~ Martin Luther King, Jr

Thank you for your leadership and courage Dr. King.

It is always good to welcome a new year by reflecting on the previous one … So here are some of our favorite memories from 2011 including weddings we have coordinated as well as events we have participated in within the wedding industry.  It was hard to narrow them down and they appear in no particular order.  I hope you enjoy taking a walk down memory lane with us  (and you can always look back through the blog for more details about each event!).

A special thanks to the following photographers for the above images: Amanda Hein Photography, Bellissima Photography, Danielle Aquiline Photography, David Wolfe Photography, Fred Fox Photography, Gerber + Scarpelli Wedding Photography, Jennifer Kathryn Photography, Jeremy Lawson Photography, Megan W Photography, Simply Jessie Photography.

As an industry, wedding professionals bring joy to so many people’s lives all year around. We are asking everyone to continue the joy by participating in our Wedding Industry Food Drive December 15th through December 18th.  You can bring your non perishable food items to one of the following locations (hours and addresses listed below) Bella Bianca, Bleeding Heart Bakery, Fleur, The Left Bank Jewelry & Shoes, Magnificent Milestones and Smitten Boutique. Each store is offering a discount for any one who brings in five or more non perishable food items (amount differs at each location but expect 10% – 15% off). We are so grateful to each of our drop off locations for opening their doors and our hearts to this extremely worthy cause. Beth, Ali and I will be collecting the food on Monday the 19th and taking it directly to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

I’d also like to give a special thanks to Peggy from Erickson Designs for putting together this beautiful poster in a flash!

We are so proud of the work we have done with the eleven eleven WEDDING Giveaway.  The event is extremely near and dear to our hearts since we created it in 2010.  This year’s exceptional event took place yesterday at The Chicago History Museum and was featured on the ABC 7  News 6:00 pm broadcast and in the Chicago Sun Times.

Working with the winners, Amy and Howard, was a truly exceptional experience.  They are the kind of people you just want to be around all of the time, infectious, generous, gracious, funny, kind (I could go on and on). It was such a pleasure to introduce them to each of the sponsors and work with them throughout the planning process.

It is important to note that none of this would be possible without the constant support from the vendors in our community. We are so blessed to work with these amazing people who give of their time, talents and resources so willingly and with such grace. We are truly humbled by the experience and thank you simply does not seem to be “big enough” but we hope it will do.

Keep an eye out for some sneak peak pictures from Amanda Hein Photography.

The eleven eleven WEDDING Giveaway for 2012 will be announced sometime in February so please check back often and send in those applications, as you can see,  dream weddings really can come true!

You can find all of our sponsors listed below.  We thank them all, from the bottom of our hearts.

All images are from the Chicago Sun Times Article.

It is with fond memories and a sad heart that we remember the one year anniversary of  Nick and Bahar.  One year ago today their Wish Upon a Wedding was granted.  Being part of this extraordinary celebration was one of my life’s greatest treasures.

Nick, we miss you very much.  Bahar we love you very much (and miss you as well).

Thank you to Amanda Hein Photography for the above image.

We are so excited to see the eleven eleven WEDDING Live Reveal Party up on their site!  We are honored to be part of this amazing wedding and completely love working with Amy and Howard!

Thanks again to ZED451, Poetic Productions, Amanda Hein Photography and BKO for helping to make the live reveal party so amazing!

We are so thrilled to be participating Under a New Moon, what a historic event!  I was so honored that Anita Vaughan from Anita Weds invited us to participate and we know it will be an exceptional evening!

Under a New Moon is a celebration of same-sex civil unions in Illinois! Be one of the first couples to have a civil union ceremony in Chicago!

Well … Doing the eleven eleven WEDDING Giveaway last year was such a blast that we simply could not pass up the opportunity to do it again!  We are so excited about the amazing vendors we are collaborating with and hope you will be also!

Starting on March 15th you can submit your entry form on the eleven eleven WEDDING site so be sure to tell all your friends about it.  Just ask Amanda and Mike … One lucky couple will get the wedding of their dreams!!

Here’s a fun picture from Amanda and Mike’s 11.11.10 wedding – thank to Amanda Hein Photography for the beautiful image!

It has taken me a long time to post pictures from Nick and Bahar’s amazing wedding. I am sorry for that as I know you are all anxious to see them and learn more about this couple. I’m not going to lie, it has been hard for me to sit down and do this…

As soon as I met Nick and Bahar I fell in love with them, as a couple and as individuals. Their story is one that inspires me to be better, stronger and more passionate about my life and the people I love. I am so grateful to Wish Upon a Wedding for giving me the opportunity to plan this amazing wedding and meet these exceptional people.

As I write this, my heart is heavy at the loss of Nick Schmidt. I ache for Bahar and the life she is trying to put back together. And I ache for the beautiful charismatic man whose life has been cut way too short. At the same time, however, I smile when I think of them together and Nick’s charming sense of humor and Bahar’s eagerness to simply be a “normal” bride. They were in love and they wanted to get married. They hoped for a future together and believed in the possibility of getting just that. They never gave up hope. They were married for 51 days.

As I worked closely with each of the vendors that played a role in Nick and Bahar’s wedding I realized just how blessed I was to be in the company of such selfless people. Each of the vendors gave from deep within their hearts and were thrilled to do so. I consider all of them my friends.

I hope you enjoy these stunning pictures from my friend Amanda Hein. She fully captured the love and emotion of the day. I will never, as long as I live, forget the smile on Nick’s face when he danced with his beautiful new wife for the first time.

Much Love.

We are so excited to announce that Nick and Bahar, our amazing Wish Upon a Wedding couple, are featured in this weekends issue of Parade Magazine.  The article is also on their website and is the wedding of the week on The Knot. Through the online article you can also see the beautiful videos by Chicago Cinematic Weddings, they are really worth watching!

It was such a pleasure working with everyone at Parade and the knot. We thank them for all of the exposure for Wish Upon a Wedding. Being a wish grantor has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I look forward to doing it again.

In the next week or so I plan to write my own post about this exceptional wedding featuring images from the talented Amanda Hein.  I will take that opportunity to mention all of the amazing vendors who donated their time and talents and give you a little insight into the amazing Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt.

Wish Upon a Wedding is the world’s first nonprofit wish granting organization providing weddings and vow renewals for couples facing terminal illness and serious life-altering circumstances, regardless of sexual orientation. Often, couples facing such situations do not have the energy, time, money, or resources needed to plan their wedding. Our organization takes care of all the details, offering couples a chance to relax and enjoy a very special day while surrounded by the love of their closest family and friends.