Jill and Mark were married on January 1, 2010 at Trump International Hotel and Tower. Aristene Aurand, is the wedding specialist at the Tower and weddings there are always very special.
Tara Swift Moser from LOLA Event Production (312.513.6531) was the planner and florist and was great. It is always a pleasure to conduct weddings with the team from LOLA!
Andre LaCour was the photographer and provided these excellent photos to. Andre is the director of photography at Edward Fox Photography and can be reached at 773.794.5149. Thank you Andre.
Spirited Weddings has been chosen to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2010. This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism.
The Bride’s Choice Awards™ are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds (brides and grooms) through extensive surveys and reviews, which means my past clients have spoken on my behalf and selected me to receive this honor.
I am honored to receive this award again this year!
This was my first wedding at the James Hotel and I was impressed. The staff were really helpful and great to work with and the room was especially attractive. Here was the team, at least the ones I met.
Venue:The James Hotel Hillary Cavan, services manager and her staff were there to help throughout
Photographer: Pamela Luedeke Photography Pamela has promised to provide some photos and I will post them later in a new post.
DJ: Toast and Jam It is always a delight to work with the folk from Toast and Jam, this was no exception. Planner: Here Comes the Party This was my first time working with Marcy Alspach and Meghan Martinez, what a great team.
Florist:Dilly Lily Usually the florist is gone by the time I get to the venue but this time I got to meet a couple of the people and compliment them on their arrangments.
I think Eric and Mindy were very happy with their choice of vendors and they are certainly worth your consideration.
Allie and Nelson were married yesterday at the Art Institute Ballroom. Their web site says the room has won several architectural awards. The high ceilings, impressive grand staircase and balcony do make it a beautiful venue. The area where the ceremony takes place needs to be reset for the reception so there are some decorating challenges but creative florists have made it work.
In my experience yesterday and in the past, the Ballroom is one of those venues that is very hands off in its approach. In other words there doesn't seem to be anyone their from the Art Institute to provide assistance. I am not saying this is bad but it does mean that couples need either a wedding coordinator or someone like me who will coordinate the ceremony for them. For instance, yesterday the band that was to play for the reception got a late start setting up and were still at work at 6:00 when the wedding was to begin. I asked them to finish after the ceremony and then got the musical prelude started, family members seated and processional started. I think Allie was completely unaware of issues with the band, and I am happy that was the case.
Dave Johnston of Chicalba Bagpiping Service played out on Michigan Avenue as the guest arrived and then he played as Allie and her father walked down the aisle. He also played as Nelson and Allie processed out at the end of the ceremony. You can contact Dave at 630.534.4964 or dave@chicalba.com. If you are looking for a bagpiper for your wedding or event Dave is an excellent choice.
Food for Thought provided the catering and Abby English was the person in charge last night. Abby and her crew did an excellent job.
Stephanie and Rob were married yesterday at the Green Dolphin Street located at 2200 North Ashland Avenue. I remember this place when it was a car parts dealer and I've been there recently to hear some jazz but this was my first wedding. Jessica Bergman one of the event planners told me that they have weddings there most every weekend. Be sure to look at the photos on their web site because from the outside Green Dolphin Street may not look like a place to have your wedding. However, the inside is nice, some of the rooms have a lot of natural light and they do have a very beautiful garden in the back. They also have a big parking lot and lots of on street parking, both of which are unusual for a venue in the city.
Jessica was very helpful and easy to work with, you can contact her at 773.395.0066.
Dora and Diego were married in August on the roof top at Zed 451 located at 739 North Clark Street in Chicago. Heather Parker was the photographer and we exchanged business cards and I asked if I could post some of her photos on this blog. She send them last week. You can see Heather's website and read her blog by clicking here.
Thank you so much Heather for the photo. She actually sent several more but they are all of me and I think one is enough for this blog. Go to her web site and her blog and you will see some great photos of Diego and Dora and Zed 451.
If you have found your way to this Blog you must be planning a wedding in Chicago. I hope what I have to share will be helpful and encouraging to you in your planning process.
About Me
Bruce Otto
Chicago, IL, United States
Thanks for stopping by. If you have any questions about my services as an Officiant or any of the vendors I reference please contact me, I will be happy to respond. Contact me at botto@spiritedweddings.com or 312 671-1804