Tag Archives: Chuppa

Birds of A Feather

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What happens when you cross an amazing talent for design with a love of birds, bling and peacock feathers?  A breathtakingly beautiful wedding, that’s what!

We were lucky enough to start working with Michelle and David almost two years before their Labor Day weekend wedding.  That is a long time to spend planning a wedding and as you can imagine, we grew extremely close throughout the process. We quickly learned that Michelle is an amazing graphic designer and David has a fantastic, dry sense of humor … Oh, and that they are perfect for one another.

The design inspiration came from their birthstones, Emerald and Aquamarine. Michelle set the tone with these georgous custom letterpressed invitations (she designed them and Rhoner Letterpress printed them), tied with ribbons and a little bling and placed in blue and green boxes. She even used a laser cutter to make these amazing scrolls by hand.

The ceremony and reception were held at The Ivy Room at Tree Studios. Because Michelle is Chinese and David is Jewish, they wanted to celebrate the richness of both cultures.  After walking down the aisle to the beautiful sounds of Amarante Ensembles they stood under a beautiful Chuppah draped with David’s prayer shawl from Israel and handmade Ketubah.  Blumen Design created the perfect Chuppah for their garden oasis ceremony and carried the feather theme throughout.

Then guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the courtyard before entering the ballroom for dinner. Michelle designed the wedding programs, menu cards and place cards in both English and Chinese.  The place cards were pinned onto a beautiful moss covered frame.


The guests were incredibly well-fed and entertained thanks to Berghoff Catering and The Larry King Orchestra. I love this picture of Michelle and David dancing their way into the room for introductions.  Their first dance was a Larry King original, White Cotton Dress.

Shortly after the guests were seated for dinner there was a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony.  This is a beautiful, ritualistic ceremony focused on family old and new.  It was beautiful thing to witness, and we felt privileged to be a part of it.

The ballroom at The Ivy Room is such an amazing space.  I have seen it designed in so many different ways that I look forward to the creativity we can experience each time we work there.  This wedding was no exception, Blumen really did an amazing job with these out of the world lampshade centerpieces and submerged orchids.  We all know that a little lighting goes a long way and Chicago Lighting Design did a beautiful job of pulling the entire look together! The platinum pinktuck linens and nile blue lamour napkins were from BBJ Linen.  Everything just came together so nicely!

We had so much fun with the entire group of vendors on this wedding!  It is truly amazing to be in such great company when you are technically at “work!”  I love my job!

All of the beautiful photography featured is by Michael Monar Photography.  Michael truly has a special talent for seeing the beauty in everything and capturing those tiny moments that most people would miss.

As an extra special treat I am sharing their wedding video recap from my dear friends at Poetic Productions.  I think this may be one of my all time favorite videos!

The entire Greatest Expectations staff would like to thank Michelle and David for inviting us into their lives and allowing us to help plan such an extraordinary event.  We look forward to many years of continued friendship and collaboration.

Seven Layer Romance!

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This wedding was glamour on a grand scale!! We all had so much fun working with Rachel and David on their beautiful black, white and hot pink wedding!  Rachel, who is the oldest of three girls has excellent taste and we really bonded.  The planning process was like hanging out with an old friend.  I also truly enjoyed getting to know her mother!  We had a lot in common since I was pregnant with my third daughter for a majority of the process.

The setting was just right at Ivy Room at Tree Studios.  Any opportunity to work with Donna and her team at the Ivy Room is a welcome one!  I just adore this picture of Rachel and David against the “Ivy Wall”. Breathtaking!

Jewish law requires that all weddings on the Sabbath be after sundown.  That meant this Labor Day weekend wedding started after 7:30 p.m. (and lasted well into the wee hours of Sunday morning eventually moving to Pops for Champagne!)  The first event was the Ketubah signing.  I have always loved this tradition, it one of the most beautiful parts of any wedding ceremony. Once this event is over the couple is “married in the eyes of Jewish Law”.

The ceremony, which took place directly following the Ketubah signing, was in the main ballroom with the most amazing and beautiful seven layer Chuppa you can imagine with lots and lots of romantic candle light.  Ronsley Special Events really did a great job with everything.  The ceremony was a magical setting in all white (except for the beautiful black chivari chairs provided by Tablescapes).

We were blessed with perfect weather for cocktails in the courtyard (seen below light up beautifully with pink up-lights thanks to Sound Investment).

From there guests went back inside to a totally transformed space with rich pink lighting, the most luxurious black and white silhouette linens from BBJ Linens and to die for centerpieces from Ronsley Special Event.  We alternated tables with the all white tall centerpieces featuring Calla’s and Orchids and short square centerpieces of hot pink roses in an opaque black vessel … Of course there was tons of candlelight throughout the room!

The treats just kept coming as the guests were blown away by the sounds of the Larry King Orchestra, tastes from Weddings by Blue Plate and the piece de resistance, a four tiered PB&J cake, dripping in handmade silver and crystal flowers, from none other than Amy Beck Cake Design … Ok, so it was Amy’s, to-die-for, chocolate bourbon cake with peanut butter mousse and fresh raspberry filling … PB&J couture style!

All around this wedding was a blast.  It was such a pleasure working with Rachel and David (and their families!) and being surrounded by some of my favorite vendors.  That always makes events run smoothly and a lot more enjoyable!  The beautiful photography is courtesy of Matt Blum .

As a little icing on the proverbial cake … Chicago Social Brides Magazine decided to feature Rachel and David’s wedding in their December 2009 Issue.  Be sure to pick up your copy today to see it in person (you can also view the entire issue online).