Tag: Cake Toppers

Lauren + Tom, the reception

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Yesterday, I blogged about Lauren and Tom’s morning and ceremony. Now, we are on to the reception which was held at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Chicago!

All photos by Bella Pictures.

After the ceremony, guests headed outside for the cocktail hour. The views were magnificent. The couple recreated a view of the skyline with this ice sculpture.

Guess where the bridesmaids were sitting? Below is a photo of their vibrant bouquets along with the small table arrangements for the cabaret tables.

When guests headed back to the second floor, they stopped to pick up their escort card. The cards had a picture of the Eiffel Tower as a nod to the couple’s honeymoon destination.

The head table was gorgeous. The couple opted for an ultra modern clear table with Ghost chairs. I adore Ghost chairs! I love the look! It may be my favorite Head Table to date!

The cake was made by the Hotel Baker. The cake topper featured the couple, and their adorable dog, Red. Lauren and I are friends on Facebook and I hear about this dog (and his crazy antics) all the time! I thought this was a cute way to include their non-attending pet.

The couple had a gobo with their monogram. The monogram was used throughout the reception.

The menus were so cute! I love that the couple included a nice note to all their guests.

Examples of the visually stunning place settings.


This is such a great picture of the head table, but the couple look awfully cute together!

Lauren and her Dad are super close. He was one of the most involved Father of the Groom’s that I have worked with to date. He knew every detail of the wedding!

After dinner, there was a dessert buffet. Actually, the term dessert buffet doesn’t do it justice. There was more desserts that I have EVER SEEN at a wedding. It was delicious!

And if that wasn’t enough, the couple also had a gelato bar.
The bar was made of ice and lit underneath.


Since there was more than enough dessert, the couple had to go containers with a slice of cake. The lid had a sticker with their monogram.

Congratulations Lauren and Tom! I hope that the both of you are enjoying your first year as Newlyweds!

No Thank You… (What I Don’t Want)

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After coming up with yet another “must have”, my dear fiancé turned to me and said, is there anything that you don’t want??

Well, yes, there is, actually!

Cake Toppers

In general, I’m just not a fan of them. We have decided we want the cake to be beautiful on its own. This means that the baker is going to add more design…which may actually cost us more money in the long run. But hey! It IS something that I do not want at our wedding.

Videographer

Neither of us like videography. I sort of hate it after an incident where a videographer literally knocked me off the dance floor –without an apology– so that he could get a better shot of the bride.

Besides, I feel that they ruin the ambiance. There is always a lot of equipment and they seem to get in the way. Long before the official proposal, we both agreed: no videographer.

Save the Dates — STDs

I have a little theory as to why STDs have become so popular in the last few years. As a new bride-to-be, you have a lot of energy. You want to do something for your wedding. You decide to create STDs!

Seriously though, I cannot begin to express why I despise them so much. Here’s a few of the reasons:

  1. Couples send STDs to everyone on their wedding list. Six months down the road, they realize that they want to cut their guest list. They cannot, however, since they sent that person a STD.
  2. A lot of girls try to save money when making their STDs. I’m all for saving money– but some of the STDs are tacky. The STD is the first “taste” of your wedding. Do you want that first “taste” to be cheap? If you can’t afford them, cut them from your budget! For the $75 you spend on STDs, you can put that money towards upgrading your wedding jewelry, calligraphy for your invitations, etc.
  3. I don’t think many guests actually save the date. If someone is going to attend your wedding, they probably already know the date from talking to you. If someone doesn’t know your date, that probably means that they don’t know you very well. If that person doesn’t know you very well, then they are probably not going to save the date for you.

Is there anything that you don’t want at your wedding?