Celestial Wedding at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium

Apr 10

C&S’s wedding weekend was nothing short of out of this world.

The festivities begin Friday night with their welcome party on the rooftop of Bar Avec in the heart of downtown Chicago with iconic views of the city.

Their wedding day started at The Langham Chicago. All the ladies were getting ready with the bride in her suite with 2000s jams setting the high energy for the day. After sharing an intimate first look, the couple was off around the city to iconic Chicago locations for portraits.

As the Corey told me in advance, they were fully leaning in to the galactic vibes of their venue, Adler Planetarium. The ceremony space, inside Adler’s solarium, was set up facing the city with white, black and deep purple florals, hurricane candles and mirrors. The floor-to-ceiling windows gave way to a perfect view of Chicago’s skyline. While it had been overcast all weekend, the clouds parted at what couldn’t have been a more perfect time. Their 30-minute ceremony was scheduled in the perfect sunset/golden hour timeframe, and shortly after the ceremony began, the most mesmerizing sunset appeared. You really can’t ask or plan for something like that; what a way to officially kick off a new chapter together. It made the showers and cloudiness of the weekend so worth it.

The party continued into cocktail hour throughout Adler’s exhibits and followed into the reception in the transformed solarium. As guests took their seats, they were welcomed to the dance floor with Corey & Simon for their first dance and hora. Dinner was served with a wide ranging assortment of buffet-style food stations by Food For Thought, from sushi to Chicago-style hot dogs and pizza to steak to Italian. After heartfelt speeches from their parents, the dance floor was open again and the party picked up right where it left off to the incredible music of the band, H.Y.P.E. Productions Inc.’s New Groove.

One of the most memorable parts of the night was Corey’s iconic, galactic outfit change. It was so on theme and so unique and fun. After the main party ended, the after party began in Adler’s Sky Theater, which essentially appears as an IMAX theater with space visuals projected onto the spherical ceiling. Guests were mesmerized as they continued the party with the newlyweds. The night ended on the most perfect note as Corey & Simon enjoyed late night Shake Shack and crowd surfed in the sky theater. An iconic end to an iconic day.

These two are kind, smart, funny, empathetic, hard working people. My favorite parts of the weekend were watching them when they were by themselves, away from the energy of the party; the loving embraces, soft touches, adoring glances & whispers. I met Corey a little over five years ago, shortly before she & Simon met. We befriended each other at our company’s summer party and became fast friends. I still remember when she told me about Simon for the first time. After their first date she was giddy to report that he was incredible and that she really liked him, exuding that kind of confidence and excitement that only comes from an early date with your person. When Corey reached out to me last year about photographing their wedding, it was one of those moments where I almost dropped my phone in excitement. It felt so full circle to document the start of this new chapter of their lives after watching their relationship blossom from afar in its earliest days.

Vendor Team

Planner - Ohana Events @ohanaeventsinc

Venue - Adler Planetarium @adlerplanet

Florals & Decor - Flowers by KH @flowersbykh

Photographer - Gretchen Wittry @graphsbygretch

Videographer - Elegante Media @elegantemedia

Makeup - Emily Wolf Artistry Bridal @emilywolfmua

Hair - Renee Feldman Weddings @reneefeldmanweddings

Dress - Ines Di Santo @inesdisanto

Hotel - The Langham @langhamchicago

Catering & Beverages - Food For Thought @fftchicago

Bakery & Sweets - Sweet Mandy B’s @sweetmandybs