Weddings at Chicago Waldorf Astoria

Your wedding day is YOUR day. That means you decide what stays and goes! And although we love all wedding traditions, sometimes they just aren’t for you. That is what inspired Chelsea Kiely with The Gilded Aisle Weddings to create this vibrant and fun non-traditional styled wedding shoot at Waldorf Astoria in Chicago.

Wedding Venue: The Courtyard of the Chicago Waldorf Astoria

When deciding on the location for this shoot, one place came straight to mind. The courtyard of the Waldorf Astoria Chicago was a perfect spot for your not-so-traditional church or ballroom. It’s circular stone driveway with a stunning fountain in the middle would make for any great wedding and resides in the heart of the Gold Coast area surrounded by Chicago buildings.

Wedding Photography and Cinema Team

The extremely talented Andre LaCour of LaCour images was the first to jump in and couldn’t have produced a better shoot. Lara, with Old North Film Company, delivered stunning video throughout the day, capturing the uniqueness of the Chicago Waldorf Astoria weddings and all the features.

Wedding Dresses

Mira Couture, one of the most fabulous bridal salons in Chicago, provided us with our eye-catching dresses. The first dress was a floral V-neck fitted and flare gown with peplum overlay. The lining of the gown has a subtle polka dot fabric, covered with lace and applique. Our bride then changed into a vibrant pink ruffled dress by Stephen Yearick, perfect for dancing in.

Where would a bride be without her shoes? James Ciccotti, owner of James Ciccotti Bridal Shoes & Accessories, provided several pairs of stunning shoes for our bride to wear. A light pink pump with a peep toe complemented the first dress where we then switched to a more rebellious and high shoe in white to give our pink dress that pop or traditional white.

Jewelry

The jewelry so graciously provided by Ivy & Rose, truly make our bride sparkle. The ride wore a morganite set engagement ring in 14K rose gold with floral embellishments along with a 14K rose gold wedding band with an eternity rose design. To complement the stunning rings, our bride first wore the earrings and necklace watermelon tourmaline set in 14K yellow gold. With the second dress, our bride wore morganites set earrings in 14K rose gold with jacket backs and a pink ombre tourmaline set necklace in 14k yellow gold.

Wedding Day Beauty

Our fabulous beauty team did an outstanding job glamming up our bride! Elise Brill, owner of Leesi B. Artistry and Cosmetics, gave our bride dreamy eyes with layered shadows and layered lashes followed by a heavy smokey eye with bottom lashes added for the second look. Nicci Loiacono, owner of Luxe Brides by Nicci, gave our bride a blown-out bob with bangs for the first dress and a half slicked back pouf for the second.

Florals and Sweets

The fantastic flower cart came together with the help of a few outstanding vendors. The sweet cart was provided by Sweet Carts Rental which was the perfect look for a mix of desserts and flowers. And fit beautifully within the courtyard setting. Surrounding the cart were vases full of bright florals put together by Anthony Gowder Designs giving us true French Flower market vibes. The full look was topped off by the most delicious looking cupcakes and cake created by Sugargoat Bakery. The cupcakes included a variety of fun flavors such as Cheez-It and All The Chocolate. The cake was two tiered with buttercream frosting decorated in a rustic theme, topped with florals.

Wedding Stationary

Lori, the owner of Bijou Events by Lori, created the most colorful watercolor invitations suites that include a hand painted picture of the Waldorf Astoria. To compliment the invitation suites, we created an escort board with a larger version of the impressive hand painted watercolor picture.

Specialty Cocktail

Finally, out signature cocktail, built by Ross, the owner of UnMuddled Bartending, created a bright purple vodka-based drink with eye-catching glitter and floral decor surrounding the glass to tie in our floral theme seen throughout the shoot.