Polish Wedding Sweets

Chicago has a rich multicultural melting pot, and one great culture to find wonderful wedding inspiration is from the Polish.  If you are Polish, or if you've ever been to a Polish wedding, probably one of the big things you remember (or look forward to) is the very looooong table of decadent desserts at the reception.  You don't have to be Polish to appreciate the abundant sweet table, which typically is a very important part of Polish wedding receptions.  Some favorite traditional Polish desserts include:

-- pączki, which are kind of like doughnuts (but better! ... in fact, if you can't get your hands on the latest craze ... "cronuts" .... these old-school Polish pastries are pretty darn close in taste and texture)

-- fruit gelatin covered sernik (Polish for cheesecake)

-- delightful fruit jelly filled kolaczki cookies

With such a large Polish population, Chicago is fortunate to have dozens of wonderful Polish bakeries throughout the city and suburbs, so it is not hard at all to include these popular traditional treats at your wedding. These delicious sweets pictured below were made by Central Continental Bakery in Mt. Prospect, IL.

Photos: Wedding Creativo Photography

Jewish Wedding at University Club of Chicago

Natalie and Paul celebrated an intimate Jewish wedding at the University Club of Chicago. Her high-fashion corset dress was stunning, and we enjoyed strolling Michigan Ave. with this lovely couple taking in the sights of the tango dancers and chess players. Their private elegant ceremony and reception was accented with gold and champagne hues, with floral accents in fuchsia and pinks, and unique silver bowl style centerpieces.

Wedding Creativo Photography

Chicago Lakeside Elopement : Aina + Valdas

Congratulations to newlyweds Aina and Valdas, who were married this June in Chicago along Lake Michigan.  This Lithuanian couple were accompanied with a couple friends and family members for a location elopement package we offer through our venue & photography services Creativo Loft & Wedding Creativo Photography. We not only perform elopements at our venue, but we also go outside on location during warmer months.  Aina and Valdas opted for a Friday one-hour elopement, and then went out for a celebratory dinner, and finally a honeymoon in the Carribbean.

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Joe & Lena Wedding Highlights at Adler Planetarium

Congratulations Joe & Lena who were married at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago this spring.  These highlights feature their modern and elegant spring wedding with purple, lavender and silver hues.  This couple also found our list of professional recommendations helpful during planning, so we had the pleasure of working with several of our favorite event pros at this wedding too, including Zuzu's Petals florist, Luscious Layers bakery, Windy City Limos, Sonia Roselli Makeup, Something 2 Dance 2 DJ, Rev. Marian Hale, and preparations at the Blackstone Hotel.

Joe & Lena also included our Polaroid camera services to add to their intimate and fun reception.  We brought some cute glitter heart sunglasses to compliment the bride's glamourous style, and also silly star-shaped glasses for their evening under the stars at the planetarium.  Everyone had a great time on the dance floor with our "pazzi" props, using our instant cameras all around the reception, and making a fun keepsake album for the happy newlyweds.

Photography © Wedding Creativo Photography

Happy Mothers Day 2013

Happy Mothers Day! Be sure to take time off from wedding planning to give mom a fist-bump today. We are too!

Chicago Wedding Photographer : Chicago Skyline Portraits

Chicago wedding photographers Wedding Creativo Photography is located downtown, so of course many of our couples love to go to sites with skyline views for their portraits.  Here are some of our recent favorite wedding pictures with beautiful Chicago skyline views.

Ukrainian Wedding at Public Chicago

Olena and Andrew celebrated their marriage with a Ukrainian ceremony at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, followed by a modern-vintage style reception at Public Chicago hotel.  The bride's own father celebrated the traditional marriage mass at this spectacular and historic church located in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood in Chicago.

Olena was radiant in her lace detailed Watters gown, long lace trimmed Vera Wang veil, and sparkly Enzo Angiolini heels.  Andrew wore a sleek Hugo Boss suit.

The bride and her family handmade several sentimental details.  Her sister made the blue floral dressing robe, grandparents made the Ukrainian wedding bread, which symbolizes blessings and good fortune, and her mother made the ceremonial myrtle crowns. The bride sewed the pillows that incorporated lace from the groom’s mother & grandmother’s wedding gown. The hand-binding fabric was embroidered by a local Ukrainian artisan with Olena’s design.

The bride made all of the paper goods, and styled her reception dinner with her own collection of silver embossed chargers, vases and candles.  The couple gifted guests with Kona coffee, vanilla infused cane sugar from Maui, and chocolate covered macadamia nuts from their home in Hawaii.

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Event professionals:  Public Chicago/Pump Room catering, Weddings by Karolina day-of coordinator, TipsyCake pumpkin spice cake, Asrai Garden flowers, La Tavola linens, Tablescapes rentals, Nika Vaughan makeup, Sarah Jean Stevens hair styling, & Wedding Creativo Photography.

Classic Chicago Wedding at Union League Club

Emily and Brent celebrated their wedding at Holy Family Church and Union League Club with classic style and elegance.  The bride wore a beautiful gown by designer Enzoani, with bridal shoes by Chicago designer James Ciccotti.  The bridesmaids' sophisticated floor-length black dresses and groomsmens' black tie tuxedos set the tone for a fabulously formal Chicago wedding celebration.

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Event professionals: Wedding Creativo Photography, LK Events, Dilly Lily floral, ULC catering and pastry chef Jessica Weiss, Gold Coast Allstars band, Midwest Transit limos, Salon Buzz, Dimitra's Bridal Couture.

Indie Wed Chicago 2013 Highlights

We had a wonderful time at Indie Wed on Saturday, and were inspired hearing all of the creative plans couples are making for their 2013 and 2014 weddings.  Indie Wed is THE event for couples looking for unique wedding ideas and professionals, and we were honored to participate. Thanks to everyone who came by our booth to say hello, and also a big thanks to our associates Amanda and Kevin for doing such a wonderful job.  We are so fortunate to have such wonderful people, couples and professionals, to make our world go round.

Here are some of our favorite highlights from Indie Wed.  There are also lots more pictures on our facebook page.

Wedding Creativo associates and ambassadors of awesome, Kevin and Amanda

Indie Wed welcome sign

Dame Couture vintage inspired wedding dresses

The "Belles and Gents" lounge on the third floor, presented by Sine Qua Non Events

The chocolate cigar gal rounds the lounge, furnished by Aged Vintage Rentals

Those cigars were a delectable sweet and salty treat by Truffle Truffle

I think we have a crush on food truck wonder Puffs of Doom

Tablescapes unique decor rentals are always a delight

Brides and bridesmaids, can we please see some Mohop shoes on your feet? Folks in Chicago make these kicks!

The Caterist, a new catering company based in Evanston, was in the booth next to ours. They saw us drooling, had mercy on us, and gave us some treats. They were quite tasty and we were impressed!

We liked this band called We, Unity Candle. They were fun, but as serious audiophiles we were mostly impressed with their abilities to manage quality live sound while rocking the house. We see a lot of bands that mistake loud distorted volume for rocking, and these guys did NOT do that, bravo!

Tweedle Press drew a crowd with their chimerical designs and environmentally sustainable paper goods

Endearing accessories and fabric flowers headpieces on display by Clark & Diversey

A great pairing of professionals, the always sophisticated Sarah Drake Design with Pistil & Vine Floral Design

MarEva's custom designed jewelry and brooch bouquets caught our eye. We were easily lured in by so many beautiful shiny sparkly things.

Naperville Illinois Wedding at Meson Sabika

Like many couples who "leave the nest" to start their careers in other cities, Kallie and John had a "homecoming" wedding in the bride's hometown of Naperville, Illinois.  Since the couple lives in New York, they had a lot of help from family and friends to plan and organize the wedding, which took place at Naper Settlement and Meson Sabika.

During the morning, the bride had help getting ready at home with her mother and bridesmaids, a.k.a. "team bride." Her lovely Sassi Holford gown was accented with two different sashes, one white for daytime and one black for evening.  Her black studded Giuseppe Zanotti heels also added a kick of personal style.  The bridesmaids wore long black dresses, with bouquets of autumnal reds and peach-orange hues. 

The Century Memorial Chapel at Naper Settlement was built in 1864 with a Gothic Revival style of architecture.  The couple was married by the same minister who presided over the bride's parents wedding years ago.

M&M Special Events decorated the reception with warm champaign, cream and soft golden tones, along with Philip's Flowers arrangements, which were primarily ivory roses for the centerpieces, along accent arrangements and cake topper flowers in vibrant deep red and peachy-orange roses.

The groom's brother was his best man, and he had kept the first "contract" the two made as young boys.  It was an agreement to "not hit each other during the hours of 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.," which was a lovely sentimental gesture that had everyone laughing and crying at the same time.

During the course of the evening Kallie also had a special moment for her sister Breanne, presenting her with a parade of birthday cakes!  We are also honored to be joining this family again later this year when they will be celebrating Breanne's wedding in June.

New Years Day Elopement Chicago

Congratulations to Stacey and JD, our first newlyweds of 2013! We had a lovely time celebrating their New Years Day elopement in vintage glamour style at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. Cheers!

© Wedding Creativo Photography

If you are considering an elopement, learn more about how we're revolutionizing creative elopements in Chicago.

Button Theme Wedding at Abbington Banquets

Cat and Matt's wedding is a fantastic example of traditional day that used slight touches of vintage elements and unique details.

The bride collected lots of buttons to incorporate on her bouquet, programs, and reception gift boxes.  It was a creative touch, and absolutely gave their wedding a unique button theme without going overboard with buttons. They were used on a few key DIY projects that the bride and her friends were able to manage, and was executed perfectly as a memorable theme.

Cat's classic diamonds and pearls jewelry, and authentic heirloom pieces also created a vintage feel. A flower pin handed down from her grandmother was used in the bouquet, as well as borrowed family handkerchief. The bride wore a lovely pastel peachy cream and floral detailed Maggie Sottero gown, with bridesmaids wearing short black dresses punched with candy apple red shoes and vibrant red, pink and peach bouquets. 

© Wedding Creativo Photography

The ceremony took place at Gary United Methodist Church in Wheaton, Illinois. Our favorite moments included the young flower girl handing out daisies to guests sitting on the end of the aisle, and the baby ring bearer towed in a red wagon by his big brother.  So cute!

Any time we are near Cantigny Gardens in Wheaton, it is one of our favorite locations for wedding portraits.  It is of course a lush garden park in warmer months, but is also beautiful during cooler times of year.  On this visit we were lucky enough to spot a robust turkey roaming the grounds!

For this larger reception, Abbington Distinctive Banquets in Glen Ellyn provided guests with a classic elegant setting, and as always at this venue, the service and cuisine were lovely.  The venue also provided event services including the cake, sweet table, decor and flowers. The button theme was delicately showcased with in reception details with the escort cards and guest gift boxes placed on the tables.

A wonderful moment at the reception was the toast given by the best man.  He still had this piece of paper given to him by the groom years ago when they were kids.  It was an "I.O.U." for a favor owed to him by the groom.  Note to any best men out there....if you have some kind of sentimental relic from your past with the groom, borrow this idea.  There was not a dry eye in the house.

Toast and Jam DJ Natalie opened the dancing portion of the evening with Cat and Matt's first dance to "Stand By Me," father and daughter song "You Are My Sunshine," and mother and son song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Destination Wedding in Cooperstown, New York

Kate and Brian's destination wedding in Cooperstown, New York was filled with lots of laughs and happy tears.  One of the most memorable moments was when bride Kate, who is normally cracking jokes and keeping everyone around her in stitches, became overwhelmed with tears as she walked down the aisle.  So much, that she found herself surprised that she could not stop crying. But, eventually she and everyone else broke out in a big laugh at the ceremony, and then the laughs carried on all throughout this fun wedding day.

© Wedding Creativo Photography

If you've heard of Cooperstown, you may be thinking this was a baseball theme wedding.  Well, it turns out there is more to Cooperstown than the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Guests traveling to this destination wedding enjoyed the weekend in cozy bed and breakfast cottages, such as the Landmark Inn where the bride and bridesmaids started in the morning, or the historic Otesaga Resort Hotel, where the groom and groomsmen gathered before heading to the wedding. The church ceremony and barn reception were both located on the grounds of The Farmers' Museum.

The wedding fashions and details were primarily classic with elegant touches of country charm. Kate found her lovely Pronovias gown at Dimitra's Bridal in Chicago.  The bridesmaids wore blue knee-length Ann Taylor dresses.  The gentlemen wore their own black tuxedos with black bow ties.  The vibrant blue color was carried over to the bride and bridesmaids' shoes, as well as blue, violet and yellow flowers. 

The ceremony was performed by Rev. Jon Noble, makeup and hair by Renee Dugan, and event services provided by Flowers by Suzanne, Marjorie Landers cake, and Big Fish Combo band.  The wedding dinner catering, as well as the welcome dinner the night before was by Templeton Hall.

Wedding Creativo Wedding Polaroids

When I set up our Polaroid cameras and props at Annmarie and Kirk's wedding, I literally had FIVE SECONDS to take a picture of the table before all the kids attacked! Which is proof positive that instant cameras = instant hit at weddings, especially with kids.  It is fun to see the "wow" look on the faces of children when the print comes out of the camera, and also adults who remember using Polaroid cameras from back in the day.

We offer our collection of Polaroid cameras as a fun reception activity as an optional add on to our regular wedding photography coverage. 

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Rustic Vintage Wedding at Vivo Chicago

Vicky and David celebrated their summer wedding at Our Lady of Pompeii Shrine followed by a cuisine-focused reception at Vivo Restaurant in Chicago.  In large part, this was a DIY wedding, with the bride going with a rustic antique vintage theme, with a semi-casual tone.  However, she also enlisted the help of professionals to help bring ideas to form, including Bridal Beauty Chicago, Windy City Limosine, and DJ Justin from Style Matters.  Fun guest activities included a caricature artist, and Wedding Creativo's Polaroid cameras.

The wedding attire and accessories were from J Crew, Anthropologie, Etsy and Tiffany & Co.  Vicky is a teacher, so there were many school and education-related details, but so much more.  For this feature, we just have to let the photos speak for themselves. 

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Jacqueline and Joe's Modern Vintage Wedding Highlights

Congratulations to Jacqueline and Joe who celebrated their marriage last weekend at Victoria in the Park. Here are some highlights from their modern vintage old Hollywood glam style wedding day:

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Annmarie and Kirk's Winery Wedding Highlights

Congratulations to Annmarie and Kirk, who were married over the weekend at Cooper's Hawk Winery.  More from this wedding will be featured later, but here are some highlights from their lovely day.

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Shreya and Phil's Indian Wedding Highlights

Congratulations to newlyweds Shreya and Phil!  We will feature more from this wedding later, but for now, enjoy some highlights from their beautiful summer Indian wedding at InterContinental Chicago O'Hare.

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Revolutionizing Chicago Elopements

In the last couple of years we've been working with more couples having weekday elopements.  Inspired by these couples, we're trying different ideas to blow away the old stereotype of "courthouse" weddings and elopements, and revolutionize this whole concept.  These kinds of weddings are not for everyone, but for those who do, we have been working on making the experience a lot more special, creative and fun.  We had a blast recently with Susan and Joseph, and this sweet ride, the Italian Fiat 500!

We'll post more from this elopement soon, but we just love this shot, and it epitomizes our quest at Wedding Creativo Photography to inspire couples who are eloping to think outside-the-box and beyond the City Hall basement court office....and have a lot more fun!

In addition to covering traditional marriage court weekday weddings, we have developed our own elopement packages that include photography and an officiant, as well as creative elopement planning.  Interested? Email us for more info.

Riverside Wedding in Geneva Illinois

Marissa and Alex held their summer wedding in the western suburbs of Chicago, Wheaton and Geneva, where the Fox River flows through the center of town.  Marissa and Alex's wedding style was inspired by Mumford and Sons music and good old-fashioned summer fun. 

Fans of modern-vintage style weddings will have plenty to admire in the rustic, yet chic, details including a giant Ferris wheel escort card board, mason jars, rustic iron monograms, a huge ice-cream sundae, and lots old sheet music and hymnals incorporated throughout the day.  Overall, their music theme reflected the groom's background as a musician, and the bride's flair for decor, vintage collecting and design.

© Wedding Creativo Photography

The color scheme of grays, yellows and creams were fantastically incorporated into the bridesmaids mixed mis-matched dresses, as well as the groomsmens' gray suits.  The colors were also carried over into the flowers, done by Sue Peterson in Geneva, IL.

Music elements were included throughout the wedding, starting with the invitiations by Sarah Drake Design. The bride collected vintage music hymnals and sheet music to use on several wedding details, including cermony programs, birdseed holders, and later at the reception for table numbers.

Marissa enlisted the help of a family friend to minister their nuptials at Gary United Methodist Church, while Alex called on his musician friends to perform during the ceremony.  The bride walked down the aisle in a strapless Pronovias gown, accented with a shabby chic sash embellished with fabric flowers and vintage crystal and silver broach pins.

As Mr. and Mrs. made their grand exit from the church, thunderstorms started rolling in, but that in now way dampened anyone's excitement for the newlyweds!

Thunderstorms had the bridsmaids sporting these these very cute umbrellas, and provided us with an improvised fun stop at the grocery store while we waited out the heavy rain before taking portraits.

For the evening celebration at Riverside Receptions, everyone was awed by a stunning display of folksy vintage decor, which the bride collected throughout the year while planning.  Marissa got a lot of help from her great teams of professional event designers and wedding planner, M&M Special Events and Estera Events.  But the bride's amazing father is the one who made this giant Ferris wheel escort card board!

This couple does not like cake, so instead they had a huge ice cream sundae, and treated guests to old-fashioned ice-cream bar and other sweets by Cocoa Bean Fine Desserts.  It was okay for everyone to indulge since Jeff Stitely's 312 Chicago Band kept everyone moving on the dance floor throughout the evening.

See lots more from this wedding in our Featured Weddings section at Wedding Creativo Photography.