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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