days before. We had the preliminary timeline figured out in August and I had provided all of the updated info that she needed by Monday afternoon so I’m not sure what the issue was. Not having a final schedule that I could share with our photographers Wednesday night (we weren’t supposed to send it out until it was final) made it a little hard for us to figure out the timing for the first look and group pictures. I was definitely a little stressed about that- and thank God for Josh and Melissa being so laid back because they made us feel like they would just roll with it.
Overall, I think Melissa did a good job. I think I was just of bothered by how much of an issue the timeline became and wished I wouldn’t have been so worried about it when I had so many other things on my mind.
I think my issue was that the week of the wedding, Melissa seemed to be a bit distracted. I don’t know if it was personal stuff, being overextended with work, or something else but I felt like she had a lot of other things going on. Prior to the week of, I felt like it took a little while to get responses from her sometimes, but that was fine since I knew that the other weddings before ours took priority. But once it was the week of my wedding, I thought we would move up to the top of the “To Do” list and it didn’t feel like that. It took forever to get the master version of the timeline- I don’t know when they are normally finished for other DOCs, but ours was not finalized until 2 days before. We had the preliminary timeline figured out in August and I had provided all of the updated info that she needed by Monday afternoon so I’m not sure what the issue was. Not having a final schedule that I could share with our photographers Wednesday night (we weren’t supposed to send it out until it was final) made it a little hard for us to figure out the timing for the first look and group pictures. I was definitely a little stressed about that- and thank God for Josh and Melissa being so laid back because they made us feel like they would just roll with it.
Overall, I think Melissa did a good job. I think I was just of bothered by how much of an issue the timeline became and wished I wouldn’t have been so worried about it when I had so many other things on my mind.
Dress- L’Amour- B
www.alamour.com
I specifically went to L’Amour because they were the only salon in the Chicago area that carried Martina Liana dresses and there was one specifically I wanted to try on. It just happened the day I went was also the day of the Watters trunk show so I ended up finding my dream dress (the Austin) sort of by accident. My friends and I saw the dress on the mannequin and I told my sales lady, Margie, that I wanted to try it on. As soon as I put it on and found out it was within my price range, that was it. So- I can’t really say there was much involvement on Margie’s part. It seemed like she thought I had already found THE dress at that point so she didn’t really bring me anything else that was close to being a contender. I’m not sure I would have had any luck there if not for the trunk show. You are really at the mercy of the salesperson since none of the designer dresses are out on the floor, so if they don’t understand exactly what you are looking for you might not get the best selection to try on. One comment on the customer service- when it came time for my dress to come in, I called the shop to check in and they told me it would still be a few more weeks. Then I got a message from them a few weeks later basically saying “we have your dress here- are you planning on coming to pick it up??”, acting as though I was a deadbeat and hadn’t come to get it. When I called back and said this is the first I had heard that it had come in, they said that they had left me a few messages which was a total lie- I have Caller ID on my phone and did not receive any calls from them. I think it was just miscommunication that someone didn’t call me- which wasn’t really a big deal since I had 6 months until the wedding. I just would have appreciated them owning up to it.
Alterations- Ms. Couture- A
http://mscouture.net
Toula did an AMAZING job- worth every penny. My dress was 100% silk organza, which I learned is one of the most difficult fabrics to work with because it wrinkles so easily. I had originally planned on taking my dress to a local tailor, but he told me that I would probably need to take it somewhere else to get it pressed. When I started calling around to get quotes for pressing, I was floored- starting at $400?! So, I decided to take it to Ms. Couture instead. I didn’t need a lot done- a little taken in the bust, hemming and a bustle- but there were a lot of layers to my dress since it was a ball gown so I know it was a lot of work. I was most concerned about the fact that it was really wrinkled. A certain high-end cleaner had tried to scare me into using their services by telling me that silk organza can get permanent wrinkles in it that never come out. When I got my dress the day before, though, it looked perfect- all of the wrinkles were gone. I know it had to be done with a special iron and I can’t even imagine how long it took. Toula also suggested when I brought my dress in for the first fitting that I might want to think about switching out the ivory buttons that were on the sash of my dress with rhinestone buttons. I’m glad I took her suggestion because the change was a very subtle but added a really nice touch to the back of the dress since all of my jewelry was rhinestone. (I got the buttons at Soutache on Damen- the woman who owns is sweet and very helpful. Who knew you could have an entire store of buttons and ribbons??)
Veil- Occansey Designs- A
www.occanseydesigns.com
I wanted a plain cathedral veil for under $100. Occansey Designs has the biggest selection of veils I saw online- I don’t think there is any possible style or length of veil that you can think of that they can’t make for you. I found the pictures on their website really helpful too. I got my cathedral veil in about a week for around $70 and it looked great.
Bridesmaid dresses- Bella Bridesmaid- A
www.bellabridesmaid.com
My BM dresses were one of the easiest decisions I made. I found 2 Vineyard dresses online that I liked and I went in and tried them on- done and done. I came back 2 times- once with my Jr. Bridesmaid and once with my other BMs- for everyone to decide what style they wanted. Erin was always really nice and helpful- I love hanging out in that shop. I had 2 BMs out of town and they were able to call in and get their sizes figured out pretty easily. We had the dresses within 2 months without any issue.
Men’s Attire- Formally Modern- A
www.formallymodern.com
Jeremy liked the vibe of Formally Modern since they seemed to be a bit more concerned about fashion and classic style (he wanted someplace that didn’t scream prom). He bought his tux here- got a great deal during a sale- and then had the guys get their rentals here too. The rental tuxes are probably a bit more expensive than some of the other places in the city, but he thought it was worth it since the quality was better. The men, including our dads, wore traditional black tie and they all looked great. Jeremy was also really impressed with how quickly they were able to hem the pants and jackets for the guys who were from out of town on Friday when they came in to pick up their tuxes. Donny, who helped Jeremy with his tux, is very knowledgeable and really knows what is in style for formalwear. If you have a fiancé that cares about clothes, this is the place to go.
Makeup- Sonia Roselli (Rebecca)- A+
www.soniaroselli.com
Rebecca is not only adorable and super sweet but an amazing makeup artist. I loved the way my makeup turned out for the wedding, especially in pictures. I don’t really wear a lot of makeup normally, so I wanted something natural-looking but a bit glamorous. She did fake lashes that were just enough drama to make my eyes pop, and I loved how the airbrush foundation made me for once appreciate my paleness :). I’ve received so many compliments from people saying how amazing they thought I looked that day, and I did feel like a movie star! My friends and I also had so much fun at my trial- Sonia’s shop is awesome and we had a blast hanging out there. I can’t wait to go back for a class one of these days!
Hair- Bridal Beauty Salon (Lati)- B+
www.stylesdowntheaisle.com
I had 8 people that wanted to get hair done, so I was really looking for someone that was affordable and would travel to our hotel. I booked Lati without a trial about 9 months before the wedding because her prices were reasonable and I liked her work based on the pictures on her website. I had my trial at the end of September- I was happy with how it turned out, but then I had second thoughts about the front after I came home and took some pictures. The day of the wedding I was a little nervous about telling her I wanted to make a small change from what we had done at the trial (since I had said that I liked it), but she was very cool about it and my hair ended up looking exactly as I had envisioned. It seriously looked the same at 11pm as it looked at 11am- and that’s saying a lot considering how windy it was that morning, My girls all looked fabulous also.
My only small issue with Lati is that I think she is a little disorganized when it comes to the business aspect of her company. I had been warned by my DOC- who had had a bad experience with her and one of her brides- that I needed to make sure she was going to be able to come at the time she had her scheduled for. At the end of August, I asked Lati over email if she was ok with doing my hair at 10 a.m. and she said it was no problem. At my trial, though, she asked me and the other October 16th bride (who was there having her trial also) who wanted to go first that day. I was really confused since we had already decided that she would be coming to my hotel at 9 a.m.. It was obvious that she had forgotten about the conversation we had had previously and never wrote it down anywhere. Fortunately, before I started to get a little freaked out, the other bride said it didn’t matter to her and she would be second. If she had said that she needed her to come early too I’m not sure what would have happened- this doesn’t seem like something the clients should be figuring out among themselves. In the end it all worked out but the whole situation was a bit unprofessional and awkward. Lati is super talented, so I hope that she finds a way to get the organizational stuff ironed out.
My only small issue with Lati is that I think she is a little disorganized when it comes to the business aspect of her company. I had been warned by my DOC- who had had a bad experience with her and one of her brides- that I needed to make sure she was going to be able to come at the time she had her scheduled for. At the end of August, I asked Lati over email if she was ok with doing my hair at 10 a.m. and she said it was no problem. At my trial, though, she asked me and the other October 16th bride (who was there having her trial also) who wanted to go first that day. I was really confused since we had already decided that she would be coming to my hotel at 9 a.m.. It was obvious that she had forgotten about the conversation we had had previously and never wrote it down anywhere. Fortunately, before I started to get a little freaked out, the other bride said it didn’t matter to her and she would be second. If she had said that she needed her to come early too I’m not sure what would have happened- this doesn’t seem like something the clients should be figuring out among themselves. In the end it all worked out but the whole situation was a bit unprofessional and awkward. Lati is super talented, so I hope that she finds a way to get the organizational stuff ironed out.
Chair covers- The Chair Couture- B+
www.thechaircouture.com
I had heard good reviews of The Chair Couture on The Knot so I didn’t really feel it was worth shopping around. I got a quote and it was reasonable so I booked them. I only had correspondence with Czarin over email, and didn’t have any interaction with them the day of the wedding. The covers looked good and everything seemed to have gone smoothly. I did think it was a little annoying that the final payment had to be in the form of a cashier’s check- a bit of a hassle when you have a lengthy To Do list a few weeks before the wedding.
Invitations- Cards & Pockets (DIY)- A
www.cardsandpockets.com
I had a very specific idea of what I wanted as far as invitations, so I asked a friend who is a graphic designer to help me with a custom design that I could DIY. I bought most of my materials for my invites from C&P and also used them for the printing. Their customer service is fantastic and their prices are very reasonable- I’m pleased with how everything turned out overall. My only issue was with the quality of the cardstock used for the printing. It seems that there are a good number of flaws in the paper itself, so when I started assembling my invites there were a fair number of unusable pieces because of brown marks in the actual paper. Because my invites were ivory with a lot of empty space they were much more noticeable than they would probably be with a more intricate design. I emailed C&P explaining the issue and they sent me another batch immediately at no charge which was really nice. I think this was really an example of me being picky because I was very concerned about them looking DIY/homemade. I received so many compliments on my invites that no one else seemed to notice except me :). One thing to keep in mind is that C&P does not do address printing on reply envelopes. I didn’t think this was that big of a deal- until I attempted to find a place in the city that would do it. A lot of the local invite printers will do reply envelopes- but only if you buy your envelopes from them. So just know that it might make more sense to buy the reply envelopes locally and have them printed here instead of buying from C&P and trying to find a printer.
Transportation- M&M Limos- A
www.chicagolandlimo.com
We rented a 10 person stretch limo and a mini-bus. The prices were great, and both showed up ahead of schedule. Our driver was really nice and very accommodating as we drove around the city to take pictures. No issues that I’m aware of.
Coach buses- Chicago Motor Coach- A
www.chicagomotorcoachinc.com
Because a majority of our guests were from out of town and did not have cars, we rented charter buses to get our guests to and from the ceremony in Lincoln Park. Chicago Motor Coach gave us a good price and they showed up promptly for the wedding. No issues- recommend.
Rehearsal Dinner- Rock Bottom Brewery- A+
www.rockbottom.com/chicago
Rock Bottom is a great reasonably priced downtown venue for a rehearsal. We had a private room on the 2nd floor which was perfect for our very loud families :). Jeremy worked with Dieter, the banquet manager, and everything was very easy. They had a lot of package options available to fit different budgets which was nice. Everyone raved about the food and obviously the beer was fantastic. I also liked the fact that our out of town guests felt like they got to experience a night out in downtown Chicago.
Magician- Dennis Watkins- A
www.denniswatkins.net
My husband does magic as a hobby and really wanted to have a magician at the cocktail hour. He had previously seen Dennis perform and told me about how fantastic he was. We saw one of his shows at the Chopin and I was blown away (he now does a weekly show there). I was so busy talking to people that I didn’t really get to see him perform at the reception, but I heard a lot of comments about how amazing he was. This was something personal to us because of my husband’s magic background, but I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for something to spice up the cocktail hour. We had a lot of guests that didn’t know each other and this was a nice way to get everyone mingling and talking.
Thank You Notes- Etsy vendor stefanieastronaut- A+
www.etsy.com/shop/stefanieastronaut
I saw Stephanie’s invites that she designed on one of the Weddingbee boards and replied that I thought they were adorable. She sent me a message that she also does Thank You notes, so I decided to have her do ours. I sent her some pictures of my husband and I and our wedding outfits, and she came up with the picture of us with a Chicago background. Stefanie is so great to work with- she was awesome about responding to emails even though this is only her side job. I think our cards are so unique and personal- I have gotten so many compliments on them!
Favors- Etsy vendor cacaobakery- A+
www.etsy.com/shop/cacaobakery
I wanted to do some kind of edible favors. Originally the idea was to do Carol’s Cookies but it was going to be too hard to store them and keep them fresh once they were shipped. I had heard about cacaobakery in CS Weddings and thought the boxes of cake truffles looked like a cute favor (at a reasonable price). Candice was awesome to work with. She overnighted free samples to us so we could try some different flavors- they were all delicious so it was hard to choose! The week of the wedding, she put together the boxes with ribbons on them and even delivered them to me downtown. I ended up needing less favors that I had originally ordered, so I used the leftover money towards cupcakes for the rehearsal dinner. They were also super yummy. I plan on ordering some truffles for myself sometime soon!
Cake Topper- Etsy vendor peanutbutterbandit- A
www.etsy.com/shop/peanutbutterbandit
We wanted to have the 3rd member of our family, our cat Harry, represented at the wedding. On Etsy, I found a cake topper where you could incorporate your pet and it was perfect. I sent Kathy pictures of us and what we would be wearing for the wedding, and we received the finished product in about a month. I thought it was a great personal touch for our cake.
Nails- Juko- A+
www.jukochicago.com
I had been here once before with a Groupon and they did such a great job that I decided to take my bridal party there for manicures and pedicures. We had about 10 people in my party and were completely done in an hour and a 1/2. They run that place like a well-oiled machine on Friday afternoons- I was really impressed. The manager is awesome and was really helpful with keeping everything organized. Juko is also BYOB so you can bring some alcoholic goodies to enjoy while you are getting pampered (and they will come around and refill your drinks). The spa is a bit out of the way if you don’t live in the neighborhood, but I highly recommend for bridal parties.
