Vicky found the dress @ The Dress for her April 2012
wedding to her fiancé Patrick. The couple met at a bar in 2006. They both
accepted their first jobs out of college in the Milwaukee, WI area. “Although
we lived only a couple of miles away and hung out at all the same places, it
wasn't until July 3, 2007 that our paths crossed.” Vicky was out celebrating
her 23rd birthday and Pat was out on the town for the 4th of July, both with
co-workers at the time. After kicking the night off at Vicky's friend's place
it started to rain. Conveniently, one of Vicky's favorite dive bars, Jo-Cats,
was only a couple blocks away. Upon walking into Jo-Cats a group of men on the
dance floor were quickly noticed. Pat and a few others stood around and laughed
as their one friend busted out some "sweet" dance moves in the
corner. Vicky quickly made her way to Pat and introduced herself. Pat hung out
with the "PPG Crew" the rest of that evening and called the very next
day. From that moment on we have never gone a day without talking to each
other.
How Patrick popped The question…In early January 2011
they began looking to buy a home together. They quickly found a few
places that we were very interested in. The week before Patrick proposed he had
many restless nights, and blamed it on the excitement of the house search.
Although Vicky was skeptical, she was also very excited. “Then on Thursday,
January 13th Patrick suggested that we go out for dinner that Friday. I thought
it was a little strange to be planning a Friday night out ahead of time but
figured he had some Groupon's to use so sounded great.” That night Patrick said
he wanted to go on a quick run before dinner but strongly suggested that Vicky
take a shower and get ready for dinner at a local sushi place. “As we walked to
the door to leave Patrick said he had one thing he wanted to show Vicky before
they left. In our den in River North with the city as the backdrop, Pat got on
one knee and proposed. He continued with the surprises by telling me to dress
up as he had reservations at Spiaggia to celebrate. It was an absolutely
perfect night. :)”
After much debate the couple was very tempted to do a
destination wedding in the Florida keys because Vicky grew up in Miami. Although,
they knew that it would limit the number of friends and family that could make
the trek. That being said, they did not want to lose sight of an outdoors as an
option. “Downtown Chicago was tempting, but as we began our search we agreed to
stay true to ourselves. Pat had fond memories of the Morton Arboretum growing
up so we decided to check it out. We loved it instantly. One of our favorite
features was that even if Chicago’s unpredictable weather sent us indoors for
our ceremony, the Morton Arboretum’s Gingko Room’s floor to ceiling windows
would provide an unforgettable backdrop (good thing, it was a little too cool
that day!). We decided on a spring wedding to avoid some of the summer heat and
enjoy the Arboretum as it began to bloom!” It was the perfect setting for their
175 wedding guests.
How Vicky found The Dress…"I actually started my dress
search looking for something completely different! I wanted something flowy,
with a larger flowery skirt, something dramatic! With my small figure though, I
just got lost in them all. Four stores and way too many dresses later, I came
across The Dress by Nicole.When viewing the website I followed the links to Amy Kuschel’s site. I knew from the second I saw her ‘Kennedy’ dress that it was THE one. I texted my mom a picture and said I had to try it on. She had been begging me to try on something more fitted and also loved it instantly. When I made it to the shop to try it on, there was no question. The detail of the lace and the form fitting, yet comfortable body were unmatched. The dress was feminine, romantic, modern and classic all at the same time. Perfect!” The Kennedy style by Amy Kuschel is an Alencon lace mermaid gown trimmed with silk Mikado that is tied in a bow in the center back. Vicky also selected a gorgeous glimmer tulle veil that was flat on the comb but fuller at the ends for a soft, romantic look.
Choosing her colors was the easiest decision. “We started with Pink, Gold, and Blue because I love Pink and Gold and Patrick loves Blue! As we put together our color inspiration board (yes Pat had to sit through this), the colors just came together naturally! As the planning continued the colors evolved to include a lot of green in addition in order to compliment the beautiful backdrop of the arboretum!
Vicky’s favorite moment of the day…”I think it would come down to two moments: exchanging our vows and our first dance. There’s not a second of my wedding day that I did not love. Everything went perfectly and I just could not stop smiling, but at those two moments I will never forget the way Patrick looked at me and the overflowing love I felt for him.”
Her favorite or unique wedding detail was her place card table.
“I absolutely loved our place card table! The beer koozie favors were also a
huge hit! Lastly, we made our table numbers by hand after some online
inspiration. One of my co-workers actually cut down a tree for me and Patrick
and his dad sharpied on all the numbers and the Mr. & Mrs. I loved them!”
They chose the very romantic and beautiful city of lights,
Paris, for their honeymoon! “There is nothing more romantic than standing under
the Eiffel Tower at night with your new husband!”
Her advice for other brides planning is, “Don’t be afraid to do some things yourself to save money (we did our programs, menus, place cards, table numbers, candy table, etc, super easy!) but if you are, ask your family and friends for help! I was so stressed two weeks before our wedding trying to do it all myself. When I finally just asked for help everyone jumped right in and they were happy to do it.”
Her advice for the day of…“Cry all you want, but only
happy tears. Don’t spend one second over analyzing a detail or worrying about a
vendor or guest. It’s the best day ever! One of my bridesmaids found out as we
were changing to leave for pictures she had grabbed the wrong dress from home! It all ended up
working out (thankfully the dress was in a near suburb), but you know what, if
it hadn’t I wouldn’t have cared. Some of the best, funniest memories are the
ones you did not plan.”
