Kristen+Ryan's Winter Waldorf Astoria Wedding

The Proposal: Kristen scored tickets to the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra perform at the Chicago Theater knowing how much Ryan likes Motown and jazz. They decided to make a full date night out of the event and made reservations at Trattoria No. 10, a great Italian restaurant in the theater district.

Kristen was a bit suspicious Ryan had purchased a ring, but had no idea how he might propose.  The day of the show, anticipating something might happen, she left work early to get ready (just in case!) and then met Ryan for dinner.

They enjoyed an amazing italian dinner, complete with wine, tiramisu, and lemon cello  When the check arrived, she decided to test her theory of a potential proposal and offered to split the check with him.  Kristen knew he would not allow her to pay for any of the dinner if he would be proposing later.  She was shocked when he enthusiastically, said, "Sure!" and they split the bill.  Kristen wasn't going to let that ruin their evening, and she figured he had something planned for a later date.

They arrived at the Chicago Theater, took pictures together outside, and then went inside to claim their seats.  

As the second act began an All-American medley of songs began to play, which they both loved. During the Star Spangled Banner, Kristen stood with the crowd to place her hand over her heart and enjoy the music.  Half way through the song, Ryan started talking to her and because the music was so loud, Kristen couldn't really hear what he was saying so she urged him to be quiet.  Suddenly, Ryan turns her toward him and looks her dead in the eye and says, "The easiest decision of my life was deciding I wanted to marry you."  He then knelt down on one knee, opened a little emerald green box and popped the question. Kristen was thrilled and immediately burst into tears of happiness.   

After the show, Ryan told her the surprises were not over, and they jumped in a cab to the Pump Room, in the Public Hotel.  As they walked into the lounge, Kristen saw a table with a huge bouquet of red, pink and white roses as well as a bottle of champagne.  The next thing she knew, two of their best friends, Christine and Brittany, leapt out from behind a pillar wishing them "Congratulations!"   They all spent the rest of the evening enjoying champagne and wedding planning, and decided to be married on January 3, 2015.

The Wedding: The day started at the Waldorf Astoria with Kristen getting ready. Her hair and makeup were by Sonia Roselli, she wore a Pronovias gown from Dimitras Bridal, a bracelet from her grandmother, earrings from Christopher Duquet, and shoes by Jimmy Choo. The Bridesmaids wore dresses by Jenny Yoo from BHLDN, and earrings from Etsy. The Groom and Groomsmen wore tuxes from Formally Modern. After Kristen and Ryan got ready we headed over to Old St. Patrick's Church for their ceremony. The whole thing went off flawlessly with Kristen and Ryan finally tying the knot. We then left the church to head back to the Waldorf for some photographs before heading into the reception. Florals were by Natural Beauties Floral, catering and cake both were done in house by the Woldorf. The reception's musical entertainment was by Bluewater Kings Band. Everyone clearly had a wonderful time! Congratulations Kristen and Ryan!

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Katie+Nick's Romantic Medinah Country Club Wedding

The Proposal: Katie and Nick have a very typical love story….oh, except they met in Uganda.  After years of owning his own business in South Africa, Nick decided to take a leap of faith and head to Uganda. Fortunately, Katie was also en route to Uganda to conduct her Master’s research project. However, Nick was living the life in the capital city Kampala, and she was in a small town with very limited resources. About 3 weeks into Katie's trip, her girlfriend decided that they were in serious need of a warm shower, cocktails and “American” food for the weekend. So the two girls headed to Kampala. After dinner, Katie's friend convinced her to go to Club Iguana….whatever you are imagining, its probably worse. The girls were the only two “mzungus” (aka foreigners) at the bar until two “mzungu” hunks rolled in. A couple “sokkies” (South African dance) and conversations with that accent later, and Katie was impressed. Katie and Nick met a few more time after that before she went back to the U.S. to complete school. However both of them knew after the 2^nd day spent together that they had each met the one.  

Flash forward 10 months, two trips to Africa, two trips to the US, and hours upon hours on Skype. Nick came to the US again for Katie's graduation and to help her get ready to move to Uganda. After travelling California for a week, they went back to Chicago to see her family. Nick, being a traditional guy, also wanted to Katie's Dad for her hand in marriage in person. Although, Katie wasn’t 100% sure it was happening on that trip, she definitely had her suspicions. So when it was the last day of the trip and no ring, she was getting nervous! The couple decided to spend a night in downtown Chicago for their last night in town. They went for a fancy dinner and Katie took Nick to some of her favorite parts of the city. Nick of course was looking for the perfect place to propose that whole night! Turns out Katie's favorite places weren’t the most romantic... So after the epic date, they headed back to the hotel where Nick popped down on one knee and shazzam!

The Wedding Day: Started with the girls getting ready at the Lynfred Winery. The wedding day was planned by Christine Stone, with videography by Jason Pittman, and florals by Oh My! Floral. Katie's makeup was done by Christine Swain, and updo by Michael at Rockstar Salon. Her gown was Carolina Herrera, with bridal shoes by Badgley Mischka from BHLDN. The Bridesmaid's wore dresses from BHLDN, while the Groom and Groomsmen wore Calvin Klein. After final preparations we left the winery for Holy Ghost Parish where the ceremony was to take place.

Nick and Katie recited vows to each other and exchanged wedding bands from Benard’s Jewelry Design, Durban South Africa. The newlyweds exited the church to a cloud of bubbles and well wishes. Then we were off to Medinah Country Club for photographs on the grounds, followed by the reception inside the club. The couple's reception had a romantic dinner party feel that felt warm and inviting in the grand ballroom space. Catering was taken care of in house by Medinah, with the wedding cake by Toni Patisserie, and the evenings entertainment was by the Blue Water Kings Band who kept everyone dancing long into the night. 

Congrats Katie and Nick!