Bride and groom holding and smiling at each other against a white wall as a background

Brigid and Zach truly was one of the best parties we have ever had the pleasure of working! They celebrated their love with all of their favorite people in August on truly the PERFECT day - it was 75 degrees and from start to finish it was a blast with their ceremony and reception at The Crawford in Naperville, IL. We were there for day-of coordination so that they could have fun with their family and friends.

Brigid and Zach spent their entire day at The Crawford to really make sure things were as easy as possible. The Crawford is one of the only venues where it actually makes sense to have your hair and makeup start there and you really can have two separate spaces from each party of the couple. They both emphasized that they wanted the ceremony to be meaningful and sweet, but the reception was supposed to be fun without their families stressing and running around on the wedding day.

Bride popping champagne and bridesmaids all surrounding her and cheering in white and champagne satin getting ready pajamas — Brigid had a great time with her girls and the guys were in the Billiards room where they could play pool and relax together! It is such a large venue that is split into sectioned rooms that make it easy for everyone to stretch out and enjoy themselves.

Their details for the day all screamed modern and sleek - which pairs perfectly with the venue they selected. We always tell couples looking for wedding venues that The Crawford is the modern bride’s dream come true - the clean, sleek space works perfectly with so many styles but the classic, elegant feel that Brigid and Zach created worked perfectly!

wedding invitation vows perfum rings and jewelry flatlay details shot on top of veil

Bride standing against hallway wall showing back of her flowing white wedding dress — Brigid’s dress really was something special - we loved the length of the train, the flow-y material, and the style. It definitely was a showstopper and we absolutely adored it!

Brigid and Zach had mentioned a first look from the start of our time together - they knew that they wanted to get that moment together and then be able to get all of their photos done before the ceremony so that they could actually enjoy cocktail hour together. Zach’s reaction to seeing Brigid for the first time was also so incredibly sweet, we are really glad they had that moment together! Brigid also did a first look with her dad and her family got a sneak peek of that one - it was all such a sweet start to the day.

bride and groom crouched down with golden retriever dog in the middle all looking at camera and smiling — Brigid and Zach’s dog Winnie was able to make an appearance! They took some photos before the ceremony with Winnie briefly and then he said his goodbyes - we always love when you can incorporate your pets into your wedding day!

About an hour before the ceremony, someone knocked over a pedestal and the flower vase on it broke. While we did have a backup of using a smaller floral arrangement for the empty pedestal, the couple didn’t love how it looked - we were able to run to the nearest Michael’s and replace both vases so they matched. With the distance of the Michael’s we were able to replace the florals and line up the processional with 2 minutes to spare.

Once the processional got started, one of the bridesmaids mentioned she had a veil to put in that we didn’t know about. We had to run through the venue, find it in the suite, run back to the processional area, and put the veil in before it was the bride's turn to walk.

The ceremony itself was actually only about 20 minutes! They had Brigid’s godfather officiate and he did a lovely job. The personalized vows were also really sweet and emotional - we love couples that you can just tell are so in love!

Wedding ceremony with bride and groom holding hands

Brigid’s parents had a little surprise planned for a treat during cocktail hour with a tray of Mike ‘n Ike’s and a little story to go with that - it was a really cute moment between Brigid and Zach’s dad when they talked about how they might get married many years ago.

Most people actually were on the patio for cocktail hour because of how nice the weather was! Winnie was featured on the custom cups the couple provided and after Brigid and Zach had some private drinks and appetizers together, they got to join cocktail hour and mingle with all of their favorite people. They knew they wanted to spend the night on the dance floor so it was the perfect opportunity to have face time with their guests! The reception space also looked incredible - we absolutely love that the venue itself looks incredible no matter how much you add! Everything was running perfectly on time, and after the couple got to do a room reveal, we got ready for the grand entrances early!

Full reception room shot with tables, chairs, decor, and salads on tables

The grand entrances with the wedding party got everyone pretty hyped and excited for the rest of the evening! They genuinely wanted to have fun with it and each do a little choreographed thing before taking their seats - a lot of wedding parties are nervous about this, but this crowd was the perfect crew to have for a grand entrance before dinner got started! Brigid and Zach had their first dance before dinner to kick things off too.

During dinner, Brigid did a bouquet dedication to her mom and it was so incredibly sweet. We caught her mom shortly after and she held up the bouquet so proudly saying, “she gave me her bouquet!” and it truly melted our hearts. It really was such a sweet and loving gesture that we think more couples will do in the future too.

The speeches were incredibly quick, which doesn’t happen often! We know that Brigid and Zach really wanted to get to the dance floor though, so we emphasized that you’ll really want to set a time limit for each speaker prior to the wedding day. Thankfully, everyone was listening to that as well! The couple got in some sunset photos on the patio, and then the open dancing kicked off.

You never have to get a reception dress, but when you do, you are surely going to have a great time on the dance floor!

Before Brigid and Zach hit the dance floor, they went through the Billiards room for the CUTEST photos!! These are some of our favorite in the album - super modern with the flash photography and they looked great!!

The DJ did an AMAZING job mixing music - the crowd filled the dance floor the whole night. We know this group was ready to party from start to finish, but we rarely ever see a dance floor so full!! They were surely having the night of their lives and dreams and we are so thankful that they were able to have as much fun as they pleased.

We truly couldn’t get enough of Brigid and Zach - their wedding was picture-perfect, and the vibes were even better. We are so thrilled that they were really able to soak in every moment - their first look, their time with Winnie, their sweet moments like the vows and the bouquet dedication, and all of the time on the dance floor. It was such a joy to be able to see how much fun they had from start to finish, and Megan their photographer did such a spectacular job capturing that joy radiating from the couple and their family and friends!