If you’re local to Chicago, and looking to add elements of personality and a unique theme to your wedding decor, it’s as easy as creating an Inspiration Board to pin the style, colors, and special ideas that speak to you, and sharing that with us. If you’re contacting us from a distance, we basically ask for the same thing, and are happy to correspond with you by email, or phone. From there, we are able to give you ideas of what we have available, and what kind of packages we can create for your event.
We had the absolute joy of coordinating rentals and styling for Summer and Craig's wedding reception at Row 24 Events, Chicago, and we want to share a little about the process with you. Summer contacted me nearly a year before their wedding reception, all the way from Oakland, CA! Upon finding Row 24 Events, she was thrilled with the open, warehouse-style of the Venue, as well as exposed brick and vintage feel. With this in mind, we worked together on design for a Lounge Seating package, Sweets Table package, Guest Sign in package, and tabletop décor for all the high boys.
When asked, Summer graciously told me a little bit about their love story, and it’s too sweet not to share it with you. Craig and Summer met while she was visiting a friend in the Bay area, and upon moving to the San Francisco area a few months later, she decided to ask him on a date! In her words, “we realized we had a deep connection with each other that we just had never experienced before. It was magical.”
After a few years of living their best life, adopting a dog, and buying a house, they both knew that being married to their best friend was what they wanted, and they pretty much proposed to each other! It may not have been the proposal she had envisioned as a young girl, but it was the perfect proposal for them and their relationship!
Planning a big wedding was out of the question, so Summer began to look for venues that were intimate, and that could be just about them and those closest family and friends. Eventually, they decided on a semi-secret elopement, to Paris. Following their beautiful elopement wedding, they enjoyed their honeymoon in Europe, and then returned to Chicago for their reception.
Summer knew that she wanted to include vintage elements into the décor, and found Elements Preserved. In Summer’s words, “Beth was an angel sent from above. She helped me with so much of the planning process and understood the difficulty of planning our reception from across the country, and stood beside me (figuratively), for a year planning out this day with me.” “By helping me decide on a theme and the perfect rentals based on our venue and guest count, she took so much stress off my plate. I was able to go to Europe and enjoy my elopement and honeymoon with minimal worry, knowing Beth had my back. She worked well with our day-of-coordinator, Lauren, from Naturally Yours Events, and together they were able to design our perfect party.”
Summer’s suggestion for those planning weddings and special events was simple: “focus on what really matters to you, and leave the rest to the pros. Hire a coordinator or planner, get tasty food, and good music. The rest will work itself out. (Oh, and hire Elements Preserved, of course).”
When asked what she found beneficial or important about her experience with Elements Preserved, Summer shared the following: “Despite my wedding being nearly a year ago, I still keep in touch with Beth; that’s how much I enjoyed working with her. Yes, you could hire those big-name rental companies to rent from, but if you want personal attention and a special touch, you go to Elements Preserved. It’s a completely different experience.”
We hope you enjoy the love that’s so evident in the photos captured by By Mari Photography. We set up a #sweetstable, using our Post Office Table, Tasso, and styled it with vintage milk glass serving pieces. Sweets were provided by Bang Bang Pies. Creating a sweets table is always a great way to focus on adding something special to the dessert selection, and we used eucalyptus stems, and gold geometric vector vases scattered throughout the table. A variety of pizzas from Wooden Paddle were available for guests throughout the evening, as well.
For the guest sign in area, we styled our Baroque Bar, with vintage leather suitcases, old books, a vintage demi-john, and Brass Candlesticks, all part of our vast inventory. The theme for the night was clear – one of love, travel and adventure with a vintage vibe!
The Lounge seating area was filled with guests pretty much all night, and included our cozy Regal Red Chesterfield, with coordinating leather chairs, bench, Nutting Industrial Cart, accented with Brass Candlesticks, more leather suitcases, a vintage radio, and beautiful leather vintage books! We have many Lounge packages to choose from at Elements Preserved, and here are just a few more to take a look at our Rental Packages.
Craig and Sumer’s beautiful wedding cake was displayed on our small white table, Alabaster, complete with life-like depictions of themselves and their furry family. It was a stunning creation from Sugar Fixe, with dripping gold and fresh fruit. We used our gold pedestal cake plate to hold the wedding cake.
All in all, it was a night to remember! Thanks for hosting, Row 24 and thanks for choosing us for your rentals and styling, Craig and Summer!
Vendors
Planning: Naturally Yours Events
Cake: Sugar Fixe
Desserts: Bang Bang Pies
Pizzas: Wooden Paddle
Photography: By Mari Photography
Venue: Row 24 Events
Rentals and Styling: Elements Preserved