Chicago Wedding by Birch Design Studio + Pen/Carlson
Apparently mixing modern stylings with rustic elegance equals an event that is downright ba-na-nas. I am not surprised a bit that Birch Design Studio is the talent behind this beyond gorgeous affair. Not.one.little.bit. There is so much to to ga ga over I don’t know where to begin. The window frame ceremony backdrop will have me swooning until the sun comes up again. The couple’s eye for design and ability to bring both of their cultures in seamlessly is remarkable. Oh and the shoes. Let’s not forget about the choos. Heavenly. If you haven’t already entered the e-mazing Loeffler Randall shoe giveaway on SMP New York Weddings today, I have a feeling you’ll be bee-lining it on over there after gawking over this shoe swoon fest. And don’t forget pretties – there is even more in the full gallery of images!
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Bride…James and I were married on June 18, 2011. It was important to us to have a wedding that not only reflected our love for each other, but also honored our families, our different cultural backgrounds, and our personal style. James grew up in Scotland and my family is from Thailand, and for the longest time we could not decide what type of venue would best highlight that diverse history. We entertained the idea of a destination wedding in Scotland, but decided that it would exclude too many of our family and friends. We then searched for farms, barns, and vineyards that would offer a rustic, intimate, and comfortable setting for the wedding we had in mind. Eventually, we decided the best thing to do was to bring touches of Thailand and the Scottish countryside to Chicago, the city where we met and the place that we know and love as our home. The result was a day that brought all those worlds together and paid tribute to our bond over a love of food, friends, family, and travel.
Since James works in the restaurant industry and I own a clothing boutique, we’ve both organized a lot of events over the years and have had the privilege of working with some of the most talented photographers, designers, caterers, and event planners around the city. Having such an amazing pool of creative people to choose from made selecting wedding vendors a total breeze. Before opening my store, Roslyn, I worked as a merchant for J. Crew and in order to give a nod to my history in fashion, I had my bridesmaids wear dresses from both places. Three of the girls wore dresses by J. Crew and three wore custom designs by Elise Bergman, a designer I carry at my store, all in different silhouettes and tones of grey silks. Pen / Carlson and The NEW View documented our joyous occasion through photographs and film while Catherine at Birch Design Studio and Jessica at Botanicals worked tirelessly to help realize my vision for décor and florals. Outside our venue, guests were welcomed by a bagpiper playing traditional Scottish songs. Inside, rustic and country-inspired details were set alongside the refined, industrial backdrop of Gallery 1028. Reclaimed wood decor was accented with organic flowers, delicate fabrics, votive candles, and paper goods in varying shades of crème, tea green, and pale grey. Old farm windows sourced from Wisconsin just for us hung in staggered layers and served as the backdrop for the ceremony, which included poetry readings and a traditional Scottish handfasting ritual.
During the cocktail hour, guest sipped on Bellhaven and Singha, beers from Scotland and Thailand, and enjoyed cocktails out of mason jars with grey and green barber straws. They were invited to take pictures in the traveling photobooth and use the two vintage typewriters to leave us messages, which we later plan to bind into a leather guestbook. After dinner, a Thai dancer performed a traditional dance in celebration of our new marriage. We danced with each other and our family and friends long into the night and the evening was topped off with a delicious and chatter-inducing Nutella-filled cake. Guests were sent off with film strips from the photobooth and canvas tote bag favors that were custom designed and hand screen-printed with graphics of some of our favorite major Chicago landmarks. Included in these landmarks are two of our personal Chicago favorites: my boutique, Roslyn, and the floral design created on our invitation suite to represent Gallery 1028. While I loved seeing my vision of the wedding and its details brought to life, what was more important was spending time with our friends and family from around the world. Bpen kuhn tee chahn ja mai mee wahn luhm! (Thai for “It was a night I’ll never forget!”)
Wedding Photography: Pen / Carlson / Wedding Cinematography: the NEW view / Floral Design: Botanicals / Event Design + Planning: Birch Design Studio / Band: The Party Faithful / Wedding Cake: Take the Cake / Ceremony + Reception Location: Gallery 1028 / Catering: Calihan Catering / Photobooth: Magnolia Photo Booth / Invitations: Linseed Projects / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew + Elise Bergman via Roslyn / Accessories: Michelle Rahn + Trabert & Hoeffer
J.Crew and Michelle Rahn are members of our Look Book. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.
Though we legitimately love them, Magnolia Photo Booth Co. is an advertiser on Style Me Pretty.
40 Comments about “Chicago Wedding by Birch Design Studio + Pen/Carlson”
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Everything about this wedding is beautiful! Congratulations!
beautiful wedding!! who made her gown? It's stunning
I love the Welcome to Chicago bags that were given as favors--both stylish and practical!
Gorgeous!!!! I am in love with this wedding! So many amazing details... congratulations!
My god! Everything is just...PERFECTION.
Loving the window frame backdrop for the ceremony- definite WOW factor!
Simply stunning. What lovely decor and I love the beautiful, neutral palette.
I would love to know who made her dress as well as where the welcome bags came from!
Yes, who did that amazing dress???
WOW, this wedding is beautiful!! I love the bridal bouquet and... that DRESS...!!!
love the styling, and adore the photography :)
absolutely gorgeous shots. everything is so elegant!
dress is pure insanity in the best way, can we get details please?
Hi ladies.
So glad you all liked the wedding! Creating and enjoying that day was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
My wedding dress is the Erica gown by Vera Wang.
The welcome bags were created by purchasing canvas totes (i find the 'town tote" to be the best size) from Dharma Trading Co. (www.dharmatrading.com) and drop-shipping them to VG Kids in Michigan (www.vgkids.com). Just send your artwork in PDF format along with pantone colors you'd like to use to VG kids and they will hand silk-screen the totes in a matter of days. We didn't want to put our name or wedding date on the actual favors, so labels were designed by Linseed Projects and attached to each rolled tote by yours truly. :)
Beautiful couple and a beautiful wedding!
Loved the "pencil it in" announcements. Very clever. Congratulations on a gorgeous wedding. Many happy blessings to you both.
The wedding was gorgeous and so were the couple!
Awesome, really elegant.
It was even more beautiful in person. The table decor was off the hook amazing.
Rosie, it was an honour for us to be involved in such a well thought-out, unique and beautiful affair. Congrats again on the feature!! xo
What an elegant way to transition from modern elements to rustic decor! Great photos and congratulations to the happy couple!
One of the most beautiful weddings I've seen on SMP!
I LOVE her shoes!!! AAAaah! Nice detail shots!
Love her shoes and the bouquet. Great shots!
Clearly I would try my hardest to channel this wedding if I had impending vows... It's amazing! So fresh and fun. Gorgeous ceremony space too, and the fact that her bridesmaids wore all different dresses within the same hue is fantastic. Obviously, I love everything here. :) nice post. beautiful wedding.
Wow, amazing! I love the little details the most- like the pencil save the dates and the hanging window frames.
So high-hilles shoes, I won't dare to wear it through whole wedding, but it is gorgeous. So is the wedding ring.
Stunning! Love the pencil idea. Very cute!
Adore this wedding! For a flower novice like me - what is the boquet made out of?
Absolutely gorgeous!! Every detail is stunning. I'm getting married in 2 weeks, and I'm wearing this same dress. I've never seen it anywhere else, and I'm even more excited to wear it now after seeing these incredibly beautiful photos.
Pretty wedding!
The window ceremony backdrop is just pure genius. What a stunning wedding!
This is such a BEAUTIFUL wedding! I love the white table linens with the pretty designs on them, where did you get them?
i also would love to know where the linens are from..
Marina at Birch Design Studio is amazing! Beautiful wedding.......... beautiful photography!!!
This is the most beautiful wedding I've seen on SMP!
What a gorgeous ceremony backdrop and I love the varied table arrangements. So many wonderful details!