Wedding Day First Look

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**To read the post before this, about getting ready on the morning of the wedding, click here**

**Photos courtesy of Daniel Peter Photo, www.danielpeter.com.**

**Hover over the bottom right corner of each image to Pin to Pinterest!**

On the day of our wedding, my husband and I decided to do a "first look." While the age old tradition says a groom shouldn't see his bride until the ceremony, we decided to go with the more contemporary trend of not only seeing each other before the ceremony, but also spending time together and taking a limitless amount of pictures. After reading Britta's post about first looks, I was convinced.

I cannot explain how glad I am that we did it this way! It allowed us to relax and enjoy each other's company, and it kept the stress level down because it reminded us both of the true meaning of the day. After all, we were choosing each other for life because we know that we make each other better. I know that Justin brings me back down to earth and makes my fervently excitable (and sometimes a bit ADD and overwhelming) heart a little more calm. In contrast, I know that I help soften a sometimes very serious Justin. What could be better to ease the anxiety on your wedding day than seeing the ONE who you have chosen, the one who makes you better? 

After getting ready all morning, we finally had our first look around 3:30pm. There was some nice green space outside of our hotel, and the photographers suggested that it could be a great area for the first look.

I waited in the center of a small and shaded green park. One of our photographers walked Justin around to the other side of the building and then set him free to find his bride!

I knew he would look handsome, but it is still a whole different thing to see it in person! I thought I would be a crier in this situation, seeing my almost-husband in his tux for the first time on our wedding day, but I was simply beaming from ear to ear.

Having a first look made everything more real to us, but perhaps more importantly, it helped us feel calm and relieved. Instead of having so much tension build throughout the day, we were able to spend even more of it with the one we love.

Our bridesmaids and groomsmen had watched from behind the trees as we "found" each other for the first time! We then took a few more pictures and some video footage before loading up into the bus to head over to our venue, Bridgeport Art Center.

Once we got there, we took a lot of pictures outside. We made sure to get as many combinations as we could think of... the bride with her bridesmaids, bride with each bridesmaids, groom with groomsmen, everyone together, bride's family, bride's siblings, groom's family, groom's siblings... so on and so forth. 

At one point, it turned into a long string of solo shots of me, with everyone else lounging around and most people watching. 

After shooting for an hour or so, it was time to head inside to prepare for the ceremony. A few of our guests had already arrived, and we were T-30 Minutes until the processional began!

Vendor List:
Bride's Dress: Jim Hjelm via Volle's Bridal
Bridesmaids Dresses: J. Crew
Tuxes: Formally Modern
Flowers: Ashland Addison Florists
First Look Location: Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
Venue Photos: Bridgeport Art Center Skyline Loft

Licensed To Wed

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Hi all! I'm back in the Windy City and slowly but surely getting back in the swing of things. I'll tell you about my wedding and honeymoon, but still wanted to keep you in the loop on the whole story!

Since my wedding was on a Friday, and my rehearsal and rehearsal dinner was on a Thursday, I decided to make Tuesday my last day at work. For some reason, I thought that having Wednesday off was enough time to get done everything I wanted to do. The workouts, the pampering, the relaxing... well, some of it happened.

I let myself "sleep in" and then went to an 8am workout at The Mercury Method. I walked out of there thoroughly drenched and, dare I say it, mighty satisfied with my workout.

Schweatay

Afterward, I ran home and had a nice shower. I had a pretty busy afternoon planned, so I put together the things I knew I needed to bring the following day to the hotel before our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Shoved it in a corner by the front door of my super messy apartment. Called it a wrap.

Bridesmaids gifts!

I got ready and put on as little clothing as I thought I could get away with. It was hot outside and I was planning on a fairly long walk.

White iPhone case for the soon-to-be bride!

Before I left, Justin and I walked over to our printer's office. I designed all of the paper for our wedding myself, so we wanted to proof them and ensure they were to our liking before having them mass print.

Thank God we went over there, because there was a little issue. The formatting had gotten messed up and the arrow at the top of our menu ended up having a weird misalignment. It looks minute, but to a trained eye, this is kind of a big faux pas.

I ran home and fixed the file, then sent it back before heading out the door. I had a long walk to go meet my friend Kelsey for a drink before a spa appointment.

"Look, a bus!"

Guess what? I got lost. First, let me say that it should have been really freaking easy. But, I saw a bus coming and decided it could be a good idea to hop on for a stop or two and save myself some time (I was running late). WRONG. I ended up going farther than I needed and then, on top of that, I walked the wrong way after I got off. Lame.

Good thing my purse is filled with goodies, so I could stay hydrated and even drink a protein shake as I navigated myself back to the right spot.

I finally met my friend Kelsey. We were headed for a specific bar near the spa, but we ended up deciding to go into Greek Islands because it's huge, has a bar, and most importantly, has free valet (she drove). I had two glasses of chard before we headed over to the spa.

We got there and checked in, and I discovered this beautiful little gem:

That's right, folks. I'm the Dutchess of ellehomme Holistic Med Spa on Yelp. This is obviously a big deal and warranted some excessive celebration.

I waited a bit longer in the waiting room for my girlfriend, while reading a book on metabolisms. Let me tell you, there's nothing better than a book that practically tells you to eat eggs and avocados and bacon.

Once my girlfriend was out of her treatment, she dropped me off downtown where I met my then fiance so we could wait in line for our marriage license! Leave it to us to get it only two days before the wedding!

Please pardon my makeup-less face and serious lazy eye. I have no idea what was wrong with me. Maybe it has something to do with getting lost, walking around in the heat, and drinking two glasses of wine.

To celebrate, we hit up Paramount Room for some greasy fries and garlic aioli. I was pretty starved, so despite the wedding dress looming only 2 days ahead, I dug in and stuffed my face.

Back soon with the details on the day of our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner! :)

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping

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Last night, I met one of my bridesmaids, Emily, at the J. Crew on Michigan Avenue for some dressing room fun. I've picked a set fabric and color of the J. Crew bridal line, but wanted my girls to try on the various dresses and cuts to see what fits them.

Fact: I am a horrible bride and was late. I pulled a total bonehead move and missed my stop on the 151 Bus. I usually cab it or take the blue line, so sometimes, I get totally distracted and forget to pull the string to get off the bus. Oops. I ended up being exactly 9 minutes late, and Emily was already in her first dress. Sorry, Emille... 

She's sassy and funny and cute, right?
See, now you know why I'm friends with her.

I've already been to the J. Crew Bridal Suite on Michigan Ave with my sister and two cousins, who are both in my wedding, so I had a good idea of who would end up with which dresses. Still, it's always interesting to see how people react to various dresses!

We spent about a half hour trying things on, and, while all of the dresses looked great, it was a pretty easy decision because one dress was just extremely flattering. I love when life makes those decisions so easy! #Grateful

Here are a few sneak peaks from my various sessions there. I've been 3 times now, so I'm practically a regular, right? [Shout out to Rachel and Andrew, who have both helped me out at various times!] They have you try dresses on in some crazy colors (it's all about finding the right fit), so don't start thinking I'm having a rainbow wedding. Totally not my thing. In fact, we're going for almost the opposite... Hint hint.

After dress shopping, we headed over to Farmhouse. My fiance works in the building almost immediately across the street, and has always commented on how interesting this restaurant looks. I checked their Yelp reviews and then made a reservation via Open Table (which is now integrated into Yelp, yay) right from my phone. Perfect.

We arrived early, with a little time to kill, but they seated us very quickly. The music was perfectly hipster-ey and, at times, a blast of songs I used to binge on in High School. Dispatch's "The General" and The Shins' "New Slang" definitely made an appearance. As did a delicious Gin cocktail that included dill and cucumber. I'm sold.

I had the half roasted Amish Chicken, which I pretty much only ordered because it came with brussels sprouts and cheesy pecan sweet potato grits, both things that are on my favorites list. As expected, it was delicious. And, to top it off, the server wrote the cutest note ever on my to-go box (what, you thought I could actually eat half a chicken?).

What about you?

• What's your favorite restaurant in Chicago?
• How do you feel about mis-matched bridesmaids dresses?