Sarah and Callen had such a romantic, fun wedding that we absolutely loved being a part of! They had perfect weather, the perfect venue, and SO much fun. We were their day-of coordinators and made sure that they and their family and friends were all able to have a good time together. The ceremony and reception both were at Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago, and they were able to get amazing photos like they dreamed.

The weather was about 70 degrees for the whole day without it seeming too sunny or cloudy, and they had no rain on the radar which was perfect for their photo plans. Thankfully, they had a great backup plan of doing everything at the conservatory, but they really prioritized their time together in the morning for their first look, having photos at both the Buckingham Fountain and Garfield Park Conservatory, and getting to dance with their family and friends without worrying about a thing. Sarah said the photos that they were able to have to remember the day meant a lot to her and Callen said that the food was something he was excited about too. We couldn’t wait for their big day to finally get them married and we are so glad they had a nice time!

Sarah and Callen both got ready in the same space at Congress Plaza Hotel. They got dressed separately so that they could still do the first look, but all of the prep generally happened in the same space. It makes it nice and easy for your media team to be able to go from one person to the other that way! We also loved the purple that you’ll see throughout their wedding day in their details - it really was one of the most intentional weddings we have worked in making sure everything was cohesive!

The first look and the photos started off a little behind schedule, but we were able to get things back on track later when they got to Garfield Park Conservatory. They started with a first look with Sarah’s uncle and dad, and then Sarah and Callen got to share their first look together which they were really looking forward to. Because of the space, their family and friends got to witness it too and it was a really sweet moment for everyone.

Both Sarah and Callen’s looks were perfect - we loved how unique and special both Sarah’s dress and Callen’s suit were! We had never seen a dress that had ruching like this and it reminded us of a flower, and then the color of Callen’s suit matching all of their details was amazing. They both looked so sharp and lovely and of course SO happy!

We love sharing their photos as it was one of their highest priorities - they took their trolley to a classic spot and we couldn’t get over how lovely of a day it was for them!

We were on the way to the venue when we heard from Sarah’s side that something went wrong with her bouquet. We were able to take over and fix it by using the inspiration photo, going to a few stores, buying multiple alternatives at Trader Joe’s, and letting them know how to make it better before we met up with them at the venue. Claire, one of our lead coordinators, worked some true magic so that they could use the actual bouquet for their photos while at the conservatory for photos! They even whipped out parasols for the photos and they were SO cute!! We loved too that Callen got to represent the main color for their wedding and they had their wedding party in lighter colors to really bring attention to the couple.

The ceremony and cocktail hour was in the Show House room. One important thing about having weddings at Garfield Park Conservatory is that it’s open to the public until 5pm, which means that some of the setup must wait until then so that outside patrons don’t pick up your decor. Thankfully we were able to take care of that and also direct any early guests to the right place since it’s not typically marked in the lobby where to go.

We planned for a quick ceremony and that we had - by the time that we wrapped up with the photos running a bit behind, we ended up being right on time for when cocktail hour was supposed to start. Sarah and Callen had a family member officiate and they also had a unity tree planting ceremony that was nice and personalized to them as a couple. We thought of course that the tree planting was very fitting to the space, too!

We were setting up their DIY personal decor for the entire cocktail hour while Sarah and Callen spent cocktail hour to themselves in the suite. We had really loved their vision, their direction, the photo of when they first were together, the custom stained glass they had made of their wedding flowers and the piece for their cake topper… EVERYTHING was so intentional and beautiful! And you truly can’t beat the beauty of the Horticulture Hall for your wedding reception. All of the plants make it so easy, and we loved the black and white checkered dance floor to really make it feel ready to party and dance!

The guests were seated and the two grand entrances were lots of fun for the guests to be a part of! Sarah changed into her reception dress and we were ready to kick off the day after the cake cutting, speeches, and first dances.

We definitely took notice of Sarah and Callen’s pure love for each other too. There were just so many moments that felt so tender, even in the fun of it all, that we really loved being a part of. From Callen holding Sarah as we bustled her dress, to them just laughing with each other on the dance floor, they really were looking out for each other and it was really sweet and nice to witness.

The dance floor kicked off and everyone had a GREAT time!! We could tell that everyone was ready to dance and truly the whole crowd seemed to enjoy themselves. We were able to tear down all of their decor and make sure that everyone could enjoy every moment celebrating until the reception ended and Garfield closed out.

Overall, no matter what happened, Sarah and Callen had enjoyed their wedding day together and had such a great time. It was truly a pleasure to see their love story unfold and really soak in the moment of finally being married. We absolutely adored them and we really enjoyed making sure that they could be fully present and focus on the fun of their wedding day. We are so glad to have been a part of such a beautiful wedding day!

The lovely review Sarah wrote about our day-of wedding coordination:

“Rachel and her team exceeded every expectation we had for day-of wedding coordination, because they did SO much more than that. Starting months out from the wedding, they kept us on track during the arduous planning process, and consistently reached out to give us tips, resources, and support. They executed our lofty vision with grace and expertise. Despite a few mishaps and stressful moments, Rachel was able to think on her feet, pivot, and made sure our experience was still fantastic. Thank you all so much for being kind, calm, and organized. It's exactly what we needed for our big day!”