Spring Wedding at Evanston’s Palmhouse 619
Spring Wedding at Evanston’s Palmhouse 619
Alexis & Matt became the Bandyk’s on a Friday in May at the Palmhouse 619 in Evanston, along the north shore of Chicago. While the day started with a monsoon, the weather landed in their favor as all the rain cleared up quite literally *just* in time for the festivities to begin.
After a private first look in their ceremony space, the two each silently read the other’s vows. There were silent smiles, giggles and tears as they read each other’s promises for their marriage. From there, off we went to the lakefront with their wedding party and family for portraits.
The ceremony began with their wedding party dancing down the aisle one by one, setting the tone for a ceremony that prioritized enjoyment and celebration, in addition to love. They even surprised their guests with a surprise ring bearer, hiding the rings under a random seat for a lucky guest, one of Matt’s friends, to find and deliver to the couple mid-ceremony. There’s something about ceremonies that prioritize laughter and fun and don’t take themselves too seriously that have a hold on me.
I loved how Alexis & Matt’s love for plants came to life at Palmhouse, the perfect venue for devoted plant parents. Each guest table was decorated with a different type of plant for guests to take home. Every single plant was cared for by Alexis leading up to the wedding, and while she loves plants, she laughed about how she was ready to finally get the extra 40+ plants out of her house and into the homes of their loved ones. Your details are important to you, so your details are important to me. During each wedding, I make sure there’s ample time set aside for myself & my second shooter to photograph the space and the details you’ve spent months dreaming, planning and bringing to life, before the party starts.
Alexis & Matt’s first date was over barbecue, so it was only fitting that they catered City Barbecue for their wedding dinner and celebrate another memorable meal with loved ones over some good BBQ. The two gave a joint speech welcoming and thanking their guests. Matt spoke about he cherished how well the two compliment each other and how lucky he felt Alexis chose him, and Alexis likened love & marriage to caring for plants in the way they each take proper care to flourish.
One of my favorite moments to witness and capture of the day was the friendship between Alexis & Matt’s moms. “Friendship” doesn’t even seem to cut it - these two are BESTIES. So much so that Alexis & Matt have a nickname for them collectively, “the Moms.” The Moms even gave a joint speech at the reception, where they gushed about their children individually, their love as a couple, and celebrated their friendship that formed thanks to that love. I got to capture the sweetest moments on the dance floor of all four of them tearing it up together and the newlyweds each dancing with own mom.
The energy of the entire dance floor was magnetizing. Alexis & Matt spent a lot of time enjoying their dance floor together, something simple that I love to see couples prioritize at that part of the night. When they weren’t smiling ear to ear swinging each other around, they were being hyped up and danced around by their best people.
To close out the night, Alexis & Matt swung by the bar and the photo booth for a few late night shots, each with the biggest smiles I’d seen on them all day. There’s something about leaving a wedding seeing the happy couple so effortlessly happy that is the best nightcap you can find.
Creative Partners
Venue - Palmhouse 619 @palmhouse619
Photography - Gretchen Wittry Photography @graphsbygretch
Dress - Wolsfelts Bridal @wolsfeltsbridal
Hair & Makeup - Glam Atelier @glamatelierchicago
Florals - Alyssa Szeto @alyssazeet_
Catering - City Barbecue @citybbq
Bar - Hardly Shaken @hardlyshaken
DJ - Groove is in the Heart DJs @grooveisintheheartdjs
Photo Booth - Say Bre Booth @saybre
Officiant - Love Story Weddings
Hair Color - Amanda Kindred Hair @amandakindredhair
