We were overjoyed to be a part of Bridal Fete Chicago. The unique event fuses couture wedding fashion with creative and artistic cake designs.  Deborah, Art of Imagination’s creative director, simply adores the architecture and history of the Fainman Lounge located at Roosevelt University. Inspired by Chicago’s own Frank Lloyd Wright, the beautiful ballrooms, stairwell, and even restrooms are filled with architectural intricacies that simply make us swoon.

The event took place among three separate areas, and our designers were in charge of the Congress Lounge ballroom featuring the #BridalBeautyBar.  To highlight this interactive area, Art of Imagination designers wanted to create a clean soft look to the existing low lit room. Our designers at Art of Imagination draped a luxury white crepe fabric throughout the room from floor to ceiling, creating a modern yet romantic setting.

The #BridalBeautyBar offered brides the opportunity to hold various bouquets designed by some of Chicago’s top florists. Surrounding the tablescape, our wedding structure was designed with custom ivory crepe back satin gathered and cuffed with satin & rhinestone cuffs.

See a list of all the sponsors involved in this year’s Bridal Fete Chicago at their website: www.bridalfetechicago.com

Loving this video of Justin and his smooth dance moves. Payal’s new husband lit up the dance floor in her honor to the tune of Michael Jackson. You just have to watch it for yourself.

Wedding Season is around the corner and we would love to share this modern wedding dress by Nicole Miller available at Jenny Yoo-Chicago. The antique white couture gown, called Georgina, features a strapless beaded sweetheart neckline, a silk faille, and a fitted column skirt with a narrow train. Perfect for a chic, gallery-like venue, similar to Room 1520 in the West Loop, a dress like this complements a modern and geometric themed wedding day.

During an on air broadcast, our creative team designed and staged a themed wedding set suited for this beautiful gown. Using a clear lucite pedestal, we featured a wedding bouquet that was a stunning work of art. Next to it, a white round glass table was set for the bride and groom. This sweet heart table featured two lucite chairs and a collection of black and white geometric shaped vases with bright colored flowers. The place setting was very clean and minimal, yet the napkins offered the perfect opportunity to include a pop of color. Two white frames behind the name made he setting picture-perfect.

Tables design by Art of Imagination with rentals from Tablescapes and floral provided by Juliet Tan Florals.

Our creative juices are bubbling over as we think of all the artistic talents that are going to be in one room. Our friends at Natural Beauties Floral and the amazing Reenie Rose are hosting a unique one-of-a-kind event at Room 1520 (in the West Loop) in just a few weeks. By pairing artists and floral designers together, watch as petals meet canvas in this showcase event.

From the Invite:

FORM: ART + Floral

The only event of its kind in the Chicago area, FORM pairs florists with artists to create an inspired arrangement that reflects a collaboration between two distinct and creative fields. Browse the gallery while enjoying hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and music. This year’s fundraising efforts will go to support Snow City Arts, a Chicago non-profit organization that provides arts education to children in hospitals (snowcityarts.org). A $10 donation is requested. April 9th. 6-9pm. At Room 1520, 301 N. Justine St., 312.846.6297 www.facebook.com/formevent

MARCH MADNESS is here!!! The brackets are announced; let the games begin! …and the party fun! Here are some of our favorite quick snack and party ideas to keep your own team of “players” happy throughout the tourney!

Bite-sized treats are the perfect snack, as you and your friends cheer on your team through the bracket. Mini-Sliders and Wings are the #1 crowd pleasers and hearty option with so much variety, from the meat to the toppings. The spread shown below features grilled chicken, bison, beef, and veggie sliders; the plethora of Wings from Output Lounge in Chicago.

Popcorn is another great option for a snack that packs a big punch! Serve the easy-to-make munchy in individual servings by using cute popcorn props from your local party store. Create your own signature mix or host an entire buffet of flavors, salts, and other great toppings. Chicago loves their popcorn so be sure to grab your favorite local variety at Garretts, Marianos, or Wells Street Popcorn.

Be sure to have some fun with the desserts! These basketball cake pops from  Elysia Root Cakes could feature your team name for a more personalized option! Display them in a unique way, like a handful of everyone’s favorite gummie worms!

The table decor was an easy DIY project, using plywood from Home Depot. Our team placed contact paper on it, and used a white marker to draw the lines of the court. Simple and Easy!!

Special Thanks to Output Lounge for the delicious menu! We’d also like to thank our friends at Elysia Root Cakes for the beautiful desserts. Art of Imagination provided all of the chinaware, glasses, decor and liquor.

IndieWed 2014 was beautiful. The annual bridal event took place in the vintage Ravenswood Art Center earlier this year. Partnering with Naturally Yours Events and other fabulous Chicago talents, we transformed the 3rd floor space into a vaudeville-inspired carnival with a lounge area.

The theatrical lounge area, appropriately entitled Cirque de L’Amour, wasn’t complete with a sweeping red curtain and performance area. As a creative touch, our designers incorporated floating parasols from Bella Umbrella of different patterns in front of the floor to ceiling industrial windows.

See more great photos from this lounge at Naturally Yours Events blog!

It was so much fun participating in the Green Wedding Alliance’s wedding expo, Committed. We love supporting our environment and doing everything we to recycle and make as small of a carbon footprint as possible. Our Art of Imagination staff had a great time meeting so many like-minded couples at the Greenhouse Loft in February.

Our fellow green wedding partners really brought their a-game. The details and trends that they showcased took our breathe away. Here’s a few of the great photos featuring their amazing talents, by Tuan H. Bui Photography.

Congratulations to our stunning bride, Carolina! She looks amazing in her Jenny Yoo Couture wedding dress. Carolina won our Bridal Gown Giveaway from last spring and got to choose a gown of her choice from Jenny Yoo Chicago. Photos by Maypole Studios.

This morning we joined the fabulous ladies and gents at Fox Chicago to showcase fun ideas and party tips for hosting your own Oscars viewing party at home. Inspired by Deborah’s favorite Best Picture nominee, American Hustle, we featured glitz, glam and all things retro! From swedish meatballs to long island ice teas, you guests will crossing their fingers along with Deborah and making American Hustle their favorite pick to win!

Special Thanks to The Caterist in Evanston and Juliet Tan Floral Design

Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Pics from Deborah’s Instagram:

Deborah loves the lovely ladies at WCIU’s You & Me In the Morning, Melissa Forman and Jeanne Sparrow! We were so excited to join them this morning to talk about all things Oscars!!! For this home-party idea, we were inspired by three of this year’s Best Picture nominees: Gravity, American Hustle and Wolf of Wall Street. We let our inspiration guide us in decor, menu items and even at the bar.

Special thanks to The Caterist in Evanston!
Check out more of the cocktail recipes inspired by this year’s top movies here!

From Behind The Scenes:

From Deborah’s Instagram:

The Oscars are the perfect occasion to host a black tie cocktail party with your closest friends and family. Set the mood by offering a menu of drinks inspired by the movies nominated.

We recently met up with our friend, Andrea Metcalf to discuss What to Serve at Your Oscars Party! You can see more from that segment on her website, WomensForum.com

Here are a few of our favorite concoctions inspired by this year’s Best Picture nominees:

Gravitational Pull

– Powdered Tang mix, to rim cocktail glasses
– Fresh squeezed lime juice
– 4 oz russian vodka
– 1 oz of blue curacao liqueur
– 1 oz prepared Tang

Use wedge of fresh lime to moisten the rim of two martini glasses. Then roll the rims in tang mix to coat. In a cocktail shaker, shake remaining ingredients with ice. Strain and serve in prepared cocktail glasses.

Royal Constellation

– 4 oz of Champagne of your choice
– 2 oz of elderberry liquer w splash of soda

Add the ingredients together. Voila! Once you add the splash of soda, try adding some crushed dry ice chips and watch the fun begin. Also illuminate with blue LED ice cubes.

Alexander (Brandy)

– 1 ounce Gin or Brandy
– 1 ounce Dark Crème de Cacao
– 2 ounces Heavy Cream
– Grated Nutmeg Garnish

Combine first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with nutmeg.

The Pittsfield Building is a brand new venue in the heart of Chicago. The building was built in 1927 and has since been recognized as an architectural marvel.

To showcase the venue in all it’s beauty, we were asked to join a team of Chicago vendors for a full day photo shoot. From vintage hair accessories from The Left Bank to handwritten wedding paperie from Courtney Callahan. Every detail came together beautifully for this Roaring 20s themed affair with the planning and coordination efforts of Chicago Vintage Weddings.

Our team at Art of Imagination brought together a special sweetheart lounge for the bride and groom to enjoy throughout their reception. The area was draped with luxurious ivory fabrics and included vintage furniture and accents.  To complete the look, soft amber lighting enhanced the romance in the air. Hope you enjoy the photos and the montage video too!

Vendors include: The Pittsfield Building // Art of Imagination // DwJohnson Studio // Chicago Vintage Weddings // The Left Bank Bridal Beauty and Accessories // Elysia Root Cakes // BHLDN // Fab Flora // Karen Marie Salon // Private Label Linens // Factor Women Models (Rachel W, Evie,and Adem) // Courtney Callahan // Hall’s Rental // Formally Modern Tuxedo

Pittsfield Wedding Film from 25 West Weddings on Vimeo.

So many of our brides at Art of Imagination have a whimsical yet earthy wishlist for their wedding day. The ideal style for them would be a Rustic Elegance, the perfect combination of strong neutrals, worn metals, and flowing florals.

Everything starts with the dress! Jenny Yoo’s 2014 bridal collection includes many dresses that we absolutely love, yet the Vionnet dress couldn’t be more perfect for our Rustic Elegance theme. With lace cap sleeves, the dress features a V-neckline and a V-back in a unique Ivory lace with gold threading for a romantic and vintage look. A gold ribbon and detachable brooch pin sits at the natural waist adding detail to the dress. The skirt is fitted though the hips and then leads to a full skirt made of Tulle and Organza adding volume.

Adding to the ethereal theme, a crown of sweet flowers with an abundant bouquet of greens and ivories were provided by Juliet Tan Florals. Our bride is standing in front of a unique wedding structure designed by Deborah and her team. The woodsy arch features mini white lights and a small window pane hanging just behind. The picture perfect setting transforms from ceremony to reception as a place for photo ops (including a rustic bench from Tablescapes Party Rental) or a background setting for an intimate sweetheart table.

As we mentioned earlier, rustic and worn metals compliment the theme and our designers created these beautiful moss-filled votives as accent pieces than could be placed throughout your event. Floral linen is another big trend for 2014. If a full table linen is too much for you, accent a place card table or gift table with a table runner in a muted tone-on-tone pattern.

Bling, glitter, and poofy dresses do not make a princess. Today’s princess bride is fashioned in a more regal way, as opposed to diva. The look of royalty starts with the dress! Our friends at Jenny Yoo recently debuted their 2014 line and this Magnolia dress immediately caught our attention. The winter white color and crystal embroidered tulle flowing over the chiffon was breathtaking. It was as if our fairy Godmother herself picked it out.

For our recent segment on WGN Midday News where we showcased our 2014 Wedding Trends, we used fishline to display the magical dress as if butterflies were brining it to the beautiful bride on her wedding day. Next to the dress, we displayed our princess’ beautiful bouquet. Juliet Tan Florals created the floral spectacle with a touch of crystal and pearls amongst beautiful ivory flowers. Juliet even created an embellishment on the bouquet’s handle, which could easily be swapped out for personal family heirloom.

Deborah, and her Art of Imagination designers teamed up with Tablescapes Party Rental to create a sparkling table setting, ideal for a royal event. The golden chairs with the ivory and metallic linen add a warm romance to a room due to the soft color palette. The team also added height by placing enchanted candelabras to anchor the tabletop, and a delicate yet bountiful centerpiece by Juliet Tan Florals.

The regal setting and fairytale gown is a perfect fit for our princess bride and her guests.  Chicago has many event venues to accent this look, including The Stan Mansion located in the The Historical Logan Square. If this bridal style is just what you are looking for, reach out to our designers and venue specialists today to begin planning your own royal wedding.

While the Super Bowl has ended, we have a new reason to celebrate and host a party… the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics begin Thursday!!! Andrea Metcalf from WomensForum.com stopped by Loft on Lake and chatted with Deborah about hosting an Olympics watch party. To watch the full segment, visit WomensForum.com/Olympic-Parties.

Here’s a few photos that our friends at Lofty Weddings took of the Team USA table. Our designers included a mixture of icy bling with a few Russian figurines in celebration of the host city.

Some of our treats included caviar with vodka served over crushed ice. Strawberry Romanoff and Beef Stroganoff completed our Russian spread, including cured meats with condiments. For cocktails, you can celebrate Team USA by using a denser corn syrup base with pomegranate liquor and a top layer of blue curaçao.

Superbowl Sunday is coming up fast and it’s time to grab your astroturf and masking tape… we’re making a table fit for a football champion. WomensForum.com’s Andrea Metcalf stopped by Loft on Lake and asked our own, Deborah Weisenhaus to showcase some fun tips and tricks to decorate and enjoy a Super Bowl party of your own. We’ve posted a few quick shots here, but you can watch the entire segment at WomensForum.com/Super-Bowl

Decor

With a few pieces of PVC pipe and some yellow paint, you can create a field goal to anchor your table top decor. Looking for a fun way to display your menu? Use chalkboard paint and markers to draw out the culinary game plan for the evening.

Food & Treats

Aside from decor, food is the all-important element to your Superbowl Party. Our team of designers teamed up with personal chef, Markus Ford to bring you a sophisticated menu chocked full of comfort food favorites, like a trail mix station. Guest can fill their own goodie bags full of popcorn, nuts, pretzel bits, mini chocolate candies and more to bring back to their front row seat for the big game (a.k.a. your couch)! Check out some of the great photos from our mini photo shoot with Andrea from Women’s Forum

Here’s a few ‘behind the scenes’ photos from our news segment with WGN News this morning.

We’ve also included the link to watch the broadcast here. Stay tuned on our blog for more about each vignette that we showcased.

We couldn’t be happier to be a part of Indie Wed once again. This time our design team is working with some of the best wedding vendors in Chicago to produce a specialty lounge area, inspired by an era where Vaudeville shows and carnivals provided entertainment and glamour. Here’s a snippet right from the Indie Wed website:

Art of Imagination will magically transform the 3rd floor space with beautiful draping and lighting, utilizing the eclectic bunch of parasols from Bella Umbrella. Fab Flora* will add a touch of romance with textured florals in burgundy and blush. Vintage couches, settees, trunks, and gorgeous furniture will be provided by Shadowbox Dreams Vintage Rentals. Nimblewell* will work with Luscious Layers Bakery* in providing rustic crates and vintage platters for all their yummy baked goods to sample. What would a carnival be without cotton candy? Our friends at Spin-Spun will be whipping up their all natural cotton candy to enjoy. FIG Catering is working on a menu that is sure to dazzle and will be providing the perfect libations for this soiree. We heard a rumor of craft cocktails! Fumee Gypsy Project will be on stage and Doodle Booth* will be providing hand drawn caricatures.Vaudezilla will dazzle and delight guests with vintage inspired can can performances.  Cage and Aquarium* will put together the perfect playlist while our performers are on break. Paper Stories is designing all the signage and paper goods to pull in all the details, while Tuan H. Bui Photographer captures some amazing photos to document our fantastic lounge. Don’t forget to hop behind the kissing booth and say hello to the gal who put this all together, Carlene of Naturally Yours Events.

Be sure to get your tickets today!! And we shall see you on February 1st!

It was such a thrill and an honor to film some special segments yesterday at Loft on Lake with Andrea Metcalf. Creativity was surely in the air as we discussed party trends and tips for this winter’s major events: the Super Bowl (February 2nd), Sochi Olympics (Opening Ceremony on February 6th) and, of course, Award Season including the Oscars (March 2nd)!

From table top decor to photo opp fun, we talked about it all. We even had a special appearance by personal chef, Markus Ford, who showed us how to liven up the typical party fare to sophisticated and creative new dishes that will have all your guests begging for more!

Stay tuned to WomensForum.com for these segments with Andrea and Deborah Weisenhaus, our lead designer at Art of Imagination in the next few weeks. We’ll be sure to post lots of photos from these segments as well. Here’s just a glimpse of the behind-the scenes fun we had!