Liz Schrenk 2/1/26 Liz Schrenk 2/1/26

Kristen & Zach’s Beautiful Concorde Banquets Wedding

Kristen and Zach first met in high school in 2013 via a mutual friend – they dated for two years before they broke up, but remained friends and in each other's lives. They rekindled their love in the Summer of 2018 and have been together ever since. Kristen and Zach share such a beautiful connection, they are supportive, silly and ultimately so loving with one another. In October 2024 they took a trip together to Mackinac Island where Zach proposed and they started planning their wedding together!

I loved meeting Kristen and Zach and was so looking forward to their engagement session last Spring, but the chaos of life (and an early morning fender-bender) meant that Conrad was the one who got to connect with Kristen and Zach to take their photos at Wilder Mansion. We were all looking forward to Kristen and Zach’s big day, it was our last wedding of 2025 and we just knew it would be gorgeous!

The temperature on Kristen and Zach’s wedding day was unbearably cold, but after their sweet first look we convinced them to dash outside of the hotel for a few quick photos before leaving for the venue. We are SO glad we did, the snow and tall grasses made for such gorgeous wintry photos! Christy, Conrad and I worked quickly and took a lot of pretty pictures before we all felt almost completely frozen, we were happy then to spend the rest of the day cozy inside at the Concorde. It looked beautiful in their lobby with all the holiday decor set up! We took plenty of pictures of Kristen, Zach and their wedding party before moving upstairs for their ceremony.

After Kristen and Zach said “I do” everyone was ready to celebrate. The room looked gorgeous thanks to their talented vendor team, and we all had so much fun dancing the night away. It was the perfect Winter wedding and we were so grateful to have been a part of it!

Congratulations, Kristen and Zach, we love you and wish you a lifetime of happiness together!

To see all of Kristen and Zach’s beautiful wedding photos, click here

VENDOR DETAILS
PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEOGRAPHY
Something Blue

VENUE
Concorde Banquets

FLORIST
JSW Floral

HAIR
The Beauty Team

MAKEUP
Hairs 2 the Bride

DJ
DJ Luniks

BRIDESMAIDS’ DRESSES
Azazie

MENSWEAR
Mr. Tux

WEDDING CAKE
The Baking Institute

Liz Schrenk 1/24/26 Liz Schrenk 1/24/26

Nicole & Ben’s Joyous Marriott Lincolnshire Wedding

Nicole and Ben first matched on Hinge in 2022 and had their first date at Figo Wine Bar in Chicago. What started as a first date of getting to know each other ended in them talking for hours on end and staying until closing time! Over the last few years Nicole and Ben shared nothing but wonderful memories – trips to Boston, Maine, and Florida, Summer boating days in Wisconsin, co-parenting their bulldog Phyllis, watching every Eagles game, and enjoying every plenty of ice cream along the way! On December 22nd, 2024, Ben took their relationship to the next level and proposed at the Chicago Botanic Garden with both of their families there to witness, and they started the exciting process of planning a wedding!

I first got to know Nicole and Ben at their engagement session last Spring, we met up at Graeter’s Ice Cream in Northbrook and had SO much fun together! Nicole and Ben are just the most joyful, loving and happy people, being in their presence is like a breath of fresh air! We were all SO excited to celebrate their wedding with them this December, it was a cold and snowy day and everything just felt perfect. We arrived at the Lincolnshire Marriott where Nicole and her besties were getting ready, everyone looked amazing thanks to the talented team at Rare Bird Beauties. Once Nicole was ready we arranged a series of “first look” moments inside at the hotel, she saw her Dad, future in-laws and bridesmaids for the first time in her full bridal look, each moment was sweeter than the one before it! It was just so special to be a part of this day, Nicole is clearly SO loved and it meant a lot to us to photograph each of these important people in her life celebrating her and sharing in her joy on her wedding day. Nicole was in high-spirits and said she was very much wanting to do pictures outside, even in her gorgeous strapless gown from Martellen’s. We took Ben outside first and then let the two of them have their first-look moment while we stood in the snow and captured the sweetness from a distance. Nicole and Ben chose to share private vows and we felt so honored to be present while they expressed their love for one another. Soon their wedding party came outside as well to join us for a few quick (and cold!) photos before we all loaded up to head to Our Lady of Perpetual Help for the ceremony.

This was my first time visiting Our Lady of Perpetual Help and I was in awe of how beautiful this church and its surrounding grounds are. I wish we could photograph every ceremony here!! Following their traditional Catholic ceremony we snuck outside for a few quick photos with the wedding party and newlyweds before the sun went down. After taking family photos inside of the church we made our way back towards the Lincolnshire Marriott but stopped quickly at the fountain in Wheeling for some pretty and festive nighttime photos with all the pretty Christmas lights. It was so cold but so magical!!

When we got back to the venue we connected with Marcella who had been working with the amazing Lincolnshire Marriott team to make the room absolutely perfect for Nicole and Ben’s reception. We were excited to see our old friend Rob from Monastero Entertainment, he did a great job as always serving as emcee and even treated the guests to a little Frank Sinatra during dinner! This was just the most amazing Winter wedding, we loved every moment celebrating this wonderful couple!

Congratulations, Nicole and Ben, we love you and wish you a lifetime of happiness together!

To see all of Nicole and Ben’s beautiful wedding photos click here

VENDOR DETAILS
PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEOGRAPHY
Something Blue

DAY-OF COORDINATION
Something Blue

VENUE
Marriott Lincolnshire Resort

FLORIST
Flowers By KH

HAIR & MAKEUP
Rare Bird Beauties

WEDDING DRESS
Oxford Street

BRIDEMAIDS’ DRESSES
Revelry

ENGAGEMENT RING
Grown Brilliance

WEDDING SHOES
Dolce Vita

MENSWEAR
The Black Tux

Liz Schrenk 1/18/24 Liz Schrenk 1/18/24

Carlee & David’s Beautiful Independence Grove Wedding

Carlee and David met at work and connected through their shared appreciation for gaming. They hit it off and started seeing each other and fell in love with each other’s quirks and mutual loyalty to one another. Carlee loves all things Disney and David chose to propose to her in front of Cinderella’s castle at Disney World, and their fairytale love story truly began.

Conrad loved getting to know Carlee and David at their beautiful Starved Rock engagement session last winter. They explored the gorgeous state park together with with their sweet dog Copper. Conrad, Lindsay and I were all excited to be part of Carlee and David’s winter wedding at Independence Grove! Carlee had created a lot of sweet thoughtful details that we loved discovering throughout the day, but the thing we were all most impressed by was the amazing programs she made inspired by a Disney park map. Carlee is thoughtful and a caring friend, we saw that in the way she considered her bridesmaids and family throughout the day.

The weather was particularly brisk when the time came for Carlee and David to do their first look near the water at Independence Grove. Carlee looked beautiful in her gown and fur stole and once she saw David the cold winter wind felt like it was replaced by the warmth of their love. We quickly took photos outside with their amazing wedding party before heading inside so that Carlee and David could exchange private vows before their ceremony. Following their emotional ceremony Carlee and David entered their reception in Mickey ears and dashed around the room to get photos with all of their guests. We then enjoyed a delicious meal before the dance floor opened, it was a perfect day!! We were honored to be there to celebrate these newlyweds!