Ryan and I arrived in Chicago on Friday afternoon to kick off Kristen and Matt’s wedding festivities. My friend Leah picked us up at the airport and brought us back to her place where we relaxed, snacked on trail mix and caught up for a few hours before Ryan and I had to leave for Kristen and Matt’s rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.
Kristen and I have been friends for twenty three years. Isn’t that insane!? We met in first grade and she is my oldest friend. Kristen volunteered to give me a tour of Pleasant Hill Elementary School when my family moved to Palatine, Illinois and I was the “new girl.” We hit it off right from the start and I’m so glad we’ve continued our friendship through separate colleges and miles and miles of distance between us.
Kristen and Matt have quite a crazy story. Their childhood homes are located one neighborhood apart and though Matt is a few years older, they attended the same elementary school, junior high, high school and college and Matt’s sister was in our same grade, but they never met until after college. They are fantastic together and the joy and giddiness they bring out in each other is so wonderful to see.
A Quick Tour of Palatine
Kristen and Matt’s wedding day began with a light rain. The forecast called for showers all day, but fortunately the weatherman was wrong and though the humidity remained, the rain dissipated after 10 a.m.
Before Ryan dropped me off at Kristen’s parents’ house on Saturday morning, we did a super-short tour of Palatine so I could drive by some of my old favorite places. I always feel emotional and nostalgic anytime we go back to the place I consider my childhood home! (My family and I lived in our Palatine house from the time I was in first grade through my senior year in high school.)
We drove by my old schools and my old house.
(My dad installed that basketball hoop and I was so glad to see it’s still there!)
I miss that house so much. It was a wonderful place to grow up and I have so many fantastic memories associated with our time in Palatine.
Kristen lived in the neighborhood next to mine growing up, so after I snapped a few pictures of my old house to text to my family, we made the one minute drive to Kristen’s parents’ place where Ryan dropped me off at 9 a.m. It was time to get the wedding fun started!
Kristen and Matt’s Wedding Day
Kristen is one of the most organized people on the planet and I loved how we were all greeted with an agenda for the day. As a planner myself, I appreciated her attention to detail!
Since I opted out of having my makeup done and my hair appointment was the last one on the schedule, my morning was rather relaxed! Kristen’s four incredibly friendly sorority sisters, her now sister-in-law and her brother’s fiancé were my fellow bridesmaids and I had fun hanging out with all of them and snacking on the breakfast and lunch Kristen’s mom prepared. Of course the best part of the day was spending quality time with the bride-to-be!
Time started to pass faster and faster the closer we got to our intended departure time (isn’t that always the case?) and before we knew it, we were piling into an old fashioned trolley and heading to Holy Family.
Kristen rode to the church with her parents while the bridesmaids and Kristen’s brother rode in the trolley. Once we arrived, we made sure to hide Kristen from her groom and usher her into a room where we waited for guests to arrive before her 2:30 p.m. ceremony began.
There’s something about that waiting room that makes the nerves set in! (My friend Leah married her husband Matt at the same church back in 2011 and I remember the waiting room being the “room of nerves” then as well!)
We played some music and talked about how excited we were for Kristen, how beautiful she looked and how wonderful it would be for her to finally see Matt at the end of the aisle in a few short minutes. Kristen was filled with excited anticipation and when it was time for us to leave her with her dad, we hugged and cheered!
As we lined up, I started to feel nervous and excited as well! Weddings always overwhelm me in the best kind of way.
I walked down the aisle of the church Kristen and Matt and their families have both attended all of their lives and waited to see my best friend and her dad appear.
As the music changed and all of the guests rose from their seats, I watched as Kristen walked toward her future husband with the biggest smile on her face.
Matt’s eyes lit up when he saw Kristen and he was absolutely beaming. I also glanced at Kristen’s older brother who was one of Matt’s groomsmen and someone I’ve known since I was seven. I was touched by the love and pride I saw on his face while he watched his little sister walk down the aisle.
Kristen and Matt’s ceremony was a full Catholic mass and Friar John Paul did a wonderful job of adding unique touches that made the ceremony feel quite personal.
The ceremony included several readings, a unity candle and a special moment where all married couples were encouraged to raise their wedding rings for a blessing. At this moment, I made eye contact with Ryan and had to laugh since his wedding ring is currently resting at the bottom of a lake.
Before we knew it, Friar John Paul was introducing Kristen and Matt as husband and wife and the newlyweds walked back down the aisle, hand-in-hand!
The bridal party exchanged excited hugs with Kristen and Matt before it was time to snap a few pictures and join our dates back on the trolley for some drinks and more pictures before the reception began.
The trolley ride kicked off with a champagne toast before stopping for some outdoor pictures en route to Chandler’s Chophouse.
From this point on, the rest of the evening felt like one big party! Both Kristen and Matt have such a positive energy about them and this seemed to carry over to their reception.
I know this is a random thing to note, but the speeches at their reception were incredible! Kristen’s dad, two best men and two maids of honor gave touching speeches that had everyone raving. They really were that good and it was even more impressive that every single speech was amazing!
There was no shortage of people on the dance floor throughout the evening and I had a blast! From start to finish the whole day felt like Kristen and Matt. It was such a wonderful wedding.
Congratulations again to the happy couple! Thank you so much for including me in your special day.
I hope you have the most amazing time on your honeymoon!
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The colors they picked are gorgeous! I love wedding season…it’s all about quality time with loved ones, new beginnings, and of course, FUN (cough cough that trolley ride looks like a blast). Glad you guys had a great weekend. And you looked beautiful as always! 🙂
Thanks, Katie!
Looks like a beautiful wedding and loved the b’maids dress colors. Also, love the yellow dress you wore the night before, where is it from?
Thank you! I got it on RueLaLa, but the brand is ABS by Allen Schwartz. I couldn’t find it online in yellow, but here it is in pink –> http://popsu.gr/utnK and in a blue print –> http://popsu.gr/utoi (Just FYI, the blue print is way expensive… I got my dress for around $60, so I’d check RueLaLa since they often feature the same dresses again and again)
Thanks so much!
You are always at weddings! I love your dress and the bride and groom look beautiful! Weddings are my favorite events! All my love xo C
You can feel the love in those pics! Beautiful!
Such a gorgeous wedding! Love your guy’s dresses, so pretty! I can’t wait for the wedding I’ll be attending this fall. Weddings are always so much fun 🙂
Holy Family is also the church my hubby and I were married in back in 2005! These pics bring back so many memories!
Aw that’s so awesome!
I love wedding weekends! It looks like a wonderful time.
Love the bridesmaids dresses!!! Such a pretty colour!!!
What a beautiful wedding! I absolutely love the bridesmaid dresses and flowers. That last picture of the bride and groom kissing is so sweet!
That is my favorite picture 🙂
Looks like so much fun! You all look beautiful!
Cute wedding! love the trolley ride idea- so different than a limo!!
The trolley was such a neat touch!!
Stunning wedding, you look so pretty =)
Feel like I just attended a wedding minus the 100 gift =) hehe. Just kidding, I love blessing the new couple!
Looks like it was a really nice wedding!
Absolutely love that blue dress! You look so pretty!
Great pictures though, looks so much fun!
What a beautiful wedding – and I LOVE the colors she chose! That’s just so crazy that they never met until after college, guess they were all larger schools and the 3-year thing that did it!
Oh my gosh, the waiting room before the ceremony is the most nerve wracking part of weddings for me! But so exciting too. I love the color she chose for the bridesmaids dresses. You all look beautiful in them! Perfect for a summer wedding.
The color of those bridesmaid dresses is beautiful! I love the bouquets too.
Gorgeous pictures! Congratulations to them 🙂
Kim
http://trendkeeper.me
Such a beautiful wedding! I love going home and driving around to our old farm, the couple places we lived, and my old schools. This last time, I even got a little emotional crossing the county line 🙂
Wow, Kristen’s dress is so gorgeous! What a lovely wedding. They really look happy!
Love wedding weekends!!! I was the wedding photographer for my friend’s wedding this weekend, and to say I’m exhausted is an understatement! It’s SO much fun to be a part of someone’s wedding, either by being a vendor or a bridesmaid…you really get to experience all of the joy and emotions and see the bride up close and personal on the happiest day of her life (so far)! You looked beautiful!
I wore a black bridesmaid dress like the on you have on last summer and I loved it! Y’all look beautiful in your dresses and the color looks great! Looks like such a beautiful wedding and a great weekend!
Like everyone said, you looked beautiful and the dresses were an awesome color! Luckily my parents sold my childhood house to my brother, so I still get to stay there. I hope it always stays in the family. It was special to be able to show Ryan around your childhood neighbourhood! 🙂
What a fun wedding weekend! I absolutely love your bright yellow dress! Love that color and you look great!
Thank you!
Weddings are always so beautiful. I’m impressed how many pics you were able to snap with standing up.
Ryan took most of the pictures 🙂
Aw, fun wedding! I love the trolly idea. Also, I’m pretty sure I own that same dress in a light pink from my friend’s wedding back in 2011. Beautiful! xo
What a beautiful wedding! I was just in a wedding on the 4th of July (http://kblblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-beautiful-besties-wedding.html) and our dresses look a lot like the ones you guys have on in these pics. Only ours were black and were a high-low 🙂
Love your yellow dress! It’s a great color on you!
I always feel nostalgic when I go to my childhood hometown too and see the house(s) I grew up in. It really makes me miss bein’ a kid!
Love the bridesmaid dresses! My friend is getting married and that is the exact type of dress she wants. Where did you guys get your dresses?
The brand is After Six and we ordered them online. 🙂
Love the wedges you wore for the rehearsal, where are they from?
I love your yellow dress! So cute! Looks like a wonderful day 🙂 You are gorgeous and so is the bride Kristen 🙂
Everyone looks so gorgeous (especially the bride 🙂 ) and it looks like an amazing wedding! Wishing them lots of wedded bliss!
Weddings are always so special! I just read your “old favorites” post. My daughter was in a high school dance competition last spring at your high school. Small world!
No way!! So cool!
All you ladies look awesome … in fact it was like blonde septuplets (and one brunette) 🙂
Love how Ryan matched his tie to your dress.
Who was taking care of Sadie???????????????????????????????
We actually boarded her for the first time. I was so sad to leave her but we chose a place with doggie daycare so she got a lot of playtime with other dogs while we were away.
It looks like they had a wonderful day. The bridesmaid dresses are so cute. See photos of weddings makes me even more excited for my wedding day.
Looks like a gorgeous wedding!
I can’t believe we were both in Chicago for weddings this weekend! Wish we could have grabbed coffee or something!
Also, that yellow dress is FANTASTIC. 😉
Thanks Rachel! I really hope to meet you in person someday!!
Love the wedding pictures, Julie. I am getting married in a little more than two weeks and I can’t wait. Our bridesmaids dresses are royal blue but I love this blue too! And I love the flowers too. I hope everything comes together as beautifully as hers!
I love the colour of your dresses. So pretty and they match the flowers perfectly!
Too funny…I was married there too AND Friar John Paul married us!! He was the best! I also teach at Palatine HIgh School. 🙂
How cool!! 🙂 My ex-boyfriend’s dad teaches there… or at least he used too! 🙂 not sure anymore!
Her dress was absolutely gorgeous! It looks like a beautiful wedding! Best wishes to the newlyweds!
As someone who has been in a lot of weddings.. I’m looking for some advice from you! Do you find that for weddings where you can get makeup/hair done.. does the bride usually offer to pick up the tab for all the girls, offer the service to them and expect them to pay, or what is your experience? Any opinion on this? I want to offer if but I don’t want anyone to feel they have to do it (if they dont want it done!). Thanks!