Happy Anniversary Meghan & Alex!

Goodness, how time flies; August 8th was Meghan and Alex’s first anniversary! All the best wishes from Soirée Weddings & Events!

Their sweet ceremony was performed at St. Mary of the Angels!

Wonderful photos by Gerber + Scarpelli Photography!

How fun! The bride and groom incorporated a Chicago tradition into their day!

The reception was held in the grandeur of The Murphy!

Love indeed! Traditional florals by Kloeckner Preferred Flowers!

Elegant cake by Amy Beck Cake Design!

What a grand time with beloved family and friends!

Best wishes and much love to Meghan and Alex!

VENDORS: Planning & Coordination: Soirée Weddings & Events | Floral: Kloeckner Preferred Flowers | Ceremony: St. Mary of the Angels | Reception: The Murphy | Photographer: Gerber + Scarpelli Photography | Cake: Amy Beck Cake Design |

Happy Anniversary Lee & Brian!

Soirée Weddings & Events would like to wish a happy anniversary to Lee and Brian!

 

 

Lovely winter floral by Flor Del Monte!

 

All photos of the happy couple’s day captured by James Warden of Five Lake Arts!

 

 

The reception was held at the Roosevelt University Auditorium Ballroom!

 

The cake was provided by Bittersweet!

We wish many years of happiness to this fun couple and a Happy New Year to all!!

VENDORS: Planning/Styling and Coordination: Soirée Weddings & Events | Floral: Flor Del Monte | Venue: Roosevelt University Auditorium Ballroom| Catering: D’Absolute Catering | Photographer: James Warden – Five Lake Arts |Cake: Bittersweet | Lighting/Draping: MDM Entertainment

Happy Anniversary Sarah & Eric

Crazy big first anniversary wishes for Sarah and Eric from Soirée Weddings & Events!

We can’t stop raving about this wedding held at The Mid. Buckle up, because it’s quite the ride!

Can you even already?

Rockin’ photos by Joshua Albanese Photography!

 

Aloft Circus Arts provided some high-flying entertainment pre-ceremony and during the reception.

Does anyone have whiplash from all of the amazingness yet?

Lighting by MDM Entertainment!

Moody florals designed by StemLine Creative!

Food Evolution kept appetites satiated!

Zhantra Entertainment provided a champagne greeter and LED costumed performers!

Sweet Table Chicago set up a dazzling display of confections!

An amazing time was had with a fabulous couple!

Rave on, Sarah and Eric! Rave on!!

VENDORS: Planning/Styling and Coordination: Soirée Weddings & Events | Floral: StemLine Creative | Ceremony & Reception: The Mid | Photographer: Joshua Albanese Photography | Catering: Food Evolution | Sweets Table: Sweet Table Chicago | Lighting: MDM Entertainment | Rentals: AFR Event Furnishings | Hair Stylist & Makeup Artist: Kate Johnson Artistry | Aerialist: Aloft Circus Arts | Entertainers: Zhantra Entertainment

Cinco de Mayo Wedding Inspiration

We here at Soirée Weddings and Events have been dreaming of festive Cinco de Mayo weddings all day! Here’s a little Mexican inspiration just for you!

The Tablescape: Succulents and Citrus

Photo from http://www.ruffledblog.com

The Bridesmaids: Bright and Embroidered

Photo from http://www.style.com/fashion-shows/resort-2015/naeem-khan

The Party Favors: Tequila, Succulents, & Custom Chiclet Boxes

Photos from: 1. http://www.ruffledblog.com; 2. http://www.marthastewartweddings.com; 3. http://www.snippetandink.com

The Signature Cocktail: Citrus Paloma

Photo from http://www.mind-over-batter.com

The Dessert: Margarita Cupcakes

Photo from http://www.susannahskitchen.com

Anyone else feeling festive? We’ll leave you with just a few photos from one of Soirée’s very own Mexican weddings:

Carlee & Dan’s gorgeous Cancún wedding: June 9, 2013!

Bright and beautiful photos by Shelley Anderson of Cage and Aquarium Photography.

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

CSW Designers Challenge: British Invasion!

Looking back on 2013, we were so happy to be apart of so many beautiful weddings and events.  We were also so excited to be invited to participate in Chicago Style Wedding‘s Designers Challenge!  And since 2013 was such a big year for the royal family, we thought we’d do our part to welcome Prince George to the world with a British themed styled shoot!  Check out what we did with the help of some awesome vendors!

Instead of tea cups, crumpets and fascinators – we channeled the Rock & Roll feel of iconic British Rockers. With bold colors and hard lines, the Union Jack inspired this theme provoking a Kings table designed with a touch of feminine elegance, suitable for the likes of Victoria Beckham and Annie Lennox. Meanwhile, the bar lounge was an edgy take on a Groom’s Room where Ringo Star, Bono, Sting and Led Zeppelin would lounge, drinking pints while having a jam session. All of the elements came together to create a sexy, edgy and elegant affair.  Wouldn’t you agree?

xo! tm

design: Soirée Weddings & Events

photography:  carasco photography

cake:  alliance bakery

floral design:  avant gardenia

paper, signage, stationary:  noteworthy notes

rentals:  Tablescapes & Precision Sound & Lighting

linens:  Bbj Linens

stemware & decorative accents:  Z Gallerie

wall graphic:  Speedpro Imaging

Carlee+Dan: Destination… Cancun!

Here’s to remembering a beautiful beachfront wedding on this cold Chicago day!  Carlee & Dan looked absolutely fabulous as they enjoyed their fun, beach-themed wedding in Cancun.  Here’s a look back…

xo-tm

Wedding Planner and Event Design: Soirée Weddings & Events

Venue:  Me Cancun, a Melia Resort

Cater: Me Cancun

Photographer:  Cage & Aquarium

DJ:  Cage & Aquarium

Floral:  Eufloria

Audio/Visual:  J&S Audio Visual

2012 In Review – a great year. (Part I)

This has been an amazing year — I was truly sad to see it go…

It started with Kelly and Jerry’s NYE wedding at Carnivale.  So incredible!

Florals by Stemline, Creative

Then a trip to New York for Fashion Week/Valentines Day..

a Day spent at MoMA

A walk through Central Park

Some star sightings – Bethenny Frankel and Selita Ebanks at Philippe (thought they weren’t together).  And Justin Beiber at The London Hotel… Sorry – no pics!

And some drinks at The Harvard Club with my Uncle – so cool!!

We had a blast at the Sixties Social – a Mad Men themed Thursday Therapy! What do you think – did we pull off Betty and Don?

Then we hosted our first annual Bridal Event – this one was “Leap Into Wedding Season” and it was held at Fleur de Lis Florist.  It was a huge success – a uncharacteristically warm day (were talking 60’s) led to a great turn out of brides!

Entertaining Company provided the food.. Cristina G took the amazing photos!

Here’s Team Soirée at the Event…

Revae from Femme du Coupe provided the delicious cocktails!

We are so excited for this year’s event – the Wedding March, being held on March 3 at Floating World Gallery! (minor plug!) 🙂 details to come!

St. Patricks day was warm…

Really warm! Coco is enjoying the balcony (above).  Chicagoans are enjoying the weather (and the Bars) on Wells St.!

We had so much fun planning and creating the 80’s styled shoot at Room 1520.  All the vendors that participated knocked it out of the park!  The creativity and fun factor was off the charts! 

And — It was featured in Ruffled 🙂 

Check out this amazing black and white bridal bouquet from Fleur!

Then there was Becky and Tony’s wedding at St. Ignatius and The Rookery – And it was featured on Style Me Pretty… 😉 (click here to see it!)

Then we took a trip to New Buffalo, Mi.  We brought the pooch and it was so much fun!

She’s very helpful when she wears the Dog Pack

she was starting to get real tired..

Our view from the top of the dune of Lake Michigan.  Then we stopped at a local Winery..

Bowie was excited – I am not sure why.  She’s just always happy

Then we went to the beach –

Then we headed to the Marina – and had dinner at Brentwood Tavern…

It was a nice mini vacay before the start of wedding season 🙂

We started June with Susan and Frank’s wedding at Morton Arboretum..

Then we battled a double header!  Sami and Mike’s wedding at Chicago History Museum and Megan and Adam’s wedding at Newberry Library 🙂

Sami’s bouquet and bridesmaid’s bouquets were so lovely!  created by the Jan and Jillian of Natural Beauties.

This wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty – click here to see it 🙂

Megan chose a blush and slate gray color palette – it complimented The Newberry Library perfectly!  

Megan and Adam had their ceremony in Washington Square Park across the street – and then moved into the Library for cocktails and dinner.

Don’t you want to smell that bouquet of peonies and ranunculus?  Fleur nailed it again!

That’s the end of Part I – stay tuned for Part II.  I will cover the rest of 2012 – so many more adventures!

xo-tm!

Happy Anniversary Suzanne and Matt!

Happy one year anniversary to Suzanne and Matt!  I can’t believe it has been a year since their gorgeous Fall wedding at the World’s Fair Pavilion in St. Louis.

To see the full wedding feature – click here: Matt + Suzanne: classic elegance (Part II).

Have a fabulous anniversary you guys! I had such a great time planning this amazing day with you and I am lucky to have such dear friends!

Here’s to many more to come!!  Cheers!

xo-tm

all photos are by: Metropolitan Picture Company

Field trip to the Field Museum

The Soirée team recently met up with Katie Knox, special events account manager at the Field Museum for an eye-opening walk-through at this historic and breath-taking Chicago venue. The quintessential space for the adventurous couple who loves to travel and is constantly exploring everything the world has to offer, there are many aspects about the museum that many are unaware of as a wedding or event venue.

Upon setting foot inside the enormous Stanley Hall with its gleaming white 300 million year-old limestone floors, higher-than-high ceilings and the surrounding upper balcony, it is apparent that any wedding here would be absolutely jaw-dropping. However, not every couple needs this much space for their wedding.

Luckily, Field offers multiple smaller event spaces with price tags and guest capacities to match, making it a venue for almost any couple’s budget and design aesthetic.

Stanley Hall can seat up to 1,500 guests for a seated dinner and 7,500 for a reception. The museum’s smaller spaces can contain anywhere from 50 to 500 guests. Some of these smaller spaces provide a more intimate setting where your guests can sit amongst some of the museum’s famous exhibits. But others, such as the East Atrium and Pavilion provide a more traditional venue feel but with the same grace and opulence of Stanley Hall.

The museum also allows ceremonies to be held outside on the beautiful outdoor patio area where guests will enjoy views of the city skyline and the lake.

Not only does the museum provide a variety of space options, it is also a venue where a variety of design options can be brought to life. Especially in Stanley Hall, as Katie related to us, a multitude of different ideas can be played out design-wise. “We are ready to customize anything,” Katie says.

The Field has their own list of approved vendor options for couples to choose from, including Hall’s Rental Company and Frost Lighting.

Walking through the different rooms of the museum with Katie, we couldn’t help but think about the endless potential that this venue has to offer. We hope to be planning a wedding here in the near future!

Check out some of the shots we took on our tour with Katie below!

Not getting married but want to check out the exhibits at the museum?  The Field Museum is open every day except Christmas, 9am-5pm.

Basic Admission for Adults is $15, Children (3-11) are $10 and Seniors/Students are $12.  City passes are available here

Post by Soirée Intern, Melanie Enright

Exploring the Floating World Gallery in Lincoln Park

This Tuesday we had a meeting with yet another great venue that we are so excited to be working with! In the heart of Lincoln Park on Halsted lies the Floating World Gallery where beautiful contemporary Japanese art adorns open-faced brick walls.

With a seated dinner capacity of 130 and 200 for cocktail reception it is the perfect space for a contemporary style wedding or even if you desire a modern twist on your soft and romantic soiree. What makes the Gallery particularly special though, is the rooftop balcony that sits atop the space. We imagine guests sipping their cocktails up there while watching the sunset, with twinkling lights strung all around overhead.

Visit floatingworld.com for more info and pics!

Post by: Soirée intern, Melanie Enright