Chicago wedding photography, The Rookery Building–Cory and Matt-
Cory and Matt had such an AWESOME wedding. The families and friends were fun and friendly, they made my job super easy. I had plenty of time for photos because the Bride and Groom did a first look, YEY!!
I am obsessed with Cory’s bouquet…it’s so pretty and unique. She got it from Etsy, the vendor’s name is Noaki Jewelry.
Her hair piece brooch was her grandmother’s.
Dress: from Allure Bridals it was so pretty, the non strapless trend continues.
Picture-perfect-pretty. Hair and make-up by Erica Brewer.
The Trolley Car & Bus Company took us around town for fun photos.
Love this one, one of my favorites!!
They were so much fun!!
Love!!
The ceremony and the reception took place at The Rookery Building.
The Rookery outside.
The famous staircase inside the Rookery.
First dance.
Photo-booth: Shutterbooth Chicago
They did it again, the rock it every time!! DJ: Rachel from Toast & Jam
From the Bride…
‘Venue: The Rookery Building, 209 S. Lasalle, a beautiful historic building that is pure Chicago.
Caterer: Jewell Events Catering – Kristin and Dana were fantastic and handled all of our wedding day details.
DJ: Rachel from Toast & Jam – she kept the dance floor rocking all night long!
Photo-booth: Shutterbooth Chicago – the owner Cheryl is my friend from high school, and the rest of the staff was also incredible.
Dress: It was an Allure Bridals dress that was masterfully re-imagined and completely redesigned and re-sized by my seamstress Julia Needleman. I could not find my perfect dress in the stores, so I chose a beautiful lace dress to start with and let Julia work her magic to create the dress that I had envisioned. http://www.julianeedlman.com/
Tux: Vera Wang collection from Men’s Warehouse.
Stylist: Our stylist for hair and make-up was Erica Brewer. She is also our regular stylist and always does an amazing job!
Flowers: We did our own centerpieces and general decor. This saved a lot of money and was a fun project for bride and groom to do together.
The bride’s bouquet was from Etsy, the vendor’s name is Noaki Jewelry. Many of the brooches were provided by me, and a number of them were from my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. The resulting brooch bouquet was truly stunning. My hair piece brooch was also my grandmother’s. The bridesmaids bouquets were from Etsy, the vendor’s name is Emily K Botanic Studio. We had tried not to use a florist at all, but ended up getting our two ceremony displace pieces and men’s bouts from Cattleya, where we worked with Juliet Tan.
Cake: Costco 🙂 As you know we did not have a display cake. This was a huge cost saving measure, and still delicious!
Trolley: The Trolley Car & Bus Company – working with them was a breeze and everything went smoothly.
Paper goods: Chicago-style escort cards and table numbers from Erickson Design. Ceremony programs and menus from Etsy, a Chicago based company called CT Designs, lead by Christy Toney. We also got our beautiful Chicago inspired Save the Dates from Christy Toney.
Officiant: The groom’s sister, Cassie, gave our ceremony an extremely personal touch.
Favorite wedding related purchase: It has to be a tie between our beautiful venue and our talented photographer! Incidentally, these were also our highest priorities and our most flexible budget items. We wanted a venue that was unique and spoke to the history and architectural beauty of Chicago. We knew that the Rookery was right for us the moment we stepped into the Light Court and learned of its history that included Daniel Burnham and Frank Lloyd Wright. It was a beautiful and elegant backdrop to our wedding.
I also knew that I wanted Hilda as our photographer after about two minutes looking at her blog, and this was fully confirmed after our first meeting with her. My husband hates (HATES!) getting his picture taken, so he was initially not very excited about the wedding day photography. However, after meeting Hilda he also knew that we couldn’t go for anyone else. She brought so much raw energy and enthusiasm to our photo shoots, along with her amazing talent and natural eye for stunning shots. Carol was similarly amazing, and they work so well as a team to find and then create the perfect image. They also make you feel like real superstars, which helps to put people at ease and make them enjoy the process. Honestly, on the day after the wedding, the main topic of conversation among our family and wedding party was how amazing the photographers were!! And my husband – the one who hates pictures – is beyond excited to get our wedding pictures because he knows how special they will be.
Favorite Wedding Memory: There are so many to choose from! Our first look was emotional and exciting, and getting that accomplished early in the day helped to calm our nerves. We had so much fun getting our pictures taken around the city with our bridal party. The ceremony was so heartfelt and personal, with the groom’s sister leading the ceremony, sweet readings from friends, and a homily of reflections on marriage from our parents.
I honestly don’t think we would have changed a single thing. We worked so hard to plan this wedding together and were perfectly happy with the results.
Advice for brides-to-be: My mom’s mantra was always, “Planning a wedding should be fun, not stressful”, and this is so true. My groom was an integral part of planning our wedding, and we made sure to keep the process as fun and light-hearted as possible. We made every decision together so we would both be happy with the results. I am also obsessively organized, and triple-checking everything beforehand ensured that we didn’t have anything to worry about on the wedding day and that everything went perfectly.’
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