How do you postpone a wedding? How do you postpone a wedding, again? And how do you postpone a wedding AGAIN once you learn that you’re pregnant and the baby is due on the 3rd wedding date?!? These were all questions that I learned to answer alongside Jenna and Ryan, the very first LOLA couple of 2020 who was faced with the challenge of postponing their wedding. Jenna and Ryan were rock stars through the wedding planning process, the postponement process, and the wedding re-planning process, and when December 17th, 2021 came around (1 ceremony, 1 baby, and a whole lot of tears, laughter, anxiety, and tough decisions later) I can assure you it was worth the wait!
For their March 2020 wedding, we had been planning the wedding of Jenna’s dreams, and we were ready to do it up big and be the very first wedding to hit the Grand Lobby of the Old Post Office, but when the decision to postpone due to Covid hit us just 2 weeks before the big day, we had to veer from the plan and a few postponements later, we landed on a gorgeous winter wedding in December of 2021. We didn’t deviate too much from the existing plan – and continued to stay on track with food choices, design elements, and color choices, but with so much time in between the “should have been” date and the “actual” date, we made a few changes for the better.
We were able to enhance our existing, floral forward invitation suite and paper goods which were designed by Steracle Press with additional colorful elements with gilded touches. The ceremony which was once supposed to be at a church pivoted to be on-site at the Old Post Office and featured the longest aisle you’ve ever seen, and that aisle ended up being graced by the presence of the cutest ring bearer who was just a twinkle in mom and dad’s eye the first time around!
Design-wise, the day was breathtaking, as we had always planned. The altar designed beautifully by Brittanie of HMR Designs was adorned with the freshest blooms in shades of blue, purple, and white in an organic, crawling design, and golden candlelight danced along each side the aisle. Drapery and lighting provided by Frost gave us the perfect candlelit glow.
While guests enjoyed their time in the swanky Telegram Lounge, HMR, Frost, and Blue Plate put the finishing touches to the Grand Lobby for the reception which featured the most stuffing overhead floral arrangement you could imagine. It was 24’ x 24’ of pure delphinium, wisteria, and clematis goodness spectacular enough to float above the heads of kings and queens. Tables were made cozy by warm velvet linens from BBJ and gorgeous textured textiles and chairs from Nuage Designs, and gold, geometric chandeliers were thoughtfully spread throughout the space to enhance the existing architectural features of the already golden Old Post Office which we had tied into our paper goods. My favorite part of the space was the lounge we created in the east wing of the Lobby. This wing featured a massive 360 bar with gorgeous floral accents in addition to lounge seating for those guests who needed a break from the dance floor that was rocked by the Chicago Players.
To say Jenna and Ryan were put through the wringer was an understatement, but looking back at their photos artfully documented by Kent Drake and their stunning film produced by Mirar Weddings, I can truly say again that it was worth the wait!
Vendor Team
- LOLA Event Productions: Lavish LOLA Planning Package
- The Old Post Office
- Blue Plate Catering
- ECBG Cake Studio
- BBJ La Tavola Linen
- Nuage Designs
- HMR Designs (Brittanie Ahrens)
- Frost Chicago (Daniela Saporito)
- Kent Drake Photo
- Mirar Weddings
- Steracle Press
- The Chicago Players
- Shutterbooth Chicago
- Christine Trojan
- Anjelica Bannos
- Netta Benshabu
- Mira Couture
- Emanuele Tuxedo
- Signature Transportation
- VIP Valet
