Cantigny Wedding

March 4, 2020

March 4, 2020

Taylor and Austin started planning their wedding in the early summer of 2018 with the anticipated plans to get married at the Drake Hotel in Oak Brook in the fall of 2019. Little did they anticipate, the renovations that were supposed to be done early 2019 ended up taking a toll on their big day. About one month before their wedding, we all started getting a little nervous that the renovations would not be far enough along to be the dream wedding they were thinking about for over a year. Two weeks before the big day, they realized the renovations had not progressed so we had to think quick on our feet.

Cantigny, which was very close to their original venue, was available for their wedding date so after a long meeting and a few deep breaths, Taylor and Austin agreed it would be smart to move their entire wedding. They had a great vendor team behind them; not a single person had an issue with the switch! And they were able to incorporate many of their original design ideas at Cantigny which made the switch less stressful.

I could not have asked for a more perfect couple to go through this last minute switch with. Taylor and Austin are extremely down to earth and understood the fact that even though their entire wedding vision has changed, the change was for the best for their wedding and ultimately was going to give them a better experience overall.

Now lets move onto the flawless and beautiful day they had in September! Taylor and her ladies got ready at her parent’s house in Naperville. Her dad got to watch her walk down their childhood home’s stairs for the first time in her wedding dress and it was a magical moment to be part of.

They headed over to St. Raphael Catholic Church which was the church that Taylor was a member of since she was a little girl. After watching a storm breakout mid-ceremony through the floor to ceiling windows, it happened to pass before the end of the ceremony. A little rain for good luck of course!

After the ceremony, all the guests headed over to Cantigny where the real festivities began. Cocktail hour was full of delicious drinks and a large assortment of warm appetizers. Once guests entered into the reception hall, the sun slowly began to set. Just in time to set the mood for wedding party introductions, some speeches, a cake cutting and the start of the dance party.

If you’ve been following along with our blogs, you might realize we planned Taylor’s sister’s wedding that happened just a few months before Taylor’s big day. Their friend group has a tradition where all the guests are to drink out of a shoe. This wedding did not fall short of that hilarious tradition, where a new shoe was showcased for the beer chugging!

The evening ended with an outdoor sparkler exit and the perfect drink-filling late night snack: pretzels and dip! They had a 4 foot tall board that nicely displayed all the pretzels from Gnarly Knots.

Congratulations once again, Taylor and Austin! Your wedding was one for the books, we will never forget it!