The idea of a perfect wedding is different for every couple. But, we all dream of a meticulously planned wedding with the trendiest of wedding themes and of a day with perfect weather. In that case, Karli and Pat were lucky lovers whose wedding took place exactly how they had always dreamed of it. Their home, Chicago, is just perfect in November. The weather in the city is neither too cold nor too hot, making it perfect for weddings. On the 6th, Karli and Pat could hardly stop themselves from being slightly giddy, and extremely happy. The lovebirds had spent a long time planning for their wedding and meticulously decided on the wedding decor, it only made sense that the two wanted to see the product of their hard work! The day of the wedding was planned to a T, with an indoor wedding ceremony held in St Jerome Croatian Catholic Church and the wedding reception party at The Carlisle, and a wedding photo session in a park near the Chinatown. The couple shared a love for an amazingly soft and elegant theme, which is why the two settled on choosing a black and white wedding theme. The couple decided to keep their wedding plans sophisticated and classy, from their wedding dress code to the perfect wedding dinner tablescape. To a brilliant modernistic retro-touch, the couple added bronze as an accent to their black and white theme.

Our Chicago wedding photographers met the two for their getting-ready photos before the indoor wedding ceremony was slated to take place. The couple decided to dress up separately. For their indoor wedding ceremony, the couple had chosen the beautiful St Jerome Croatian Catholic Church as the venue. The church was dressed in pretty white decor, fitting the color combination the couple had already chosen. The indoor decor’s centerpieces were white roses tied delicately with fresh green bouquet fillers. To welcome the wedding guests the couple chose beautiful welcome signage, placed in a white frame and placed around the pews of the church. The frame had a delicate welcome signage message worded in gold lettering and was titled Unplugged Ceremony. To add more charming touches, the couple chose more minimal wedding details, delicate white candles on gold candlesticks. The couple loved a few laughs, which is why they chose a humorous addition to their wedding ceremony. Karli and Pat had chosen to add two decor additions that said, “Don’t worry ladies, I’m still single” and “Uncle Pat, here comes the love of your life.” The couple, later told the wedding photographer that the humorous additions were a part of a running joke between Karli and Pat. 

Keeping things classy, Karli and Pat went their separate ways to get dressed. The two loved each other’s company but wanted to get dressed separately. Karli, however, later confided, that she wanted to see how Pat would react when she walks down the aisle and was looking forward to it. Also, this was the reason why she did not want to have a first look at their wedding. Pat and his groomsmen got dressed in wonderful black and white tuxedoes. The dressing room was filled with laughs and excited chatter. Our wedding photographer took the chance to photograph some dressing room details. The dressing room had black and white details as well. Pat brought a photo of Karli and Pat together, framed in a light brown photo frame. When Pat entered the room, he was excited to get dressed and follow through with the day he had planned with his soulmate. He had carefully placed the photo of him and Karli next to his slim gold watch. He picked up the frame and slightly smiled as he took a moment to appreciate the photo. He put on his black and white wedding tux and paired it with a checkered pocket square, black suspenders, black dress shoes, and an elegant black bow tie. His best friend, a four-pawed happy pooch was dressed in a white-collar and black tie. This good boy was a part of the happy groomsmen tribe too and was photographed generously. Pat posed with his pooch for one of the photos, both of them looking wonderful. Pat told our wedding photographer that he could not imagine getting married without having his best friend, the happy pooch,  by his side. As the boys got dressed, Pat’s father could not help but give his son a hand. With proud eyes and a slight smile, Pat’s father helped Pat put on his cuff links and slightly hugged his son as if to say, congratulations on this new journey of your life. Meanwhile, the girl’s dressing room was just as lively as the boys’ room. The dressing room was adorned with sheer curtains that fluttered with the wind, a bronze balloon signage that said Mrs. Ferro Jones, signifying the combination of both of Karli’s surnames from this day. The bride was dressed in white, even before she put on her elaborate white lace wedding dress, and the bridesmaids were dressed in black. The bride and the bridesmaids had decided against wearing robes and had decided to wear comfortable shorts and t-shirts, a non-conventional way to start the wedding celebrations. 

Karli had an exceptional eye for detail. She had a custom-made bridal hanger for her wedding dress that said, Mrs. Ferro Jones, found dusty blue sandals, which served as her something blue in the wedding and carefully packed her wedding jewelry in a jewelry box. To complete her bridal look she added a beautiful peal clutch as a wedding gown accent. The wedding rings were waiting for the love birds in a white box, with “Love you” delicately sprawled on the see-through section of the box. To maintain synchronicity in the wedding theme, Karli had decided on black bridesmaid dresses. As the bridesmaids were dressing up, our photographer took some details shots of the place. Karli told our photographer that she was not entirely sold on the custom-made wedding hanger at first. But then she realized this could be a wonderful keepsake of the wedding celebrations, and that’s why she decided to get it. She lightly caressed her wedding gown, quietly smiling as she confided that the wedding gown was exactly what she had hoped for it to be, delicate, lovely, and beautiful. As she was dressing up, the bride’s mother stepped in to help her out. The mother of the bride chose a deep blue dress for the day. She helped Karli with the wedding dress. As we were taking some getting-ready photos, the mother and daughter decided to show off their matching tattoos. Both of them had a tattoo that said, “you are my sunshine.” It is always a joyous moment to see a mother and daughter share a strong bond, and even more so if they have matching tattoos. 

Karli finished dressing up by adding the last touches to her make-up. She told us she wanted to have a glowing look but did not want heavy makeup. She chose light make-up and decided to wear dramatic eye make-up, all of which accentuated her natural beauty. Her mother helped Karli with her drop-down pearl earrings. Karli’s bridesmaids helped her with the pearl-laden hair accessory. Adding these last touches, Karli stepped out and climbed down the stairs, looking like a modern-day Cinderella on her way to meet her prince charming! As she did not want a first look photo session with her partner but she still wanted to capture her father’s expressions when he saw his little princess all glammed up. Before finding her father for the first look photos, she posed in front of a bluish-gray brick patterned wall, which made her white wedding ensemble stand out. The father of the bride, clad in the white and black tux, waited with his eyes closed for the bride. Karli crept up to her father, as quietly as possible, shushing everyone as she walked to her father to keep it a surprise. She gently tapped on her father’s shoulder, to let him know that she was there. Her father paused, slowly turning, still with his eyes closed only to open them when he knew he was facing her. Opening his eyes, the father of the bride teared up a little. Taking a moment to appreciate his daughter, he hugged her, kissing her cheek, whispering in Karli’s ear that she looked mesmerizingly beautiful. Our wedding photographer took this opportunity to capture the delicate moment between the bride and her father. 

As Karli hugged her father and posed for a father-daughter portrait, Pat could not stop himself from looking over at the door, waiting. He was already at the altar and was impatiently waiting for his bride to step inside those doors, and walk down the aisle right at that moment. Shuffling his feet, fixing his black bow tie, he waited. As the room filled with the soft whispers of the wedding guests, the light brown doors of the church opened, and in came the bride, arm in arm with her father. She wore a dazzling smile and held a white and green bridal bouquet. The posy bouquet was the perfect mix of white flowers and greenery, fitting the floral decor of the church. When Pat looked at his soon-to-be-wife, he smiled. His breath stopped, momentarily, as Karli walked down the aisle, smiling and her gaze locked on to her soulmate. As she stood next to Pat, he smiled, his eyes hadn’t left Karli since the moment she had stepped into the church. The two knelt and went through the wedding ceremony, finishing their vows and being blessed by the priest, the two were finally married, sealed with a kiss! The white chapel erupted with claps and happiness, as the two sealed their vows! After the ceremony was over, and the two were married, our photographer took a wonderful shot of Karli kneeling and praying or perhaps saying thanks, a secret she did not let us in on. 

After the two were married, the family got together for some photos! The wedding family photos were posed against the backdrop of the church and its altar. With the newly married couple in the center, the parents stood at the sides, with smiles on their faces. Then the groomsmen and the bridesmaids followed suit, posing for a large photo! Our photographer then asked the bride for some bridal portrait poses, with the altar in the backdrop. Looking at his bride posing for some portraits, Pat couldn’t stop himself from wanting to be a part of some photos, so we decided to click some couple portraits as well. As the day settled, and the guests trickled out to go to the reception venue, The Carlisle, the couple, the bridesmaids, and the groomsmen made their way to the Ping Tom Memorial Park for an after-wedding photo session. The park was the perfect spot to have some after-wedding photos because of the vista view of Chicago, the tranquil sight of the Chicago River, and the perfectly manicured gardens, right near Chicago’s Chinatown. The bridesmaids had fun with the bouquet toss photo and gathered around Karli for some timeless photos. The groomsmen posed for a group photo in front of a gray abstract mural with the groom, while the bridesmaids and the bride chose a bright baby-blue flower-laden mural for photos. Taking complete advantage of the renovated Santa Fe railroads here, the bride and groom excitedly posed on the lawns, the playground, near the river, against the remnants of an older time in the park and in front of the city skyline! As the two talked, and laughed, our wedding photographer took some candid couple photos, with Pat and Karli bumping their heads, lightly, against each other, as if to tell each other how happy they were without even uttering a word. 

After a happy wedding photo session, the two left for the reception venue. The reception venue was delicately decorated with black and white wedding colors, with bronze cutlery and chairs. The sweetheart table for the couple was dressed in the same colors, with a floral hoop on the top to decorate the spot. The floral details in the reception venue were the same as their wedding ceremony. Karli and Pat had meticulously added some extra details, every plate was adorned with a small card with a tiny key. The card held a short thank you note with the initials of the couple. The couple took the floor, and danced their first dance, with love and romance in the air. As the couple opened the floor for the guests, they smiled and laughed with their closest and dearests, happy smiles plastered on their faces. While the guests enjoyed the dance floor, Pat leaned on Karli, and gave her a quick kiss on her lips for a photo! With the wedding party going well, our photographer shot some wedding detail photos. The rustic candlesticks had tall transparent glasses filled with water and were complete with white floating candles! The two also had an ingenious idea to add a station to capture their guest's thoughts and wishes. The station had a retro phone, which allowed the guests to lift the receiver, and leave a message after the beep! A white box, almost looking like a post box, with gold borders was placed in the reception to let the guests leave their messages and cards for the couple as well. Right next to it was a basket, with wrapped-up wedding guest favors. As the dancers found their spots, the wedding cake cutting ceremony began! The delicately designed cake was white and adorned with white flowers, similar to the wedding decor flowers! After cutting the cake, Pat and Karli celebrated the moment by kissing each other. The room erupted with congratulations and happy smiles. As the party continued, and the day drew to a close, we couldn’t help but enjoy the company of Karli and Pat. Looking at the love they share, we could only remember  Richard Bach’s words, “A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks,” much like the small key that Karli and Pat had meticulously placed on their thank you cards.