It has been said time and again: Planning towards your dream wedding can be a daunting task. With a million little details to consider, even just starting can be overwhelming. But don’t worry now, Elegant Wedding is here to help! And with that let me show you something special to kick-start your wedding plans. This styled shoot came mainly from the venue as the most hotel themed weddings are. The Drake Oak Brook has a lot of history, so Sarah Deeke of Cheers! Chicago and Joy Bijedic of Being Joy Photography together with an awesome team of creative vendors wanted to take the reverent tradition the venue represents and bring it into this amazing Living Art. There are a few standard ballrooms in the hotel, but the room that really stood out was the Flower Room. It has huge windows overlooking the grand outdoor terrace, fountain, and immaculate gardens. One of the non-window walls is simple, all-white brick with a large box of green ivy that really exudes a fresh, modern vibe. But the showstopper in this room is the beautiful Chilhuly-esque glass sculpture on the ceiling and built the design concept of this styled shoot around it. Enjoy!
We’re All About the Details!
“Cobalt” is the color of now!
Not wanting to overwhelm the main dining table underneath the sculpture with too many colors or patterns that would clash with the ceiling and look too “busy”, they decided to work mainly with shades of blue. Cobalt is a color trend that is totally “now”, but equally luxe at the same time. They began setting the table with a very light blue linen from BBJ Linen that almost looked white to allow the china, glassware and florals to really pop.
Splatter Painted Plates
Our favorite design element on the table was the plates- these plates featured a lively, spattered paint look that perfectly complimented the touches of cobalt on the table, and added a little cheeky personality without going overboard.
The Florals
The floral designer, Jenna Sprengel of Avant Gardenia, created a floral runner completely composed of delphinium in varying shades of blue. They used cobalt water glasses from M&M Special Event Rentals, cobalt textured chargers from BBJ Linen and rounder, more modern-shaped wine glasses paired with a more antique style of silver flatware from M&M Special Event Rentals to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary.
The Brick Wall and the Chic Ivy Box
They decided to put the escort table underneath the chic, white brick wall and ivy box. They wanted to give this traditional table a little face lift, so utilizing more modern stemware similar to the wine glasses on the main dining table, Lynda Junge at Greenstar Paperie created fun, escort tag swizzle sticks for our “Sip + Stroll” champagne display. Norma Samaan of Vanilla Sugar Bakery created a three-tier cake with vibrant strokes of bright blue, white and gunmetal buttercream frosting. They also wanted to feature a stylish bite-sized dessert, so Norma created red velvet cake gems covered in swirls of blue, gunmetal and white chocolate.
The Ivory Gown
Style-wise, we wanted a very classic silhouette for our model bride’s gown with a small, modern twist. Ultimate Bride had a beautiful Carolina Herrera ball gown with a stunning bow on the back, as well as subtle, alternating layers of silk faille ivory and white!
They also wanted the bride’s jewelry to be in touch with the Oak Brook clientele, so she wore a beautiful oval diamond ring from Merry Richards Jewelers as well as classic diamond drop earrings and a diamond tennis bracelet. Alana Amelia & Co. gave her hair and makeup an “Old Hollywood” look, with a more demure, maroon lip.
The Traditional Black Tux
Our groom wore a traditional black tux from Formally Modern to compliment the bride’s look, but his wedding band was a more current rose gold with crackled black lines.
Brilliant Cobalt Acrylic Stationery
Touches of rose gold were also added to the stationery, such as the invitation suite, acrylic table number, and the dinner menus. Acrylic stationery is a trend that’s beginning to gain momentum- Lynda from Greenstar Paperie designed a brilliant cobalt acrylic invitation that simply stated the couple’s names and wedding date, allowing real couples to have a cool keepsake for after the wedding day! Lynda also created a separate details and RSVP card in keeping with a traditional paper invitation suite.
Take this Advice
Remember the “why” behind your wedding! Don’t get so wrapped up in the planning that the purpose of your wedding feels like putting on a show, rather than celebrating the start of a beautiful marriage! Enjoy one date night a month where you don’t discuss anything wedding-related. Hire a planner! Whether you are looking for someone to be heavily involved right from the start of the process or simply manage the month of the wedding, it is beyond beneficial to have an EXPERIENCED, SEASONED professional to help pull all the details together and orchestrate them seamlessly the week of the wedding! You put a great deal of time, money and effort into creating your wedding day, and you (and your family!) should be able to fully ENJOY it! There are no do-overs for your wedding day! ~Sarah Deeke/Wedding Vendor
About the Wedding Planner
Cheers! Chicago, Inc. is a full-service event planning firm dedicated to providing exemplary customer service based on professional quality, treating our clients like family, and truly caring about our couples beyond their wedding day. Let’s get acquainted! We can’t wait to hear all about your own fabulous fête! Tell us all about it here.
Vendors
Photographer: Being Joy Photography
Model: Conner Gray
Model: Tara Carlson
Dress Store: Ultimate Bride Boutique
Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Formally Modern Tuxedo
Transportation: Classic Wedding Car
Invitation Designer: Greenstar Paperie
Bakery: Vanilla Sugar Bakery
Beauty: Amelia C & Co
Ring Designer: Merry Richards Jewelers
Equipment Rentals: Marquee Event Rentals
Floral Designer: Avant Gardenia
Event Planner: Cheers! Chicago
Reception Venue: The Drake Oak Brook Hotel
Thank you so much Lauren!! kisses