Jennifer & Chris’s Wedding at Garfield Park Conservatory

Jennifer and Chris were married on July 22, 2017, at Garfield Park Conservatory, one of the most unusual wedding venues in Chicago: a ceremony on the patio, cocktails in the garden, and dinner under the glass of Horticulture Hall. We were both there for eleven hours, from the bridal suite in the morning until ten at night.

Getting ready downtown

Jennifer and her bridesmaids spent the morning in the bridal suite at the Westin Michigan Avenue, with hair and makeup running from nine until early afternoon. Chris and his groomsmen went out for brunch first, and when they came back one of us joined them while they got ready.

A first look on the lakefront

At two o’clock Jennifer and Chris saw each other for the first time at Olive Park on the lakefront. The wedding party joined them there for photos, then boarded their bus for the Kinzie Street Bridge and one more stop in the city before heading west to the Conservatory.

Vows on the Blue Stone Patio

Guests arrived by bus from downtown and gathered on the Blue Stone Patio, where the ceremony started at 5:35 on a July evening. Afterward, cocktail hour stayed outside while family portraits were taken among the plants of the Fern Room, and Jennifer and Chris slipped away for a few more photos around Garfield Park.

Dinner in Horticulture Hall

Just before seven, the two of them took a quiet look at Horticulture Hall before their guests came in. After the introductions, Jennifer’s father gave the welcome toast, and the maid of honor and best man spoke during dinner. Their first dance was Sam Smith’s “Make It to Me,” and Jennifer danced with her father to “How Will I Know.” Then the dance floor opened. They cut the cake quietly off to the side, with no announcement, just the two of them and the cameras. The night ended with a bouquet toss and a garter toss to Ginuwine’s “Pony.”

The teaser

Filming at Garfield Park Conservatory

Garfield Park Conservatory is unlike any other venue in Chicago, and it asks for a different approach to filming. A July ceremony at 5:35 on the Blue Stone Patio meant hours of daylight still ahead, with sunset not until after eight, so the vows, cocktail hour and portraits all happened in soft evening light outdoors. Inside, the Fern Room gave us a green, layered backdrop for family portraits that no ballroom can match.

The glass houses are warm and humid in summer, so we let our cameras adjust before moving inside, otherwise the lenses fog the moment you walk in from the air conditioning. Horticulture Hall is the highlight on film: dinner started in daylight under the glass roof, and as the sun went down the room changed with it, until the uplighting and candles took over and the plants glowed against the dark sky. Few venues give you two such different looks in a single evening.

Wedding team

• Venue: Garfield Park Conservatory
• Planning: Sweetchic Events
• Photography: WS Photography
• Catering: Inspired Catering
• Florals: Steve’s Flowers
• DJ and lighting: MDM Entertainment
• Rentals: Style Matters
• Cake: Sugar Fixe
• Hair and makeup: Tamara Hair & Make-up
• Officiant: Jill Brown
• Transportation: One World Transportation
• Videography: Anna and Artem, 312FILMS

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