Holy Name Cathedral wedding ceremony|Palmer House Hilton Chicago reception | Aly and Alex
What happens when you marry your best friend? You get your happily ever after! Aly and Alex got just that. They are the couple that high-five each other, not the overly romantic kind. Aly sent me an e-mail after reading my blog a few weeks back and she said she wished that her and Alex were more like the ‘lovey-dovey’ couples on my blog. And even though they are not too much like that, I think their love and affection clearly shows for one another 🙂 There was non stop laughter and fun the entire day, even during the most chaotic moments they both just enjoyed themselves, it was truly beautiful to see.
Wedding Planner; Patti/With Love Bridal
Shoes: Enzo Angiolini, Nordstrom
Flowers: Paradise Flowers, Beata Orwat
Hair: Vanessa Love | Makeup: Tracy Ballog
Dress: Marisa, purchased at Wedding Belles | Belt: Monique Lhuillier
Do I know how to work a red wall or what? Aly wasn’t too bad either 😉
This photo reminds me of the old Hollywood starlets, which is quite appropriate since a lot of Hollywood stars of the golden age used to visit the Palmer House.
I love this moment when Aly’s dad hands her off to Alex. Reason # 801 why it’s helpful to have an assistant…at this moment she just had the better angle, great job Carol!
Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago just leaves me freaking speechless.
A darling little guest admires the grandness of the Cathedral.
Anther favorite !!
I love the joy right after the ceremony, I’m just so honored to be a witness to moments like this.
It was freezing for the photo shoot part of our day, but everyone was great sport, no whining or complaining from this group!
The reception was at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.
Since Alex got to pick the cake cutting song, Aly got to pick the cake topper, I love it!
The belly dancers (ACE Entertainment) were so much fun, they were a huge hit with the guests.
They taught Aly and Alex some cool moves…
…although Alex’s dad didn’t need any lessons, he had plenty of his own moves 😀
And if you thought that he wasn’t going to keep up with the sword dance, you’d be wrong 🙂
DJ Mike from MDM Entertainment did what he does best, keeping the dance floor packed all night.
I could tell you the story behind this photo, but it’s just more fun if I don’t 😉
Can you believe I got the grooms ring on the swan’s neck without braking it off? I had people watching me do this, I’m I’m pretty sure they thought I was nuts, but I like it 😉
I would love some comments on this or any of my blog posts 😀
Hilda Burke, Chicago IL Photographer
From Aly 🙂
*It was the fastest day of my life…don’t know how that happened, but it went by in a flash.
*Hilda, you were so unbelievably amazing – I would have never expected you to be so helpful! You were my saving grace (well, you and Patti). Every time I needed something or whatever, you were right there to help me out! (From getting my drinks, to calming me down, to keeping me on schedule, to making me laugh…on and on…you were my rock). You were so professional, but so fun at the same time. I knew you were awesome, but you went above and beyond for us. And I was soooooo comfortable with you in front of that camera (as you could plainly see…ha!). You made the whole process SO much fun when it could have been stressful and scary. You put us at ease the whole time…the photos were definitely one of the best parts of the day. I’m sure you know I could have posed for you all day long. And you TOTALLY understood my weird vision of under the train tracks idea for the photo shoot.
*My mom loves Hilda…LOVES HER…and that says A LOT.
*LADIES: Listen to our Hilda…she needs TIME to make the best shots…we ran around the Palmer House and the few places outside so fast! I wish we could have had more time to take more shots, but we were on a tight schedule. I knew Hilda would do a fantastic job so I wasn’t worried about that, but it’s definitely worth having more time for photos…
*Hands down, would have never enjoyed the wedding without Patti’s help. I could have never, ever pulled off a wedding like that with all the vendors and setting up…never. Thanks to Patti, I only had to worry about myself, family and friends (which turned out to be quite a task in itself). The only way to truly enjoy the day is to have a Patti to help…worth every penny. And she also made the wedding process a fun activity – weddings are not my thing so she was amazing in that respect. >>>>>>>>>>>http://withlovebridal.com/<<<<<<<<<<<<<
*Loved marrying my best friend…thought I would cry, but I was laughing too much! Guess that’s still a good thing.
*DJ Mike kept people on the dance floor throughout the night…he was fantastic. SO nice and was able to change things up last minute.
*One of my most memorable moments was when DJ Mike introduced the next song (Beatles, Oh Darlin) to Alex from me and he wasn’t in the room…ahahhaha! I had to stand in the middle of the dance floor all by myself! It was a great laugh for the guests. He was outside with the boys smoking a cigar.
*I would advise any of my friends to get everything organized a few days beforehand (food, drinks, etc for the room on the day of, etc).
*Another moment was when the belly dancer tried to show Alex and I how to shake and move our hips (in front of everyone) and Alex started to do the “robot”!! Loved it! He’s a silly one…
*Another piece of advice – the more entertainment you provide guests, the less likely they will do the little “clinks” on their glasses to make the bride and groom kiss!! I think they did that ONCE!