Stephanie & Jon’s Wedding at Holy Name Cathedral and the Signature Room

Stephanie and Jon were married on July 23, 2016, with a full Mass at Holy Name Cathedral and a reception 95 floors above the city at the Signature Room. They met in 2011 at an intramural flag football game at the University of Illinois: Stephanie came to support a friend, Jon happened to be on the same team, and they were introduced that day. We were both there to film it.

Morning at the Raffaello

The day started early. Stephanie and her bridesmaids got ready at the Raffaello Hotel off Michigan Avenue, with hair appointments beginning before sunrise, and Jon and his groomsmen got ready at the same hotel. By noon everyone was on the bus to Holy Name Cathedral, the groom’s side entering through the rectory and the bride’s side through the bride’s room, so the two of them would not see each other before the Mass.

A full Mass at Holy Name Cathedral

The ceremony began at one o’clock: a full hour-long Catholic Mass, with readings by family, the lighting of a unity candle, and a Marian devotion at the end. During the sign of peace, Stephanie and Jon left the altar to greet their parents, grandparents and wedding party. Afterward, the family portraits were taken in the cathedral’s courtyard.

Portraits across the city

The wedding party then spent the afternoon on a bus tour of Chicago: Olive Park on the lakefront, the Riverwalk, the LaSalle Street Bridge, the archways of Fourth Presbyterian Church, and finally the John Hancock Center, where the reception was waiting at the top.

A reception on the 95th floor

Cocktails began at 5:30 on the 95th floor, with the whole city below. Parents, grandparents, the flower girls and ring bearers, and the wedding party were introduced, and then Stephanie and Jon, who went straight into their first dance and the cake cutting. After a prayer, dinner was served, with a welcome toast from Stephanie’s father, speeches from the maid of honor and the best man, and a few words from Stephanie and Jon themselves. Stephanie danced with her father, Jon with his mother, and then everyone was invited onto the dance floor, where the party lasted until midnight.

The teaser

Filming at Holy Name Cathedral and the Signature Room

Holy Name Cathedral is one of the grandest ceremony spaces in Chicago, and a full Mass there moves at its own pace. We plan our positions before it begins, work quietly, and keep the focus on the couple, the altar and the families. Moments like the sign of peace, when the couple walks out to their parents and grandparents, are among the most emotional of the day, and they only happen at a full Mass.

The Signature Room was one of a kind. Filming 95 floors up meant the skyline and the lake were part of every shot, from cocktail hour in daylight to the dance floor at night, when the windows filled with city lights. The restaurant closed in 2023, so this film is now a record of a Chicago wedding venue that no longer exists, and we are glad we were there to capture it.

Wedding team

• Ceremony: Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago
• Reception: Signature Room at the 95th (closed in 2023)
• Photography: Christopher Foltz
• Videography: Anna and Artem, 312FILMS

More weddings at Holy Name Cathedral: with a reception at the Ritz-Carlton, at The Langham, and at The Peninsula.

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