Chicago Wedding – Patty and Rob Boysen

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Imagine it – a beautiful young girl, speeding along the interstate in her Escalade, with Aerosmith blaring out of the speakers as she sings along….
“Pink it’s my new obsession
Yeah, pink it’s not even a question,
Pink on the lips of your lover, ’cause
Pink is the love you discover…”

When we arrived at Exposed Salon to meet with Patty on her and Rob’s wedding day, we were met head-on with a wall of pink.  It happens to be Patty’s favorite color, and definitely played a prominent theme in the wedding.  Patty was surrounded by her girls, everyone dressed head-to-toe (from flip flops to panties) in shades of pink.  Between sips of her pink Bellini, Patty entertained us with stories about her and Rob, their adventures in wedding planning, and her days as a shampoo girl with the salon who was helping with her wedding day look.

We traveled back to Patty’s parents’ house where her gorgeous Demetrios gown was waiting for her upstairs.  We met up with John, the videographer from Smiling Toad Productions, and started to capture some details while the girls were dressing.  Patty’s two sisters helped her into her wedding gown and we all took a moment to admire her before the bride and all 8 (!) bridesmaids piled into the limousine to head to the ceremony.

The ceremony took place at the Our Lady of Victory Church where Rob spent his childhood years as an altar boy.  It was a gorgeous church with a wonderfully long and dramatic aisle.  Patty’s pink peony bouquet, by Patty Kudlacz from Fairy Godmothers, was matched by her awesome pink flower purse, stacked in the pew with the rest of the bridesmaid clutches. This little trio almost stole the show when the littlest flower girl tipped over in the wagon halfway down the aisle.  Too cute!

Patty and Rob were married with a traditional Catholic ceremony that celebrated the unity of their Irish and Italian heritages.  Ryan, one of the Best Men, was obviously a sentimental kind of guy and was very touched by the marriage of his best friend to Patty.  He conveyed his emotion with this simple gesture of forming a heart with his hands around the ring box.

Patty and Rob exited the church to a sea of waving pink ribbons to their waiting stretch Escalade (him) and limousine (her).   The joy on their faces in this image is contagious – I can’t help but smile.

We travelled to the Mortem Arboretum for portraits with the bride, groom, and bridal party.  Josh scoped out some fun locations a few days before the wedding and we had a great time shooting here.  First, we took the whole bridal party to the maze where they scattered throughout the rows while we photographed them from above.

We also caught Rob and Patty dipping between the hedges for a secret kiss in the secret garden.

On our way to the next location, we passed through a set of English gardens where everything was meticulously groomed and the trees were in full bloom.

Our last spot at Mortem Arboretum was the ‘You Are Beautiful’ sign.  Joshua described it to us as looking like the Hollywood sign and he wasn’t joking – it was huge!  I could not think of a better backdrop for these breathtaking photographs of Patty and Rob.

We also played around on the ‘B’ for some fun photographs with their new monogram.

Patty and Rob’s cocktail hour and reception were held at The Wyndham in Lisle.  The reception hall was drenched in pink accents and amazing up-lighting from Admit One DJs, and decorated with an assortment of table centerpieces that used manzanita branches, pink tea lights, and orchids/peonies.

Patty and Rob sliced into their elegant 5-tier cake and joined their wedding party at the front table for some of the funniest toasts I have ever heard.  I won’t say which sister thought that the nosebleed section meant the front row because you could get hit with the ball, but I was in tears from laughing so hard.

They shared a first dance to ‘Marry Me’, followed by dances with their parents, and then kicked off the party.  The guests crowded the dance floor and the music kept them moving – I’m sure the signature drink, the Poysen Passion (a famous drink for a famous couple) didn’t hurt either.  😉

 

Congratulations, Patty and Rob, and thank you for letting us be a part of your special day!