Clementine’s Royal Wedding!

June 28th, 2011

 

Angela and Andrew chose the wedding date of April 30, 2011 long before the date of the Royal Wedding was announced to be on April 29, 2011.  With all the hoopla of the Royal Wedding it was refreshing to participate in the wedding of Angela and Andrew, who were super low key.  They were really focused on family and fun for their big day in Chicago. 

Shelley from Cage and Aquarium captured all the special moments from their wedding day! 

 

They got married at St. Clement in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.  It turned out to be a really beautiful day. 

After the ceremony was over they gave each other a little toast while they drove around the city taking pictures with their closest friends.  Trolleys are one of the best ways to celebrate while taking photos. 

Lynn Fosbender from Pollen created these stunning bouquets.  The flowers were huge and they matched the bridesmaids dresses perfectly.   Pollen is an eco-friendly floral design company located in the Ravenswood neighborhood. 

The reception took place at the gorgeous Newberry Library, located in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood.  The Newberry Library has so many amazing features, including this beautiful staircase.  Inside the ballroom they have hardwood floors, huge windows and three really ornate light fixtures. 

During the cocktail hour the wait staff greeted guests with trays of Bellinis.  The guests also enjoyed a nice assortment of passed hors d’oeuvres

The reception including a lot of nice details incluing these adorable place cards.  The flower on the place card not only matched the flowers on her menu cards, invitations and ceremony programs, but they also helped the servers know what the guests were eating for dinner!

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Occasions Catering outdid themselves with excellent service and a creative menu.  The guests dined on their choice of beef short ribs or roasted pepper and asparagus stuffed chicken breast! 


                                                                                                        

The bride and groom danced the night away to the music stylings of DJ Victor of Cage and Aquarium.  It really was a fun crowd and everyone really enjoyed themselves. 

Thank you to Angela and Andrew for letting Clementine be a part of their wedding day!

Stunning & Romantic at The Elysian

June 10th, 2011

When I first met Leah I just knew we would really hit it off!  She is about a sweet as it gets and her personality can light up any room.  When I met her amazing new husband, Bob, I knew right away that it was going to be a very special wedding.  They are so perfect for each other and I was honored to be a party of their special day. 

 Leah and Bob tied the knot at St. Clement Church in Lincoln Park.  Their family was so close and you could just feel their love for one another.  I just love this picture of Leah’s dad right before the ceremony was about to begin. 

 Leah was full of excitement.  She was cool as a cucumber the whole morning and when we got to the Church she just beamed with pure joy.  I love this photo because it captures her fun personality perfectly. 

Leah looked stunning as she walked down the aisle.  Her wedding day “look” was absolutely perfect for her and it only enhanced the Church and the venue that much more. 

The new husband and wife!  After the ceremony was over the couple celebrated with their friends and family.  They loaded up a trolley and rode around town noshing on Potbelly’s sandwiches.  Everyone had a great time. 

The reception took place at the gorgeous Elysian hotel in Chicago’s Gold Coast.  The service, menu and style of the hotel were all top notch.  The guests dined on a creative menu including oysters, beef carpaccio, pork belly, fresh halibut, beef tenderloin and risotto. 

These beautiful floral arrangements were designed and creative by Renee Price of  Kehoe Designs.  The blooms were huge and very fragrant, the room was filled with fresh floral aroma. 

Leah, Bob and all their guests had a great time dancing the night away with the music styling of DJ Drew from Fig Media

Clementine had a wonderful time meeting all their friends and family and we hope we can cross paths again some day!  We wish you all the best!  Congratulations to the happy couple!

Special thanks to the talented Joseph Mark Photography (located in Dallas, TX) and Joseph Ryan Martinez of Fig Media for providing memorable photos and video to document such a wonderful day!

Little Bit of NOLA at a Chicago Landmark

June 1st, 2011

I was beyond thrilled to work with Leyla and Charlie for their May 21st wedding at The Rookery in Chicago.  They have such fun, creative personalities which really added a lot of personal touches to their fantastic wedding.  The wonderful and talented Laurie Peacock Photography captured all the special moments and details. 

They became husband and wife at Assumption Church in Chicago.  They couldn’t have asked for a nicer morning, especially since May was such a rainy month in Chicago this year. 

The reception was filled with little details that are special to the bride and groom.  New Orleans was the un-offical “theme” of the event and the bold colors really looked fantastic in The Rookery.  It was a nice contrast having the bold style of New Orleans alongside a Burnham built building that has intricate gold stenciling by non other than Frank Lloyd Wright! 

These gorgeous centerpieces were created by Blumgarten and they captured the brides vision perfectly.  They gave away chocolates in the shape of the fleur-di-lis which is a French symbol associated with New Orleans.   

The dinner menu was even NOLA inspired with beef tenderloin and BBQ shrimp with creole ssauce served over creamy stone ground grits.  The talented chefs at Jewell Events Catering did a great job, the entree was fantastic and a big hit among the guests. 

 

Take the Cake designed the beautiful and elegant wedding cake.  The design reflected the style of the bride’s wedding gown and it was just stunning.  Guests exclaimed it was the best wedding cake they’d ever tasted! 

Please view this awesome video filmed by Kinema Group Films - they edited it during the reception and surprised everyone with a quick show and the bride, groom and guests had many tears.

http://vimeo.com/24093511

Clementine’s “Wedding Season Kick-Off Party”

April 6th, 2011

Clementine hosted a really fun party to kick off the wedding season in style!  All the guests are our industry friends and partners that we’re so fortunate to work with on a regular basis.  I really wanted to just have a good time – I do love planning parties after all.  It was a great success and I think everyone had a wonderful time. 

All the participating vendors really out did themselves.  Thank you again Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Jewell Events Catering, A Stem Above, J. Brown Photography, Cage and Aquarium, Take the Cake, 4 Flashes Photobooths, Event Creative, Halls Rental and Windy City Linens

We of course featured the official Clementine colors, which was so fun for spring!  We wanted a casual, welcoming environment so we included all cocktail tables, high boys and two different lounge vignettes. 

A Stem Above provided fresh, colorful flowers for all the cocktail tables, high boys and lounge sets. 

 

Halls Rental provided all the tables, chairs and lounge peices and Event Creative added the pillow accents. 

 

Take the Cake provided adorable mini cupcakes; a huge hit with the guests!  Jewell Events Catering provided some amazing hors d’oeuvres; nobody went home hungry that’s for sure!

 

 

 

 

 

DJ Victor was spinning fun, up-beat, music all night long! 

The party was supposed to end at 9:00 but this fun crowd stayed until 10:00!  We practicaly had to kick them out!  Melissa and I are right there in the middle having a blast with such a great group of people! 

We can’t wait to have another kick off party next year! 

For more photos please visit our facebook page

 

Smart Decor

July 19th, 2010

Hotel Sax was the home of this fantastic wedding ceremony.  I love the placement of the flowers and the really bright colors.  The room is decorated in neautral colors so the pop of color really stood out nicely.  The flowers created an excellent focal point in the room.  This wedding was in April, a season bursting with life.  It was the perfect month to really showcase vibrant colors as guests were  so ready for spring after all the bleak months prior. 

The best part of the decor was the ceremony arrangements were then reused as the centerpieces for the dinner tables.   Reusing arrangements is a great way to really jazz up a ceremony site for very little extra money.  Not only is this cost effective but it’s “green” too.  At the end of the day the client had less waste after the event. 

I strongly suggest using arrangements more than once if possible.  I have a lot of clients that reuse their alter arrangements for the place card table or gift table.  It’s a great way to extend the budget, plus it would be a shame to have such gorgeous floral/decor only to be used for 30 min! 

Daniel Gin Photography took these fantastic pictures.  Stay tuned to the Clementine website, this wedding will be featured soon on our gallery page. 

The floral was designed by Tony Polega with Bukiety Floral in Chicago.

Spring has Sprung

March 15th, 2010

It might still be chilly in Chicago but I know you are all just as anxious as I am for spring to officially arrive.  My heart is singing over these adorable shots I found.  Spring always makes me feel so happy and warm – these spring ideas will do the same.  I hope you enjoy!

I’ve always been a huge fan of decor hanging from the ceiling.  How fun are these fantastic flowers?  They are so energetic and colorful, they just scream spring.  This would be perfect for a rehearsal dinner, birthday party or casual wedding reception. 

I love this romantic tabletop because it is so simple and elegant.  The flowers really stand out and make a statement.  I wish I was having brunch at this table and sipping a mimosa!

Individual bud vases can create a really great look.  I’ve seen lots of bud vases and mason jars recently and I think they make a fresh statement. 

I LOVE this picture!  These fantastic yellow dresses (from J.Crew) paired with the men’s dark grey suits look very modern and trendy.  Everyone is obsessed with gray and I love it.  Yellow and Grey, Orange and Grey, Purple and Grey are all wedding color combos I can look forward to this season.

All these pictures and ideas have gotten me really excited for spring.  I can’t wait till the sun comes out and stays out!

What are some ideas you have for spring?