Erin and Joel’s glamorous and elegant candle lit Wedding at the W City Center, Chicago, IL

My team and I absolutely loved working with Erin and Joel. They are laid back, fun, and clearly in love. Their Wedding day was a true celebration of their new lives together. When you combine a super sweet, super in love couple with lots of amazing moments and a beautiful setting, you get magic! Here are perfect words from Erin and Joel, and then on to lots of my favorite photos of the day!

From Victoria:
Funny story….when I was trying to wedge myself in between the pinball machine and the Space Invaders machine to get the shot below (by the way, how cool is this hotel suite to have these?!), I bumped the Austin Powers pinball machine and it said “YEAH BABY!” 😀
 
Looking back, what were some of your favorite parts or moments of the Wedding day?

E: The entire day was pretty perfect, but I’ll narrow it down to two parts.  Spending the morning getting ready with the women closest to me, eating bagels, drinking mimosas and laughing with my best friends, mom, sister and future mother and sister in-law was really special and a perfect way to start the day.  Second was the first look with Joel.  There was so much anticipation, and when we finally saw each other, neither one of us could hold back the tears.

J: There were months and months of planning it was great to see the vision come together.  My favorite moment happened during the first look.  When I turned around to see Erin for the first time, there were no words to describe what I was feeling at that moment.  We didn’t need words to express our true emotions.  Also, we had a pretty awesome Hora!

 
What was your favorite piece of fashion or accessory, and where did you get it?  

E:  I stressed and stressed about my dress and was still making changes up until the week before the wedding!  In the end, my favorite piece of fashion was the dress topper from BHLDN that I added last minute to my strapless dress.  It added such an elegance and uniqueness to the dress and really made the look all come together.
J:  Unfortunately I was never able to meet my Grandpa (whom I’m named after), so it was important to me to include him in this day by wearing his cufflinks.  It was truly an honor to have a part of him with me that day.  Also, who could forget my awesome Blackhawks socks.  I kicked off the wedding week by attending the clinching game of the Stanley Cup with my Dad.  What a way to start a great week!

 
What was the inspiration for your decor or styling?  

E & J:  We wanted to create a romantic setting featuring tons of candles and warm uplighting.  The W City Center Hotel Chicago was the perfect backdrop, full of character and detail in the arches, modern decor, and vintage charm of the building.  Our vision was classic elegance, complete with a black and white color palette, and our amazing vendors definitely made that vision a reality.

 
Mention a funny moment here: 

E & J:  We both agree here – definitely when Erin’s dad fell off his chair when he was being lifted during our very lively Hora dance!  Erin was so worried the entire time that she would be the one to fall off the chair in her huge dress, so she held on for dear life the entire time, but then her dad, with his arms flying in the air having the best time, went sliding right off.  No worries, he was not hurt in his Hora fall!

 
Any advice for future Brides and/or Grooms?  

E & J:  Everyone says this, but it’s so true.  You spend so many months, countless emails, meetings, and phone calls planning this day, and in the end, it just goes by so fast.  It is so important to take it all in, not stress the small stuff, and enjoy the celebration to the fullest.  We danced all night and had the time of our lives.

 
Are you going on honeymoon? Where?

E & J:  We decided to go on a mini-moon to Michigan right after the wedding, and to save our tropical honeymoon for the winter when it’s miserable and cold in Chicago.  Destination TBD.  We know we want a beach and swim-up bar.  Our mini-moon in Michigan was the perfect get away after the craziness of wedding planning and a weekend full of excitement.  We literally ate good food, drank local wine, and relaxed at the beach reminiscing the entire time about our dream wedding that came true.