Wedding | Sarah & Adam

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Adam and I have been together for 4 years. On our first date we bonded over the fact that we both liked the same "boring" things. Adam told me about his love of reading, I told him about my love of spending time with friends. We had known each other about 6 months before we went on our first date and within a month, we both knew we wanted to marry each other. Our relationship is a lot of time spent together with our dog Sailor, plotting the next place we will travel, and planning the opening of a sailing school when we retire.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We decided in the most roundabout way possible. We had originally planned to marry where we got engaged, at my aunt and uncle's beautiful home in Virginia Beach Virginia. Circumstances changed and we had to pivot after having already booked several of our vendors.

We agreed that we had to make it completely different from our original summer wedding on the coast. So that's what we did!

We settled on where we met, fell in love and live, Chicago! Our favorite city! The boat we were married on was a boat we passed hundreds of times. It was docked on a canal behind the apartment I lived in when Adam and I started dating. We would walk our dog Sailor along the canal to the lake, we would pass the boats and talk about how sweet it would be to get married on them one day. It unfolded in a very serendipitous way.

How many guests did you have?

We had 58 guests. We wanted to be able to look out when we were saying our vows and know the beautiful faces looking back at us knew who we both were, knew our love and loved us just as much as we love them. We also wanted to be able to talk to all our guests, which was still challenging with the happy chaos of the day! I don't know how people with large weddings do it!

What was your budget?

Our budget was about 50k.

Tell us about your outfits.

We met our match in each other in the wardrobe department. Adam is just as much of a clothes and shoe horse as I am. We both knew we wanted something unique and still timeless.

I wanted things that didn't scream bride which proved a little challenging. I ended up in Sarah Seven because her dresses made me feel stunning. Candy was the last dress I tried on, I hadn't had an emotional reaction to any dress until that one. It reminded me so much of my mom who is no longer with us. The pearls were an ode to her. My veil was my something borrowed from my dearest friend.

All of Adam's pieces were custom and I didn't see them until the day of! He wanted to surprise me as much as I wanted to surprise him.

My reception dress was a Georgia Hardinge dress. It was the first piece I purchased for our wedding.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

We both felt like our wedding day was not actually about us, our love and relationship could not be what it is without the people that moulded and shaped us. This day was a love letter to them. We wanted our wedding day to feel authentic to us. We wanted everyone to feel like they were getting an experience, not just a ceremony and reception. We wanted it to feel less like a wedding and more like a day long party with our favorite people in the world. And the food and drinks had to be top tier (and they were!).

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

Good food, good people and good weather! We were 3 for 3!

Any tips for couples getting married?

If you have a smaller budget, be inspired by it! I'm not diminishing 50k as a low budget, we certainly had a lot of help from our family and close friends who were vendors. It was hard to find venues that fit our budget, but ultimately it forced us to be creative.

Ask for help…I had to ask for a lot of help on the day of because we didn't have a day-of coordinator. Our friends and family really stepped up to make the day run smoothly.

Use as many small businesses as possible! It was important for us to tap into our deep bench of resources and talented friends. It made our day feel that much more special. They were also more willing to work with us on our budget restrictions.

Ditch traditional.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Huge shout out to:

Our photographer, Bradley Moss. I look over our photos almost every day. He is beyond talented, calm, cool and had a way of capturing our day that was surreal

Stuart Anderson, owner of Trumbull Tables. She designed the boat for our big day and it was SWOON worthy. It truly made the day feel like we were floating in a French garden.

Gilt Bar and the Hogsalt team were unreal. People are still talking about the service and food. Unmatched. We plan to celebrate all our anniversaries there.

Coco Schramel and Lus Floral…mind blowing how talented they are. I trusted them so much, I just gave them a color pallet and I said "do your thing". I walked in and I cried, I could not believe how lucky we were to have our reception look and feel romantic and moody. Perfection.

Sweet Syleste is my soul sister! She is an incredible self-taught baker who comes up with flavors that are inspired by her southern low country roots and…she takes made with love to a new level.

Photographer: Bradley Moss @bradley_moss | Planning & Styling: by the couple | Flora: Coco Schramel 

@cocoschram_studio & Lus Floral @lusfloral (Reception), LaSalle Florals @lasalle.flowers (Bouquet & Boutonniere) | Ceremony Location: Chicago Line Cruises @chicagolinecruises | Reception Location: The Library at Gilt Bar @giltbar | Celebrant: Courtney Bante | Makeup Artist: Ronnie Wozniak  @rw.brow

andmakeup | Hair Stylist: Kara Gazzo @kara_gazzo @merakiroomchicago | Catering & Beverages:  Happy Lobster @happylobsterchi (Boat), Gilt Bar @giltbar (Reception) | Cake: Sweet Syleste @sweetsyleste | Stationery: Minted @minted | Wedding Designer & Florals: Trumbull Tables 

@trumbulltables | Wedding Dress: Sarah Seven @sarahseven | Reception Dress: Georgia Hardinge

@hardingegeorgia | Suit: Loring Label | Veil: Bride's Something Borrowed | Wedding Rings: (Bride) Heirloom & Marrow Fine @marrowfine, (Groom) Blair Weiner Designs @blairweinerdesigns