Canvas Venue in Wheeling, Illinois Wedding Feature: Madison and Austin

Jan 24

September truly takes the cake for the best time to get married, and this is a great example!! This fall wedding truly was one of the most beautiful days - but not just because of the weather outside. Madison and Austin were one of the sweetest, happiest, most fun couples that we’ve had the pleasure to work with. Most of the day was spent at the Canvas Venue in Wheeling - which is a relatively new venue that will genuinely knock your socks off - but they spent the afternoon together at Chicago Botanic Garden for their first look and photos.

The day got started with hair and makeup at Canvas. The girls had some really cute PJs and slippers, but what really was great was the pearl robe that Madison had! You’ll definitely see some pearls throughout the whole wedding for a modern, classic feel.

I have to say, her shoes were AMAZING!! I loved the pearl detailing on the shoes, the pearl veil, and the pearl jewelry. Everything matched so beautifully and you could tell that all of the details were well-thought out!

The guys and the girls met up at Chicago Botanic Garden for Madison and Austin’s first look and photos. This first look had me tearing up because of how excited Austin was to see her! When Madison asked, “How are you?!” Austin said, “Better now” and it was the sweetest thing!!

The couple opted to do their personal vows in private. It was a beautifully, sweet shared moment just for the two of them.

Madison and Austin had a pretty large wedding party which made for an awesome party vibe! They all were in black which was very elegant and matched the vibe of the day. The girls were also able to choose a style of the dress that they felt most comfortable in which is always nice to take their opinions into account.

One of my favorite photos of the whole day is usually any kind of grand exit and this is definitely the best one to me! I love the excitement that everyone had for the whole day, and this really captured it perfectly in my opinion!

The weather was absolutely perfect - it really helped set the tone for such a perfect day! The weather really helped get some of the beautiful photos before it was time to get to the venue to get married!

When you walked into the ceremony, you would be blown away with the beauty of the day. The hanging florals were such a lovely statement that got the guests so excited to celebrate. The lighting is something the venue definitely took into account when it was time for the ceremony, and every moment truly was breathtaking in this venue thanks to the in-house designer and decorator.

The ceremony processional doesn’t always stand out to me after seeing so many, but this one really hit hard. The song Madison had chosen was “The Vow” by RuthAnne, and she had us time the wedding party so that she entered at the biggest moment in the song to open the curtains and it really was iconic. I saved that song on Spotify after the wedding and it still gives me chills when it builds to “the moment”.

This wedding also featured the shortest ceremony we’ve ever had - it was 9 minutes from the start of the processional to the end of the recessional! Their main focus was to do exactly what was necessary for the ceremony to be legal and get straight to the reception. I absolutely loved it!

Okay, this might have actually been my favorite shot of the day. You can REALLY feel that love and excitement here!!

The room was flipped during cocktail hour into a stunning reception space. Many of the tables were pre-set and hidden to allow for time for this gorgeous setup. I truly will never forget this beautiful space!

The pearls showed another appearance on their cake, too! I always love a good cake cutting.

Madison and Austin kicked off an evening of fun on the dance floor with their choreographed first dance to “Lover” by Taylor Swift. I have to say, the videos of this dance were some of my favorites too! Everyone watching was so enchanted by their dance.

Madison and Austin both had an outfit change that I live for - it’s definitely nice to include both parties of the couple in this! The dress with the lovely large bow and the pearl gloves with the shoes you can see now really is better than any Pinterest board!

And the dance floor truly was so busy all night! I always will tell my couples that those LED foam sticks are a huge hit on every dance floor no matter what and honestly nothing could stop this crowd from having a good time.

The only thing that pulled this crowd off the dance floor was the photo booth - it was a huge hit! It’s also a great way to give your guests a favor without having to have a bunch of extra items to take home.

Overall, this wedding truly was one for the books! Everyone there was there to celebrate and have a good time. I absolutely adored how gorgeous everyone and everything looked and it will always live in my head! Madison and Austin threw an amazing party and really made sure to have a good time with their family and friends.

If you’re looking for someone to help you plan a wedding like this, reach out to me here so we can talk about your vision!