Once engaged, Casey and Charlie, who met in middle school, chose the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago for their wedding day. So Stacy planned the event and Mal Marcus of Kehoe Designs brought their vision to life and transformed the ballroom into a garden party paradise.
Casey and Charlie set out to recognize all those who had watched their love story unfold from the very beginning. Each guest received a Hannah Handmade invitation and a hand-written note in their Erikson Design escort cards. The couple also created a collage of family photos and letters that were displayed on the dance floor throughout the evening.
Casey especially wanted to honor her mother, who passed six months prior to the wedding. Since they planned the event together during the pandemic, her memory was in every detail. “I wanted to weave her in even more and provide meaningful uplifting nods to her throughout the night,” the bride-to-be shares. “Our ceremony programs had a letter of advice she wrote me and my sisters in her handwriting on the cover. We also had a ‘Toast to LBR’ flower cart with her favorites—tequila and chocolate—out all night for guests.”
Casey headed to Mira Couture in search of her wedding dress. There, the owner herself helped Casey choose the perfect dress—a textured, floral look, and they created custom removable sleeves. For the reception, she wore a custom mini dress by Belle Bridal Atelier and accessorized each look with jewelry that belonged to her mother. “Not only did she have the best collection but it was a special way for us to honor her for all four days of celebrations,” the bride notes. The groom donned a custom tuxedo with the couple’s shared initials embroidered just inside the jacket.
On August 20, 2022, Erin Ahern styled Casey’s hair while Shannon O’Brien created her makeup look. Casey walked down the aisle with her dad to Ingrid Michaelson’s “It Was Always You.” Longtime family friend Rabbi Steve of Am Shalom officiated the ceremony. “He made the whole Ketubah signing ceremony and wedding ceremony so incredibly special and poignant, and we are eternally grateful for him,” the bride shares. “Standing under the Chuppah with each other after 13 years, having been through so much together and with our two families, who we are so incredibly close with, was indescribable.”
During cocktail hour, everyone noshed on passed hors-d’oeuvres and tequila specialties before dinner. “We wanted to try to make the elegance of the Four Seasons also feel approachable and more casual, as is our style, so we served open-face gourmet sandwiches as our entrees—steak, salmon, and chickpea burgers,” Casey explains. A delicious array of desserts followed.
The newlyweds shared an upbeat first dance to “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness. “We wanted to keep the energy up, so we danced to a rock song as our first dance and had our friends join in after a minute,” Casey adds. From that moment forward, The Chicago Catz kept everyone on the dance floor all night long.
Dueling pianos and BeatMix Music welcomed guests to the after-party. “Seeing everyone we love in one room dancing joyfully together—especially after such an incredibly hard year with the loss of my mom—was a highlight of our lives,” the bride shares. “Being in the middle of the Horah and simply having so much fun with our two families and friends was pure joy.” The next morning, Casey and Charlie held a farewell brunch before embarking on their honeymoon. For two weeks, the newlyweds travelled along the French Riviera.
