Unique and Fun Lacuna Lofts Wedding Feature: Nikki and Kevin

Real Weddings
Written By Firmly Rooted Events

One of the sweetest couples at one of our favorite venues made for the perfect wedding in October. The week leading up to this late-October wedding, the weather was cold and we weren’t sure how it would be, but the weekend was PERFECT in the 70s! Nikki and Kevin had booked us for day-of coordination and we were SO happy to be a part of such a BEAUTIFUL wedding inside and out. The ceremony and reception were both held in La Galleria at Lacuna Lofts, which is the smaller of the two even spaces that they have available at Lacuna Lofts in Chicago. The cocktail hour was actually able to be on their SkyDeck because the weather was so beautiful, and we were so thankful because the views are absolutely incredible! This wedding was extra special because of just how personalized everything was to them as a couple - not only is the venue itself eclectic and fun, but they really made sure every detail was well-thought out: they met on Bumble, so they had honey as the favors, they hired the magician that was at the bar they had their first date at for cocktail hour, and their love of music and the arts really shined through for their reception details. This is a wedding we will always remember because of how lovely everyone was and how beautifully everything came together even with the challenges that were faced throughout the wedding day.

The day started at The Viceroy Hotel for both sides of the couple - it was nice and easy to have everyone starting in the same place to make sure everyone had what they needed for a smooth start to the wedding day!

Nikki and her wedding party members had a fun morning from the start - we know that really helped keep their energy up all day! We loved their matching PJ sets that can be easily removed without messing up their hair and makeup.

One thing that we noticed from the day we met Nikki and Kevin is their fun-loving energy. Nikki was so funny and it really showed throughout their wedding photos from start to finish. We don’t usually include so many photos of the getting ready portion, but when we saw the photo album we couldn’t help but laugh seeing these!

Nikki and Kevin did a first look and private vows on a patio at the hotel. It was really wonderful to have the privacy of the patio while still being at the hotel - we always recommend doing a first look, but it’s definitely nice when the hotel is beautiful enough that you can do it there before heading out for photos!

The couple and the wedding party did nearly all of their photos prior to the ceremony at Ping Tom Park. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky! We loved the color of the wedding party dresses - the muted teal look really was elegant while still having a pop of color too.

Another thing while getting to see the photos since we were setting up at the ceremony - it looks like Nikki got to meet a furry friend while taking the photos! This really was a precious moment that we loved to be a part of the album - Not only are the photos Courtney Fitzpatrick took spectacular as you can tell, but they really told a story about the couple and the wedding day they actually had with candid shots like these.

We absolutely adored the florals too - Saville Flowers had a beautiful selection of florals and they really popped against the muted teal dresses the bridesmaids had.

Once the photos wrapped up at the park, the wedding park headed over to the venue to take some photos in the space. One thing we love about Lacuna Lofts are all of the murals they have - the honey one here was also really fitting because of their relationship starting from Bumble!

The ceremony was always set to be indoors, but we had to rotate the original layout last-minute because of a logistical issue. We wanted to make the ceremony as free of back-lighting as possible while still making it make sense with the layout of the room. Thankfully, everything went off without a hitch for the layout! The ceremony was nice and quick which helped keep things on time to account for the late guests coming up the elevators.

After the ceremony, Nikki and Kevin went to the wedding suite to eat appetizers and soak in that they’re married! We made sure they had everything they needed and that the cocktail hour was running smoothly.

Al James, the cocktail hour magician was a huge hit! We had planned for cocktail hour to be 1.5 hours to make sure the ceremony and reception time lined up with their invitations and it was so cool to have the magician at their wedding that was at the bar they had their first date at.

The reception setup was stunning for so many reasons, Saville Flowers did an amazing job with the room flip and everything looked beautiful! Our favorite part was the table numbers - they were named after theatres in Chicago, but they were handmade by Nikki’s former art students which was so special!! They also had us set out their “Bumble-themed” favors with little personalized jars of honey. We thought they were the perfect little favor that was applicable to the couple and also not cumbersome to take home!

After cocktail hour was over, we went right into the grand entrance which was a high five line with the wedding party which felt fun and fitting for Nikki and Kevin. We had the cake cutting, some speeches, and everything kicked off with an amazing dinner from LM Catering!

While dinner was wrapping up and the couple finished eating, they did beautiful sunset photos on the Skydeck during dinner. These photos were truly some of our favorites from the day - the sunset was actually perfect and they were SO cute together while still having authentic fun! They said they use the red tank on the Skydeck to know where to get off at on the highway, so they made sure to take some photos with that too for some extra personalized photos to them as a couple.

The reception was a blast - after the formal dances were finished, the band got started with their set and there was one last bit of personality with a German toast and a song that their grandma danced to! It was a great night overall even with many bustle issues that we eventually safety pinned to keep together for the rest of the night. After the reception ended, the wedding party headed out to their after party and kept the fun going too.

Overall, Nikki and Kevin were an absolute hoot to get to know and work with - we loved every second of the day because they both were so ready to have fun and have a wedding that was exactly as they wanted. The personalized elements always stick out to us and your guests, and we really appreciated having a part of this day and making sure everything ran smoothly!

If you’re looking to have a wedding where you can focus on the fun and not on the details, reach out to us at our contact page and we would be happy to help you have a great time on your wedding day!

Nikki also wrote us the most amazing review for the day-of coordination:

“Out of all the decisions that have to be made for a wedding, working with Rachel as our day-of coordinator was easily one of the best ones we could have made. We joked that we wanted to get married again exclusively to just work with Rachel again, and that thought still sounds like an absolute dream.

Of course, she made our big day a dream, too. She went above and beyond since the moment we signed our contract months before - immediately emailing us detailed notes after reading through each and every one of our contracts (we didn’t even read them as closely as she did!), introducing us to her perfect dog during our initial virtual meeting, staying in constant communication with tips, advice, and just general cheerleading as we worked to plan this crazy big event.

As we got closer to the event, Rachel, who was already doing way more than we thought a day-of coordinator would ever do, did that much more. We spoke for over 2 hours as she worked through our timeline with us practically to the minute, and revised, revised, revised so patiently when we kept throwing new thoughts and ideas out there.

Day of, we were reminded just how lucky we were to have connected. She was everywhere! Ensuring our room flip was perfect, getting us some time to decompress after our ceremony with our signature drinks and appetizers, introducing herself to our families, and running our ceremony effortlessly as she had during our rehearsal. She was ready for it all: me wanting to change into converse but forgetting socks? Don’t worry, she had brand new socks in her car. Spill on the dance floor? Don’t worry, she had found maintenance and had it cleaned within minutes. And every bride’s personal favorite: the wedding dress bustle that broke not once, not twice, not three times, but four times? Don’t worry, Rachel’s handiwork with some safety pins is unmatched as the main bustle strings just didn’t want to hold.

On top of all of this, Rachel sent us so many behind-the-scenes videos and pictures after the event, flooding our phones with captured joy we got to cherish all over again the next day.

Rachel is so grounded, so kind, so unbelievably patient and easygoing - include her in your day and it will sparkle.”

If you’re looking to have an incredible wedding like theirs, feel free to reach out to us at our contact page. We would love to come up with ideas to personalize your wedding day to fit you as a couple too!

Firmly Rooted Events https://firmlyrootedevents.com
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