The average couple spends somewhere between a year and a half to two years planning for their big day. That time is spent contacting tons of vendors, getting price points in line, and putting the pieces together to bring your idea of a dream wedding to life. Once the day comes, you are only hoping and praying that everything you’ve planned out goes smoothly. You are turning over all you’ve put together to your vendors and trusting that it falls into place so you can enjoy the day!
When I envisioned our big day, the vibe was a modern chic theme. All the vendors I’m going to list played a huge role in bringing that vision to life! When I was meeting with vendors/spending money on items for the day, I made sure that I had my budget in mind the whole time. When you’re planning a wedding, it’s easy to splurge and lose track because its YOUR day. My advice to you is make sure you’re splurging in the right places that are important to you and your spouse. Some may splurge on their dress, DJ/band, or flowers/decor but for us it was on the photographer, videographer, and venue. It’s honestly different for everyone and that’s what makes every wedding unique!
In this blog post I have put together a list of our vendors who did an outstanding job and who helped make our wedding the most magical day! I have linked ways you can learn more about each company along with their social channels to make it easy for you. Now enjoy every minute of planning and I hope some of these vendors can be as useful to you as they have been to me!
*all photos shown were taken by Ben Ramos Photography*
Photographer: Ben Ramos Photography
We had… THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE GAME!!! All of the photos shown on this blog post are photos taken by Ben Ramos, the owner of Ben Ramos Photography! Ben refers to himself as a photography/hype man and that is spot on. We loved every photo that was captured and the good vibes that came along with him! In any photo of someone laughing it wasn’t fake. It was all genuine and pure happiness and that is why we chose him. He knows exactly how to take photos that will allow you to look back at it and feel the moment again. I go back and look at all the photos and reminisce on our beautiful day and we can do that thanks to Ben! Since then Ben has grown his company all by himself and he now has more photographers that work for him that are just as incredible as him! I highly recommend reaching out to him and using his business for your wedding! You will NOT be disappointed. You can visit his website at:
https://www.benramosphotos.com for more info!
Videographer: Phos Weddings
I tear up every time I watch our wedding video!!! It brings back every single emotion I felt this day. Phos Weddings absolutely killed it on our video. The owner and I went to high school together and when he reached out to me about being the videographer for our wedding I couldn’t pass him up! He is incredibly talented and is just the nicest guy. We got so lucky to have him shoot our wedding and we will forever have this day to look back on together and show our future kids some day. You can check his business out on facebook at Phos Weddings or their website at:
https://www.phosweddings.com/?fbclid=IwAR3F9YWg8QUDQhqWXrDm-euJUVcps86H8KfdHA42gFiJAT7mPKw4Lq2VW7E
Venue: Arrowhead Golf Club
Arrowhead Golf Club was the first place we visited 2 weeks after we got engaged. 5 months after signing with them and putting lots of money down with them we got word that my husband would be deploying 7 months earlier than expected, but Arrowhead was extremely accommodating when we notified them! We pushed the wedding date back 7 months and they gave us no problems. The whole staff at Arrowhead is extremely helpful and were incredible during the planning process, and they were just as great on the day of the wedding. They truly went above and beyond for us!!! We are thrilled that we had our wedding there and 10/10 recommend having your wedding reception there! They are located in Wheaton, IL off of Butterfield Road! https://arrowheadgolfclub.org/about/
DJ/Music: Sounds Abound
Sounds Abound was amazing and really knew how to help us throw a heck of a party! When you book with Sounds Abound they let you choose between about 40 DJ’s! We went with Keith and everyone loved him! I had an idea where I wanted to do when my husband went to get my garter and Keith helped and came up with the best idea! My plan was to “ICE” my husband by putting a Smirnoff Ice bottle between my leg and garter. That way when we went to go get it he would grab the Smirnoff Ice and be forced to chug it! Keith not only loved the idea and wanted to go along with it, he suggested we play “Ice Ice Baby” while its happening! Click the video below to watch how it went:
It was a success and everyone loved it! Sounds Abound provides more than just DJ’s. They have a Photo Booth you can rent along with uplighting (which we used!) and more! You can visit there website here for more information: https://www.soundsabound.com
Makeup Artist: Hannah Elisabeth Beauty
Thanks to Hannah Elizabeth Beauty I felt like the prettiest girl in the world!! When you book with Hannah Elizabeth Beauty they assign a makeup artist based on the location of your wedding. We had America come and do me and my girls makeup and everyone was so happy with her! You can check out Hannah Elizabeth Beauty on Instagram @hannahelisabethbeauty or you can visit their website at hannahelisabethbeauty.com
Florist: Kio Kreations
Our amazing wedding planner from our venue referred us to Kristen from Kio Kreations! Not only did Kristen do a gorgeous job with all our floral arrangements, she was so nice and so helpful with the whole process of deciding what the vision was for my flowers. I had somewhat of an idea of what I wanted but everything she put together turned out more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed! I had a budget and she worked with it and made every table and bouquet look marvelous. She is out of Plainfield, IL and works all over the Chicagoland area! You can find her on Instagram @kiokreations or on her website: www.kiokreations.com
Robes
I ordered these gorgeous robes for my bridesmaids, moms, and my flower girl! I couldn’t wait to give my most important ladies some of these as little gifts on the big day as a thank you for being there for my husband and I on our wedding day. These robes are a great price point and phenomenal quality. They are from Etsy and come in 4 different colors! You can click the link below to shop them!
https://www.liketoknow.it/ltk/6IY9l6B3OyyOEIxicBsB4
Welcome Sign
We absolutely loved the welcome sign we ordered off of Etsy! We had the sign at the front of the doors leading into the sanctuary at our church and then at the entrance of the ballroom at our venue. A friend I grew up cheering with makes all sorts of amazing hand written signs like this one, and I was thrilled to go through her business to purchase this! I love supporting local businesses. Especially ones I know and have known for years! You can shop by clicking the link below or visit NochtaBoutique on Etsy .
https://www.liketoknow.it/ltk/6JsSnUb5qnYKdfEEr22KLU
Julianne Lynn 
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