As a seasoned Chicago wedding planner who naively thought she had seen it all, we just had the most incredible experience!

It was one of those things where we didn’t see it coming….

Has that ever happened to you?

One of my favorite parts about being a wedding planner in Chicago (and I have so many) is selecting vendor teams. Typically, we do a lot of this when working with our full planning clients. See here.

Our Talented Team

To begin, in January, we heard from two different vendors. Both of whom wanted to see if we were going to participate in Love in the Air at Gallery 1500. At that point, it seemed like a no-brainer. Of course we were going to participate!

So, we started putting our team together.

Step 1

First, we secured our florist: Anna and Sabrina from Thistle and Plume. Knowing Anna had recently joined this floral team and knowing she is a creative genius, I really wanted the opportunity to work with them. Honestly, Grace, Anna, and Sabrina are an amazing team of people who each brings something different to the table. I had the best time working with them!

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It’s funny, though, – throughout the process, we must have changed our creative direction at least three times! But, Anna and her team were ready for the curve balls and brainstorming sessions. We all wanted this to be big and beautiful!

The entire time, however, we knew we were going to use a hanging daybed swing from Chance Productions and use their beautiful West Elm lights. (A special shout out to the Logans from Chance Productions who generously offered their time to help us hang material behind the swing to create a subtle backdrop for our space.)

Step 2

To get absolutely amazing photos from this event, we asked Christy Tyler to help us out. What a sweetheart! (The other great part of styled shoots is that we get to know vendors who we haven’t had the opportunity to work with before.)

Right away, we knew Tricia Clarke Makeup and Studio M Creations would be on our team since they were the ones who reached out to us first.

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Step 3

To round off our goods, we asked Toni Patisserie to join the team. Can I tell you that, because of the pandemic, this beautiful cake is still in my office?!? I get to smell it and look at it every single day!

Working with Luxe Productions, we were able to highlight the cake and other pieces we wanted to accent once the sun set and the party started.

As people stopped by our vignette to say hello and get a taste of the delicious cocktails by Calihan Catering, I couldn’t help but share that the flowers on the cake are all sugar! That’s right. These pretty, delicate flowers are not real. Toni created them by hand!

Models

From the onset, we wanted images of how multiple colors can be beautiful. We also wanted to have a same sex couple, so we can communicate that we welcome same sex couples with open arms.

Our models were incredible – and absolute sweethearts!

Grace Loves Lace shipped us these beautiful wedding dresses from California. Kendra Scott lent us the jewels. And, of course, the amazing Tricia Clarke styled the ladies hair and makeup.

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In The End

In the end, this styled shoot ended up being such a fantastic opportunity for us, as wedding planners and as creatives. It was a pleasure working alongside numerous teams of talented people on the day of the shoot. Moreover, this team inspired us every step of the way.

We thought it would be good; we thought it would be fun. However, our experience exceeded any of our expectations!

I’m so incredibly thankful we decided to do this! In the end, yes, the images are beautiful. Yes, we will be using them again and again.

However, that indescribable feeling we got when we worked with a team who all gave 110%, made it all worth it.

Knowning how creative each of these people are, I highly recommend them — and would love the opportunity to work with them again and again.

To our team, thank you so much for all that you did to make this event and this shoot seem extraordinary. Seriously, I still have butterflies when I think back on this day!

Lots of love to our vendor team:

Chicago Wedding Planner: JPB Designs

Photographer: Christy Tyler Photography

Florist: Thistle and Plume

Hair & Makeup: Tricia Clarke Makeup

Swing & West Elm Lights: Chance Productions

Stationery: Studio M Creations

Cake & Cookies: Toni Patisserie

Photo Booth: Zippy Booth

Models: Kara Mueller & Sariah Yackee

Dresses: Grace Loves Lace

Jewelry: Kendra Scott

Venue: Gallery 1500

Drinks: Calihan Catering

Lights: Luxe Productions

Event by: Lakeshore in Love & Clover Events