Wedding at Woman's Club of Evanston

Megan and Luke held a lovely classic wedding in Evanston, Illinois with ceremony at Northwestern's Alice Millar Chapel and reception at Woman's Club of Evanston.  The area is surrounded by wonderful ivy-covered bulidings around the campus of Northwestern University, which made it a fantastic area to walk around for portraits, as well as an enjoyable stroll for guests walking from the church to reception.

Photos by Wedding Creativo Photography ©

Beauty services were by Holly Kasprisin of Chicago Bridal Hair and Makeup, using the airbrush technique for applying makeup.

Peony pink flowers with peweter gray were the colors used throughout the wedding fashions and decor. The bride found her perfect Augusta Jones gown at A'Lamour in Barrington, along with her Vera Wang flats and accessories.

The bride and groom did not want to see each other before the ceremony, so the fellas played a few hands of poker, while the gals stopped for portraits at a classic Northwestern University ivy-draped building.

After the ceremony, bridesmaids passed out bells for everyone to ring in celebration as Megan and Luke made their grand exit from the church.

Jim Bailey of J&L Catering coordinated the reception, with stunning floral work by Zuzu's Petals, and wedding cake by Oak Mill Bakery.  The bride designed several items, including escort cards, menues, photo booth cards and the table numbers.

To begin the reception, instead of traditional introductions, the bridal party borrowed photo booth props and danced a conga line into the ballroom.  That was fun!  Andre from J Maximillan Entertainment performed splendidly as emcee and deejay.

For their first dance, Megan and Luke swayed to "Lucky" by Jason Mraz.  We certainly felt lucky to have been part of this wonderful couple's wedding!

Wedding Photo of the Week: Bandages are Wedding Essentials

Essentials for the wedding day survival bag: bandages.  Without fail every wedding needs them.  If you do love shoe fashions, regardless of the pain, check out our post from earlier this week on 2011 wedding shoe trends.

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Destination Midwest: Milwaukee Zoo Wedding

When you hear about destination weddings, typically the Caribbean or far away exotic place might come to mind.  However, the Midwest is chock full of exotic locations that could be considered for destination weddings a little closer to home.  For exotic AND offbeat, you can't go wrong with the Milwaukee County Zoo in Wisconsin.  Jason and Nicole had a fun and festive summer wedding at this family-friendly venue.

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Help Wanted: Great Bridesmaids

So, what exactly makes a great bridesmaid?

We take a fun look at typical bridesmaids duties in the form of a hypothetical job listing.  Brides can be equal-opportunity "employers," so we just want to point out that both men and women can qualify for this position these days.

JOB TITLE: Bridal Attendant

COMPANY: Bride & Groom Inc.

REPORTS TO: Bride-to-Be

POSITIONS: Up to 10 openings available

PAY: I.O.U.

JOB DESCRIPTION:  Assist the bride on the wedding day with any specific assigned tasks, along with practical and emotional support. Attend and possibly help organize wedding day and ancillary wedding events and details.

IDEAL CANDIDATES:  Positive, cheerful and supportive attitude, problem solver, detail oriented, organized and works well with a diverse group.  Does not complain, even during formal wedding portraits in hot or cold weather. ;-)

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND JOB FUNCTIONS:

1. Able to handle heavy lifting (emotional or otherwise).

2. Comes to work prepared and organized with "wedding day survival" bag.  Bonus points if bag matches shoes or other accessories.

3. Gets along well with others and is a team player.

4. Has strong command of tools used for wedding preparations and general problem solving.

5. Maintains a tidy workspace free of dust and lint.

6. Good with fastening microscopic jewelry clasps.

7. Has nimble fingers.

8. Helps bride get into dress without getting stuck, falling, or messing up hair and makeup.

9. Knows what "bustle" means, and can figure out how those gosh darn thingies work.

10. Experience in shoe retail is a plus.

11. Assist fellow team members as needed.

12. Set a good example for junior team members and trainees.

13. Excellent conflict resolution skills are a major plus. Confrontations should be avoided on the wedding day, especially with any company board members, such as the mother of the bride.  If any conflicts arise they should be handled calmly and discretely, and preferably addressed at another time either prior to or after the wedding date.

14. Having a keen eye for details is essential.

15. Ability to break out into spontaneous comedy or stress relief exercises will be required of all successful candidates for this position.

16. The candidate with the best dress "floofing" skills will quickly be promoted to Head Floofer.  This person is responsible for maintaining high quality "floofiness" of the wedding dress throughout the day, especially during the wedding ceremony.

17. Candidates with M.D. degrees, "Masters of Doting," are highly desired.

18. Those who are interested in being considered for the Maid of Honor position must be willing to take on a central role as a team leader, and should also have the ability to give a reception toast that evokes reactions of both laughter and tears, no more than 30 second apart, or optimally, at the same time.

19. Past experience as a cheerleader is helpful, but having great enthusiasm and a supportive attitude is really what matters most.

20. Finally, having specialized party and entertainment skills is not required, but they can certainly be a big advantage.

We dedicate this humorous post in honor of Lucille Ball's 100th Birthday today...and salute all women with a funny bone who help keep us all in good spirits.  For more serious tips on how to choose your bridesmaids, and a guide for how to include them in your plans once you have them selected, check out this helpful article on The Dessy Group website.