Hearing from past clients is a true blessing!
As a wedding planner in Chicago, we have a lot of days that are full of crazy requests, challenging situations, and fun meetings like tastings and decor samples… It isn’t a bad gig! But when I opened my email this morning to this wonderful note from Tonia Rumrill Nelson who is celebrating her 2 year anniversary today (5/17/09 A New Leaf)… I felt truly blessed! These moments are the true reward of our profession and what make our job wonderful. We are so happy to hear from you!
Lori,
Two years later and we still can’t thank you enough. Your help with our wedding on May 17, 2009 was beyond either of our expectations. Not only did it allow us to enjoy the day but our mothers as well. Things went so well we ended up welcoming our daughter Maya Snow Nelson into the world just a little over a year later. We seriously can’t thank you enough not only for what you did but the various vendors: Pia, Michael Monar, Limelight, etc. We hope all is well with you and that this upcoming year is a very successful one for Lola.
And the bride wore… PRINT!
I love a bold bride – someone who REALLY wants to do something different. Well, that is exactly what we got when we met Becky and Brendan who tied the knot in an informal ceremony on August 28, 2010! From her gorgeous print gown to the cocktail style reception for their 125 guests at the Old Oak Tap in their Ukie Village neighborhood – this bride broke all the rules with her hip style. This just goes to show that a non-traditional event can flow beautifully, and that guests will have a great time celebrating no matter what the format as long as it is well thought out and creative. Thanks to Monica Z Photography for these fantastic images! Floral by LOLA Event Productions.
Cute as a Button!
One of the vignettes at our annual open house was inspired by that jar of buttons that your grandma has collected over the years. We love when something so small and simple can be used to create a larger design concept.
We started with grandma’s mason jar of vintage buttons and let grandma take it from there (with a more modern, vintage chic approach). Jesse Deckard, of Botanicals, designed cheerful and romantic garden-y pieces. The dinnerware, from Halls Rentals, featured a rattan charger, perfect for a garden lunch, that was then topped with mismatched Sevre china. BBJ Linen provided the perfect blue shantung linen and white linen napkin with hemstitch details.
Our Favorite Button Details:
- Menu and Invitation with hand sewn buttons, by Anjenu
- Mason jars with votive candles surrounded by buttons
- Two shades of blue thread wrapped around the napkin, adorned with a single button
- Button touched grosgrain ribbon accenting the floral containers
Plan Your Destination Wedding in Roatan!
You know you love your job when you can’t wait to get home from vacation to blog about work. In this case – how to parlay work into vacation by planning a destination wedding in the fabulous place you just stayed! So here I am, in my own private villa, the Carribean Sea lapping at the sand outside my window – dreaming of the perfection of exchanging vows at sunset at Barefoot Cay Resort in Roatan. This Conde Nast gold rated gem is absolutely PERFECT for so many reasons!
- The size of the resort – a max of 25-30 guests means you can book the entire place and have a private paradise for you and your guests.
- The staff outnumber the guests, and are the most friendly and talented group I have met while vacationing. Everyone knows our names – and we know theirs.
- The accomodations range in price – with even the most luxurious being more maneagable than most places in the Carribean.
- You can go either a la carte or all inclusive on meals – and all the rooms have full kitchens! Of course, the food is magnificent so I haven’t had much to eat in my bungalow!
- For the ceremony itself I can’t decide where the most picturesque place to exchange vows might be – the Palapa reaching out into the ocean, or the beautifully combed sand at the edge of the sea – so many choices!
- The reception will be perfect – the food presentation and taste divine. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that the requests we are making on the mainland actually reach the willing ears of the chef and an expert staff?
Paired with LOLA coordination and ideas, this place is a winner! Who wants to plan with us?
And now, I go back to my vacation – what to do next… nap on the private beach? World Class Scuba? Some zip-lining or a trip to town? Hmmmm… I like my choices!
Plan a Retro Valentine’s Party
Looking for a fun and cheap way to make your Valentine’s Dinner special? Here are some ideas for entertaining on this lovey-dovey holiday that will take you back to the sweet simple Valentine’s Days of your childhood!
Candy Heart Centerpiece: Take clear vases and fill them with conversation heart candy, top with a votive and voila! Retro-Romantic centerpiece for pennies!
Love Note Place Cards: Along with your email invitation response, have your guests send you words for a Mad Libs! Get some online forms, fill them in, print them, and fold them into heart shaped notes reminicent of those you used to pass to your middle school crush.
Chic Buffet: I found these old lunch trays for $4/pp at a resale shop – what a fun way to dress up your next dinner buffet! I do, however, draw the line at wearing a hair net to serve!
Party Games: Top off the evening with some retro fun – the Newlywed Game on DVD! Good luck, and Happy Valentine’s Day from the LOLA Pro’s!
The Benefits of a Hotel Wedding!
On December 12th Kristi & Jake tied the knot at Chicago’s Historic Intercontinental Hotel. Thanks to Rachel at Metropolitan Images for these great photos!
This smart bride made life easy for herself and eliminated the ‘X factor’ of December travel around the city (forget the crowds and the weather!) and had both the ceremony and reception on-site at the hotel - where they exchanged vows in the Grand Ballroom under the room’s signature Baccarat Chandalier. Here are some great things to inquire about when looking at a hotel for your wedding:
1. What sort of upgrades are included that you otherwise may need to pay for? At the Intercontinental, the gorgeous chargers pictured below are standard issue for all the place settings, and their standard linen is an elegant ivory brocade. Upgrades like this can cost as much as $10-15/pp if you need to bring in outside rentals.
2. Kristi chose her colors wisely – as they coordinated with the existing holiday decor within the hotel.
3. As dog people, we LOVE that Kristi and Jake’s dog Porkchop wasn’t excluded from the festivities! He got to stay in the bridal suite which truly made the happy couple feel like the entire family was there with them.
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