Ruffles are a mainstay for Wedding Fashions

Ruffles have been a part of weddings and formal fashions for generations.  However, we've been noticing ruffles incorporated in interesting new ways with our bride's wedding fashions and themes, and of course they are a mainstay for children's dresses.

Here are some recent ruffled wedding fashions we've recently come across.

Bridal Gowns by J.Crew

Bridal Gowns by Marchesa

Notte by Marchesa ruffle neck halter gown

Allen Schwartz vintage cascading ruffle gown

Notte by Marchesa strapless ruffle dress

J. Crew Starling short ruffle dress

Adam pastel peach ruffle tank dress

Lipsy frilled hem chiffon smock dress

Armand Basi short blue ruffled dress

Cocktail Dresses by Chris Benz

Cocktail Dresses by Ali Ro

Cocktail Dresses by BCBG MAX AZRIA

Cocktail Dresses by Notte by Marchesa

Saint Andrew and W Chicago Lakeshore Wedding of Michelle and Steve

The city of Chicago played an important role in Michelle and Steve's courtship, so they wanted the city to have a significant role on their wedding day, especially with their portraits. We helped them plan an extended schedule with sufficient time at several of their favorite locations and city backdrops. 

From the skyline, to the zoo, to Steve's beloved Wrigley field, and even the porch steps of their Wrigleyville home, we had a whirlwind tour around Chicago.  For any couples interested in this kind of "city safari" for their wedding day, keep in mind that for sure you need to see each other before the ceremony to have enough time necessary for the extensive traveling.  For this many locations you'll need to dedicate a significant amount of time, at least a few hours of your wedding day schedule, for going around to multiple locations and then time to take portraits and walk around at those locations, especially if the bridal party is also coming along on a trolley or party bus.  Another option is to have a lengthy multi-location session on another date following your wedding. We're always thrilled to do creative portraits with our couples at amazing locations, and we always help plan and schedule that part of the day for an organized and optimally relaxing and fun experience.

Michelle and Steve had a modern style autumn wedding, with black and hot pink colors.  The cake had an elaborate fondant ruffle design to match the cute flower girls dresses.  The ceremony was held at the beautiful St. Andrew Catholic Church with a chic evening reception at W Chicago Lakeshore hotel where the guests were surrounded with views of the city skyline and Lake Michigan.

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Wedding Photo of the Week: Have Fun No Matter What

Attention wedding shoppers...be sure to bring loads of fun on your big day! 

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With all of the months (often well over a year) of hard work involved with planning your wedding, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the process and forget that this whole thing is about having a special celebration with your sweetheart and all of your favorite people in the world. 

We always tell couples, no matter what, just have fun.  Marissa and Alex were great at espousing this attitude.  Drenching thunderstorms rolled through right at the time we were scheduled to head out to the park for their bridal party and family portraits.  While we waited out the storm (and on the way to plan B), the couple decided to make a stop at a store for some quick refreshments. Let's just say we all got swept away with having way more fun than anyone should have in a supermarket.  But, the bottom line, they didn't let the storms ruin their wedding day fun.

Expect the unexpected, and often when we improvise off of the planned schedule it can be one of the most memorable parts of the day.

Wedding Fashions: Prairie Vintage Inspired Wedding Dresses

We recently enjoyed photographing Vicky and David's vintage style summer wedding, which included lovely cream and yellow colors, and fashions with an overall organic and natural feeling. 

Lately we've been seeing more cotton and natural fibers in wedding fashions. Here we share a few of these lovely finds of vintage prairie, pioneer, farm, and old-time country inspired styles for wedding dresses that we think Laura Ingalls Wilder (author of Little House on the Prairie) would pray for.

Free People vintage lace prairie dress

Chloé Linen and cotton maxi dress

Bridal Gowns by J.Crew

Cynthia Vincent tiered cami maxi dress

Day Dresses by Gypsy 05

Richard Nicoll Jersey Maxi Dress

Day Dresses at Boutique to You

Wedding Photo of the Week: Labor Day 2011

Holiday weekends are typically the busiest times for many wedding industry folks, and Labor Day weekend is always big.  We salute all of the hard working professionals in the wedding and hospitality service industries that make life's celebrations great.

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The staff at the Knickerbocker rehearse their customary Champaign toast entrance before guests enter the dining room.

Wedding Photo of the Week: Alone Time

While the mini party following the ceremony on the trolley with the bridal party is always a fun, we also like when the limo ride to the reception is just for the newlyweds.  It is really romantic, and nice to have some alone time before celebrating the night away with family and friends.

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Van Gogh Inspired Wedding at St Ignatius and Hyatt

Marla and Greg were inspired by the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh for their traditional Chicago wedding.   The swirling night hues of purple and blues with twinkling yellow stars seen in the famous paintings, "Starry Night" and "Starry Night Over The Rhone" were incorporated into a varieity of details for this wedding.  From the bouquet flowers to the blue and yellow tea lights hanging from the manzanita branches around the reception, the theme gave everyone the sense that they were in a real life version of the paintings, which the couple had on display as guetst entered their reception held at the Hyatt Regency Woodfield.

There was also a promenent Spanish influence, as the bride's ruffled dress, lace veil and traditional Spanish ceremony at St. Ignatius church reflected her family heritage.  The happy couple live across the street from Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo, so we also went to some of their favorite spots around the park for portraits before heading to their lovely reception.

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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.

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Wedding Fashion Inspiration: Wedding Shoe Trends Summer 2011

As we are now past the half way mark for 2011 wedding season (Labor Day is right around the corner!!!), we thought it would be a good time to take a look at wedding shoe trends we've been seeing lately. 

Top three colors with a bullet:

1. Black

2. Creams or nudes

3. Vibrant colors, the ever popular blue, but also reds and pinks

Top three details or styles of shoes:

1. Things that bling (did we mention our favorite color is shiny), rhinestones and other gems on the toe vamp or that cover the full shoe, as well as decorative silver, copper or gold toned shoe materials

2. Pearls or studs of some sort on the front vamp or that cover the full shoe.  Also we're still seeing the material flower details on the vamps that we started to notice last summer...glad to see those are still popular.  Similarly, we're now seeing more ruffle details over the toes as well.

3. Flats! Yes, ladies, sandals, flats and ballerina style slip-ons are making a big move this summer.  We're especially seeing this look with brides that are taller (or would be taller in high heels) than their grooms.

Here's the roundup highlighting the biggest trends we have been seeing in our recent weddings:

And, for the reception or after-party:

Hot designer styles:

Pumps by Stuart Weitzman

Shoes by Jimmy Choo
Shoes by Badgley Mischka

Pumps by Giuseppe Zanotti
Sandals by Prada

Flats by Vera Wang
Flats by Tod's

Sneak Peek: Vicky and David

Congratulations to newlyweds Vicky and David.  Here is a sneak peek from their vintage style Chicago wedding.

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Destination Midwest: Yes Michigan Weddings!

The great state of Michigan has a lot to offer for destination weddings, especially for the "outdoorsy" types.  The eastern shores of Lake Michigan are chock full of sleepy bed and breakfast towns that are great for relaxing, fun and romantic weekends for wedding couples and their guests. 

There are dozens of wine vineyards stretching up the coast of western Michigan, with a large concentration in the north around the Traverse City area.  Nature and water recreation areas are found not only along Lake Michigan, but also other smaller clusters of lakes throughout the state.  Farms and farmer's markets are also in great abundance throughout the state, and many farms and barns offer couples unique spaces to host their wedding ceremonies and receptions. From our standpoint as folks who live in Chicago, our favorite thing about Michigan state is that it is on Eastern time.  This means the summer light lasts longer at the end of the time zone, with twilight even going past 10:00 pm the further north you are, especially around the solstice.  Also, Lake Michigan is quite a sight to behold as the sun goes down on the opposite side of what we are used to seeing in Chicago.  Overall, we love the rustic and warm Midwestern feel and the eclectic Americana flavor found throughout the state.  We think Michigan is a fantastic place for couples to consider for destination weddings.

Here are some recent favorites when we've been fortunate to join Chicago area couples for their destination weddings in Michigan.

Kate + Chad's wedding: Leland, Michigan

Click here to see more from Chad and Kate's wedding.

Becky and Fuad's wedding:  St. Joseph Michigan

Click here to see more from Becky and Fuad's wedding.

Chris and Melinda: Three Oaks, Michigan

Double Destination Wedding: Chicago and Hawaii

As we look at some destination weddings this week, it is worth mentioning that several of our couples have had two weddings, one away and one back home.  Some just have a second reception back home if many family and friends were unable to attend a destination wedding.  In the case of Gabrielle and Chad, they live in Hawaii near the groom's family, but the bride's family lives here in Chicago.  It didn't work out for them to have everyone in the same place, so they decided to have two small weddings in both locations, Chicago and Hawaii. 

The cool thing about having two weddings, is that you can have two different styles for each one, as Gabe and Chad did.  For the Chicago wedding with the bride's Italian family, it was a 1950's theme, with the ceremony at the small chapel at Northwestern University, where the bride's mother also was married decades before.  The reception was an intimate family dinner a Chicago neighborhood Italian restaurant.

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WEDDING #1: CHICAGO WEDDING

WEDDING #2: HAWAII WEDDING

For the Hawaii wedding, it was a vibrantly colorful and more casual affair on the beach near the bride and groom's home in Honolulu.  The groom's family, native Hawaiian Kona coffee farmers, helped with the decorations and details.

And the day after, it was an afternoon of surf and sun for the newlyweds.

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.

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Wedding Photo of the Week: Destination Midwest

Congratulations to Kate and Chad who are celebrating their 1st wedding anniversary today!

These Indiana and Virginia natives are creative folks and world travelers.  In fact, they were living in South Korea when they first contacted us and planned their entire wedding from the other side of the world.  So what destination did they choose for their wedding?  Leland, Michigan of course. ;-)  It was a great destination wedding, which we featured Wedding Creativo Blog a while ago, and it is also a featured gallery on our main portfolio site weddingcreativo.co.

All this week we'll be talking about destination weddings near and far, so stay tuned!

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.

Wedding Photo of the Week: Taking it Easy

We always try and keep the portrait portions of the wedding day as painless and stress-free as possible. But some days, especially hot summer days, it can be a challenge for bridal parties to muster up the energy and enthusiasm during the portrait time.

It is never a good idea to be overly ambitious in the limited time frame we have for portraits on any wedding day, but especially not when when temperatures are soaring and bridal party patience can be limited.  With a good and realistic game plan in place, we are able to do plenty of creative as well as traditional portraits at a relaxed pace and also keep stress levels down.  We work with each couple well in advance of the wedding to come up with specific ideas, but also tips specific to the time of the year.  For example, for summer weddings, it is also a good idea to have plenty of water and a few salty snacks available on the trolley (or other transportation) to help replenish folks after the portraits are finished.  The best transportation companies always provide water and other drinks, but it doesn't hurt to grab a few extra bottles, some salty nuts or other snacks, and even a roll of paper towels to throw in for good measure.

Wedding Photo of the Week: This ain't on the shot list

Finding unique and creative perspectives is what Wedding Creativo Photography is all about. Moments like this aren't going to be on any "shot list" that magazines suggest brides send to their photographers.

The thing about "shot lists" is that they originated during a time when digital photography didn't exist.  Back in the day, when photographers only shot with traditional film, there was a very limited number of exposures available to cover the entire day. Generally about 250-350 pictures used to be the norm.  Shot lists were requested by the photographer so s/he would know the couple's preferences and priorities, but not because photographers didn't know the specific moments to anticipate throughout the wedding day. 

Today some wedding magazines and blogs still have articles that seem to imply that if brides don't provide photographers with a shot list that they will be clueless and miss all of your important moments.  Thinking this through, especially when couples hire more experienced photographers, it seems a bit silly.  We don't go to the dentist with a list of which teeth we would like to have routine cleaning, and for the most part, the shot lists that the magazines and blogs write about are usually the most routine parts of a wedding day that any photographer, with even a few years of experience, will have captured dozens or even hundreds of times.

What is helpful is to just communicate with your photographer about general and specific ideas and preferences that you have. While the logistics of most wedding days are pretty similar from one to the next, what is different is how each couple prefers to have the day covered.  You might not even know yet if you want a more stylized approach or less-intrusive approach, how much time to dedicate to portraits, or when and where you would like to have them take place.  In one way, couples may find it helpful to review a traditional shot list while planning to have a better idea of what photographrers generally look for thorouhout the day, but experienced photographers will also help guide couples along the way with any specifics. 

Each photographer has their own way to work with couples. Here at Wedding Creativo, we even have a special detailed questionnaire that we use to help with the communication process.  But even just discussing creative ideas and preferences during the planning phase will be a lot more beneficial to do with your photographer rather than giving him/her a check list of typical wedding day moments like "the kiss" or "the cake cutting."  For the more creative moments, you can rely on the skills and creative talents of your photographer, who is ideally someone you should feel comfortable exchanging ideas with.  Overall, as with all aspects of wedding planning, communication is key.

Anniversary Gift Idea: a unique moment framed

Kyle and Steffanie recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary, (congratulations you two!) and to commemorate the special day, Kyle contacted us about a month in advance about making a special print for his lovely wife. 

Instead of a traditional wedding day portrait he picked out a small special moment that meant a lot to Steffanie.  You see, while she was getting ready on her wedding morning, this cute monarch butterfly landed on the window right in front of her.  It sat there for a few minutes giving her a big smile while she was getting her hair and makeup done.  It was a magic moment for her, and thankfully the little guy stayed on the window long enough for us to catch him grinning.

The best part about this story is that Steffanie contacted us a few weeks later wanting to order this same picture! We had to come up with an elaborate rouse to try and stall her to not spoil Kyle's surprise, which I knew was going to be disappointing at the time, but that soon enough her husband was going to get lots of kisses on their anniversary and that she would understand what the deal was.  We all had a great laugh, and most of all, it was great to see how these newlyweds were so in tune with each other's heartstrings.

It is always wonderful when something unexpected happens to make a wedding day all the more special, and these little surprise moments are sometimes the things that people remember most about their day.  It is a great idea to have something like this as a unique way to look back on the wedding, and makes for a fantastic anniversary gift!

Kate and Christopher's Italian and Latin Style Chicago Wedding

Kate and Christopher planned a wedding that perfectly balanced Italian family traditions and a love for Latin culture.

The day started with the bride and her bridesmaids getting ready in a suite at the Blackstone Hotel.  This place has a great history in Chicago, going back to 1910.  While the renovations made in recent years under Marriott's ownership were well done, we always thought it was cool that the Presidential Suite once had a hidden passageway behind the fireplace for secret escapes.  That was turned into closet space after 2007, but we like to imagine that it is still there.

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Makeup can be the one area in particular where brides can underestimate scheduling, but having reliable professionals, such as the great folks at Beauty on Call, will have everyone looking lovely and ready to head out of the door on time.

The hotel suite decor complimented Kate's choice of vibrant colors of orange and yellow.  They were incorporated into her bouquets as well as floral and reception decor, which were by event designer and wedding coordinator Barbara Medina of Just Say Yes Events. 

The groom wore a Devni Michaels tux and bow tie and gifted his bride with her wedding day jewlery, and also had the wedding rings made by private designer Galo Zapata.  Very impressive Christopher!  For the womens wedding fashions, the ever popular JCrew gowns were worn by the bridesmaids, and the bride found her perfect dress, a stunning Mikaella gown, at Wedding Bells in Barrington.

Groom Christopher agreed to break with family tradition a bit, so the couple could have a spectacular "first see" moment and plenty of time to go around to a few different locations for portraits before the ceremony. Here at Wedding Creativo Photography we suggest this as optimal for most couples who can let go of the tradition of not seeing each other until they meet at the alter.  In our non-scientific observances over the past two decades, we can safely say that skipping this tradition has NOT brought bad luck to couples. Rather, it generally makes the day feel much more relaxed and reduces stress levels when you can avoid having to squeeze in all of your portraits in between the ceremony and reception.  We've mentioned this on the blog before, but think it is a point worth repeating.

Kate and co. kept cool with an ice cream cone in Grant Park while waiting for family members to gather at Buckingham Fountain. That's right, there is time for ice cream when we can do portraits before the ceremony!

The ceremony was held at Our Lady of Pompeii Shrine, the perfect place for a traditional Italian style wedding. In many small towns in Italy, it is a long-held custom to begin the wedding day with the betrothed and their families walking from their respective homes, through the village, to meet together at doors of the church.  Kate and Christopher incorporated this tradition by having their families walk from opposite sides of the street and meet at the steps of the church, along with 140 family and friends who waited for their arrival on the church steps.  Let's just say the Italians were doing "meet-ups" for weddings long before the internet even existed. And of course, with our photography studio having an Italian-born owner, we love this tradition.

For the reception, it was a "family style" affair with rustic Mexican cuisine and atmosphere at Zapatista in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood.  Kate and Christopher also shared an important cause that is close to their hearts with their family and friends by making a charitable donation in lieu of wedding favors to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.

Wedding Photo of the Week: Art Nouveau Bridal Portrait

This bridal portrait always reminds me (Sarah) of one of my favorite artists, Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939).  His paintings and artwork used in early advertising during the Art Nouveau period are iconic. 

Bride Nichole also loves Art Nouveau, and it was apparent with her home decor and wedding style.  This portrait on her staircase is a classic favorite.

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