Blush + Bashful

Kim & Will in Puerto Rico

Romantic proposals from real couples:

With a little help from man’s best friend
Lisa Ordakowski of Virginia and her fiancé, Andrew, enjoyed a romantic meal at their favorite restaurant before he popped the question amidst a shower of candles and rose petals in their living room. “Our Siberian huskies greeted me with t-shirts that said ‘Will You Marry Me’,” says Lisa.

To many years of good fortune
The staff at a local Chinese restaurant in Tucson, Arizona helped Matt Russell out with his proposal to wife of 18 years, Nancy. “I inserted the ring into a fortune cookie. When the server brought the check, she opened the cookie and I took a knee. The rest is history.”

Hunting for love
“I sent Kate on a five-stop scavenger hunt through New York City,” says Cole Kelly of Georgia. “After lunch at Lombardi’s, I asked her to close her eyes and count to 20. I put a note on the table and ran.” After challenging five different people for clues on Cole’s whereabouts, Kate found him at the last stop with a rose and ring.

Simple and charming
Meghann VanderBaan is a wedding planner in Chicago and says that sometimes the simplest proposals are best, giving an example from one of her clients. “[They were] walking with their dog on the lakefront in Chicago. The groom got down on one knee and proposed with a ring that was an exact replica of her grandmother’s.”

Telling everyone on the street
Melanie and Remco from California met through the online dating service, eHarmony. “I came home one night and Remco had painted a beautiful street painting of a Cupid in the driveway,” says Melanie. “It was surrounded with tea light candles and he had Champagne and chocolates.”

Cheers to a long life together
“My husband proposed to me in Greece,” says Jennifer Heinly of California. “He bought two goblets, one inscribed with ‘Will You Marry Me, Jennifer’ and poured Greek champagne into it. The other goblet was for my response. We did our first toast for our wedding with them.”

Capturing the moment
After whisking her away to San Diego for the weekend, Erin Burns’ fiancé got down on one knee in a winery vineyard. Enlisting the help of a friend, Erin’s husband-to-be rented a long lens camera to keep a digital record of the proposal. “We have beautiful photographs of the moment, something we’ll cherish forever,” she says.

Love on display for all to see
Cicely Rocha-Miller’s fiancé put her engagement ring on display at the Phoenix Art Museum with a placecard that read, “Cicely’s ring, on temporary loan by Mr. Joseph A. Miller, American 21st century, precious gemstones and platinum, June 18, 2005.” According to her, the white-gloved guards couldn’t remove the glass case fast enough!

Choosing a special location
Kevin Decker proposed to his wife, Joy, at the top of her favorite D.C. landmark, the Washington Monument, after making an impromptu visit to her office. “The two park service rangers were the first to congratulate us on our engagement,” says Joy.

Surrounded by love
Annette and Franjo Zovko’s engagement was a real family affair. After popping the question, Franjo led Annette back to their Illinois condo where friends and family were waiting to celebrate. “His parents and sister had secretly flown in for our engagement. My whole family was there, he even flew my sister in from New York. It was a really great moment.”

Cheers to a long and happy life together
A typical night of drinks with friends turned out to be anything but usual for Jillian Montes of Florida whose husband proposed by hiding the engagement ring in her mimosa. “I kept thinking there was ice in my drink and then I saw the ring sitting at the bottom of the glass,” she says.

Cruising through life together
“I was proposed to in 2007, and married in 2008 on the same day, on a cruise ship,” says Amanda Vega. “I had no idea he was going to propose and when he got down on one knee I told him to get up because the floor was dirty. Everyone laughed.”

A new year and a new life together
Kim from Texas recalls her recent romantic New Years’ proposal from her fiancé, Will. “After a really nice dinner at our hotel in Puerto Rico, we were walking back up the stairs to our room and he “tripped.” When I turned around to see if he was alright, he was down on one knee. I stumbled through some sort of answer like ‘yeah… uh yes,’ I was so surprised. It was cute and funny. And to think, I didn’t understand why he was so nervous at dinner!”

The Spring/Summer 2009 CS Brides Magazine is at the newsstands and free newsboxes throughout the city. Pick up your copy today! Flip to page 267 and check out our beautiful advertisement–right across from the handy Wedding Planner Quick Guide.

We’re so excited to be a part of this sophisticated and exclusive publication. Not to shortchage the value of our full planning services, but CS Brides is the ultimate Chicago wedding planning resource. It is full of top-notch wedding professionals and beautiful editorial pieces. I am delighted that Chicago has such a wonderful magazine with inspiration straight from our beloved city. I mean, you can only look at so many pictorials of weddings in Nantucket and Napa in the national publications!

Our ad looks incredible. Thank you so much Lynda! Lynda Junge, the stylish genius behind Greenstar Creative, designed the ad for us. She’s a rockstar. Check out her website full of gorgeous handmade stationery and custom invitations! You may remember her from a certain amazing piece of press she received in the Fall…the Daily Candy Wedding Edition! We can’t say enough about Greenstar Creative. Please, please give Lynda a call before you settle on a boring invitation from the book at your tuxedo shop.

This week the Weddings Edition of Time Out Chicago came out and…we’re in it!

I Do, Take Two: When it comes to “Wedding Version 2.0,” encore spouses play by a different set of rules.

By Christina Couch

Photo: Nicole Radja; Photo Illustration: Stephanie Gladney

So maybe your first marriage left you heartbroken, dirt poor and feeling as if all the joy had been sucked out of the universe. The good news is now you’re marrying someone who’s sweeter, sexier and far more suited for forever than the first one was. Here are ways to make your second wedding memorable, without repeating the past.

Throw a big bash or keep it simple?
When it comes to walking down the aisle for the second time, either a lavish wedding or a simple affair is the way to go, so long as “Wedding: the Sequel” is a distinctly different experience than the original. “There aren’t a lot of taboos when it comes to second marriages, but I think it’s tasteful to make the ceremony different than your first one,” says Meghann VanderBaan, wedding planner and owner of Blush and Bashful Events (2043 W Wabansia Ave, 773-687-8834). “I always advise couples to get creative, don’t feel like you have to stick to a traditional wedding plan, and have fun with the process.”

Erin Shea, a second time bride-to-be who lives in Roscoe Village, says the radically different ceremony she chose for her second nuptials is a reflection of how her new relationship differs from the first marriage and also how her personality has changed.

“My first wedding was a really elaborate, traditional wedding. We had 200 people, a big sit-down dinner reception, I rented a trolley for the whole wedding party, I had a big diamond, honeymoon in Ireland, the whole kit and caboodle,” she recalls. “When Scott and I decided to get married… we knew that we wanted nothing resembling our first weddings. We are two very different people than we were then.”

Skipping as much hoopla as possible, Shea and her future groom plan to elope to a small dairy farm in Vermont on October 25. Forgoing an engagement ring, formal reception and gown—the bride plans to wear an ivory cocktail dress from Nordstrom—Shea says the event’s simplicity shows her increased attention to the relationship.

“For anyone getting remarried, you tend to focus a lot on the marriage aspect, not the wedding aspect,” she notes. “Besides, I think I would have stabbed myself in the uterus if I had to think about things like flower arrangements and invitations again.”

Get parental support or go it alone?
Don’t count on your parents to pay for the event, advises Renny Pedersen, owner of Bliss Weddings & Events (312-927-6090). Because second-time couples are typically older and usually in a better financial position to foot their own wedding bills, Pedersen says couples should present the idea of remarriage to the parents but shouldn’t expect anything more than a blessing in return. “Financial support from parents [for a second marriage]? That never happens,” she says. “That’s taboo.”

If your parents insist on chipping in the second time around, it’s more acceptable to have them help with the reception or honeymoon, as opposed to the dress, invitations, flowers and the rest, VanderBaan says.

That’s exactly what River West resident Evey Caravello, who got remarried last month, did. Caravello and her new hubby paid for the ceremony itself—a quiet elopement on a mountain in Sedona, Arizona—but took a little help for the 150-person reception at the Adler Planetarium they threw upon their return.

“It didn’t really make sense to go through the whole process of asking for permission [to get married] and having [my parents] pay for it,” Caravello says. “They really contributed to the party, but the ceremony was all about what [my husband] and I wanted.”

To register or not to register?
Skip the registry. The key to having a classy second marriage is recognizing that a wedding is an expensive affair, not only for the couple involved, but for everyone who shows up. Asking for a long list of home accessories a second time around can quickly turn your friends and family from supportive comrades to mutinous enemies. Instead of demanding another set of china or high-thread-count sheets, VanderBaan suggests thinking outside the traditional registry.

“A lot of second-time couples opt for a registry that puts money toward big-ticket items like their honeymoon or a down payment on their first home,” she says.

Or consider asking guests to contribute cash to sites like IDoFoundation.org or JustGive.org, which are designed to support the charity of the couple’s choice.

Include the kids?
Only if you don’t want to come off as a jerk. Incorporating kids from previous marriages into the ceremony is a vital part of showing that the marriage isn’t just a union of two people; it’s the creation of a new family unit.

Pedersen encourages those getting remarried to think creatively when adding children into the ceremony. Though it’s completely acceptable for kids from previous marriages to play traditional roles like bridesmaids, flower girls or ushers, Pedersen says many of her clients design their ceremonies to welcome children into the new family.

“I had one wedding where there were three little girls and they all held a ribbon and a flower…. As the bride walked down the aisle, the girls handed the flowers over to form the bride’s bouquet,” she says. “At another ceremony, the couple had special rings made for the children, like the wedding ring but something similar that the groom gave them to symbolize that he’s going to be there for them, too.”

The important part isn’t what specific role children play, Pedersen adds, only that they’re included as a crucial part of the wedding ceremony. “We absolutely make sure that the children have a huge role and that they’re standing up there next to the couple the whole time,” Pedersen says. “Anyone who doesn’t feel like they should include the children isn’t putting their foot forward into a good relationship.”

Emilee was quoted in this Gaper’s Block Article from September 18th. How fun! Thanks, Andie.

 Feature Thu Sep 18 2008

I Do…Love Mini Grilled Cheese

While the past few days have been undoubtedly lovely, a chill is creeping into the evening air, the late afternoon light is a little more burnished and waters down into darkness a little earlier every day, and the next wedding I have on my calendar to attend is in May of next year. Just as summer slips silently away into fall, another wedding season has come to a quiet end, but not without its share of trends and manias sure to influence next season’s brides- and grooms-to-be.

Though autumn is usually the typical time of year to favor heavy, hearty dishes, comfort food has been a major star on wedding day menus for months already. Morty Rosenbaum, a local PR rep for several caterers described to me the popularity of such items as “grilled cheese on a slender glass of gazpacho, donut holes served in paper pouches with a shot glass of milk, gorgeous spoonfuls of mac and cheese, tiny soup mugs of Sheppard’s pie topped with a mini croissant, etc.” as upscale variations on familiar, even sentimental dishes. I recently attended a wedding where Beef Wellington and several varieties of flatbreads (including a warm caprese-style variation and delicious duck number) were showcased over several hours of different courses of passed hors d’oeuvres. And even if you weren’t lucky (or…some other adjective) enough to stop by a wedding this past year, just recall the short ribs and blue cheese in phyllo, mini-pulled pork sandwiches and sausage and tomato flatbreads of the most recent Top Chef Wedding Wars episode. Ah, vicarious foodie trend-watching! Probably safer than crashing the union of two souls just to sample some gourmet grilled cheese.

Making substantial dishes like beef wellington and mac and cheese work well in the warm and summery peak wedding months calls for a little extra ingenuity, and miniaturized portions seem to have been just as popular this year as old-fashioned favorite dishes. Connie Bolle, Director of Sales at local catering powerhouse Levy Restaurants affirms, “Comfort foods and miniature portions seem to be a hit as our brides are looking for non-traditional ways to change up their more traditional wedding. The receptions still have introductions of the wedding party, first dance, toasts, and more — but by adding unique comfort foods, it is so not the wedding your [...] parents had 30 years prior.” She also notes that miniaturizing portions provides for a “unique presentation,” helping balance the familiar with the fanciness of the occasion. And who doesn’t like to see a single tiny bite on an adorably tiny spoon? Especially when there are lots and lots of spoons to be had.

Sentimentality has also crept into this past season’s plans through contemporary recreations of parents’ and grandparents’ wedding cakes. Bolle notes that grooms’ cakes have been back in vogue lately, providing a sweet counterpoint to the traditional multi-tiered, ladylike creations normally the focal point of the dessert course. A development that may be in keeping with what Rosenbaum sees as a general trend encouraging grooms to be “more responsible for many decisions — input on linens, china, flatware and more.” Though not, if my friends’ wedding earlier this summer is any indication, on making individual portions of pad thai and conch fritters the main courses for the evening. Sorry, dude — maybe for the honeymoon.

Making the happy couple’s themed or signature drink available at the bar has continued in popularity, and adding organic or exotic drinks to the mix is becoming common as well. Says Rosenbaum, caterers are often getting “requests for organic tequila, wines and even organic sake… For wines –we love to introduce them to biodynamically grown Benzinger Cabernet.” Organic and sustainability concerns of course reach beyond the bar as well, as they have into most areas of cuisine this past year. Bolle notes, “Sustainability is huge right now! All of our seafoods served are for healthy oceans — and our brides love the fact that their wedding menu is considerate of the future. We offer free range chicken, hormone free beef entree selections and more — and of course, provide so many local vendors for our products that make your wedding environmental foot print much smaller!”

Many local wedding caterers have even made sustainable menus a focal point of their operation, creating a new niche marke of responsible catering. Greg Christian Catering marketing director notes that 61% of their food comes from local and organic sources, as opposed to traditional food service. Greg Christian also encourages event planners to skip on bottled water and go for water service instead, and has seen increases in health-conscious menu planning as well, including upticks in vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes. Limelight Catering has created an entire organic division to their services, sourcing product from farms in Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as working closely with Green City Market.

A less-than-robust economic climate is also contributing to some non-traditional serving and plating options, popular with couples looking to save money without sacrificing the fun of throwing a great party for friends and family. Traditional three course plated meals are giving way to combinations of appetizers and desserts, or sometimes one or the other. Says Bolle, “Due to the economy, we have seen some inquiries for dessert parties only — with the initiation inviting guests to a late night wedding dessert party — where they will find wonderful sweets tables, coffee drinks, and a much more casual environment.” Sustainability and cost-cutting has also reached serving ware and labor, where receptions now sometimes end much earlier in the evening, and reception venues steer clear of disposable plastic or styrofoam products and favor washable china or at the very least, highly recyclable flatware and silverware.

But of course, for every planning adjustment that pinches pennies or saves a baby polar bear, there are also trends born out of pure awesomeness. The awesomeness of getting cheeseburgers on garlic bread, or quesadillas, or tater tots for yourself and a few hundred of your closest friends at 11pm. The late-night snack trend. Says Emilee Lales, a planner at the Blush and Bashful Event Boutique (and, full-disclosure, dear friend of mine), “Guests love it because they get to nosh on chicken fingers, tots or pizza after several hours of drinking and dancing. And most grooms love it because they wanted chicken fingers as the dinner entree anyway.” Ah ha! Maybe there was room for pad thai and conch fritters after all. Though I wouldn’t have traded those garlic burgers for the world.

Heading into the fall, Bolle forecasts menus keeping more traditionally in line with seasonal eating habits. She says to expect “Grilled fall vegetable bruschettas — warm cornmeal crusted crab cakes, none of the light and airy Boursin-stuffed pea pods — really heavy items with great textures.” Fall soups will grace tables as part of plated first course duo, including such varieties as red bourbon onion, butternut squash, corn chowder with lime creme fraiche, which Bolle says will be “all served with salads with a hint of fall — cranberries, heavier cheeses, crunchy dark rye croutons.” Richer sauces, heavier combinations and exotic game will also come into play. Moose served at a fall wedding? Seems entirely too plausible.

Photos courtesy of Quinn and Co. and Levy Restaurants.

- Andie Thomalla