Chicago – the Windy City – hosted this romantic wintery wedding. Cara and Tony were married in a wedding that celebrated their love for Chicago as much as their love for one another. Music, friends and family and great food highlighted this urban wedding, featuring a Monique Lhuillier gown that Cara never expected to love, chosen by her mother.
Cara + Anthony | March 9, 2013 | Chicago, Illinois | Dress Listing: Monique Lhuillier, Mila
The Ceremony
The wedding took place on March 9, 2013 at the Mart Plaza Holiday Inn next to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, IL. The whole wedding from the invitations to the music to how we looked was aimed to be very Old Chicago.
The ceremony was very non-traditional, we had our mutual friend and the gal who introduced us officiate. My husband’s bandmates played the ceremony. He walked down the aisle with his parents to Free Bird by Lynrd Skynrd and I walked down the aisle with my dad to Something by The Beatles.
We performed an Irish handfasting and my brother read two readings. We walked back down the aisle at the end to Gonna Make You Love Me More by Ryan Adams.
The Reception
The reception started with the cocktail hour which our friend Woodrow Hart and his band The Haymaker played at and everyone loved! The whole wedding from start to finish was very music focused, we wanted to highlight not only our friends, but the music we love.
We were announced at the reception with Fell In Love With A Girl and the dancing didn’t stop the whole night. The food was amazing and the space was perfect for the night time wedding. We were on the 15th floor and had floor to ceiling windows of the entire skyline. It was stunning.
Cara’s Dress Search
Going in I had not only an idea, but the exact dress planned. They brought it out along with some other similar ones and the dark horse my mom asked to throw in…a lace sheath dress. That is what she had pictured in her head. I tried on the dress I planned on buying and then tried on the one my mom picked and said to the woman helping me, “well crap, this is the one.” And that is the one we left with, the one I ended up wearing; my mom’s pick.
How Cara Felt in Her Wedding Dress
Classic, sexy, glamorous
Why Cara Decided to Sell Her Wedding Dress
I ultimately did not want to preserve it and keep it, I didn’t see the point since everyone I know who had gotten married told me it was such a waste that they were hanging on to their dresses and they are all jealous they never had this idea!
Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier, Mila | Photography: JPP Studios | Ceremony Venue: Wolf Point Ballroom, Mart Plaza | Reception Venue: Wolf Point Ballroom, Mart Plaza | Floral Design: Belmonte’s Florist | Lighting: Belmonte’s Florist | Sweets Table: Oak Mill Bakery and Girl Scouts of America | Planning: Barbara Martin, the Bride and her mother | Wedding Party Stylist: Stacy Ryan, SFR Style | Stationery and Signage: Puttin’ On The Glitz
