Meg and Kevin’s wedding was quintessentially Chicago: their rehearsal dinner, welcome party, and wedding venue were all located within a half mile from their house! West Town’s Ovation Chicago, with its industrial vibe and laid-back atmosphere, was the perfect setting for their chic wedding, planned by Anticipation Events.
The Proposal
It was Kevin’s birthday weekend. We always love to do staycations in downtown Chicago to celebrate big events once or twice a year. I had planned a weekend for us downtown. It was the first warm day of the season in mid April and we took a walk on the lakefront. Kevin took out a stack of every card I had ever given to him over the past ten years (birthdays, anniversaries, job interviews, etc.) to take me on a walk down memory lane of all we’d experienced together already. The last thing he took out of his bag was a ring. We blissfully walked back to the hotel and in a short amount of time our closest friends were waiting on the rooftop with cocktails to celebrate.
Favorite Memories
We were married by our close friend and neighbor. It was the best decision we could have made regarding the actual wedding. The ceremony was so personal, with anecdotes about the two of us that only a close friend could know and share without it feeling like an inside joke to the rest of our guests. The processional music was also a great memory. The groom and our very small wedding party of family walked down the aisle to Tame Impala’s The Moment. It was like a big party. People were cheering!
The Wedding Vision
Inspired by Kinfolk and Anthropologie, Meg and Kevin selected exposed wood and rustic tables. They made music a priority and closed the night with a Chicago hot dog stand. Meg says “People woke up the next morning with hot dogs in their suit coats. That’s a success in our book.”
Get in Touch
- This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Planning Advice
We chose to splurge on the party – the venue, the music, the food, the booze. We wanted to throw a party that our friends would still talk about weeks and months after. Turns out, they do.
Talk a lot about what you want before hand, what’s important to both of you. And then stick to it. Get comfortable telling people, “This is what we want and this is why we’re doing it this way.” Not everyone will remember your wedding and all the details – in fact, most won’t. But you always will. Do it the way you want it, because most of the other stuff doesn’t matter.