Our Tree-Filled Wedding
Happy Tuesday, friends!
As promised, I wanted to share some more photos from our wedding. We knew from the start that photos were going to be one of our top priorities and we were excited to work with Sally O'Donnell Photography on our big day. I highly recommend using this wife & husband duo for your special event... and they travel anywhere and everywhere!
I started my day of being a bride by waking up promptly at 3am. Alarm was set for like 9am, so that makes perfect sense. I spent the night at the hotel, in our wedding night room (ha!), after our rehearsal dinner, so I was ready to go for the big day. Glam was not coming until 11am (thank you evening wedding!) so I had a bunch of time to spare. I am a very very anxious person, so I spent a few hours feeling very sick. Spent the next few hours relaxing, crying from all the love on Instagram (thank you for the shoutouts, texts, comments, etc!!!), taking a walk, and making the hotel room look nice for the dozen visitors that were about to arrive. Somehow felt great and ready by the time 11am rolled around and the party got started!
As you may have seen in last post, I made my bridesmaids wear these tees from Happily Ever Tees (affiliate link), because when else do you get to dictate what everyone wears? I had so much fun getting hair and makeup done with everyone, including Nick's and my mom! I thought having so much time to get ready would drag, but those two hours flew by and somehow we stayed mostly on schedule. Everyone probably thought I was crazy with my minute-by-minute itineraries that I sent out, but we stayed on track. After the boys were ready, they headed to Morton Arboretum (our venue!) a few minutes before the girls... so we didn't cross paths before our First Look!
Finally, the girls arrived. Nick & I chose the Spruce Plot at the Arb because it looked like another planet and was so perfectly tucked away within the forests. Nick was hiding amongst the trees (and ginormous mosquitos, ew) as my matron of honor (Nick's sister!) and I made our way through the wood chips. The First Look was magical!
Then we headed to our wedding building and took more photos until it was go-time! And our little flower girl, our niece Cecilia Rose, joined us for some snaps... luckily she loved our flowers enough to smile for a few pics ;)
The bridal suite in our building is called "The Tower", so it was giving me serious Punzie vibes. Me and the girls waited there as I was able to watch our guests arriving. It was so exciting and I welled up each time someone new walked up. And then somehow it was already time to get hitched!
We had a very short aisle, which was kind of a bummer for walking purposes, but it was so romantic and intimate! The museum-y vibe of the space won my heart on our tour over a year before the big day. History real quick: Morton Arboretum is an awesome tree museum on the property of Joy Morton (hello, Morton Salt) - his mansion burned down and his library was the only piece remaining... which is where our ceremony was! I loved the stained glass, the history, and the romantic vibes all around.
Oh, also, we all walked down the aisle to "At Last I See the Light" from Tangled, performed live by the immensely talented Vanessa Gattone and Vlad Danilkovich. See? Punzie vibes.
After we said "I Do" and I messed up our kiss (I specifically told Nick what side to turn to, then I went the opposite way because I am a spaz), we had a wishing wand exit and took some family snaps. Then it was time for cocktail hour, where Vanessa & Vlad played a healthy mix of Disney love songs and pop songs. I did request "Love is an Open Door" to be played when I returned from photos ;)
Then it was finally time for the PARTAY! I think the speeches from our dads, best man, and maid of honor... plus Nick's impromptu speech, were my favorite part of the reception. It was so special! I laughed, I cried, I drank way too much champagne. My least favorite part was cutting the cake... no one reminds you to get a game plan for that! We truly never thought about it and it was super awkward, whoops!
Dinner was perfectly delicious, and yes I actually ate! And then it was time to dance. It was such a great night and I don't think I would have changed a thing.
I enjoyed the planning process so much! Guess it is a good thing that my job mainly consists of planning events and programs. My vision for colors, flowers, overall pinterest-aesthetic played out perfectly. I kind of surprised myself... but I have to give credit to my vendors (and family!) for knowing my vision and executing it like mad. I am so filled with joy and gratitude after our big day!!
Please let me know if you have any questions or would like wedding planning tips! Vendors are below, let me know if I missed anything you were curious about :) Thank you for reading!
Flowers by Kio Kreations || Dress from Allure Bridal || Suits from Formally Modern
Venue was Morton Arboretum || Photography by Sally O'Donnell || Cake from the Cakery
Cecilia's dress from Etsy || Bridal Shoes from Kate Spade/Keds || Ring Box from Etsy
Bridesmaids' dresses from J.Crew
As promised, I wanted to share some more photos from our wedding. We knew from the start that photos were going to be one of our top priorities and we were excited to work with Sally O'Donnell Photography on our big day. I highly recommend using this wife & husband duo for your special event... and they travel anywhere and everywhere!
I started my day of being a bride by waking up promptly at 3am. Alarm was set for like 9am, so that makes perfect sense. I spent the night at the hotel, in our wedding night room (ha!), after our rehearsal dinner, so I was ready to go for the big day. Glam was not coming until 11am (thank you evening wedding!) so I had a bunch of time to spare. I am a very very anxious person, so I spent a few hours feeling very sick. Spent the next few hours relaxing, crying from all the love on Instagram (thank you for the shoutouts, texts, comments, etc!!!), taking a walk, and making the hotel room look nice for the dozen visitors that were about to arrive. Somehow felt great and ready by the time 11am rolled around and the party got started!
As you may have seen in last post, I made my bridesmaids wear these tees from Happily Ever Tees (affiliate link), because when else do you get to dictate what everyone wears? I had so much fun getting hair and makeup done with everyone, including Nick's and my mom! I thought having so much time to get ready would drag, but those two hours flew by and somehow we stayed mostly on schedule. Everyone probably thought I was crazy with my minute-by-minute itineraries that I sent out, but we stayed on track. After the boys were ready, they headed to Morton Arboretum (our venue!) a few minutes before the girls... so we didn't cross paths before our First Look!
Finally, the girls arrived. Nick & I chose the Spruce Plot at the Arb because it looked like another planet and was so perfectly tucked away within the forests. Nick was hiding amongst the trees (and ginormous mosquitos, ew) as my matron of honor (Nick's sister!) and I made our way through the wood chips. The First Look was magical!
Then we headed to our wedding building and took more photos until it was go-time! And our little flower girl, our niece Cecilia Rose, joined us for some snaps... luckily she loved our flowers enough to smile for a few pics ;)
The bridal suite in our building is called "The Tower", so it was giving me serious Punzie vibes. Me and the girls waited there as I was able to watch our guests arriving. It was so exciting and I welled up each time someone new walked up. And then somehow it was already time to get hitched!
We had a very short aisle, which was kind of a bummer for walking purposes, but it was so romantic and intimate! The museum-y vibe of the space won my heart on our tour over a year before the big day. History real quick: Morton Arboretum is an awesome tree museum on the property of Joy Morton (hello, Morton Salt) - his mansion burned down and his library was the only piece remaining... which is where our ceremony was! I loved the stained glass, the history, and the romantic vibes all around.
Oh, also, we all walked down the aisle to "At Last I See the Light" from Tangled, performed live by the immensely talented Vanessa Gattone and Vlad Danilkovich. See? Punzie vibes.
After we said "I Do" and I messed up our kiss (I specifically told Nick what side to turn to, then I went the opposite way because I am a spaz), we had a wishing wand exit and took some family snaps. Then it was time for cocktail hour, where Vanessa & Vlad played a healthy mix of Disney love songs and pop songs. I did request "Love is an Open Door" to be played when I returned from photos ;)
Then it was finally time for the PARTAY! I think the speeches from our dads, best man, and maid of honor... plus Nick's impromptu speech, were my favorite part of the reception. It was so special! I laughed, I cried, I drank way too much champagne. My least favorite part was cutting the cake... no one reminds you to get a game plan for that! We truly never thought about it and it was super awkward, whoops!
Dinner was perfectly delicious, and yes I actually ate! And then it was time to dance. It was such a great night and I don't think I would have changed a thing.
I enjoyed the planning process so much! Guess it is a good thing that my job mainly consists of planning events and programs. My vision for colors, flowers, overall pinterest-aesthetic played out perfectly. I kind of surprised myself... but I have to give credit to my vendors (and family!) for knowing my vision and executing it like mad. I am so filled with joy and gratitude after our big day!!
Please let me know if you have any questions or would like wedding planning tips! Vendors are below, let me know if I missed anything you were curious about :) Thank you for reading!
Flowers by Kio Kreations || Dress from Allure Bridal || Suits from Formally Modern
Venue was Morton Arboretum || Photography by Sally O'Donnell || Cake from the Cakery
Cecilia's dress from Etsy || Bridal Shoes from Kate Spade/Keds || Ring Box from Etsy
Bridesmaids' dresses from J.Crew
