tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1020360024785362472012-02-16T18:05:19.463-06:00just a cozy little corner of the internet to post about the rad weddings and parties that anticipation events coordinates and styles. and other nuggets of inspiration and awesomeness we obsess over.elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.comBlogger421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-22138535494806768732012-02-09T14:10:00.000-06:002012-02-09T14:10:18.084-06:00

oh hey hey! two full years in business and two bride's choice awards.  thanks to our 2011 brides for being amazing and helping us win this award again!  it basically means Anticipation Events is in the top 5% of wedding pros nationwide which is nothing to shake a bouquet at. respect the wedding planner people, respect the wedding planner.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-49455646872153199512012-02-03T15:24:00.000-06:002012-02-03T15:24:25.274-06:00

I just had to share this lovely email from one of my very first clients.  It really makes my heart all warm and fuzzy. Hi Elizabeth, I don't know if you continue to follow wedding blogs after the wedding, but I wanted to tell you about my latest post-wedding life event... Dave and I had a baby last week!  Her name is Harper Wells, and she's so far just fantastic at being a baby.  She eats and

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-56769498368278208292012-01-10T09:14:00.004-06:002012-01-13T14:12:14.085-06:00

Ali & Matt got married in June at the Byron Colby Barn in Greyslake.  Take a look at them getting all dolled up. Ali's dress and hairpiece were amazing.  She was so effortlessly beautiful.A glowing mom and a dapper dad (love the hat, right?) escort Ali to her waiting groom.Poor groomsman on crutches in a suit in the June heat.  What a trooper he was and still smiling the entire way down the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-69184126054751820992012-01-09T10:35:00.002-06:002012-01-11T13:19:30.610-06:00

Katie & Jeff were married at the Hard Rock Hotel on Michigan Avenue on 9.10.11.  A fantastic date to get married and even more special because while they celebrated their wedding weekend, Katie's parents celebrated their wedding anniversary too!  It was so sweet!  I am particularly tied to this crew as I had the pleasure of helping Katie's sister Elizabeth with her wedding to Mike last year.  It

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-86564093534967006312012-01-06T11:31:00.002-06:002012-01-06T11:36:47.064-06:00

Stephanie and Brian were married in August at Byron Colby Barn in Greyslake.  Both Brian and Stephanie are super creative and artistic and put a ton of effort into making their day unique to them. Which is mt MOST FAVORITE thing.  Brian's hat and bowtie were so dapper and Stephanie rocked an amazing dress and killer shoes:Stephanie's dad has passed away but Stephanie kept him close by all day

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-1663264114645211382011-07-25T12:01:00.003-05:002011-07-25T12:02:42.085-05:00

Melissa and Pete were married in June at a vineyard in Michigan.  They live in Chicago and wanted to have a mini-destination for their friends and family that were coming from all over the country.  Melissa is a graphic designer and spent so much time on the paper and graphic elements of the day which were amazing.  Melissa got ready in the bridal cottage with her mom and two bridesmaids and got

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-71605597512089354162011-06-30T14:59:00.000-05:002011-06-30T14:59:23.174-05:00

Last weekend I headed out on the road again to put together a bridal shower for one of my dear friends, Melissa.  We hosted it at Amy's house and ran with a sugar and spice theme.  Melissa's wedding colors are red and pink so we used those along with some teal to create a lot of sweetness.  I made the invites and it's sort of where the theme began. I drew three kitchen canisters labeled sugar,

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-8699849090218315322011-06-08T19:44:00.000-05:002011-06-08T19:44:53.413-05:00

Working with Eli and David was great.  Both were so involved in making their wedding day special and uniquely them. From the mason jar wine glasses for each person, the vegan meal served for dinner and the homemade jam jars for favors (Eli is a natural foods chef!) to the carbon offsets, 'no cut flowers' mantra and a first dance set to salsa music, the day was completely theirs.   After looking

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-1032909610846811812011-05-20T13:52:00.000-05:002011-05-20T13:52:20.524-05:00

So you've already seen the invites and read about the inspiration for the coffee and wine themed shower and bachelorette party.  Here's how it all came together. I decorated using the brown and pink scheme from the invites and made deceptively simple but pretty stinking awesome coffee filter poofs.  Whitney's sweet mom kept calling them peony's which just made my crafty heart sing.  (When in

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-84409530265756815082011-05-18T19:14:00.000-05:002011-05-18T19:14:03.668-05:00

Traci and Luke were married at Old St. Pat's in March.  Their reception was held at The Tasting Room and what a party they had!  Check out some eye candy from the day and of the handsome newlyweds!

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-9330737871594842382011-05-10T17:22:00.001-05:002011-05-10T17:25:12.356-05:00

Meet Mr. Mustachio Remember Amy of previous blogger fame?  Well, she had another baby and this time it was a boy!  Anthony Thomas came to greet this great big world in March and I got to help plan a surprise baby shower for the little man.  The "sprinkle" (as I found out mini-showers are called in the mommy world) was mustache-themed and once we found out he was a little boy we sent out invites

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-47932835790076815192011-04-13T17:26:00.000-05:002011-04-13T17:26:08.061-05:00

Clever title, eh?  Well, hopefully you believe us now that we have, in fact, been busy. Want to see the latest edition to the Anticipation Events paper tome? Jerry & Nivi's wedding invitations were monsters.  Perhaps it has something to do with the 600+ people they are inviting to the big day.  Perhaps because they are having a Hindu ceremony and a Catholic ceremony followed by an enormous

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-19558373150642014222011-04-12T12:59:00.000-05:002011-04-12T12:59:11.576-05:00

So I promised you Whitney's bridal shower and bachelorette party invitations.  To make things easier for the guests who are coming in from out of town for the weekend the shower will be held Saturday morning and the bachelorette party will be that same night.  It's a great idea if you have bridal party members and friends spread across the country. There are two things Whitney loves almost as

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-25916264210026777402011-04-11T16:13:00.000-05:002011-04-11T16:13:54.463-05:00

Well we've been busy 'round here.  Check out Whitney & John's wedding invites that have been sent to their guests.  We hear the RSVP's are pouring in - no one would dare miss this shindig! We letterpressed the entire suite which included the invitation, accommodations information and RSVP card and envelope.  I think you might be able to guess what the inspiration for the invite was.  We mounted

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-11207378136517936382011-03-01T21:42:00.001-06:002011-03-01T21:42:59.260-06:00

So to follow-up with my last blog post about my own save-the-dates, I thought I would post the other save-the-date ideas I had saved in my "paper" folder as inspiration.  I have bombed on tracking the sources, but hopefully they'll inspire you.  Happy crafting!

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-17754812704546049762011-02-25T16:58:00.006-06:002011-03-02T13:12:16.679-06:00

So it's true that the wedding planner is planning her own wedding. It's also true that the wedding planner's fiancé has an opinion or two of his own.  So when we sat down to figure out what our save-the-date would look like, hearts, flowers, and "anything to pink or girly" were immediately nixed.  Whenever we attend a wedding and have to write a note in someone's guest book, Matt writes "Yay Love

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-42319954339851661662011-02-01T14:02:00.000-06:002011-02-01T14:02:31.642-06:00

Yay!  Hooray!  We won!  Okay, it's not like we ran a marathon or even accepted the Bachelor's final rose, but we're so thrilled to receive the Bride's Choice Awards for 2011 from WeddingWire!  It means we're in the top 5% of wedding professionals nationwide and more importantly, it means our brides (and grooms!) are happy with the work we do for them.  And we feel so lucky to be able to do it

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-64988180542888805402010-12-16T17:26:00.001-06:002010-12-17T10:09:28.888-06:00

So you already know that Elizabeth & Mike got married.  And that it was glorious.  But you need details!  And pictures!  And fluffy clouds and rainbows!  So here you go.... It all started with a little yellow pair of shoes at The Sofitel downtown.   Elizabeth got a finishing touch on her veil before seeing Mike for the first time. Mike got all spruced up and ready for his bride. They had a

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-85109226095818771582010-12-15T13:07:00.002-06:002010-12-15T13:10:10.891-06:00

Jim and Lise tied the knot in September of 2010 at Garfield Park Conservatory.  Aren't they so sweet?  I actually knew both of them before they hired me to coordinate their day.  They both work at Shedd Aquarium and in my former life I occasionally had the pleasure of working with them.  Mostly I would be asking them to disrupt the animals schedules by keeping the lights on or taking guests

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-76739096961579923812010-12-15T10:34:00.001-06:002011-01-03T21:19:42.197-06:00

Well hello there. Meet Mike and Elizabeth:  Amazing. They are amazing. Their families and friends are amazing. Their wedding was amazing. Want to see more?? I knew it! Their fabulous photographer Michael Rastall captured their wedding and reception that was held in late August at A New Leaf in Chicago. I'm going to break this up into two posts and first show you all of the things I made

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-65573953274899330972010-11-18T12:00:00.016-06:002010-12-07T15:26:16.212-06:00

It's true: it was an enormous party, filled with massive amounts of dancing and lots and lots of revelry. Maureen and Bill were married in September at Holy Name Cathedral and the giant party ensued at the Chicago History Museum. It was pretty hilarious to hear the catering team talk about the massive amounts of booze this party drank. You know when you can shock a catering staff that does an

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-37673359537972980862010-09-30T17:18:00.000-05:002010-09-30T17:18:12.663-05:00

Also, I failed to mention that Annie and Jared's wedding was made famous by the gorgeous blog, Green Wedding Shoes. Check it out!

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-29589467212803153532010-09-30T16:52:00.001-05:002010-10-14T14:39:11.862-05:00

Annie and Jared were married in July at the Secrest 1883 Octagonal Barn in West Liberty, Iowa. It was a family and friend-filled affair to prepare for the big day and Annie really to DIY to a whole new level. The photos of this fabulous party certainly speak for themselves. The ceremony included handmade fans, programs and lavender-sugar toss cones: Ready to go. Annie and her mom walking

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-25505630388299829442010-09-24T14:30:00.001-05:002010-09-24T14:31:18.573-05:00

Amy and Eugene were married in July at The James Hotel in Chicago. The beautiful bride Amy, wanted an extra pair of hands with her rehearsal and ceremony as well. The on-site coordinator at The James handled the reception, but Amy wanted to make sure the rehearsal wasn't painful for anyone and that there was someone to oversee the ceremony. When you have a secular ceremony and a judge or

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-19213233049472955502010-09-23T21:51:00.001-05:002010-09-24T14:32:54.566-05:00

Kate and Mark were married at St. Linus Church in June 2010. Kate was a super organized bride, she knew what she wanted and did all of the planning herself. She hired me to run the rehearsal for her (this is something I have found that almost everyone dreads) and then coordinate the ceremony and a cocktail party that Kate's parents hosted in between the ceremony and reception. DiNolfo's took

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-47164507812206997242010-09-21T12:22:00.001-05:002010-09-24T14:33:53.901-05:00

Ilena and Jack were married in Jack's parents backyard in June of 2010. Jack's parents spent so much time getting the house and the backyard ready. A tent was set-up and family members from all over came in to help get everything ready: from making the seating chart, to bartending for the night and DJing. The day was incredibly humid but that didn't stop the partying from going into the

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-13136303460048237912010-07-29T11:04:00.001-05:002010-09-24T14:34:48.812-05:00

Melissa and Alan were married at Hotel Orrington in Evanston, Illinois in April 2010. Firstly, they planned this shindig all the way from New York. Secondly, it was fabulous. They are both so calm and down-to-earth, you would have thought they got married every weekend. Kevin Weinstein and his team took some gorgeous shots of Melissa, Alan and their bridal party getting ready.

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-44172727847312660322010-06-14T09:22:00.000-05:002010-06-14T09:22:05.572-05:00

Pam and Aaren tied the knot in April at the Lilydale First Baptist Church and then celebrated with friends and family at the International House on the University of Chicago campus. Fitting, for a relationship that began while they were both attending school there! I have to potentially embarrass Aaren here and mention was a stinking sweetheart he is. 99.9% of the time, I get calls and emails

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-45152040362859547752010-06-07T19:46:00.004-05:002010-06-07T20:39:39.035-05:00

Felisa and Matt got hitched in April at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and then partied the night away at Architectural Artifacts. Felisa and Matt met at Lollapalooza (which is awesome) and working with them was such a pleasure. They got ready to go to the church: some powder, a pair of cuff links a dress to impress and they were off. Matt and the boys arrived and were sequestered to a back

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-8530698267480679732010-06-06T16:31:00.000-05:002010-06-06T16:31:26.456-05:00

I've been busy! But I'm back with lots to share. Three AE weddings in April to blog about, two weddings of dear friends in May to attend, a save-the-date design and creation to share and some upgrades to the websitehave been taking up most of my time recently. Soon the website will be transferred to a smarter, faster and better platform (they tell me) so get excited for many more bells and

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-19032633036689593722010-04-19T13:51:00.000-05:002010-04-19T13:51:35.538-05:00

Check out Chicago Style Unveiled to see the awesome "real Chicago wedding" featuring Dan & Laura, their kick-ass wedding and me! source Congrats on the awesome feature guys and thanks to Chicago Style Unveiled for the hoopla!

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-10463229138964385102010-04-14T18:20:00.003-05:002010-04-15T11:44:27.088-05:00

Laura & Dan were married at Architectural Artifacts in November of 2009. If you've never been to Architectural Artifacts, you should definitely go over and get lost for a little while. Literally. I've been there three or four times now and every time I go I find a nook and then a cranny I have never seen before. Dan & Laura put so many personal details into the day. A family friend and

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-5908592865633320072010-03-15T15:10:00.002-05:002010-04-15T11:42:40.941-05:00

Happy Monday! I hope this cake-spiration will ease your Monday-blues. A few of my very favorites from my archives. This one is so intricate and beautiful without being over the top. Black and white is always classy: The only thing better than cake is cake with cookies attached to it. I think this is a great idea for a DIY bride/hostess who wants to make their own cake. Frost it in butter

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-73703836658080660332010-03-11T20:35:00.004-06:002010-04-15T12:57:31.100-05:00

This sweet, sweet baby shower took place in Omaha, Nebraska at a private residence in November of 2009. The parents-to-be were waiting until their little one arrived to find out if it was a girl or a boy so the color palette was orange, yellow and green so it would be fantastically gender neutral. They decided to use animals for the nursery so I jumped on board with that for the invitations! I

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-45019654890747851962010-03-03T16:12:00.002-06:002010-04-15T12:04:44.441-05:00

I got invited to attend an event at Willow Creek Church in Barrington this past weekend. Three times a year they host "Once Upon a Wedding" and invite couples who have reserved a date to get married at the church or who are thinking about getting married there to attend. They pull out all of the decorations they have available and have their volunteer wedding coordinators there to answer

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-29036631503305270212010-03-01T22:02:00.005-06:002010-04-15T12:37:17.766-05:00

Laura and Dan got married in October at Salvage One in Chicago. If you have never been there before, you should check it out. They describe themselves best, so I'm not going to mess it up: "We save architectural elements from the wrecking ball. We work to preserve and pass on our history. We have been helping our customers breathe new life into salvaged materials for nearly 30 years. We aim to

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-57187653533248134112010-03-01T19:48:00.009-06:002010-04-15T12:28:14.944-05:00

Julia and Dave got married at the Byron Colby Barn in Greyslake in September. It rained so hard the night of the rehearsal that it took me three hours to drive from the city to the rehearsal at Dave's parents house in Crystal Lake. It was not looking good for their outdoor ceremony at the barn. Let me pause this recap for a moment to just say that Julia is likely one of the craftiest brides I

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-41783653657755332992010-02-19T13:56:00.001-06:002010-03-03T18:02:23.063-06:00

I am loving the idea of using raw cotton poofs for anything and everything in your wedding. This bride and groom used it in their decor, flowers and so much more. love that ceremony site decor! Check out their whole wedding featured on green wedding shoes!

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-61463689321524493092010-02-19T13:46:00.001-06:002010-04-15T12:31:16.541-05:00

Happy valentine's day (late)! Behold my lovelies, feast your eyes on a gift from my valentine: what a beaut! I love toast. And bagels. And english muffins. Some people hate practical gifts but not me. Romancing the toaster: yes please! Our previous toaster was an enigma. My bagel either came up blackened or still cold from the fridge. There was no rhyme or reason or discernible pattern i

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-51110194678309722942010-01-19T16:25:00.003-06:002010-04-15T12:33:53.179-05:00

Saw this today and I love it. Anything travel/map inspired is right up my alley. This would likely be something you could recreate on your own with a family cookie recipe, a stencil of the globe and gobs of patience. source Who doesn't love an edible favor? No one I know. If you decide to make them and need a taste-tester, I'm your girl!

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-2827814592857913192010-01-17T23:11:00.009-06:002010-04-14T22:58:06.480-05:00

ashley and bryan got married in august in peoria. i had never been to peoria until i drove down for their big day but i was charmed with how quaint the city centre was. it was also really easy to walk park and forth between their ceremony site, sacred heart church and the holiday inn city centre where they held their reception. also, parking was just a dream. but i digress. the good stuff,

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102036002478536247.post-26209224201868382522010-01-12T22:13:00.005-06:002010-04-15T12:45:20.044-05:00

now that the proverbial ball is rolling with getting ae off the ground and running i wanted to start a little blog to be a big, ol' show-off and brag about the awesomely awesome weddings/parties/showers/tuesday nights that ae was honored to be a part of. what? coordinating my tuesday nights don't count? come on... so, welcome to the blog to end all blogs. i plan on catching up on the 2009 ae

elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06930161752442839498noreply@blogger.com0