Today’s bride, Rachel, describes her style as elegant + non-traditional, so naturally, that translated to the wedding! She + her love, Tim, knew they didn’t want the normal wedding vibe for their big day… But rather a huge, eclectic + wild party! To start off, Rachel donned a polkadot dress by New Zealand designer, Kelsey Genna. As for Tim? He wore a seriously cool deep green suit. To top it all off, the bridesmaids wore varying shades of pink!
Rachel shares We chose to plan a morning ceremony and brunch reception because we loved the natural light in our 1921 boat house and wanted our guests to be able to mingle, walk along the water, and sip coffee on the patio when they weren’t dancing up a storm inside. After we left our friends at about 3 PM, we had time to go out for a fancy dinner and enjoy a relaxing evening before setting off on our honeymoon. Morning weddings are definitely underrated!
Let’s head to Columbus Park Refectory in Chicago and take a look at all the details, photographed by Bekah Wriedt!
White anemones paired perfectly with the blush + fuchsia hues of this bouquet by Gatherings Design.
It’s all in the details… Suede dusty rose pumps from ASOS + delicate statement jewelry pieces from Market Square Jeweler polished off the bride’s wedding day look.
Bold pinks for the ‘maids — such a gorgeous collection of dresses, right?! All those picks are from ASOS. Find our faves below!
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What a bridal party!!
Rachel shares I think it’s also important to point out that you can have an incredible wedding on a budget! Know what you’re willing to spend serious money on and what things are less important to you. Hire seasoned professionals for the big, important checklist items, but also be willing to give a break to professionals just starting out and seeking to build their portfolio – they’re usually more willing to give you a good price for the services that are secondary to you. We managed to save so much money by trusting talented but “undiscovered” artists for the parts of the wedding day that weren’t the highest priorities to us. The results were still magical and they got excellent images to help build their own portfolios.
The speeches made by our best man and maid of honor were definitely a highlight of the day for us both. My sister, Hannah, touched on what it means to be absolutely in love with and meant for someone, and Timothy's best friend of four years, Jon, gave a funny and sweet anecdote on how it felt to see two of his closest friends getting married and finally outgrowing his role as a "third wheel". We couldn't have felt more surrounded by people who knew and loved us deeply.
We can’t get enough of that table runner combined with the deep pops of green + hot pink. SO FUN!!
For our first dance, we played She and Him’s cover of “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me” — a song that I first heard several summers ago and instantly knew belonged to us.
My advice would to be really clear on what you both want and envision for the day, not what other people might pressure you to plan. So many of the biggest risks we took (black and white dress, green suit, morning ceremony, floral ties) seemed totally crazy to family members while we were still in the planning process, but I was really firm about seeing our vision come to life and in the end it totally paid off.
Congrats, Rachel + Tim!!
photography: Bekah Wriedt // venue name: Columbus Park Refectory, Chicago, Illinois, USA // florals: Gatherings // wedding dress: Kelsey Genna - Valentina Gown // bride's shoes: ASOS // bride's ring: Market Square Jeweler // bridesmaid dresses: ASOS // getting ready robes: Kate Spade // groom attire: ASOS suit and J Crew tie // catering: Paramount Catering
What a lovely venue to get married in. Congratulations to you both.
Wow how cool is that Polka Dot Wedding Dress !