Greatest Expectations Special Events & Weddings, Inc.

It was such an honor to interview my long time friend and treasured vendor, Kelly Marie Uss from Fleur, Inc.  Kelly has worked in the floral industry for twelve years.  She loves working with unique blooms, pulling inspiration from cloud formations in the sky, ripples in raindrops, hidden clovers in grassy patches and the glow of the flowers themselves.  She pairs a modern and clean approach to design, softened with a versatile, whimsical wild-flower-esque touch.  Her background in painting and printmaking gave her a non traditional training in floral design and that is apparent in her sensitivity to texture and color.  “Nature offers us so much, often in the whirl-wind of life we miss the small details. I feel it’s my job to help people recognize time to slow down and enjoy the intricacies all around us” say Kelly Marie.  “There is so much beauty out there!” she says with a sigh and a smile.  And she definitely keeps us noticing.

Read all the way through the interview to discover what Kelly is giving away to one lucky Chicagoland reader!

How long have you been in the floral industry?

Twelve years! It is really amazing to think about it.

When did you open Fleur, and how has it grown?

Eight years ago. In fact, April 8th is Fleur’s golden birthday! We’ve grown so much it’s mind boggling. From just a little bucket shop to a new location. We started with just a small storefront and now have a new location with a private meeting room for clients. Also, our style has really changed from modest arrangements to stylized centerpieces, and all the designs in the middle. It’s so fun to keep pushing the boundaries. In addition to working on just spectacular weddings and events, our storefront offers a boutique style shop with new selections almost everyday. We’ve also begun carrying vintage vessels, gorgeous hand crafted jewelry and beautiful plants.

I can say from first hand experience how creative and fun Kelly’s floral concepts are!  I always love it when she calls to tell me she has a “new idea” because I know it will produce something amazing for one of my clients.

What is your favorite flower?

I have three. Peonies and lilac, because they remind me of my Mother’s garden growing up. And mimosa which resembles the softest little, butter yellow cotton balls. All three have incredible fragrances and do not last long, which makes them so very special and a reminder to me to stop and enjoy little moments.

Describe the perfect wedding centerpiece?

Right now I am just obsessed with vintage milk glass, or rather, vintage vessels in general. I love varying heights and shapes of containers, teacups and saucers filled with clusters of exploding movement and texture or one single bloom. I’d like to see dogwood blossoms, helleborus, peonies, ranunculus, jasmine, lots of buds, fun textures in a sherbet palette, with pillar candles! I’d love to place them on top of old, hardcover books, or sew a little “place-mat” out of vintage fabric. How bright and fun!

Like Kelly, I am currently obsessed with the look and style of vintage weddings.  I think they are so romantic and fun!

What is your favorite venue in the city?

I like open space and natural light, so I think it might have to be Prairie Productions because it is just a blank palette waiting and there is so much room for so many options. Salvage One is also just so eclectic and amazing!

Awhile ago I “sipped champagne” with the bride from a wedding Kelly and I did together at Prairie Productions. Check out some pictures from the event in my interview with Alyssa.

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be and why?

Everywhere!! I want to see it all! But if I was planning my next little holiday I think it would be in Nova Scotia. I’ve never been to that part of the world and would love to see the maritime culture. I just know I would be so inspired and filled with design ideas after a week there.

If you were an animal which one would you be and why?

Recently I read that my spirit animal may be a crab (!?), but I think I’m a little more like squirrel. I am always forgetting where I hide my keys, and I like to use acorns in arrangements. They’re also all over Chicago, and I feel like that these days with all my running around, I am too.

What is your favorite song or musician?

I don’t think I have a favorite song, but I really love singer/songwriters. Will Oldham, Bill Callahan, Tim Buckley, Linda Rich and so many more. It’s nice to come home after a long day of work to some soothing guitar melodies. And I play the banjo, so almost anything that has an accompanying banjo usually wins me over.

Who is your favorite artist?

As for artists, I love Paul Klee for his whimsy and color, and Winslow Homer for his nature and palette. They’re perfect descriptions of my realist and abstract sides.

What is your favorite restaurant?

Lula Cafe. Yum! Although, Avec is a close second. Oh gosh, I’m getting hungry right now, thinking about them.

What do you like most about working with Greatest Expectations?

As we all know, the wedding industry can be stressful for both the bride and the vendors. Working with you and your team is so fun that the stress is just eliminated! We can laugh and joke all the while figure out plans and develop a completely unique and personalized celebration for each and every client. You are always coming up with the most fabulous new ideas and your standard is a perfect pairing of good fun, humor and superb professionalism! It is always a delight to work with you and your staff.

Thank you Kelly!!  It warms my heart to hear such kind words from you.  I consider myself extremely blessed to not only work with you often but to call you my friend.

Kelly has generously agreed to giveaway a $100 vase arrangement to one lucky reader!!  The arrangement will be made in a vintage container and include wonderful blooms of the season.  The picture below is just an example of Kelly’s work.  The winning item may resemble this piece.  In order to win just post a comment to this thread telling us what you enjoy most about having fresh flowers in your home! A winner will be selected at Random on March 8th. You do not have to be a Greatest Expectations bride to win

I consider myself extremely fortunate to work in a field I love!  I have been in the industry a long time and have met so many amazing people.  My clients become friends and Kristen and John are no exception!  Off the bat I knew they were going to be a fun and unique couple.  The first call I got was from John (yes, the groom … sometimes it does happen!). Right away I was intrigued; I don’t get a lot of super involved grooms.

We put together a powerhouse of players for this wedding, starting off with the venue  of course (this should always be your first decision). They decided on The Ivy Room. Kristen fell in love with the outdoor space where we planned to have cocktails. This is such a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city.  Truly a hidden gem!

As is sometimes the case with October weddings, the weather simply did not go the way we had planned.  Not only was it unseasonably cold (we rushed out for heat lamps just days before the wedding), it also poured rain a good portion of the day. Now keep in mind Kristen had begged me to do everything possible to make sure cocktails were outside. So I was on constant Weather Channel watch throughout the entire day.  I arrived at The Ivy Room post-ceremony (which was held at the beautiful St. Jospeh’s Church on Orleans) and it was somewhat clear.  I decided to make the call to set up outside.  After all I had promised I would give it a shot! All I can say is, we tried.  About 15 minutes after set up started, the sky opened up and I knew we’d have to take cocktails inside.  So in we went with the soaking wet linens and chairs.  Fortunately when Kristen put her hand down on the wet table cloth she smiled and said “Thank you so much for trying.”  What more could I ask for!

One thing you can say about rain on your wedding day is that there are tons of fantastic photo opportunities! The amazing and talented Belen from Orange 2 Photo had a field day with this beautiful and creative couple!  My favorite picture is at the top of the post (I am pretty sure this is my all time favorite wedding photo ever in 13 years of event planning!). I have sprinkled several of my favorite images throughout the post so I hope you enjoy them!

Knowing upfront how important the band was to the bride and her family I knew they had to have The Larry King Orchestra!! As it turns out Larry knew several of the same people as Kristen so they always had a great time chatting! We even had a guest performance of by Jim Peterik (formally of the band Survivor) who co-wrote the Rocky III theme song “Eye of the Tiger.”  He performed his number one hit and the crowd went wild!!  The band had a blast playing for Jim and it was a real highlight of the night!

The caterer was the always fantastic Weddings by Blue Plate who treated the guests to some amazing food!  The specialty drink was White Sangria made from scratch and wow was it yummy. I did not get to enjoy it at the event of course, since I was working and eight months pregnant, but I had the pleasure at the original tasting!!  Blue Plate always does an amazing job and their food is not only tasty, it is also beautiful!!

The cake was done by Amy Beck Cake Design.  Let me just say Amy is beyond talented!!  The gorgeous ivory fondant cake actually matched Kristen’s dress.  The yummy inside included bourbon chocolate cake, almond cake and carrot cake.  Not a single piece was left, I did not even get a slice (and I live for wedding cake) … It was that good!

We all know that floral is what sets your event apart from the others.  Kelly from Fleur knocked it out of the park with this one. Kristen and John wanted an elegant, natural and organic feel.  Kelly used beautiful manzanita branches with hanging votive candles and wired flowers.  We placed tiny yellow orchids on each of the napkins which added a delicate touch to the tables.  There were candles everywhere and we added an amazing wall pattern and dance floor lighting done by Sound Investment.

Overall it was a spectacular event. Getting to know Kristen and John was nothing short of a pleasure.   Thank you for allowing us to play such a special role in the most amazing day of your lives!

I simply could not leave this post without sharing a few other pictures, I hope you enjoy them!!

Our good friend Dough McGoldrick (affectionately known as Doug Photo) from Doug McGoldrick Wedding Photography is tired of being cooped up in Chicago’s dregs of winter! For this reason he is giving away wedding photography to one lucky couple. If you are getting married at least 500 miles away from Chicago then you could be the lucky winner!!

The rules

The wedding must take place at least 500 miles from Chicago, and you must be a totally fun couple (Doug’s rules, not mine!).

How to enter

Send your story to doug at dougphoto dot com.  Include a picture of yourselves.

The judges

Doug’s two adorable daughter’s get the final say.  He reads them “your story” and shows them the pictures and they select a winner!

What you Win

8 hours of coverage from Doug, a disk of edited high resolution images, and an online gallery of images.

The Catch (if you can call it that)

The winner needs to cover the transportation cost to get Doug to the wedding location. Oh and you need to send your stuff in by the end of the day tomorrow, February 22nd!  Now get to writing!!

This is the second year Doug is giving away wedding photography.  If you want to see last years winners just click here.

Here’s a super fun picture Doug took of our clients John and Maureen a couple of January’s ago … I love this shot but you can see why he is anxious to get out of Chicago for awhile!!

Please stop by our  boutique bridal show at Pleasant Home in Oak Park this afternoon!  Last night was a smashing success and we expect today to be just as fantastic!!  Walk in’s welcome just remember to bring your $10 or better yet a piece of formal ware to donate to The Glass Slipper Foundation!

11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Pleasant Home ~ 217 South Home ~ Oak Park

We love to see our name in print!!

A special thanks to CS Brides Magazine for including us in their December 2009 issue with a two-page spread featuring our fabulous clients Rachel and David. This wedding was extra special to us and we’re pleased CS felt the same way!

Thanks to GetMarried Magazine (a sister to getmarried.com and the GetMarried TV show on WeTv) for featuring us in their “Real Weddings” section with Christina and Cary’s beautiful wedding. (Just a little note here, my name was spelled wrong and they left out the company name … And there was a little misquote, I assure you my grammar is much, much better than the last quote in the article … But we still think it’s a great magazine, love free press and look forward to being featured in future issues).

It was also a thrill to be featured in three articles in the Spring/Summer issue of The Knot Chicago Magazine!  We loved working with Ashley and Michael on their Spring 2009 wedding and thank the people at The Knot for including us in their “expert tips” section! Lastly, it is a honor to have received be a 2010 pick for The Knot Best of Weddings which is also featured in the magazine.

We even got a little old fashion newspaper love in the Chicago Tribune!! They published a fun article on creative ways to propose and mentioned us as a go-to planner to help put together the perfect proposal!

If you are like many of the couples we work with you already have all of the stuff you need for your home. That said, you still want (and deserve) a bridal shower! So here are a few fun and creative ideas for “non-traditional” bridal showers … Here’s your chance to do something different and get things you really want!! Be sure to send this link to your bridal party, mom(s), and anyone else who might be throwing you a shower.

Entertainment Shower

Truly for the bride and groom that have everything. Your guests will enjoy thinking outside of the box while getting creative and the happy couple will enjoy utilizing all of these fun gifts! Each guest brings a gift that entertains, such as CD’s, DVD’s, magazine subscription, theater tickets, board/card games, movie passes, books, passes/memberships to museums, video games, tickets to sporting events … Or anything you can think of that the couple is interested in and will entertain them! Consider suggesting guests pool their resources and purchase a larger item like a subscription or even airline/hotel gift certificates.

Linen Shower

We are keeping it clean with this one! Here is your chance to finally get those bed linens like DreamSacks bamboo sheets (trust me you will never want to sleep on anything else again), beautiful new towels, or those place mats and table cloths you have not been willing to buy for yourself … This is a fun and easy shower that even your grandmother can enjoy!

Four Seasons Shower

No, we are not talking about hosting a shower at Chicago’s five-star hotel … This is a shower where each guest is asked to bring a gift for a certain season. For example if the guest had winter, a slow cooker, a warm blanket, mugs with spiced apple cider or hot chocolate; for spring, a picnic basket with supplies, an umbrella stand or a variety of cleaning supplies (hit spring cleaning head on!); for summer, beach towels and flip flops, a lemonade pitcher and glasses or grill tools; for fall, dishes for a holiday meal, an apple peeler/corer, pie pan and rolling pin.

You can either indicate the “season” on each invitation (I suggest having them printed with all four and then circling or highlighting – perhaps with glitter – the season for that specific guest) or tell them their season when they RSVP.

Lingerie Shower

Get the girls together! This one is not for the groom to attend, save those surprises for the honeymoon! A lingerie shower can be romantic and a little risqué, but no doubt a lot of fun! Each guest is asked to bring some type of lingerie and they can be as creative (think wedding night) or traditional (warm cotton pj’s) as they want.

This type of shower is normally hosted at someone’s home but if you are looking for a fun alternative consider a local lingerie shop that rents their space for private parties like G Boutique in Chicago (where they also feature a sex ed class) or Baubo’s Garden in Forest Park (where you can explore their “tool shed” during the event).

I think this is a fun shower to pair with a “question and answer game.” This requires a little effort upfront but the pay off is fantastic! Simply “interview” the groom on camera and ask him loads of funny (and perhaps tricky) questions. Then at the shower you ask the bride the same questions and see how many of their responses match. If you are pairing this with a lingerie shower I say go for it and make the questions a little racy!

Holiday Shower

Everyone loves to have special things to pull out at the holidays. This is a great opportunity to help your friends stock up on their holiday ware! Simply assign a holiday to each guest and have them bring a gift appropriate to the season. Be creative when thinking of the holidays and don’t leave any out … The guests will have fun picking out something for their specific holiday. Example: Fourth of July – A picnic basket decorated in red, white and blue, and, inside the basket red, white and blue plates, cups and napkins.

Gift Card Shower

This is a great shower for people who live out of state (or the country) and are not able to travel with a bunch of gifts. I suggest guests purchase gift certificates from the local shops in the Bride and Groom’s hometown so they can be utilized throughout their first year of marriage (i.e. grocery store, department stores, specialty shops, restaurants).

A fun spin on this is the “#10 Envelope” shower. A #10 envelope is a standard mailing envelope (the long one). The rule is that every gift has to fit in the envelope. Hopefully the guests will get really creative in fitting larger gifts in the envelope.

Basket shower

The concept here is pretty simple … guests are asked to bring their gift in a “usable” container. While it is called a “Basket Shower” encourage the guests to think outside of the basket so to speak (think luggage, hat boxes etc…)

Some examples are “Kitchen Basket” – which is filled with things for the kitchen, “Bath Basket,” “Bedroom Basket,” “Entertainment Basket,” “Movie Night Basket,” “Romantic Basket.” Use your imagination and come up with all sorts of “Baskets!”

Around the Clock Shower

Yes, this is exactly how it sounds but there is a lot of opportunity to have fun and get some seriously unique items here. Each guest brings something for a certain time of day. Example: for 8 a.m., a coffee maker with mugs that match their dishes; for 7 p.m., cookware and a jar of spices; for 9 p.m., a popcorn maker and some movies … Don’t forget about late night, those are the gifts that are really fun to watch the bride open!

Around the House Shower

Not unlike the Around the Clock Shower, each guest brings a gift for a certain room of the house. You might bring towels for the bathroom, a vase or picture frame for the living room, a teapot for the kitchen, or lingerie for the bedroom. The Bride and Groom need help with every room in the house, so don’t leave anything out (including the backyard)! Obviously you will have more than one guest with each room (unless they have a really large house!) but that works out perfectly … Who needs only one set of dishes?

Wine and Cheese Tasting Shower

This is a great couples shower. Arrange for an elegant afternoon or early evening of wine tasting (wine, cheese and finger foods, what more could a guest ask for?). Ask the guests to bring a gift that is fit for entertaining (wine glasses, cheese markers, cocktail plates). Have some fun with this and consider these wine line reviews, they will keep your guests entertained all night. If you are really ambitious consider having a wine tasting contest!

Stock The Bar Shower

Invite the guys because they’ll want to be included! Have guests bring a bottle of wine to share, and a gift to help stock the couple’s bar. Encourage them to bring bottles of the couple’s favorite liquor, bar mixes, glassware … Anything you would use when cocktailing!

Alphabet Shower

I love this idea! On the invitation spell out the Bride and Groom’s names and assign each guest a “letter” from their names, the gift must start with the coordinating letter! At the shower, serve cookies with letters on them (this is a great guest favor). For a game idea, ask the guests to write down an attribute of marriage that begins with the same letter – something they would like to share with the bride.

Kitchen / Cooking Shower

Clearly the gifts are easy to figure out here but I love the idea of asking guests to email you recipes, then create a cookbook for bride (you could even make copies as favors for all the guests). If you simply do not have the time to coordinate an actual cookbook, enclose a blank recipe card with every invitation and ask that each guest write down a favorite recipe on the card to bring to the shower. Then present the bride a recipe box which filled with “tried and true” recipes. Suggest that the guests write a personal note on their recipe card for the bride to enjoy through out the years. For the bride this is much more practical than receiving a cookbook of recipes which no one has tried before and, at the same time, it adds a very personal touch! If you really want to take this one over the top hire a personal chef to come to the shower and give a cooking lesson!

The Pampered Wife Shower

Sometimes you have a bride who truly does have everything they need. If you’re sure the bride doesn’t need (or want) more housewares, then shower her with items to really pamper herself with like spa gift certificates, candles, bubble bath, and wine. I am sure she will thank you for it for a long time to come!

Another fun and eco-friendly thing to consider is a “display” shower … Ask your guests not to wrap their gifts. When the guests arrive set the gifts out for all to see and enjoy. It is also a great way to avoid the awkwardness of gift opening!

Here at Greatest Expectations we consider ourselves experts in “the details.”  We believe that little things go a long way, don’t have to cost a fortune, and make all the difference.

One thing we love to do is a Signature Cocktail.  Most catering companies will help you customize a specialty drink from the items already included in your bar package, so this little detail often does not end up costing you anything extra at all!

We suggest picking a “cocktail” that best represents you and the type of event you want to have.  We have seen things from the super traditional “Blushing Bride” (peach schnapps, champagne and grenadine syrup garnished with a raspberry) to the “Bomb Shell” named after one of our most fun brides, Shelley (vodka, cranberry, orange juice, splash of pineapple and 7-up garnished with a pineapple wedge). One couple who got engaged at a Mexican Restaurant served Sangria as their Signature Cocktail (you can have your caterer prepare this fresh which may cost a little extra but is totally worth it or purchase a pre-made mix and just add in the fruit).

If your event has a strong color theme you may want to consider a drink that matches your decor like this Blood Orange Martini (vodka, triple sec or flavored orange liqueur and blood orange juice. For this wedding we used a red star fruit as garnish) from our Red Hot Wedding.

And if your last name inspires a food or drink you should roll with it!  When our clients Kristin and Ben Apple got married they featured these beautiful Apple Martini’s (vodka, sour apple pucker and apple juice garnished with an apple slice).

Not all specialty drinks need to be served in martini glasses!  Thinking outside the “glass” is a fun way to spice things up.  We served this cucumber lemonade (a Berghoff Catering Group secret recipe) in white wine glasses.

I love the shapes of these glasses … There are so many choices out there!

I love the idea of adding a little “flare” to your signature cocktail with personalize garnish labels, swizzle sticks or umbrellas!

** photos curtsey of Warner Foto, Amanda Hein Photography, Rosalind Weddings, SnoStudios and theknot.com.