Simple, Elegant Wedding at St. Christina and Marriott Southwest at Burr Ridge Wedding Feature: Laura and Domenic
Laura and Domenic had a perfect and fun wedding that we are so thankful to have been a part of! We were their day-of coordinators to make sure they could actually enjoy themselves and they surely had a great time! Their ceremony was at St. Christina Parish in Chicago and the reception was at Chicago Marriott Southwest in Burr Ridge.
Laura is the third and final Murphy sister that we have had the pleasure of working with and we had such an amazing time rounding out the year with them again in September. The weather was pretty perfect overall despite it being chilly in the morning, but everything turned for the better when it was time to be outside for the day! Laura and Domenic both prioritized a fun, easy day where they followed a lot of the same structure as her sisters. They had almost exactly the same roster of vendors for each wedding, which really made is feel like they trusted all of us to provide a perfect day like they dreamed of!
The couple got ready at each of their parents’ homes, which were conveniently not too far from the church for the ceremony. We loved the sage green details, the photo album the ladies made for Laura, and all of the joy from start to finish!
Laura did a first look with her dad and with all of her bridesmaids before they went on their way to the ceremony. We always love this moment and it’s always so sweet!!
Laura and Domenic opted to not do a first look before the ceremony and saw each other for the first time down the aisle at the church. The church was the same church that her sister Danielle got married at but it still felt personal to them with the joy that they had. We loved too that they did a bubble exit after the “I Do’s” and the wedding party was on their way for photos in between the ceremony and cocktail hour!
We would say about half of our couples still opt to not do a first look before the ceremony. If the ceremony is at a church, you often have to pick from their available times in the morning and afternoon and often it’s pretty early, which means that a first look before the ceremony means that you have a lot of time to kill in between the ceremony and cocktail hour anyway. Either way, it worked out well for the wedding party to take photos after the ceremony and join some of their cocktail hour!
Laura and Domenic took their wedding party to the Naperville Riverwalk since it was mostly on the way to their reception space and was definitely a beautiful spot! Laura got a few extra shots with her sisters, wedding party and grabbed the main couple’s portraits at this time too. They were really excited though to get to the reception and get the party started, so it was only a matter of time before they were on their way to the hotel!
We absolutely loved how green the outdoors was this time of year - early September is such a beautiful time for a wedding as you could tell!
Laura and Domenic had some DIY elements with their candles that they brought in themselves, but the centerpieces were all from their florist. They had over 200 guests, so we tried to keep it minimal and simple with what they had for us to set up. We thankfully had just enough time to get everything ready for when the cocktail hour had been finished up and the reception would begin!
Domenic also had made the welcome sign with their family’s wedding photos and they had some personalized details that we love! The cocktail hour napkins with their dog’s face on them and the little pup for the cake that we put on the cake. It’s always nice to have touches like this and things like live music for the cocktail hour are all things your guests will love! Cocktail hour was indoors and outdoors on their patio and in their lobby bar area and the guests seemed to really enjoy the ability to move within both areas.
Once the reception kicked off, we cruised right through the grand entrance, cake cutting, and first dance. Dinner pretty much started on time too so we were all doing well by this point! This is also when most of our couples start relaxing and can really sit back and enjoy themselves too.
Once dinner was wrapping up too, we had the classic parent dances and then a surprise dance with Laura, her sisters, and her mom that was filled with joy! It was such a sweet moment and a great way to appreciate her mom on her wedding day.
Right before we kicked off the dancing though, the photo and video team brought Laura and Domenic outside for some sunset photos. They didn’t take too long though because after we found their veil for them and popped the champagne, they were ready to party with their family and friends!
The photo booth was definitely a hot spot in the lobby during the reception too. We are always glad when we see the couple utilizing it too - not just their family and friends!
The dance floor was full the whole night with everyone really loving the LED foam glow sticks. The whole family and all of their friends spent most of the remaining time on the dance floor while we packed up their personal items into the hotel storage room. It was definitely a night to remember!
Overall, Laura and Domenic were so happy from start to finish which is definitely our goal as wedding coordinators. We made sure that they didn’t have to worry about logistics and details and really could soak up every moment together with their family and friends. We were so happy to see how happy they were the whole day and it was truly a pleasure being a part of all three of the sisters’ weddings!
Firmly Rooted Events
If you’re looking to have a wedding where you can focus on the fun and not on the details, reach out to us at our contact page and we would be happy to help you have a great time on your wedding day!
Vendor Credits:
Ceremony: St. Christina Catholic Church
Reception: Chicago Marriott Southwest at Burr Ridge - @marriottburrridge
Photo: Krystal Richmond Photography - @krystalrichmondphoto
Video: Joe Mantarian Creative - @joemantarian
Coordination: Firmly Rooted Events - @firmlyrootedevents
Hair: The Niche Beauty - @nichebeauty.bykaedi
Makeup: Denise Makeup Artistry - @denisemuartistry
Florist: Catherine’s Gardens - @catherinesgardens
Ceremony Musicians: Moeller Music - @moellermusicevents
DJ/Photo Booth: Tone Productions - @tone.productions
Dessert: The Baking Institute - @thebakinginstitute
Transport: ChiTown LimoBus - @chitown__limobus
