Chicago Traditional Wedding with a Candid Flair

On Wednesday of last week, my wife and I made our way from Northern Michigan down to Chicago, Illinois for my Weekend Wedding in Wilmette with the Wedding Reception in Northern Chicago.

We stayed at Hotel Monaco on the Chicago River. Hotel Monaco is a boutique style hotel and it is fantastic! We loved the room and the location was perfect for walking and seeing all of the downtown sites.

St. Joseph Catholic Church, Wilmette, Illinois

The Saturday Wedding was located at St. Joseph Church in Wilmette, Illinois and officiated by Bishop Francis Kane. It was a beautiful ceremony at a fantastic church with a lot of history and charm. The family had to pull some huge strings to get the Bishop to marry Patricia and John, and they were glad that he did!

St. Joseph Catholic Church has a bunch of areas immediately outside the church for fantastic Wedding Photography. The trees are mature and the flowers are blooming too. The landscaping is well kept for wonderful images. Lucky for us the weather was relatively cool too!

Monastero’s Ristorante and Banquets Wedding Reception Chicago, Illinois

The Wedding Reception was held at Monastero’s Ristorante and Banquets on Devon in Northern Chicago, Illinois. They had free valet parking for all of the guests which was very fast and easy. Everyone enjoyed the ease of parking. The banquet hall was nice and simple with lots of room for the 125 guests that attended. The dance floor was large and accommodated everyone that wanted to dance. Food was served family style and had a bunch of courses. Maria Monastero is the Wedding Coordinator and she was extremely accommodating too. Check this place out if you would like a beautiful Northern Chicago Wedding Reception and great food.

Northern Chicago Wedding Vendors

The Photography was completed by Paul Retherford Wedding Photography and can be seen at http://www.printsbypaul.com/patriciajohn

Wedding flowers were beautifully done by Morning Glory Flower Shop; on time delivery, and a very nice owner too. You can’t say enough about on time delivery and set up on a Wedding day. 30 minutes late can mean the difference in making hundreds of memorable Wedding images with flowers in the image. The Wedding party enjoyed the flowers and they were all impressed with how lively and fresh they looked and smelled. I would recommend Morning Glory Flower Shop for all of your Northern Chicago Weddings.

There was a family friend capturing amateur Wedding video during the event.

The Wedding DJ was Kerry Kapica the owner of Entertainment Express. Kerry is a perfect fit to any situation and his attitude and demeanor flowed right in line with my style of photography. He kept the dance floor going until the lights went on and I thank him for all of the incredible dance images that I made during the evening. I hope to work with you Kerry in the near future!

Thank you to all of the family and friends from the entire evening. Everyone was awesome and I felt at home doing what I do best. I hope to see you all in a future Wedding down the road! Enjoy your images!