Doubletree Hotel in Skokie Wedding planning|North shore reception| Bridget and Al

Bridget and Al are one of those couples you just wanna hang out with…they re just so much fun to be around 🙂 The getting ready and the reception took place at the Doubletree Hotel in Skokie.

Bridget looked beautiful!

Yeah, I know I’m obsessed…it’s OK though, my therapist said it’s fine as long as I don’t show up to a wedding wearing some red heels.

This photo has so many things I love… fluffy clouds,red, a unique dress, long veil and a happy bride.

Meanwhile back at their house, Al gets some help from his Mom.

The happy couple!

Married!

Most unique exit ever! Read all about it at the bottom of this post.

Love!

Hi, B!

A quick stop at the house to say hi to their boys, Nikko and Bailey.

On the way to the reception.

The fun bridal party.

They just danced every chance they had, even waiting to be introduced, it was so cute!

“I gotta feeling…

….woo-hoo”

Cool shot of the cake, before…

…and after the groom decided to take a dive 🙂 Bridget and Al were so relaxed about their big day, this didn’t even bother them, and I’m posting it because it’s amusing 😉 I tell my couples all the time something will go wrong, it’s just the question of how you deal with it.

One of the request they had is capturing the sunset though these amazing windows, and let. me. tell. you. the lengths I go though to make ‘art’ for my couples…I was under the table to get these shots, there was no other way to do it. ( See B&W photo at the end, that’s me crawling out from under the table ) Bridget and Al, I can honestly say I never had more fun crawling on the floor and I’d do it again in a heartbeat 😉

FAVORITE!!!!

FAVORITE!!!! (part 2)

Party time! It was so cute to see them just truly enjoying every single second of the day.

Bridget was just so happy she was overcome with emotion.

The exit.

This took a little trial and error, but I’m pretty proud of this photo. Bridget and Al, I hope to see you guys soon and often since you are my only couple that’s walking distance from my house, I love you both to pieces!!!!

I love to hear about the couple’s perspective about their big day so here are Bridget’s highlights.

‘Favorite parts of the day: FUN was the goal of the day and it was achieved! It was a perfect day! So many things to mention, but here are a few of the highlights:

-After the ceremony running outside to the finish line while all our friends and family were there cheering for us and holding up signs. Since we have both been in a lot of races, it was a great moment we will never forget (even if Al was a little skeptical about the idea at first, but was so happy that we did it!)

-Coming in to the reception and dancing to ‘I gotta feeling’ with the bridal party and everyone in the room on there feet cheering for us… -Amazing toasts that made us laugh & brought us to tears.

-The packed dance floor from the start & ending the night with my family doing the chicken dance 🙂 -Gary surprising us and singing Al’s favorite Sinatra song to us.

Advice for future brides and grooms:

-Have fun & be yourself! This is your special day and it should reflect everything about you as a couple together. -Make sure to soak it all in and enjoy the day.

-Can’t emphasize enough of what difference it makes to have a day of wedding coordinator, it helps to know that we always had a go to person for everything.

-Book Hilda as your photographer & you will have awesome pictures!! We are so lucky to have her!

-DJ by Spin Productions, Make-up by Alicia Brooks, Hair by Jeanette from Salon 88, Wedding coordinator Julie Scheer, Flowers by Flowers-Flowers.com

Moments I’ll always remember: -All of them…it was a perfect day & beyond my expectations for how much fun it was!

-Alan putting all 3 wedding bands on my finger and then our special kiss to end the ceremony.

From Al… -How beautiful Bridget looked walking down the aisle toward me -How amazing the reception hall looked lit up by the setting sun -Feeling so truly lucky and blessed to have all of our friends and family together with us and seeing how happy we are.’

[OK, so here’s a photo of me Mandy took, while I was crawling out from under the table. I’m laughing because the Maid-of-honor was being super sweet and was fanning me to cool me down.]