Ceremony and Reception Site
The Rialto Square Theater
15 E. Van Buren Street
Joliet, IL
www.rialtosquare.com
Contact: Trish Stoner
Includes: Venue Rental (stage for ceremony and rotunda/esplanade for reception), Open Bar throughout the Evening, Wine Service for Dinner and Champagne Toast
15 E. Van Buren Street
Joliet, IL
www.rialtosquare.com
Contact: Trish Stoner
Includes: Venue Rental (stage for ceremony and rotunda/esplanade for reception), Open Bar throughout the Evening, Wine Service for Dinner and Champagne Toast
Rialto Square Theater Review: A
The Rialto Square Theater was the most beautiful location for hosting a wedding especially a holiday one. The venue was already equiped with a stunning Christmas Tree, Wreaths throughout the seating area, and garland with lighting along the long marble stair case. The day of the wedding, I could have not have asked for more from their staff that included an onsite manager, A/V Director, Stage hands, security, coat check, bartenders, barbacks and numerous volunteers. Prior to the day of, you work with the Event Coordinator, Trish, to handle the logistics. As the bridal planner, you have to understand this is not a typical resort/catering venue to book with. Almost everything needs to be brought in and there are several restrictions as it is a historical Landmark. I asked hundreds of planning questions throughout the year and received a lot of reasoning why some of my concepts could not come to fruition. Just understand the Rialto KNOWS what works and they will make sure by the week of your wedding that you are in the know. At times correspondance was not as quick as I would prefer, but that is because they are not a wedding only venue. The host many shows and have Rialto Charity events, throughout the year. With one person handling the year's events, you have to respect the lag time. We were fortunate to have the ceremony on stage and this was by far the best decision. How could you not after taking in the ornate beauty and seeing the organist play on that famous organ? I would never change the decision to host my wedding here and glad my little childhood dream of having it at the Rialto came true. Everyone in attendance is still making remarks of the unbelievable beauty. Thank goodness I booked the best photographer and videographer to capture it all.
Note: glassware is not included.
Note: glassware is not included.
Photography
Olivia Leigh Photographie
Fulton Market District, Chicago
http://olivialeighweddings.com/
Contact: Olivia Leigh
Fulton Market District, Chicago
http://olivialeighweddings.com/
Contact: Olivia Leigh
Olivia Leigh Photographie Review: A +++++
I just can not say enough about our photographer without sounding mildly obsessed. Her eye for detail and beauty in things that not a lot of people see, really show throughout her photos. Every photo that you look at on her blog or in your own portfolio makes you want to plaster your home with each and every one of them. To date, we have seen a highlight slideshow of our day which is at this link: http://olivialeighweddings.com/slideshows/abate/ I absolutely cannot wait to see the rest of them. She truly captured each and every candid moment between my husband and I, our family members and in sum provided an artisticly stunning photos that captured the day's sequence of events.
Her background was in fine art which you can see throughout her photo style. She is also the sweetest , most professional person that makes you feel very at ease on a crazy wedding day or during your first photo shoot together during the connection session. I am definitely not the only one that notices her talent as her photos have been featured in numerous magazines. Thank goodness my best friend caught a glimpse of her blog when my now husband I were just engaged. I need a bigger house to host all those lovely wedding photos. It's almost a little sad we won't get to work with her again in the near future, but I hope other brides that value photographer as a top priority for their wedding, get the opportunity to work with Olivia.
Her background was in fine art which you can see throughout her photo style. She is also the sweetest , most professional person that makes you feel very at ease on a crazy wedding day or during your first photo shoot together during the connection session. I am definitely not the only one that notices her talent as her photos have been featured in numerous magazines. Thank goodness my best friend caught a glimpse of her blog when my now husband I were just engaged. I need a bigger house to host all those lovely wedding photos. It's almost a little sad we won't get to work with her again in the near future, but I hope other brides that value photographer as a top priority for their wedding, get the opportunity to work with Olivia.
Wedding Cake
Sweet Tooth Delivery Review: A +
We went with red velvet which was a favorite from the start and Susie did an outstanding job. She put together a few more samples that had holiday flair, but red velvet definitely won. People raved about the cake and some of my family asked for leftover cake on Christmas Eve this year. We did have a box that was in the deep freezer that we whipped out. I shared with her a bunch of concepts for design and she listened to every word and created the perfect little "present" cake with a gorgeous sugar bow ont he top instead of having to get a cake topper.
The Linens
Tabletoppers, Inc.
Waukegan, IL
www.tabletoppersinc.com
Phone: (847) 473-200
Email: [email protected]
Contact: Valerie Barber
Waukegan, IL
www.tabletoppersinc.com
Phone: (847) 473-200
Email: [email protected]
Contact: Valerie Barber
Tabletoppers, Inc. Review: A
Linens need to be brought to the venue; we went with a scarlet red and rich gold theme with linens for all tables and chair covers. Their work is impeccable and I wouldn't have trusted another vendor. Their staff is detailed and made sure everything was 100% to specifications before the wedding. They were even kind enough to do a run to my MIL's house after the wedding to pick up instead of having us drop off before the honeymoon. This is the place if you are looking for high quality linen with a variety of choices.
The Catering
Marie's Catering
Willowbrook, IL
www.mariescatering.com
Contact: Erika Vetter
Phone: (630) 655-3337
Email: [email protected]
Willowbrook, IL
www.mariescatering.com
Contact: Erika Vetter
Phone: (630) 655-3337
Email: [email protected]
Marie's Catering Review: B
Ericka Vetter (Emmett) is one of the most responsive vendors that I have worked with. Any question throughout the planning process was almost immediately answered via email. After months of research and a tasting, we have decided on Marie's Catering, a preferred vendor of The Rialto. This caterer handled The "Brady Wedding" with Adrienne and Chris back in 2006 and continue to cater a lot of the weddings there. I had first thought about bringing another caterer in from another area, but the issue was that the venue (Rialto) had very specific requirements and I definitely need a veteran of the venue to handle this 200+ affair. They are extremely flexible and creative and have worked on customizing are preliminary menu no matter what the request. They actually allowed for us to do a second tasting and we were very specific with the cuisine and service that we wanted for our guests. The taste and product on the wedding day was absolutely perfect! Many people commented that the food was the best "wedding food" they have ever had. I will, however, say that I am disappointed in two things. 1. the temperature of the food was not adequate. I don't know what went wrong, but the beautiful dish was almost spoiled because most of the dishes were at best luke warm and this was at the family tables up close to us. The only forgiveness here is that the facilities at the Rialto are sort of small for food prep and the catering par-cooks the product on the way the. It is very difficult to serve there, but we were expecting what we were promised.. 2. We specifically paid for a 1 per 20 server ratio to insure quick and even food service. I was mortified to look up when I was completely finished eating (30 min passed) to see there were some dinner trays heading out to the guest tables. I do however, feel that the quality of the dish itself probably overshadowed those two points. I just feel a little misled that "everything will be taking care of because we do this all the time" comments made me feel like everything would be perfect. I have a feeling something was not right behind the prep area. Did an oven or warmer go out? Were they short staffed? Did some servers call in? These were all the details that I was not prepared to deal with as the bride and really didn't reflect on until I returned home from honeymoon.
I would book them again if they promised to prepare that exact dish to specifications (as they did a wonderful job with) with the appropriate temperature and confirm even serve time. Ericka and her assistant Jaclyn definitely work well with us and their responsiveness shows throughout the planning process. Again, their food quality, taste, and presentation is a notch above other catering companies.
I would book them again if they promised to prepare that exact dish to specifications (as they did a wonderful job with) with the appropriate temperature and confirm even serve time. Ericka and her assistant Jaclyn definitely work well with us and their responsiveness shows throughout the planning process. Again, their food quality, taste, and presentation is a notch above other catering companies.
Entertainment
Fantasia Band Review: A
Finding a live band for the wedding was probably one of the more challenging pieces of the puzzle. We wanted a 5-7 piece band that played enough variety for our crowd of all ages. After a good 100 emails and finally peaking in on one of their performances, we chose Fantasia. It was a tad more competitive to find a band due to the competing holiday parties in December. In fact, we were lucky to book them as their client booked them 11 years in a row on our wedding weekend date and they changed the pattern.. My H and I planned on playing the "now" music during the 30 minute breaks, cocktail hour and also during dinner. The band learned our first dance "Im Yours"-Jason Mraz and even sent us a demo with new music updates with songs from Black Eye Peas, Lady Antelbellum, and Michael Buble. They knew all the classics, too, and kept people on the dance floor all night. Frank, the main contact, was always a pleasure to work with and did not flinch at all the correspondance I sent before booking and after. We feel that they were the icing on the cake on a perfect wedding day. Having live music during the cocktail hour and after dinner really wow'd the guests. They also played a special memorial song as one of the special dances and did a superb job. As a side note, they do know a lot of Italian songs if you were looking for something like that. The best of this group is that they did not have the arrogance that some other area orchestras/band had when I was doing my initial search. Even thoug this group is incredibly talented, they are very down-to-earth and eager to please the client. It's no wonder they have been successful so over 30 years!
The Dress and Veil
www.crystalbride.com
201 West State Street
Geneva, IL 60134-2255
630-397-5040 (Request Chante)
The Crystal Bride Review: A+
The Crystal Bride in Geneva, IL was the most refreshing bridal shopping experience. Chante was amazing and really could not be any better at her job. She was honest and kind and pulled every gown in the world that I wanted to try. I always new Maggie Sottero had quite a selection and this store covers a the majority of her dresses. I highly recommend this store for a fairy-tale like experience along with a week day appointment. I was parading around the loft of dresses with my red shoes and they treated me as if I was their most important client. They were consistently impressive with the fitting process and really worked hard to please you, the client. On the last fitting, we all got a little teary eyed because we had such a fun time working together.
Wedding Block Hotel
Hampton Inn
1521 Riverboat Riverboat Center Drive
Joliet, Il 60436
(815) 725-2424
1521 Riverboat Riverboat Center Drive
Joliet, Il 60436
(815) 725-2424
Hampton Inn Joliet- I 80: A
The hotel was just recently renovated and all have a "heavenly" fluffy bed type so guests will rest well after a long night of partying. There were a million of these type of hotels in the area because the casino is one of the major attractions in Joliet. After spending a night and "testing" the hotel out, we felt very comfortable in going with this one, only 8 minutes away from the venue. We ran a shuttle (booked separately ) to and from the venue on the wedding day. . The hotel is very clean although they do not offer any suites. That would be the only mentionable item. A full hot breakfast was available for guests as well in the morning. The hotel staff was ALWAYS extremely friendly when we had to call and check on room blocks and do rearranging, etc.. They were also kind enough to hand out welcome bags for all 30 rooms without a charge. Note you get one comp room with the wedding block. We didn't stay there, but I gave my comp to my MOH.
Videography
Studio 272 Review: A + for highlight video
Studio 272 is new to the wedding world, but we are so fortunate Joel was able ot capture our day. His website shows some highlight films of the select weddings (including hours- Matt and Nicole) he did this year http://studio272.com/blog/ . Joel was great to work with because of his love his non-traditional perspective and cinematography style. Joel's focus was on documentaries before moving on to weddings. We are looking forward to the finished product, the long version of our wedding day.
Transportation
Royal Limousines
Contact: Jen, Wedding Specialist
Website: http://www.royalty-limo.com/
Email: [email protected]
Royalty Limousines: A+
Royal Limousines, Inc. is the company we chose for our brief transportation services. Honestly, this was the one area we didn't put too much focus on as the transfer time is brief. Our ceremony/reception is at the same venue so we decided that we just need a means to get there and nothing too fancy. We chose a 10-person stretch limo and received a great deal from the bridal show we attended. We'll need to do two trips to get us to the venue, but we are in agreement with that and focused more on cost savings with this portion of the wedding.
On the day of the wedding, the driver was early and very courteous and respectful the whole day. The office gave out the driver cell phone numbers just in case there were any issues the day of the wedding. The Coordinator, Jen, spent countless hours talking to me about the best possible way to handle transportation. We were toying around with the idea of running limos between the hotel and the venue, but the shuttle ended up working out better for larger seating. After all the price quotes and conversatoins, they were still sweet as pie when booking just the bridal party. I would DEFINITELY use this company again as they are very reliable and that is really the main thing you need when booking bridal party transporation. The model of the vehicle was newer and very, very clean.
On the day of the wedding, the driver was early and very courteous and respectful the whole day. The office gave out the driver cell phone numbers just in case there were any issues the day of the wedding. The Coordinator, Jen, spent countless hours talking to me about the best possible way to handle transportation. We were toying around with the idea of running limos between the hotel and the venue, but the shuttle ended up working out better for larger seating. After all the price quotes and conversatoins, they were still sweet as pie when booking just the bridal party. I would DEFINITELY use this company again as they are very reliable and that is really the main thing you need when booking bridal party transporation. The model of the vehicle was newer and very, very clean.
Photobooth
Chicagoland Photobooth
Contact: Kerry
Website: http://www.chicagolandphotobooth.com/
Email: [email protected]
Contact: Kerry
Website: http://www.chicagolandphotobooth.com/
Email: [email protected]
Chicagoland Photo Booth: A
The photobooth was a last minute booking for us! I am so happy that we stumbled across this website through another Knottie. This company definitely offers the most for your money and were SOO friendly throughout the booking. Because it was a 30-day out booking window, they definitely offered some wonderful concessions to make the booking worthwhile. We even ordered a custom poster to decorate the booth to be a little more vintage and saved SOOO Much money. Some other vintage companies that I was looking at was 3 or 4 X what this company is charging. I'll have to see that this was a huge hit. The booking came with props, the album, 2 copies of each strip with custom logo, and a bubbly attendant to guide all the party kids through the line. If you are pricing out companies, check this one out. I would pick them again just for the service they provided pre-booking and on-site.
Day of Coordinator
La'Di Events Day of Coordinator Review: A+++
Amanda was my savior the day of the wedding. I interviewed several day of coordinators in the area before finding Amanda. I knew from our initial meeting that Amanda had a firm yet friendly work ethic that I admired. She was going to be strong enough to get the job done, organized enough not to miss a beat, and kind enough to make everyone listen to keep us on track. She was the perfect fit for and saw that every single detail, large or small, was covered so I can enjoy every moment with my husband on my wedding day. She was there when I accidentally smudged lipstick on my wedding dress just before the ceremony and came up with solutions when issues like the cake leaning arose. She was there to set out 1,001 DIY items or wedding decor pieces that I couldn't tend to when I was taking pictures. She was the perfect liasion the day of the wedding to handle everything with all the vendors while keeping me smiling the whole time. She was a HUGE tremendous help in packing up all the wedding materials at the end of the night including 20 bags of linen! When my mom couldn't fit all the supplies back in the car, she graciously offered to take them back with her and meet-up at a later date. In sum, she's a polished event planner. I would book her again in a hearbeat and HIGHLY recommend her to anyone looking.
Tuxes
Black Tie Tuxedo (we went to Schaumburg Location)
607 East Golf Road
Schaumburg, IL 60195
(847) 781-8000
Website: http://www.blacktietuxes.com/index-iframe3.asp?page=main
607 East Golf Road
Schaumburg, IL 60195
(847) 781-8000
Website: http://www.blacktietuxes.com/index-iframe3.asp?page=main
Black Tie Tuxedo: A
We visited Black Tie and were impressed by the service off the bat. We heard of so many issues with Men's Warehouse that we just wanted to go a different route. I originally met them at a bridal show and booked an appointment to utilize a discount from the show. I believe it was a free tux for every 6 or something along those lines. H chose the most expensive tuxes-a new Calvin Klein design and the price was still only about $130ish I believe. There were no mistakes with orders and everyone looked fab!
Hair
Livia Caporale: A +++
Livia is probably one of the most gifted stylists in Chicago. I figured that much out by reading all the reviews from various brides when I was researching stylists that would come to the house. I can honestly say I have never felt so beautiful in my life. My family and bridal party had so many stories that they just did not enjoy their professional up-do's or styles whenever they had it done. I told everyone to trust me and just let Liv at them. She made us all look like little holiday Barbies with perfect hair. She was hands down the best I have seen and her warm, bubbly personality just makes the whole experience even better. I knew at the trial back a few months ago, that I can really relax completely about how my hair would turn out. That was a huge relief because who would want to think about that on their wedding day? She gets booked to the gills in the wedding season, so if you are interested definitely contact her soon. I am so happy with the decision to book her. My family and friends still talk about how "we'll all never look that good in our life". ha!
Make-up
Beauty by Brush
Contact: Kimmay Nather
Website: http://www.beautybybrush.com/
Email: [email protected]
Contact: Kimmay Nather
Website: http://www.beautybybrush.com/
Email: [email protected]
Kimmay Nather-Beauty by Brush: A +++
I am so happy that I stalked the Knot.com boards to find this review on Kim. She was another vendor that we were more than pleased with. She is an airbrush specialist which I highly recommend if you wanted a perfect finished look that lasted throughout the entire day. We started getting ready at 7:30AM because we had so many girls getting make-up done and we all looked good at midnight when we left the reception. She made girls that don't normally wear make-up and those of us that do, just look hollywood awesome. Again, same comments as Liv, we do not know if we will ever look so wonderful again without booking their services for another event. Kim was so much fun to have a conversation with and chat with all day with the girls. I recommend getting her to do your engagement photos becuase those turned out fabulous thanks to her as well. I'm with the other Knotties on this one...Kim really rocks!
Florist
Balmes Flower Shop
Contact: Sara Jackson
Website: http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/balmes-flower-shop-north-chicago/website/6f94f60908370c3d.html/
Email: [email protected]
Contact: Sara Jackson
Website: http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/balmes-flower-shop-north-chicago/website/6f94f60908370c3d.html/
Email: [email protected]
Balmes Flower Shop: A +
Sara was instrumental in creating my crazy litte bridal dreams. I was a huge mess at the first meeting trying to explain exactly what I was envisioning with feathers and vintage and a little bit of holiday. Sara spent days and weeks creating the look we were going for on our wedding day. I'll have to admit, that the flowers/pieces at my wedding were definitely memorable and left quite the impression on guests. The exotic flower choices that pulled in my specific request for deep scarlet along with matching feathers really made for perfect decor. She was easy to get in touch with to discuss ideas or changes via email/cell phone. I was completely blown away when I saw my bridal bouqet with black bacarra roses, scarlet calla lilies and white ostrich feathers. It was so glamorous and perfect! She even surprised us on the wedding day with LED lights withing the centerpieces. I'm forever grateful to her for creating the exact look we were going for. Simply beautiful.
Rehearsal Dinner
The Department Restaurant and Lounge
Address: 205 North Chicago Street
Joliet, IL 60432
Phone: (815) 714-2280
Contact: Mandie
Email: [email protected] Website: www.thedepartmentjoliet.com
Address: 205 North Chicago Street
Joliet, IL 60432
Phone: (815) 714-2280
Contact: Mandie
Email: [email protected] Website: www.thedepartmentjoliet.com
The Department Restaurant and Lounge: A-
We decided on the Department right away after seeing it after one of our venue visits. Number one, it was 1 1/2 blocks away so it made for an easy walk right after the ceremony reherasal. I created more of a reception style loungey event in one of their private rooms. The private room had a flat screen tv, ipod hook-up and just a really cool ambience. The walls were brick with contemporary chandeliers hanging throughout. We sampled the food for lunch and knew we would be happy with the quality on site. I had ot ask the server to replenish some of the food one time and had to ask for more chair set-up just before guests arrived, but other than that, everyone really enjoyed themselves. They brought in furniture like couches, tables and high boys to give the room more of that loungy feel. The staff was very courteous and willing to make the party a success on-site. I really enjoyed the on-site manager, Greg. He really wanted to make sure we were happy. I would definitely book here again for another event. We were so lucky to have our private room filled with holiday decor and candles so it was just really impressive walking in!
