Maylene’s Senior Pictures by Laurie Peacock

This is not wedding related, but I am so excited to share my sister Maylene’s fab senior pictures by wedding photographer extraordinaire, Laurie Peacock.

Last summer, Maylene took the standard posed senior pictures by the studio dictated by her high school… you know, the ones where they make you fold your hands under your chin. They were generic and no fun (not to mention expensive to order!) so I told her to hold off – I would find her a kickass photographer to take some REAL pictures!

This fall, Maylene is heading to the University of Illinois Champaign – Urbana… my old alma matter, my old stomping grounds. I am so excited for her – more excited than SHE is – but that’s just because she doesn’t know what’s in store for her these next four years! I have to say that my family and I will miss her sorely, and my parents will finally be empty-nesters!

For more pictures, visit Laurie’s blog!

Don’t you wish YOUR senior pictures looked this good?! I certainly do!! I’m in the hands-folded-under-chin camp myself… I can’t recommend Laurie enough! Gift the senior in YOUR life with some amazing pictures!   

Married: Maria & James - April 4, 2009

Last November, my friends James and Maria asked me to step in and help them plan their upcoming wedding.  With 6 months left, they still needed a florist, DJ, linens, and lighting! Of course I gladly agreed – James and I have been friends ever since we were mere kids in high school – so it meant a lot to me to see them through this exciting time.

All eye candy below courtesy of Millicent Wong Photography.

Maria was stunning in her Vera Wang gown and simple drop veil…

James and Maria taking pictures downtown

Outside the MCA

I adore this next series of ceremony shots - you can just SEE the love in their eyes!

 
The draping behind the alter just happened to match their wedding colors!

I love this shot of James’ young nephew! Priceless…

The reception was held in the lovely pavilion at Meson Sabika in Naperville.Tapas, yum!

The draping and chandeliers get me all giddy…

To honor their elders, James and Maria took part in a traditional Chinese tea ceremony.

Maria wore a gorgeous red Qua and they served tea to their parents and in return received gold jewelry and lucky red envelopes. 

 
Their delicious cake was from Whole Foods! Who knew that WF could do wedding cakes?! 

   
Their “cardbox” was actually a vase encircled with a ring of flowers on the top. The vase and the flowers were large and tall enough to make it difficult for people to reach in and snatch anything… (not that they would of course, but you never know…). Half of their centerpieces were glass apothecary jars filled with moss, anemones, tulips, and more… I wish we had pictures of their other centerpieces which were simple, low rounds full of lush blooms in a similar color scheme!

Oh lighting, how I love thee, you can transform a room!

The yummy purple and gold candy bar! No surprise, this was a HUGE hit with the young AND old!

  Candy bar duty… I kept those containers full for as long as possible (not long)
    The best thing about having an April wedding? Peonies, of course! Just kidding…  


Congratulations, my dear friends! Thank you for letting me be a part of your day!

Ceremony: Gary Church, Wheaton
Ceremony Musicians: String Theory Trio
DJ: Chris of Spin Productions
Florist: Petal Play, Lemont
Lighting/Draping: Art of Imagination
Linens: Chaircovers by Sylwia
Photographer: Milly Wong
Reception: Meson Sabika

At Last: Custom Shoes by Nina

Believe it or not, when I planned my own wedding, I spent more time trying to find “THE SHOES” than “THE DRESS”! Odd as it may sound, I know I am definitely not the only bride who had a hard time finding the perfect pair of heels for my trip down the aisle. I lusted after some Manolos, Jimmy Choos, or Louboutins, but knew that realistically, they were not in the budget!

These are the Nina heels that I ended up wearing (from DSW)… I think they were the 4th or 5th pair I purchased (and returned) on my shoe quest. They were nice, but I definitely “settled” because I couldn’t find what I was looking for. And not to mention, slingbacks always tend to slide off my heel and I end up stepping on the straps…

Now if only Nina offered custom shoes back then!! I might have paid the $200 price tag for the perfect pair of shoes… Visit the Nina website and have some fun!

They currently offer 3 styles, and your choice of heel height and multiple color combinations:

Electra

Paladin

Culver

 

You can choose your color in 3 different areas: upper, heel and bow:

And considering how hard it is to determine actual colors on your computer monitor, it would definitely be wise to order their mini swatch book for $9.95, which is applied to your order later on if you decide to buy them.

What combination would I pick now? I would choose the Electra with the 3.25” heel in gold royal satin with a red rouge satin bow!

What combination would you pick??

Visit the Nina site to design your custom shoes!

Blog Love: my DIY wedding day

I just heard about the cutest new DIY wedding blog, my DIY wedding day from the editors of WeddingChannel.com! Its relatively new, so the archive isn’t huge yet, but there is so much potential! Readers can also submit their own DIY projects, which is part of the fun. Definitely check it out and submit your own DIY goodness (and let me know when you do!)

Featured projects that were super cute:

 Flowerbed centerpieces and favors

Personalized stir sticks

 Paper boutonniers

What do you think?!

Lei Lei & Steven: Trailer!

Lei Lei & Steven wedding teaser trailer from Jeff Manimbo on Vimeo.

How cool is this? Did you know that your wedding video can have a TRAILER?! Well, with Jeff Manimbo Cinematography, you can! Lei Lei & Steven’s teaser clip is so much fun, I can’t wait until the full video is ready. I’m always excited to meet new, talented videographers, and Jeff is exactly that! And I can’t even tell you how reasonably priced he is right now, you’ll just have inquire for yourself :)

Married: Lei Lei & Steven!

Lei Lei and Steven are high-school sweethearts who have been dating for over 10 years, many of which were spent long-distance! One of my favorite moments of the wedding was during Lei Lei’s father’s toast, when he apologized for chasing Steven out of their house when they were just teenagers, hehehe. Their lovely ceremony was held at Bond Chapel on the University of Chicago campus (Steven is alum!), a picturesque chapel tucked in the heart of U of C with beautiful stained glass windows. Their lunchtime reception was hosted at Wildfire Restaurant downtown, so you can be sure the food was FAN-tastic! Perk: Since the restaurant does not open for lunch, we had the entire place to ourselves! Perk #2: vendors got to eat filet mignon too :) And on a side-note, their staff was top-notch!

Lei Lei found me over a year ago through Weddingbee, and she was the first bride to ever book me without having ever met me! Thanks for the trust and vote of confidence, Lei Lei! And without a doubt, this was the most relaxed and easy going wedding I have coordinated to date! Thanks, Lei Lei and Steven for being such a joy to send down the aisle!

The wedding was captured on film (errr, jpeg?) by the fabulous Laurie Peacock and her awesome second shooter, Steve Koo. Enjoy!

Cute & comfy red shoes, and Lei Lei’s gorgeous Alvina Valenta lace gown!

About to see each other for the first time in their wedding finery…

 

Their first look… *tap tap*!

 
This picture gets me all misty eyed…

Adorable details - She SEWED her ceremony programs!

 

“WE DID IT!!”

Do you see the way they look at each other?! *le sigh*

The reason why all brides & grooms should pay attention to their footwear!

Do you see what we worked into their reception itinerary?? Update their Facebook status!
Gotta love it!! 

For some entertainment, they played the shoe game (more info about that another day), which was a HUGE HIT!

They also set up a MAC photobooth and some hilarious props (another hit with the guests!).    
       

It was obvious that Lei Lei’s bridesmaids ADORED her!

Now you may wonder, “Do people actually dance at a lunchtime wedding?” Uhm, YES, THEY DO! These guests knew how to get down, and even Lei Lei’s 11 yr old sister had some MOVES!

Pooped, but happy and married!

Ceremony: Bond Chapel
Reception: Wildfire Restaurant
Photographer: Laurie Peacock
Videographer: Jeff Manimbo
Flowers: GnG Designs
Cake: Sugar Syndicate
Stationery: Lei Lei!

New Blog Opportunity for Sweetchic Events!

A few weeks ago, I was super excited when I was personally contacted by the site director of TheKnot.com. He offered me the opportunity to blog for their new Chicago Wedding Blog on their recently launched microsite, Chicago.weddings.com. I’m happy to announce that the blog went live this past weekend! Currently I am the only blogger (guinea pig!), and of course you’ll notice that the blog content is being pulled from this Sweetchic Events blog, but eventually they plan on adding more bloggers from other vendor categories. Stay tuned and wish me luck (coming up with good, consistent content is hard)! And check out the rest of the site – there is a wealth of information there!