Posts Tagged ‘Eaglewood Resort and Spa’

Planning a Chicago Wedding: You CAN have a downtown Chicago ceremony and a suburbs reception

January 10th, 2011

View a beautiful wedding with a Chicago ceremony and Itasca reception with gorgeous custom decor!

Tags: catholic ceremony, charter buses, custom lighting, dance themed reception decor, downtown ceremony, Eaglewood Resort and Spa, live band, red wedding, shrine of our lady of pompeii, suburban reception, transporting wedding guests
Posted in: Weddings

Expand Close

| One Comment | See Full Post

As you’re starting to plan your Chicago wedding, one of the first things you decide, is location – downtown Chicago? one of the many Chicago suburbs? one location for all? one for ceremony and one for reception? How far apart can they be? For Noly and Robert, they had very specific requirements when it comes to the church where they would be married, and among all the churches in the Chicagoland, the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii located in downtown Chicago was just about the only church that met their requirements and budget.

Then, they decided on the reception space: Eaglewood Resort and Spa. Wait. That’s in Itasca. The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii is in downtown Chicago on Lexington. When I heard this, I thought – what?! did they really expect their guests to fight traffic going back and forth Itasca and Chicago? Their solution – a comfy, stress-free, no-need-to-fight-traffic chartered bus from Midwest Transit Charter System. The good is that both Eaglewood and the church are located right off of I-290 – it’s basically one straight road from church to reception. Guests had the option to travel on their own, but always welcome to hop on the two scheduled bus rides departing from Eaglewood (where out-of-towners were encouraged to stay), that will also take them back to the resort after the ceremony. No-brainer, and totally pampered!

Directions from Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii to Eaglewood Resort and Spa

View directions on Google Maps in a larger map

Why the logistics acrobatic move? Well, once they found the church that met their requirements and budget, it then occurred to them that a downtown reception location near the church was not going to play well with their budget, particularly because they wanted to give their guests the fantastic experience, a fun and comfy cocktail hour space and..great food. Being in the hospitality industry themselves, they knew that their dollars would go much further if they chose a suburban reception space.

And this wedding reception definitely did not disappoint! I’ve shot at Eaglewood before, and I’ve seen this ballroom before, but I have never seen it transformed they way Noly had done – custom red lighting, innovative seating, custom drapes, live band, beautiful flower arrangements and crystals, dance themed table names, and not to mention Eaglewood’s always fantastic menu!

Enjoy the images!!

Eaglewood Resort and Spa reception with Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii ceremony catholic church wedding

Wedding info:
Church: Our Shrine of Lady of Pompeii | 1224 W. Lexington St. Chicago, Illinois 60607 | 312-421-3757
Reception: Eaglewood Resort and Spa | 1401 Nordic Road, Itasca, IL. 60143 | 630-773-1400
Transportation: Midwest Transit System Charter | 708-448-7822
Live Band and DJ: The Stu Hirsch Ochestra | 847-914-0444

Tags / Categories / Comments

“Love Is Not A Feeling”

June 10th, 2010

“Love is not a feeling. It’s a commitment. Loving Sung enough to marry him, is like a making a promise and commitment that I will keep up. Marriage is not something I do just because of the feelings I have towards him…..because feelings come and go. There are times when I feel annoyed or angry [...]

Tags: chicago suburb, chicago wedding photography, chima, chogori, Eaglewood Resort and Spa, golf course, Gyobaerye, hanbok, itasca IL, korean wedding ceremony, outdoor wedding, tent reception, tiger lily bouquet
Posted in: Weddings

Expand Close

| 3 Comments | See Full Post

“Love is not a feeling. It’s a commitment. Loving Sung enough to marry him, is like a making a promise and commitment that I will keep up. Marriage is not something I do just because of the feelings I have towards him…..because feelings come and go. There are times when I feel annoyed or angry at Sung, but I have to remember that I love him, which means, I am committed to make it work, and be considered at all times…that ‘keeps up’ a marriage.”

These words were repeated during Lynn and Sung’s wedding ceremony. This was the most important thing that they learned at their premarital class, and one of the most important relationship advice I’d ever received from someone.

“Premarital classes?” I remember asking in curiosity..I’ve never heard of that before. If you were like Lynn and Sung, where your story isn’t about a whirlwind romance, and it isn’t a story where he swept you off your feet, or a secret surprise proposal that made everyone cry, you might have heard of or been planning to attend a premarital class.

This is a story of a steady, comfortable, assured relationship, where both Lynn and Sung took that walk towards marriage, one step at a time, TOGETHER. No doubts, no “I don’t know what he’s feeling..” or “What if she says no?”… I think that the idea of deciding to be married to someone, once it hits you, is a big one. And often times, this is an internal decision you make and experience individually (for me at least). Then, it’s usually the execution of that decision that creates the romance and perhaps, a surprise proposal. But wouldn’t it be nice to have that experience together? To discover that “I’m ACTUALLY going to spend my entire life with you” feeling, together? That, told me that Lynn and Sung are going to have a marriage that will last a lifetime and beyond.