Tag: Kio Kreations

Miranda + Rich: Part Two

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In my last post, I shared Miranda and Rich getting ready and taking pictures around the city. Now it’s time for their fabulous ceremony and reception!

All photos by Jeremy Lawson Photography.

I love this picture of Rich as Miranda is walking down the aisle.


And, even better is Miranda’s expression when she’s standing next to Rich!



As a part of the ceremony, Miranda and Rich incorporated a Chinese ceremony where two wine glasses are joined by a red string. I love helping to set up these little details.


The Newberry Library’s space is just gorgeous for an intimate ceremony.



With a kiss, Rich and Miranda were husband and wife!



While Miranda changed into her dancing shoes and everyone enjoyed cocktail hour, we flipped the room from ceremony to reception!



The couple chose to have a sweetheart table during dinner. While the best man was giving a toast, Rich had no clue what surprise Miranda had in store!



It was a Chinese lion dance! The “lion” is accompanied by very loud drumming, which definitely caught the attention of everyone in the room. Before the dance I had discreetly given guests oranges and lettuce. The lion went around the room and “ate” these items.



Rich was obviously very surprised by the dancers! I was relieved that everything happened perfectly and right on time.



It was finally time for Miranda and Rich to cut their awesome cake from Luscious Layers.




Since their cake had black and white anemones on top, the couple had this adorable “cake topper” that was placed on their card box instead of on the cake.



It was time for their first dance as a married couple and then we opened up the dance floor.



And, as always, the photo booth was a huge hit with everyone!



Everyone danced the night away…



…and Miranda gave everything a big thumbs up!



Thank you Miranda and Rich for being so wonderful to work with and letting me be a part of your day!

Miranda + Rich: A Newberry Library Wedding

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When Miranda and I met almost a year before her wedding, I knew that we would work well together – she was all about the fun little details of the day! Miranda even used quotes from the book The Time Traveler’s Wife in their ceremony programs because the ceremony and reception was held at The Newberry Library, where so much of the book took place.

Miranda and Rich planned such a fun wedding celebration and incorporated so much of their personalities into the details. I had such a great time working with them both!

Cake: Luscious Layers
Ceremony + Reception: The Newberry Library
Caterer: Food Evolution
DJ: Kate + Rachel from Toast & Jam
Florist: Kio Kreations
Hair: Kelly Schaul
Lion Dance: Seven Star Lion Dance Group
Makeup: Jen from Sonia Roselli
Photographer: Jeremy Lawson Photography
Photo Booth: 312 Photo Booth
Videographer: I Do Films
Trolley: Flying Lady Livery

All photos by Jeremy Lawson Photography.


I love long, fabulous lashes and Miranda totally rocked hers!


There was a little bit of a vintage feel to the wedding day, and the dress was just perfect.


Miranda even wore an awesome birdcage veil. Love this shot of her!



Brides often wonder how it works when it’s time to put the dress on. Miranda’s mom took care of kicking everyone out while Miranda slipped on the dress. Usually the photographer is invited back in when it’s time to zip up the dress.


While the girls finished getting ready, the guys hung out in the trolley and made sure Rich was ready to go.



After a morning of getting ready, it was time for Miranda to leave the hotel…


…and see Rich for their first look! This is always such an exciting moment.
Do you spy Rich’s awesome shoes?



With the first look over, it was time to load everyone onto the trolley to take pictures around the city.




Jeremy Lawson is great at catching awesome shots from unique points of view.
This is one of my favorites!



Miranda and Rich very obviously had a lot of fun throughout the day!
They enjoyed hamming it up for the camera.



Up next I’ll share Miranda and Rich’s ceremony and reception at The Newberry Library!

Kristi + David, the reception

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Yesterday, I posted about Kristi and David’s ceremony. It was a relatively calm day… until the reception. Held at the gorgeous Cultural Center, the reception turned into quite the party. The couple were so perfectly relaxed and happy. It was a wonderful day and I was so happy that I was able to spend their day with them.

All photos by Paul Huynh.

The room, as always, looked absolutely stunning.
The couple brought in gorgeous wooden chivari chairs and green linens that made the room look even more beautiful!

The couple chose Chicago landmarks for their table numbers. The centerpieces included an array of flowers that were very colorful. I’m glad that Kristi didn’t keep with the “typical” neutral October palette!

The couple hired us to bring in a gobo with their monogram, that included highlighting their city, Chicago!
The monogram was discretly positioned throughout the room.

Another view of the table top.
The place cards, table number and menu all had the deep chocolate brown border, creating a cohesive look.

A view of the room during the dinner. I chose the picture because the detail on the walls is esquisite.
If I was to have a 200 person wedding in Chicago, I would have picked the Cultural Center.

What says Chicago more than a popcorn buffet?
The couple offered an array of flavors and cute little take home containers for the guests that opted not to indulge during the reception!

Nothing gets a party going like a band! David Rothstein packed the dance floor.

What else gets your guests out on the dance floor? A bride and groom that are dancing!

The couple says thank you with DIY custom water bottles.

Yum! As you can tell, the night was quite the party. Guests always love a snack right before the end of the night. Keeping with the other Chicago touches, Berghoff Catering brought on mini hot dogs the last hour of the reception.

Kristi and David, Congratulations! I hope that you are enjoying this first year of marriage!

Kristi + David, Before the party…

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Kristi was such a fun bride! She had booked her venue almost immediately – the fabulous Chicago Cultural Center – and then enlisted my services to help her with the rest of the planning. We had such fun planning together, when Kristi was in town. She was working in Mexico for weeks at a time, as a consultant. It didn’t prove to be difficult as Kristi is online as much as me. I had a lot of fun planning Kristi’s wedding. She was one of my most laid-back brides! I should have known that the reception was going to be quite the party. But, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see those photos…

Band: David Rothstein
Caterer: Berghoff Catering
Cupcakes: Tipsy Cake
Florist: Kio Kreations
Hair: Livia Caporale
Hotel: Fairmont
Make-up: Sonia Roselli
Ceremony + Reception: Chicago Cultural Center
Photographer: Paul Huynh

All photos by Paul Huynh.

On the morning of her wedding, Kristi radiated energy. She opted to have Livia style her down and full. I love the look especially with her gorgeous gown.

Sonia Roselli worked her magic. Kristi looked fabulous!


Since it rained, most of the photos were taken indoors!


The gorgeous programs made by the Bride!


The flower girl and ring bearer walked down the aisle together. Aren’t they adorable?


The ceremony was lovely!


As the guests left the ceremony, they headed into the cocktail hour space. The bride also DIYed these escort cards.

Tomorrow, I will have photos of the reception! It was quite the party!!

DIY Flowers

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Kristen Janes of Kio Kreations is teaching a six week class in floral design. The class covers everything from corsages to how to process and care for flowers, construction techniques and design rules. There will also be a field trip! Visit a wholesale florist to see where the professionals shop.

Starter supplies will be provided the first day of class. Supplies include specialty clippers, florist’s pocket knife, floral wire, floral tape, ribbon, corsage pins, floral foam, containers, and more. Please note that you get to keep everything you make during class and flowers and containers will be provided.

Oh and ladies, skip the mani before class. Flowers are a dirty business!

Naperville Art League

508 N Center St
Naperville, IL

Every Monday from January 11th through February 15th
7 – 8:30PM

Cost for the class and most supplies is only $189/resident and $209/non-residents

Register starting November 1st.

To register, contact Debbie at naperartleague@aol.com

Real Wedding: Jacey + Dan: The Details

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Continuing from yesterday, here are more gorgeous photos from Jacey and Dan’s wedding.
Peonies are the brides’s favorite flowers.

Jacey was a DIY Bride.
To create a cohesive look for all of her paper goods, Jacey use the same fonts and monogram.
Below is her program.

The entry of the Grand Piazza is also the entry to the Museum. Guests were greeted by a table in the foyer with a centerpiece and a framed engagement photo of the couple.

Double Duty– Escort Cards as Favors.
Jacey and Dan gave each guest a clear bookmark sleeve for their photobooth photos. The bookmark was also used as an escort card. Jacey created these orgami corners to hold up the bookmarks. While beautiful and super creative, the escort cards fell over like dominos three times during the set up. My fingers were double crossed that the breeze would stop before the guests arrived. (It did.)

Since the Cocktail Hour was on the roof deck, Jacey had parasols for the guests incase the sun became too much. While thoughtful, the biggest fans were the littliest guests.

One of the High Boys for the Cocktail Hour.
Jacey had this gorgeous print material as a splash of color on each High Boy. It was complimented by floating orchids in square vases with some votive candles.
Also on the table is an example of the Bar Menu with her Signature Drinks.

A view of the decor in the reception venue. Flowers were from Kio Kreations

Jacey and Dan wanted an old school photobooth. Always a great choice for a wedding, MDM provided the service along with a DJ.

The first course was a Tower of Mango salad by Levy Catering.

Jacey adored her Ann Wood bird cake toppers on her otherwise unadorned white cake.
The wedding was that fun! Thanks for looking!

Wedding of L + J

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Kristen from Kio Kreations created another set of beautiful inspiration boards for us.

This board is really special because the bride, L, is the best friend of Kristen. L+J were married in the Dominican Republic in December. In March, they had a reception luncheon at The Country Squire in Grayslake, IL.

L chose turquoise as her color at the original wedding. Kristen added lime green and magenta to set it off for the reception. Kristen used her talents to make the invitations, stitch the turquoise table runners, wrote the calligraphy on the placecard frames, designed the table numbers as well as designed all of the flowers.

Prior to the reception, K made an inspiration sheet to capture the look she wanted to achieve. I think her work is stunning.

My Inspiration Board

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The multi-talented Kristen Henschen of Kio Kreations created this fabulous inspiration board for me. Thank you Kristen!

Using some of the pictures that I had saved, she complimented the idea with some other awesome pictures. Check out these links to her Floral Portfolio as well as her Product Design Portfolio.

It is amazing to be able to see my monochromatic plans reinterpreted by someone else. Kristen is a true gem!

Kristen is going to be sending us some other inspiration boards in the next few weeks.

If you want a board created, please post a comment and let us know.