Mara and Pat’s New Year’s Eve Wedding at Venue SIX10 was quite the way to ring in the New Year! One may often think twice about taking on a holiday wedding, but when I met Mara and her mom, also named Pat, I knew this was going to be worth missing whatever New Year’s Eve plans I could have made. I won’t lie though, once dancing started, I really wished I were a guest instead of the planner!
Mara and her mom came to me with a good amount of planning well underway. They had formed a strong vendor team with Alice Millar Chapel, Venue Six10, Talk of the Town, and were in the process of booking the wonderful husband and wife photography team, Pen Carlson. We jumped right in to focus on all things design and catering related. Blue Plate blew the couple away during the tasting and Mara, Pat, and their families were so excited about their menu, they also opted to host their rehearsal dinner at Blue Plate’s Larkin Hall.
When it came time for design, Mara came armed with inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest. The goal was to create something a little more visually interesting than your standard round tables covered in linen. Based on Mara’s inspiration photos, I knew HMR would be a perfect match for her style. Mara and Pat were particularly inspired by a design that includes white rectangular tables that created a “zig-zag”or “snake” pattern through the reception space. We played off of this to fit within Venue Six10 and it created a wonderful dinner party vibe with guests gathered around long feasting tables. The tables were adorned with a rich green garland, lots of candlelight in various heights, and chargers with “bow tie” napkins for a nod to the traditional black tie attire for New Year’s Eve. From the atrium above, it looked like the candles were floating and just had the most magical vibe. To give another nod to the holiday, Frost projected a large clock on the dance floor about to strike midnight. This was definitely one of the most popular design aspect of the night!
The evening went off without a hitch. For the end of December, the weather was surprisingly mild with just a little bit of rain (which stopped in time for everyone to head to church!). The reception was buzzing from the get go. Guests excitedly picked out their New Year’s Eve hats, tiaras, and noisemakers and were ready to party for the rest of the night! Heartfelt, funny speeches had the crowd laughing and were followed by some killer dance moves from the brideand groom. Come midnight, the dance floor was packed and the champagne was flowing! The Navy Pier fireworks could be seen from the reception space and was the perfect way to wrap up the night and ring in 2019.
