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Wedding Album Covers by Photographer Jai Girard

We are always amazed (and delighted) by the creativity and talent of our wonderful wedding partners at StrictlyWeddings.com. We’ve showcased Chicago photographer Jai Girard’s work in many of our featured weddings. Recently she shared with us that little extra she gives to her clients when delivering their wedding albums – the cover.

Featured Wedding – Lindsey & Rafael – Romance on the Dance Floor

Lindsey Rankin and Rafael Bombino’s romance began on the dance floor – taking salsa lessons together. Both were raised in the NW suburbs of Chicago, they met through mutual friends. Lindsey works for the family business and Rafael is an attorney.  Says Lindsey, the “wedding day was beautiful – beyond my dream wedding.” A long engagement allowed Lindsey to thoroughly enjoy ever bit of the planning process.

The stunning wedding gown is Ines Di Santo’s “Carlotta.” Lindsey was measured in New York by Ines herself during the NY Bridal Market (what a treat!) and a few months later she and her mother flew to Toronto to Ines’ Bridal Boutique and Design Studio for her first fitting.

The wedding ceremony was held at Holy Name Cathedral and the reception at the beautifully remodeled Grand Ballroom at the Four Seasons. (The “After party” was held in state room at the Four Seasons.)

The darling short dress Lindsey wore to the After Party was very special. “It was my grandmother Majorie Durbin’s wedding gown that she wore in 1950. She had given it to another relative but with Grandma’s help we were able to track it down 3 months before the wedding. I tried it on and it fit like a glove. A close family friend, Jane Heflin, transformed a conservative a-line, long sleeve, scoop neck, lace gown into the “darling short dress” for the after party. My grandmother passed away March 30, 2010 exactly 60 day before my wedding.  My grandma and I were very close.  It meant the world to me to be able to honor my grandma and her memory by wearing her gown on my big day.”

Larry King Orchestra (15 piece plus turntablist) provided the entertainment. Lindsey liked the Orchestra’s very unique sound that integrates a turntablist. By integrating the turntablist they are able to recreate recent hits that the other orchestras could not. The turntablist began the After Party with 5 or 6 salsa and latin grooves as a nod to Rafael’s heritage.

Wedding: May 29, 2010
Ceremony: Holy Name Cathedral
Reception: The Four Seasons, Grand Ballroom
Wedding Shoes: Christian Louboutin.
Cake: Take the Cake
Event Company: Erin McDonald, Heffernan Morgan
Lighting: Frost
Entertainment: Larry King Orchestra
Photographer: Jai Girard Photography

Featured Weddings – Jeff & Michele – The “Door Lady” Plays Cupid

This love story started when Michele asked the door lady at the downtown Chicago building in which Jeff and Michele both lived, one simple question… “Who’s that cute guy?” After answering, the door lady approached Jeff one day while he was enjoying the building’s fabulous rooftop deck. She told him there was a girl in the building who had asked about him. He thought that was pretty cool and asked for the secret admirer’s phone number. He called Michele the very next day. Their first telephone conversation lasted four hours (Michele was out of town when she received the call) and they met in person a few days later. And the rest, as they say, is history…

Fast forward 2 years. On a relatively boring Monday in late April, Michele was on a call with her favorite client. After she hung up the phone, she turned her chair around only to see Jeff standing by her desk. She thought this was strange, but Jeff quickly explained that a mutual friend had let him into the building to hand out passes for a special promotion being held at the restaurant Jeff manages. Michele said, “Okay,” grabbed the passes and began to walk Jeff toward the door. As he was being hurried out, Jeff asked Michele to slow down, pulled her off to the side and out of the office walkway. It was there that he got down on one knee and revealed the ring that he had on his pinkie finger. After asking Jeff several times if he was crazy, Michele promptly accepted the proposal. Jeff gave an overhead thumbs-up and Michele’s coworkers (who had been peaking over the cubicle walls) began to cheer.

Michele had a pretty clear idea of how she wanted the wedding to look. It was very much a celebration, and the color scheme of the wedding should reflect that. “We chose Kehoe Designs because the design they offered us literally took our breath away. My bridesmaid Claire and I went to see what Pavel Juricek from Kehoe had designed and we were literally speechless. The design was far superior to anything else we had seen. The designers took what we described and made it even better,” said bride Michele.

“Two centerpiece designs were created for the dinner tables, consisting of a lifted arrangement featuring a lively display of floral alternating with a low collection featuring coordinating floral in multiple vases.  Much like the hotel itself (Chicago’s The Blackstone), each centerpiece design was eclectic, contemporary and very unique hosting a wide array of colors and textures,” said Lauren Peterson, Event Producer.

“The wedding was absolutely gorgeous. Everything looked amazing and the guests couldn’t stop talking about the flowers and how beautiful the room looked. Michele and I said that it exceeded our expectations,” said Anna Silverman, mother of the bride.

“I would not have changed a thing about our wedding. I was so happy, it was so beautiful and meaningful in all the right ways. It was emotionally and aesthetically the wedding of our dreams. The best part about our wedding day was being surrounded by everyone we love and really celebrating. It was everything we wanted it to be and more,” said Michele.

Couple: Michele Silverman & Jeff Schramm
Date of Wedding: 5.8.10
Venue: Blackstone Hotel
Floral & Décor: Kehoe Designs, Event Producer: Lauren Peterson
Photographer: Jai Girard