Kate Spade Inspiration at the Adler Planetarium, Courtney & Grant

I was so excited when I began working with Courtney and Grant because they had such a clear vision of how they wanted to celebrate their wedding day. They are both very hard-working and focused individuals, but they wanted to bring their fun-loving spirits to their celebration and that was evident in every aspect of the wedding – from the nod to Kate Spade to the exuberant bandleader and musicians leading the dance floor.

I enjoyed meeting with Courtney and Grant every month at their home to go through the planning checklist and cross items of their list. We had so much fun collaborating on the details and a friendship grew from our time together. Because we met so often at their home, I loved that Courtney chose to get ready at their home and there was much laughter and excitement among all the ladies as they got ready. We then transported all the ladies over to the Intercontinental Chicago so that Courtney and Grant could have their First Look. From there, we did photos around Chicago and Bethany at Maypole Studios captured all of the moments with perfection. I love the iconic La Salle Street photos!

When we arrived at the Adler Planetarium, Food For Thought was busy transforming the reception space for our celebration. The décor provided by Platinum Events was on point with the stately gold urn focal piece for the escort cards and the absolutely lush explosion of neutral florals on the guest tables. The nod to Kate Spade with the cake from Elysia Root Cakes and the stationery items from Magnificent Milestones was the cherry on top of the celebration. Yes, we are still obsessing over these little details!

Courtney and Grant chose to exchange their vows with the city of Chicago in the background and guests were holding back tears during the emotional ceremony presided by Tom Maluga. Guests then enjoyed a beautiful hour outdoors for cocktails – grabbing photos of the Chicago skyline, lounging on a few couches and noshing on little bites like the Buttermilk Fried Shrimp and Braised Beef Beignet. We then invited guests inside for a choice entrée of Dijon Rubbed Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Pan Seared Crab Cakes or Roulade of Chicken Breast from Food For Thought. David Rothstein Music kept guests entertained well into the night and everyone enjoyed the view of the Navy Pier fireworks to cap off the celebration. Congratulations, Courtney & Grant!

Note from the couple:

We had so much fun working with Nicole of LK Events on our wedding for the last year and a half. We decided to hire a full wedding planner due to our busy schedules and the fact that we didn’t know the Chicago wedding market and wanted someone to help us find great vendors within our budget. Nicole did just that. Every single vendor she suggested was AMAZING and all within our budget; there is no way we would have found them all ourselves. It was also evident what a great relationship Nicole had with them and how much they enjoyed working with her too, which made the experience that much more positive. Nicole was always willing to work around our schedules and meet us at our house, which helped us immensely. She was extremely responsive and was great about keeping us updated on our budget all of the time. I also loved how she was genuinely invested in us and our wedding vision and made so many great suggestions for us along the way (she made up the perfect hashtag, came up with a really cute way to display our place cards, helped us put together our ceremony, etc). She also has so much wedding experience and was able to navigate us through many decisions we had to make or to determine what the right wedding etiquette even was! It was so rewarding to always have that sounding board and to have someone you trust guiding you through.

Nicole truly shined though the day of! She had an insanely detailed schedule to keep us all organized and was always there making sure we were on track and no detail was missed. She was even, on the fly, able to sew one of my bridesmaids into her dress (who accidentally ordered it two sizes too big and wasn’t able to get it taken in)! I was stunned at how well she did it – you couldn’t even tell! There was no issue Nicole couldn’t solve. Above all else, Nicole is dedicated, patient and kind no matter how stressful the situation. It was such a delight working with you Nicole, thank you for everything!!!