Venue Spotlight: theWit Hotel

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding my next featured venue, theWit Hotel, and after a recent site visit, I’d have to say that buzz is well deserved! Everything about this hotel is super modern, sleek, and chic!  theWit is located next to the Chicago Theater (as evidenced by the picture below) and the rest of the theater district and some fabulous State Street shopping.

 
Carasco Photography

Above two images: Ashley Portraits
Ballrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and great views are not as easy to find as you may think!  

 
theWit is also home to new Chicago hotspot, Roof, aka a fab rooftop bar. Check out all the Yelp reviews.  

A hotel with a private movie theater? Yes, please! Imagine a bride and her ladies getting ready in their suite upstairs while the groom and his entourage take over this theater and catch a game (or whatever) since we all know it takes the gents less time to get ready :)

  
Swanky lobby

The lovely Library area

 
Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up to this view (in this cozy bed)?

See more hotel pictures here.

Capacity for seated dinner:  200 with full-size stage and dance floor
Capacity for cocktail reception: 400
Ceremony space: Yes, up to 300
Package starting price: $155.00**
Food & Beverage minimum: $24,000.00 for a Saturday, $20,000 for Friday or Sunday.
No Room Rental or Ceremony Fees

**Includes Cocktail Hour on ROOF

Additional options:
- AfterParty on ROOF
- Brunch in Library Space
- Party in the Theater

Kids + Stuffed Animals Down the Aisle

I just saw this image on The Bride’s Cafe and had to share… how cute is this flower girl carrying a stuffed doggie down the aisle in her basket? It just goes to show that that a flower girl does NOT have to do anything with flowers and will still be oh-so-adorable. Simple is good :)

Photo by Jonathan Canlas (who shoots in film!!)

I love this photo and this idea because it reminds me of my own wedding back in 2007 when I gave my young flower girl and ring bearer teddy bears to carry down the aisle. She was also supposed to ring a bell with her free hand, but she felt more secure holding hands with her big brother :) And the ring bearer-bear was holding a tiny pillow with fake rings attached!

 
Photo by Dennis Lee

Did you have kids involved in your wedding, and what did they carry down the aisle?

DIFFA: More Tablescape Inspiration!

I just realized that I never finished posting the pictures that I took from the DIFFA event a few weeks ago! So let’s round out the work week with some visual fabulousness…

I love everything about this tablescape, especially the simplicity of it! There isn’t anything here someone couldn’t replicate themselves on a budget… amazing what simple topiaries and baskets of fresh apples can do!

Yes, that is a giant Benjamin Moore paint can! Someone was very creative, and this display is oh, so cute!

 

Did you know that cobalt blue will look amazing with fuchsia and orange? Why yes it will!  

 

This display screams “rustic with a modern twist!!!” to me!



If I was a little girl, I would want my birthday party hosted under this tent, with those yummy cupcakes (see below)!

 
The tablescape itself was not very inspiring, but the hanging chandelier made entirely of PAPER CLIPS certainly was! I can’t imagine how much time this took…

 

   

 
Adore the multiple vessels each with a different flower…

  
Manzanitas are still hot stuff…

Have a fabulous weekend and stay warm!

Kehoe+Olivia Leigh+Smitten Boutique

= FABULOUS EVENING of Creativity, Cupcakes & Champagne!

Venue Spotlight: Trump Int’l Hotel & Tower

My job allows me to visit some of the most fabulous venues in Chicago… and I thought I’d start sharing them with you!

Chicago recently received a shiny new skyscraper to add it its world famous skyline: Trump International Hotel & Tower. This hotel is the epitome of contemporary luxury and elegance, and the Grand Ballroom is equally spectacular.

 

{Above images courtesy of Rosalind Wedding; Wedding Consultant: Engaging Events by Ali)

 

Capacity for seated dinner: 269 
Capacity for cocktail reception: 269
Ceremony space: Skyline Room (up to 175 capacity, theater style)
Package starting price: $220 per person (+ tax & gratuity)
Food & Beverage minimum: Yes, may vary depending on day/season, inquire with contact below

Unique attributes: Everywhere you turn, this hotel has STUNNING wrap-around city views! Everything is simply first class: the food, the service, the attention to detail, and of course, the space. Did you expect any less from The Donald?!  I especially like that the furnishings are modern, and the decor neutral – perfect to dress up any way you please!

Address: 401 N. Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Contact: Aristene Aurand
Phone number: 312.588.8062
Email: aaurand {at} trumphotels.com

DIFFA: Tablescape Inspiration

A friend and (former client!) recently invited me to check out the DIFFA Dining by Design event at the Merchandise Mart with her. DIFFA stands for Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids. According to their website, “DIFFA’s Dining By Design brings together the best talents in the design world to create breathtaking three-dimensional dining installations. This unique fundraiser on behalf of DIFFA/Chicago has raised more than $5.5 million since the event’s inception, and returns to Chicago every November at the celebrated Merchandise Mart.” Apparently, part of the fundraiser is that bidders can bid to actually DINE at one of these magnificent tables! Love it!

This amazing event was right up my alley: it just OOZED fabulous tablescape inspiration! There were so many, I may just have to break this into two posts full of eye-candy. I wish I had kept track of the designers (sorry!) but there were SO many!! 

 
I just love the yellow Billy Buttons combined with the green moss.

I would LOVE one of those lighting installations in my dining room! Also digging the purple and yellow color scheme in the background.

 
Organic wood table top, green spider mums, a very Zen feel… not sure about the beta fish in the glass vases though!

The place settings here are absolutely exquisite (hard to see) and I adore the two-toned purple and fuchsia glassware!

 
Sexy lounge areas, the fuchsia and black is so dramatic!

I’m normally not a big fan of ALL rose centerpieces, but when done in a dramatic long row like this, it makes for a very striking centerpiece. Imagine some long feasting tables with these arrangements! Divine…

To be continued…

Sylvia Weinstock: The Importance of Wedding Cake

One of the presenters I was most excited to see was Sylvia Weinstock! THE Sylvia Weinstock! She is a wiry, spunky, practical lady… it’s too bad she didn’t bring some cake for us to try. Or hand out some sugar flowers… would that have been asking too much?! haha, j/k.

      

She took us through some of her favorite cakes over the years, the inspiration for some of them, as well as the difficulties of shipping her cakes around the world. Why (in her opinion) is wedding cake so important? Because cutting the cake is often the first thing a newly married couple does together to celebrate their marriage. So cake shouldn’t be an afterthought!

When asked about the whole cupcakes-replacing-wedding-cake trend, she responded along the lines of, “Cupcakes are not elegant. A bride wears a long white dress. She is setting a formal tone, and cupcakes are not formal.” (So lesson learned: never ask Sylvia Weinstock for a cupcake cake!)

And when asked, “How do you get the tops off of those REALLY tall cakes?” She replied, “You have the banquet captain stand on a ladder and make a really big SHOW of it! It’s entertainment!”

And by the way, if you are ever lucky enough to get a slice of her cake, save the sugar flower!! If kept clean and dry, it will supposedly last forever. It’s hard to believe, but each of her meticulously crafted sugar flowers is anatomically correct!!

Anyways, what is a post about Sylvia Weinstock without some cake p0rn? Her cakes are seriously over-the-top masterpieces!  I wish I could find pictures of the cakes she actually talked about, but alas, I guess those were the more obscure cakes that were not splashed across the blogosphere!

 

 

(Sorry for lack of photo credits, I found these same images on multiple sites!)