Blush + Bashful

One of the major things to consider when having a wedding in Chicago is the fact that your wedding isn’t the only thing happening here. Seriously–it isn’t!

During the summer, Chicago is a major tourist destination. It’s known for exciting, world-class festivals and shows. The summer is my favorite part of living in Chicago. And, I’m sure many of you will agree that’s why you want to get married in the summer in Chicago!

I’ve put together a list of dates to consider before setting your wedding date. No, the Air & Water Show won’t ruin your wedding, but it may make it impossible for you to have the outdoor ceremony at the Lincoln Park Conservatory. And, it may make finding a reasonable rate at a hotel block very difficult. On the other hand, hosting a wedding during an event makes entertaining out-of-town guests very easy!

Here are the 2007 dates and locations:
St. Patrick’s Day Parade: March 17 at Columbus Drive 
Gospel Music Festival: June 1-3 at Millennium Park
Blues Festival: June 7-10 at Grant Park
Taste of Chicago: June 29-July 8 at Grant Park
Country Music Festival: June 30-July 1 at Grant Park
Venetian Night: July 28 along the Lakefront
Air & Water Show: August 17-18 along the Lakefront
Latin Music Festival: August 25-26 at Grant Park
Jazz Festival: Aug 30-Sept 2 at Grant Park
Celtic Festival: September 15-16 at Grant Park

For the 2008 events, you can most often assume that they will fall on the same weekends, but the dates will be one day off. Email me if you have a question about it: meg@blushandbash fulevents.com

Best wishes!
Meg

I get frantic phone calls from brides asking this question all of the time. I love getting this phone call because it is always exciting to hear from someone who is newly engaged, but I really don’t like stress to take over a time that is supposed to be thrilling!

So, to answer the big question of “What do I do?!” Take a few days to enjoy the exciting newness of your fiancee status. Yes, it is perfectly acceptable to shamelessly stare at your newly bedazzled left hand. Yes, you can go to Borders and buy every book and magazine with the words Bride, Wedding, Cake, Flowers, Martha Stewart, Tahiti…whatever gets your heart racing. Go ahead and call everyone in your family to recount each minute detail of the proposal story. Oh, and don’t forget to give your future husband lots of adoring attention. This is about both of you, after all!

After a week you are going to want to get started with wedding planning. Finding exactly what you want is really competitive here in Chicago. You don’t want to hear that the reception site of your dreams is already booked, do you? Or that talented photographer who did amazing things with your girlfriend’s rainy-day wedding?

The ideal length of time for your Chicago engagement is 10-12 months. Here is what you’re going to need to do with this time. Get ready! If you go it alone, this time can be overwhelming, tiring, stressful, argument-inducing…

Use the first two months to do the following:
Find your ceremony and reception venues
Find a caterer and a bakery (mmm…cake tastings!)
Book your photographer
Book your band/ DJ
Book a videographer (Yes, you’ll watch the video enough to make it worthwhile)
Book a florist (or, if you have the money…book an event designer)
Find your dress
Choose bridesmaid dresses (Ask me how to save $$ on them. Your girls will love it!)
Set up hotel blocks
Make a wedding website and put all of the information up (It’s not weird, it’s smart.)
Select Save-the-dates and send them out 

Not to alarm you, but many brides spend up to 40 hours a week on wedding-related items during the first two months of planning. It takes a lot of time to create a budget, scout venues, research vendors, chat with other girls on the knot, read bridal magazines, etc…

After all of this hard work, you need to relax! Take the next few months to focus on yourselves and your relationship: Go to the gym, go out on dates and talk about something other than the wedding, see your friends.

When you get to the six-month mark, get back into planning mode. Choose invitations, and start thinking about the fun details for the event. Don’t get overconfident, though. The six month mark gives you enough time to make decisions about these things, but not enough time to change your mind over and over. Choose items you love that are within your budget, and go with them.

When the big day rolls around, be calm and HAVE FUN! Take in each moment and don’t worry about what is coming next. It will all be over before you know it…

Best wishes!
Meg

Today I got a fun email from Metromix with cute Chicago Proposal ideas. I think it’s probably hard for guys to think of creative ways to propose, especially if lots of her friends have already gotten engaged. So, girls…don’t look at this! You don’t want to ruin the surprise, do you?

Guys, here is a link to that helpful article: http://metromix.chicagotribune.c om/holiday/valentines/mmx-070117-chicago-valentines-day-enga gement,0,3234538.story?coll=mmx-home_top_hedsh2o 

What are you waiting for? Go get that ring!

Cheers!
Meg

If you are looking for inspiration, I’ve found a few outstanding websites with gorgeous Chicago ceremony and reception venue photos. I thought I’d share a few here…

Botanicals is an amazing floral designer. I hope to work with them soon:
http://botanicalschicago.com/portfolio/venues/venues _01.html

Andrew Collings is an very experienced Chicago photographer. We worked together in September:
http://www.andrewco llings.com/chicago_wedding_photographer/chicago_wedding_venu es/vendex.html

Blue Plate is one of Chicago’s finest caterers. I’ve worked with them a number of times, including my own wedding! Their venue list is impressive:
http://www.blueplateweddings.com/weddings/venues/v enuelist.asp

cheers!
meg