Vendor Team:

Day Of Wedding Coordinator - 618 EVENTS, Kylie
Reception Venue & Catering - Champaign Country Club
Ceremony Venue - St Matt’s Catholic Church
Hair - Just Bee Salon
Makeup - Hansen and Co. & Grace Lamb
Photographer - Brad & Alisa
Videographer - Glen Avenue Productions
Floral - J. Blu Designs
Live Band - Chicago Catz
Cake - Pan & Cake Catering
Guest Book - After the Tone
Transportation - Elite Limos
Stage Rental - Let’s Party

Bailey and Richard’s wedding was truly a dream wedding day. They were such a lovely couple to work with, and had so many amazing friends and family surrounding them. I am so happy for them and wish many years of happiness and growing love to them!

After my first meeting with Bailey and Richard, I knew that they were going to be such a great couple to work with. It was evident that they cared for one another, and were so excited for this day to happen. In addition, they had both of their mothers at the meeting and they were so excited as well. It was great getting comfortable with so many of the wedding party at one time!

This wedding was so dreamy and fun to be a part of. The ceremony was at St. Matt’s Catholic church in Champaign and the reception was at the Champaign Country Club. The reception felt like it was out of a movie. It was outdoors, under string lights and just absolutely stunning. Now to the details of the wedding day!

Friday was the rehearsal at St. Matt’s Church. It was so great to see Bailey and Richard surrounded by all of their friends and family for the first time. Bailey was absolutely glowing and had such an amazing rehearsal dress and shoes on. Everything with the rehearsal went smoothly and they were off to their rehearsal dinner at the Venue CU. If you haven’t checked out The Venue CU yet you can read about other weddings we have coordinated there here. Additionally, they have the perfect space for social events such as the rehearsal dinner or other parties like birthday parties, showers, etc.

Saturday morning is when all of the true fun began. I arrived at the Champaign Country Club (CCC) and went to check on the girls getting ready. I walked in on a room full of bridesmaids and a bride having so much fun! Bailey was full of so much joy and was so ready for this day. Hair and makeup were right on schedule which was so helpful for the rest of the day. Wedding planning tip for the morning of your wedding- be sure to build in extra time in case hair and makeup runs longer than expected. This way you aren’t stressed because you already had a cushion of time.

While I was with the girls, the Champaign Country Club began setting up all of the items for the reception. They had an amazing team getting all the tables, chairs, and linens placed in the morning. In addition, Let’s Party was getting the stage ready for the Chicago Catz to perform later that evening. It was so great having the CCC there to get everything in order.

Once the girls were all ready, Bailey got into her dress and did a reveal to her bridesmaids. She kept her dress a secret from almost everyone which made this moment so special. Earlier that day they took a video of each bridesmaid guessing what they thought her dress would look like. How fun! It was so cute seeing all of their reactions and hearing them say if they were close or not. Bailey’s dress looked like it was made for her, and was so classy and elegant. Following this, she did a first look with her father. This was such a sweet moment they shared and it was evident of the strong bond they hold. Then they finally had the best first look of them all with Richard. He was blown away by how beautiful Bailey was and they were so happy to see each other. They read their vows during this time, which allowed them to be very sweet and private.

After her first look with Richard, bridal party photos began. They had such a great group of friends and the pictures turned out absolutely stunning! Pro tip: have the groom wear his ring for the pictures so he looks married in them! Everything was running on schedule thanks to our AMAZING photographer Alisa who got their shots done so quickly.

The bridal party loaded up on their trolley for the ceremony and I gathered important items so they didn’t have to keep track of them. Things like ring boxes, flower girl baskets, programs, etc. The ceremony went absolutely perfect and was such a beautiful thing to watch. Bailey and Richard are now happily married. YAY!!! Following the ceremony, their guests lined up for a white rose petal toss. This ended up being so picture perfect.

The bridal party went around town with their photographer and videographer to capture more photos and the guests headed to the CCC for cocktail hour. I arrived and checked to make sure all the final details were in place, and then we began the fun. The guests seemed to love cocktail hour as the Chicago Catz had a trio playing and the atmosphere was amazing. All of the bridal party arrived at cocktail hour except for the bride and groom. I was preparing them for their INCREDIBLE entrance to the party. They rode up the 18th hole on a golf cart that had a “just married” sign on it. When they reached the party, they got out and popped the champagne for a champagne tower! This was such a unique and elegant touch to their cocktail hour. What a fun way to make your first appearance as Mr. and Mrs.!

The guests were seated and the bridal party was officially announced to all the guests in attendance. The bride and groom of course had the biggest applause and went right into cutting their cake. Pan and Cake did an amazing job on the 3-tier beautiful cake. Following the cake cutting, the CCC served an amazing dinner for everyone. Some wonderful toasts were made during dinner and then the bride and groom got to share their first dance as a married couple. After Bailey danced with her father and Richard danced with his mother, it was time for the party to begin. The Chicago Catz did an amazing job keeping the energy up, and everyone seemed to love the open dancing. We HIGHLY recommend hiring a live band to perform for your wedding reception as the energy is much higher and people are more likely to dance with a live band. Towards the end of the night, there was a surprise firework show for the Bride and Groom. This was the perfect touch to the night!

I loved getting to help make Bailey and Richard’s wedding day a dream come true and am so glad that they are now happily married!!!