Illinois grants Civil Unions!

Tomorrow is a big day for the gay community in Illinois - the new civil union law will take effect, affording same-sex couples the same rights as married couples for the first time. 

 The Cook County Clerk, David Orr, says he is very excited for this momentous occasion. The Clerk's office will be opening early and throwing a bit of a party for all of the excited couples coming in to obtain their licenses. "I'm thrilled this day has finally come," Clerk David Orr said. "This will be a joyous day for all couples - gay and straight - who want to make history as part of the inaugural group of civil unions."

Governor Quinn said, "Today is an important day in the history of our state, because today we are showing the world that the people of Illinois believe in equality for all."

The girls of AELO are proud to be Illinoisians today. We are so lucky to have people in positions of power who continue to openly support and push for equality for everyone.

this should clear up this dreary Wednesday.

In August, AELO will be coordinating an event for one of our favorite MOB's out in Gurnee. At a meeting last night, Barb let us know that a highlight reel from Jamie and Kevin's wedding existed - thank you Michael Hendzel at Hendzel Productions!  It's gorgeous.


Jamie + Kevin Highlight Reel from Hendzel Productions on Vimeo.

The soundtrack is Valencia by The Decemberists, the couple's favorite band. Pay attention to 1:45 where they almost kiss during the ceremony when they weren't supposed to! Their faces were priceless. 

So so wonderful. Jamie and Kevin, we wish you all the best and congratulations on the house!

Joanna + Brant - 4.3.11

The Chicago History Museum provided a gorgeous backdrop for Joanna and Brant's April 3 nuptials. We had such a wonderful time with this wedding - thank you to Nick Gerber at Gerber and Scarpelli for your amazing photos!

Pre-ceremony, the foyer

Pinning the bout on is serious business! Here is Amy with Brant's stepfather.

And Carolyn with groomsman Keith - yes! That Keith! It was so good to see those newlyweds.

The first meeting. That look on his face. She looked amazing.

Signing the Ketubah (or as Brant would call it, the Ketubahmahbah).

A few shots pre-ceremony - love the bouquets by Marco!

The ceremony was lovely and performed by Joanna's adorable, wonderful grandfather.

We flipped the room (well, we helped the FFT army flip the room) during cocktail hour and it turned out lovely!

We loved the blue lanterns from Pier One!

Each table was assigned a piece of art and the escort cards were bookmarks with the corresponding piece. Brant designed them all. It was such a creative way to do the seating!

The reception begins!

First Dances:

Our first Hora experience! So much fun!

And the dessert table is open. Delicious.

Some beautiful late night shots: 

Brant and Joanna, we absolutely loved being a part of your beautiful wedding! We hope your marriage is full of love and music.

Venue: Chicago History Museum (call Anna, you'll love her)

Photographer: Nick Gerber

Videographer: Nate and Kayne (of Limitless Productions)

Caterer: Food for Thought (They are amazing! We've worked with them several times, and they are phemonenal.)

Were you wondering?

CFT Presents Rock the Dress! was a big success! Cupcakes were consumed, dresses were trashed, fun was had, and one lucky winner went home with the grand prize package full of great discounts from amazing Chicago vendors. We had a great time! Check it out:

Mingling and checking out the photography of Colin Lyons:

The beautiful work of florist Janet Gallagher:

The delightful Reverend Marti McKinney, host for the evening:

Some great shots from Michael Litchfield:

Amy + Carolyn of AELO...

with Miguel and David!

Kirin Hertzner's amazing cupcakes, and that cake!! She's fantastic.

and the winning dress!

We are so happy to have been involved with this event that benefited Chicago Fusion Theatre and their upcoming show, Big Love. We had the opportunity to watch a few scenes from the show at the event, and it's hilarious! Go see it at the Royal George Theater!

Thanks for having us, CFT, and we hope to collaborate again in the future!

Amy + Carolyn

Another anniversary!

Do you guys remember our Memorial Day couple Cheryl + Chris? And their puppy Gracie? Well it's nearly their anniversary, and we just got an email from the Landlocked Bride giving them a shout out on her blog!

Look at those photos - Matt and Stevi of Avery House have all of the genius. We can't wait to work with them again!

Happy (almost!) First Anniversary, Cheryl and Chris! We hope your first year together has been filled with love and bike riding. :)

<3

carolyn + amy

Andrea + Drew - 4.30.11

We had a lovely wedding for the sassy Andrea and her husband Drew at the Swedish American Museum on April 30th (ninjas!). It was the perfect venue for their small guest list, and everything went off without a hitch!

Love her face and shoes.

LOVE that First Meeting! We absolutely recommend it to every couple!

Erica was an absolute joy to work with - we HIGHLY recommend her! Head on over to her blog and you can check out even more photos!

Andrea DIY'd so many things - that centerpiece is all her! And the paper lanterns ended up looking adorable.

All of the paper crafting was Andrea:

We love that first dance...

Venue: Swedish American Museum

Officiant: Reverend Tyler Dean Kempf (favorite!)

Caterer: Fig (wonderful!)

Photographer: Erica Rose

Andrea + Drew, it was a joy getting to know you in the last year. We had such a blast with you guys, and we wish you all the happiness in the world!

Last Chance!

Get your tickets to CFT's Rock the Dress - a wedding-themed benefit for Chicago Fusion Theatre! We'll be there, hanging out with some of Chicago's most amazing up-and-coming vendors.

The highlight evening will be the Trash the Dress contest, which you can be a part of if you choose to, and the Grand Prize is worth over $1500! Included in the prize package:

Free Engagement or Trash The Dress Photo Shoot by Colin Lyons Wedding Photography
$500 off wedding planning package by An Event Less Ordinary
$200 off Desert Package from Cakes by Kirin
15% off floral arrangements from Designs by Janet
$200 Videography by NTG/Limitless Productions
discounted Officiant services by Rev. Martha McKinney (who married Amy + Jesse!)


Pre-Sale tickets are now available at
https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/830355

We're not sure how you could possibly miss this awesome event, especially if you are in the market for wedding vendors! Plus, guys...cake pops. That's all I'm saying.

We hope to see you there!

tips from an AELO bride!

First, a shameless plug: Get your tickets for CFT'S Rock the Dress! We would love to see you guys and feed you cake pops and watch you trash a dress! Hope to see you on Saturday!

And now for the real purpose of this blog! Our bride Andrea (of ninja cake topper fame) was a seriously thrifty, DIY bride. For her wedding last

Saturday, she paid so much attention to detail and the venue looked absolutely adorable because of her diligence.

If your venue is Swedish colors, go with it! Andrea picked turquoise and yellow and white and it looked TOO cute. She bought paper lanterns that we hung everywhere and it brought the whole room together.

She kept the budget SUPER low by DIYing, Etsy-ing and negotiating. We are SO impressed!

She got her flowers (yes, all of them), her adorable hair piece, her cake toppers, and her bolero off Etsy shops for a fraction of what she would have paid elsewhere. She used Amazon for the favors, and she SCOURED the internet for the least costly items with which to make the centerpieces and only purchased things on sale for the rest of the decor.

We can't wait to show you photos of it all, so here's a little preview of the fabulous hair piece:

LOVE.

Her tips? Always ask if you can pay in installments - you never know until you do, and they make everything more manageable. Secondly, if you are purchasing a package and know you won't be using a part of it, ask if you can remove or exchange it. You never know unless you ask, that's her number one rule!

We loved being a part of your day, Andrea, and we can't wait to get the photos from the lovely Erica Rose!