So - I am starting this blog approximately 6 months after getting engaged to the love of my life. We have talked about having a Gatsby, 1920's themed wedding for years... and now we are making it happen!
I have started to see the 20's theme grow in popularity in magazines and online blogs (mostly because of the new Gatsby film that is coming out this summer) but that doesn't mean it has been easy to find places, dresses or decorations that fit the theme and my budget.
I have decided to share some of my findings and tips to anyone planning a vintage wedding!
Today is all about...
THE | VENUE
Finding our venue was probably the hardest part (so far) because we really didn't want to have our wedding at a basic banquet hall. We started our search by looking at places in the city of Chicago that had the unfinished, "speak-easy" look with brick walls. We did find a few places that had this look - but they were either...
A | way beyond our budget
or
B | within our budget... but we would have to use outside vendors for tables, catering, liquor, etc which would put us over budget.
Obviously not everyone has our budget and these places may work for you - so here are the Chicago venues we found:
gallery 1028 (chicago)
I have attended one wedding at this venue as a guest, and it was beautiful... plus the food & service was wonderful. I do know you have to use the venue's catering company and cannot bring in your own.
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| photo credit: some things happen | via flicker |
skyline loft (chicago)
A really lovely space - but we didn't hear back from them about pricing or availability until after we had already chosen a venue.
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| photo credit: www.skylineloft.com |
ravenswood event center (chicago)
We were very, very interested in this space right off the bat... however after sending many emails and attempting to call multiple times without any response, we decided to forget it. I mean - if we couldn't get a hold of them now, what would happen later on when we needed to get a hold of them to discuss details & plans?
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| photo credit: www.ravenswoodeventcenter.com |
We decided to try looking in the suburbs - but had no luck finding this style of venue outside the city limits.
So we tried changing our game plan to mansion-type venues in the suburbs. There are some very beautiful venues - unfortunately none of these could fit our amount of guests!
Here were some of our favorites:
The Narnia Estate:
This venue is stunning. It has amazing gardens & the interiors of the mansion are beautiful. Our problem with this venue was the number of guests. We had too many to hold the wedding in the mansion itself and would have to have the reception in the white tent - which is also very pretty - but not the look we were going for.
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| photo credit: theenchantedestate.com |
The Wilder Mansion
We had the same issue here - beautiful space, but couldn't fit all of our guests in one space for the reception.
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| photo credit: wildermansion.org |
After no luck finding a speak-easy venue... and striking out looking for a mansion venue, we finally decided to look at more traditional venues/banquet halls. Most of them I refused to even go look at in person just based off the photos - completely outdated, terrible carpeting that was either too busy or had clashing colors for our theme......and then finally, we found:
The Seville (streamwood)
The service is amazing! They responded to our request right away and worked with us to create a package that included everything we were looking for at a reasonable cost! They also set up a lovely tasting before we signed the contract so we could make sure we were happy with the food quality... it was amazing!
They do a great job updating their space and keeping it fresh while maintaining a classic look. The decor (and carpeting) is all in neutral tones so whatever colors you choose for your wedding won't end up clashing - major plus!
They offer additional features like "up-lighting", chivari chairs, a bridal suite, martini bar, champagne toast, sundae bar and so much more!
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| photo credits: theseville.com |
Now that we had our venue booked - the next task on our list was...
THE | BAND
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