It’s Wedding Season Again!

May 28, 2021 | wedding planning

Well, it’s officially wedding season, because recently I had my first on-site, live, in-person wedding since October 2019.  And it was a fantastic way to get back to planning weddings.

This was a small, low-key backyard celebration at the groom’s parents’ home.  The couple wanted a non-traditional and eco-friendly wedding, and that was exactly what I was able to help them have.  They brought in everything they needed so guests could be outdoors and comfortable.  We had tents, upscale portable restrooms, a composting service, a pizza truck, a mobile bar service–and puppies!

“Wait, did you say puppies?”  Yes, puppies.  The couple and their families all love dogs.  Being from out of state, these two couldn’t bring their own dogs with them.  But it didn’t seem right to them to get married without any dogs present.  They got in touch with the local humane society, who had three beagle mix pups they could bring.  It was great!  The puppies got much-needed socialization time during cocktail hour, the guests (especially the kids) got to play with puppies, and the humane society got a nice donation.

As my first pandemic wedding, it was educational for me–and quite safe.  It goes to show that you can follow all health department guidelines and still get married and have a good time.  Here are a few photos I took.

A clear-top, clear-side tent in a back yard , with garden and trees in the foreground and trees in the background.

Indestructo provided their usual high-quality tents for the wedding.

A restroom trailer on a driveway, with a branch of a blooming redbud tree across the front of it. a

Restrooms are not glamorous, but the fancy restroom trailer from Crown Restrooms almost makes the cut!

A wooden bar being set up, with bottles of wine and a lighted sign reading "Bar." Two coolers sit next to the bar. Photos are strung on a line behind the bar.

If you want glamorous, CLaS Mobile Bar definitely fits the description!

A trailer with a chimney and tables set up in front. People work behind the tables. Signs reading "Crust Culture" are visible on the fronts of the tables.

The Crust Culture pizza truck is a pretty amazing set-up.

Platters of appetizers on a table. Next to the food are stacks of square bamboo plates, a container of bamboo forks, and a stack of paper napkins.

Crust Culture also did a nice appetizer buffet. Note the compostable dishes. The bar service also brought compostable cups, and so there was almost zero waste at this wedding!

A couple in matching rainbow and denim outfits (with matching rainbow masks) pet a small black puppy held by a person wearing all black.

And there were puppies! The couple were the first people to greet the pups as they came out from their carrier.

A large bag of dog food, with a bowl of dog food in front of it. To their left are appetizers for people.

There were snacks for the puppies, too.

A frosted cake on a silver background. The cake is in the shape of the letters A and L. It is decorated with sugar photos of a couple, wooden rings, the names of the couple, and the date, along with piped icing and sprinkles.

The groom’s mother baked this gorgeous cake for them, and decorated it with sugar photos of the couple.

I hope to be able to share the professional photographer’s images with you at some future time, because this was a really fun wedding, and I’m sure she captured it much better than I could.

Peering Cautiously Out

May 5, 2021 | wedding planning

A woman in a strapless white dress (with a black belt) seated in a plush orange chair peers over the top of her bouquet of brightly colored Gerber daisies.

Do you feel like this sometimes? Photo by Paul Grigonis, pplusgphoto.com

It’s springtime in Chicago–in more ways than one.  Not only is the weather warming, but we seem to be getting ready to return to some kinds of in-person life with people outside of our own households.  I won’t say that we’re returning to “normal,” but perhaps it will be possible to have a social life again.

I know I’ve been getting a lot more inquiries about wedding planning lately.  And I have my first in-person, COVID-safe, tiny wedding coming up in less than two weeks.  That will be the first time I’ve planned and managed a wedding in over a year and a half.  (Don’t worry:  I haven’t forgotten how to do it!)

With the state and the City of Chicago announcing plans for dropping capacity limits by mid-summer, it feels like the end of a very long winter.  Of course, I’m from Chicago, and I know that the weather is fickle, so I’m assuming that we’re still going to have one more (metaphorical) ice storm, and the re-opening plan won’t go as smoothly as currently predicted.  Also, my personal prediction is that the mask mandate will likely be in place for far longer than anyone currently expects.  Even so, it’s nice to contemplate a foreseeable future when we should be able to gather safely in person, celebrate, and have a good time.

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