The Ivy Room at Tree Studios - Leslie & Will

As a wedding planner in Chicago, I get to work at some fantastic venues.  One of our favorites is the Ivy Room at Tree Studios http://www.ivyroomchicago.com/home.shtml where Leslie Feinberg and Will Clifford exchanged vows under this gorgeous  chuppah and then danced the night away at their reception immediately following the ceremony.

LOLA's challenge with this event was coming up with a concept for event design that incorporated the bride's favored color palette of greens and pinks (traditionally a more spring/summer color theme) into a presentation that worked for the fall season.  Bringing in espresso linen, darkly stained wood, wrought iron and grape vine for a base was a great start to creating our earthy and intimate concept.  Floral designer, Cornelia McNamara created a perfect still life for each table bringing the greens and pinks in tonally with ferns, succulents, moss, amaryllis, pomegranates, orchids, lilies, and roses in a myriad of shades tucked into vintage tea tins.  Each table was unique, different and special.  Instead of pin-spotting each table centerpiece, we opted for washing the walls in soft branchy light and liberally accenting the tables with votives in gold, silver, pink and green mercury glass.  The overall look was formal, yet inviting and created the perfect intimate and romantic autumn garden in the cleanly appointed venue. 

The brides bouquet was perfectly textured for her simple elegant gown while the bridesmaids espresso dresses were accented with flowers in shades of deep raspberry. Thanks to Joe Gallo Photography for all these great images!

Maggie & Ralph 11.07.09

As a wedding planner in Chicago, I love to put interesting twists on simple concepts to create drama and interest. My clients this past weekend didn't have a huge budget, but wanted to "wow"  their 250 guests at the Embassy Suites Hotel this past Saturday where they held both their ceremony and reception.

We did this for for Maggie and Ralph with their wedding cake and some simple floral details on their guest dining tables.  We took their simple fondant cake layers, separated them and presented them on glass cylinders filled with orchids.  On the center of the dance floor, this created a nice pop of drama as guests entered the room.  

Bouquets for the bride and all her attendants were also created by LOLA and emphasized the brides love of the color purple without going overboard.  The bright contrast was perfect with Maggie's vinate inspired lace gown and the maids dresses in light dove grey.

Backyard Wedding Bliss

When my bride for Sept 12 called me the week before her event and told me she was canceling her ceremony tent I admit, I was worried!  But the weather couldn't have been more perfect for Bonnie & Michael for their wedding overlooking Lake Geneva - a beautiful day for a phenominal couple.

The couple was striving for a simple, romantic backyard wedding - and they achieved that with great finesse by using Jesse at Botanicals, who placed chic arrangements over simple burlap linens and utilized hundreds of mason jars to create a canopy of candlelight in the tent.

The bride and groom exchanged vows under a chuppah and the beautiful blue sky on a specially constructed platform that allowed all the guests an unobstructed view of the ceremony and lake.

Following the ceremony, the bride and groom led guests into their reception tent with a sparkler display, and surprised guests with an end of the evening fireworks display over the lake. Thanks to Doug McGoldrick for capturing the day so beautifully!

LOLA at the Field Museum

Congratulations to Samantha Dwyer and Scott Zinober that married at the Chicago Field Museum on July 11, 2009.  The couple had a gorgeous summer day to exchange vows on the terrace lawn overlooking Lake Michigan where they incorporated Jewish, Hawaiian, Tanzanian and personally inspired customs, then invited their 300 guests into the museum for stations dining and dancing.  The reception was unique because of the bride and groom's commitment to making sure the event was philantrhopic and friendly to the environment as well as beautiful.  Invitations were printed in soy ink on plantable papers that grow sweet basil.  Decor was created from all living plants, and centerpieces were donated to elder care in the City of Chicago following the event.  The menu was all local, sustainable and hormone free, and left over food was either donated to local shelters or composted locally.  In liu of gifts, guests were invited to contribute to a fund set up to help with children's educational projects.  These photos from Sarah Alair PHotography showcase how gorgeous the museum looked the evening of the event.

"Get A Life" Corporate Decor

LOLA got to provide planning and decor for the "Get A Life" Conference for Total Attorneys in the end of May. 

The Get a Life concept was developed as a work-balance experience for attorney's nationwide.  LOLA was brought in to the Hyatt on Wacker downtown Chicago to help find a way to transition the ideas and concepts of the conference into a workable design solution for a large conference.  Total Attorney wanted something that was a literal translation of slogans like "Take a Walk in Grass" and "Stop to Smell the Roses" to create the proper mood for participants.  Using bright colors and simple sophisticated props, LOLA designed vignettes that were not only the perfect translation of these slogans, but were chic and relevant in design.