Real Wedding Recap: Amy & Jason, Burpee Museum and Francesco's Ristorante

Hey Everyone!

We have another lovely wedding recap for you guys.  This time we're talking about Amy & Jason's incredible artichoke themed event, which took place on September 21st. A big thanks to Ryan Davis Photography for capturing this beautiful day, and allowing us to share it. Let's take a look!

I mean, could you ask for a more perfect day? I don't think so. This stunning ceremony took place at the Burpee Natural History Museum's outdoor ceremony space, overlooking the Rock River.  The elegant sounds of the Nerius String Quartet helped to complete the romantic feel of this wedding ceremony. It was GORGEOUS!

As guests entered the ceremony, they were treated to delicious apple cider- a perfect addition to a fall wedding!

And when the ceremony ended, guests walked out to another treat- ice cream from Dairyhaus! This was seriously genius. It added such a fun, happy element to the post ceremony celebration, and OMG- that ice cream is delicious.  Those folks at Dairyhaus really know what they're doing.  

Let's talk about these awesome flowers from Event Floral.  Remember how I said the wedding was artichoke themed?  And you probably thought, "Hmm, artichoke themed? What does that mean?" THIS. This is what it means.  Are you as blown away as I was?  Who knew artichokes would make for such a lovely bouquet?! The artichoke theme was woven subtly into other elements throughout the day, with artichokes making an appearance on Amy & Jason's programs, wedding signs, and menus.

Now let's move into the reception, which looked AWESOME.  Francesco's in Rockford made the perfect setting for this elegant evening, and the staff there couldn't have been more wonderful.  How beautiful does this room look?

Now look at these ADORABLE favors. These gourmet caramel apple favors from Mrs. Prindable's were almost too cute to eat! They were a huge hit with guests, and made a sweet addition to an already gorgeous table.

Amy and Jason have great taste in sweets.  After an absolutely delicious dinner by Francesco's, guests made room for this dreamy dessert.  This Havana Dream Pie came all the way from Joe's in Chicago, and trust me- it was worth the trip.  It was AMAZING.

ISN'T THIS THE SWEETEST PICTURE?  I love it.  To complete this recap, let's admire how great this gorgeous couple looked. Amy's stunning hair and makeup was done by the incredible Jamie Herst.  Doesn't she look beautiful?  Congrats Amy & Jason! Thanks so much for allowing us to be a part of your wonderful day!

Ceremony Venue: Burpee Museum www.burpee.org

Reception Venue: Franchescos www.franchescos.com/

Photographer: Ryan Davis Photography www.ryandavisphotography.com 

Florist: Event Floral www.event-floral.com/

DJ: Ted O'Donnell, Luxe Productions www.luxemusic.com

Musicians: Nerius String Quartet neriusfamily@gmail.com

Hair and Makeup:  Jaime Herst www.jaimeherst.com/

Linens and Draping: Beautiful Day Linens www.beautifuldaylinens.com

Gourmet Apple Favors: http://www.mrsprindables.com/

Havana Dream Pie: http://www.joes.net/

Ice Cream: Dairyhäus https://www.facebook.com/dairyhausrockton

Wedding Planner: La Di Events www.ladievents.com 

Wedding Season Recap: Highlights and Cool Things We Loved

Hey Friends! How is everyone?  How's wedding planning going?  Fantastic?  Hooray!

So with this wedding season drawing to a close, I thought that we could recap some unique and lovely elements from a few of our fantastic weddings this season.  We've had a lot of fabulous weddings from a bunch of brilliant, creative brides, so it's only fair that we share some of their cool ideas with you!

I'll start with Joanna & Mike's fantastic Blumen Gardens wedding, which was full of personal touches from the bride. Joanna had TONS of creative ideas for her centerpieces and decor, but my favorite element was probably the head table decoration.  She had collected hundreds of glass bottles before her wedding, which we combined with candles to create a stunning and nontraditional head table. It looked absolutely AMAZING.

The next brilliant bride we'll talk about is Gwen, who married Mike in a breathtakingly beautiful ceremony at Acquaviva Winery.  Literally guys, THIS is where they got married:

That picture is just an iPhone, no filter, taken with my very limited photography skills, so even though it's gorgeous, trust me: it was even prettier live.  And Gwen and Mike's genius was not limited to venue selection! They also were very creative when it came to their guest book which (how fitting!) was a wine barrel. Guests loved signing the barrel, and BONUS!, Gwen and Mike now have an awesome piece of home decor covered in memories from their happiest day.

The final wedding that we'll touch on in this post is Amy and Jason's, which just happened this past weekend! The weather was perfect for their outdoor ceremony at Burpee Natural History Museum. The couple very elegantly incorporated an artichoke theme into so many elements of their day, including the floral arrangements! The bride and bridesmaids all had artichokes in their bouquets, and centerpieces incorporated artichokes as well.  Here's the purple artichoke arrangement that hung on their ceremony arch:

Amy and Jason also made sure their guests were never hungry.  Immediately following the ceremony, guests walked out to find the good folks from Dairyhaus in Rockton ready to serve them delicious ice cream flavors selected by the couple!

And that's just the tip of the iceberg, friends! We've had so many wonderful weddings this season, full of a million little elements that made each one memorable in it's own special way.  We'll share more delightful details in posts to come, and hopefully we'll be able to touch on each and every wedding.  THEY WERE ALL SO PRETTY, YOU GUYS!

But for now, we would love to hear from you! What are some special wedding details that you've seen, or that you will be incorporating into your own wedding?  And don't hold back, because we LOVE this stuff!