Elegant And Glamorous Celestial Wedding At Stan Mansion, Chicago – Customer Story

A few months back, the beautiful bride-to-be, Sara, contacted me through my shop on Etsy for some unique celestial graphic design. Her chosen wedding theme was celestial (or astronomy) depicted only through a Gold and White colour palette. Since, I did not already have any items in my shop in that exact colour palette (although I had some other design work in progress in that colour theme), I informed Sara and decided to work on a completely new design. After noting down her requirements, her preferences, and her vision, I worked on a few concepts which I personally was happy with, while keeping in mind what the bride-to-be might like. Sara loved the concepts and chose one of them. After a few revisions, we finalised the design for her special day.

While working on it, using only Gold and White as the colour palette, I was wondering how my design for Sara, which is slightly different from my usual style (my usual style is colourful and this design theme was minimal), was going to fit in with her event. After her wedding, when Sara sent me photos of her special day, I was stunned.

Read on to see how this beautiful bride with an impeccable taste, brought her classy aesthetic vision to life, with a glimpse into her elegant yet glamorous wedding journey!

The Bride and Groom

Sara and Drew are both from Chicago, U.S.A. The bride, Sara Labelle (formerly Sara Sneddon) is 29 years old. They currently live in Chicago, and are in the process of moving to Denver, Colorado, as they love to hike and adventure. Sara works as a Senior Analyst for Talent Management in healthcare technology, where she focuses on employee engagement, and rewards and recognition for an employee population of over 20,000. Drew is a Senior Analyst in financial technology.

The Meet Cute

Both Sara and her husband, Drew, grew up in the Chicago suburbs. Despite being within proximity of each other, their paths never crossed, until the stars aligned one fateful night.

In Sara’s words, “We both went to the same college (Illinois State University) and had mutual friends. I happened to be at his college house a couple of times but we never met. It wasn’t until after college when we both lived in the city that we met while we were out with friends for the night.”

A Memorable Proposal

Drew thoughtfully and meticulously planned their engagement, and proposed to Sara at their personal favourite location in Chicago, followed by a surprise engagement party.

In Sara’s own words, “He told me he was taking me to brunch, but on the way we stopped at our favorite spot in Chicago on the Lake Michigan harbor at Montrose, which is right by our apartment. This is where we’ve spent many days basking in the sun, enjoying food & drinks with friends, or just ourselves and our adorable dog, Benji (a 3 year old mini bernedoodle). I was a little suspicious because it was rather cloudy and windy out, with a looming thunderstorm, so I wasn’t necessarily thrilled about making a detour at the beach. However, he had our moms there waiting and watching, until after he popped the question and they emerged from their cars with champagne and tears. Drew even had his photographer friend, Jake, capture the moment with some stunning photographs! After a glass of champagne, the torrential downpour began and we ran for cover and went to get brunch to celebrate. Later that day, the surprise continued, as Drew had arranged a surprise engagement party with many of our friends and family in the Wrigleyville neighborhood (home of Chicago Cubs). He even got our proposal announcement on the Cubs marquee!”

The Venue: Stan Mansion, Chicago

The couple chose The Stan Mansion, one of Chicago’s premier and most luxurious wedding venues for their special day.

In Sara’s words, “Our wedding was at a historic mansion in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago called the Stan Mansion. The mansion is full of glamorous grandeur that was incomparable to other venues. The mansion boasted several large rooms, our favorite of which being the 2nd floor grand ballroom, which featured beautiful chandeliers and a stage as the focal point. The Stan Mansion also included a gorgeous bridal suite that was big enough to support my huge bridal squad (11 bridesmaids – 4 sisters and 7 friends)!”

Sara mentioned that it was difficult to plan a wedding during a pandemic but their “day turned out beautiful even with a limited guest count and masks!”

The First Dance

The couple’s first dance was to the tunes of Sam Smith ‘Latch’. In Sara’s words, “We did the acoustic version for the first 2 minutes and then the DJ said “the bride and groom would now ask all of their friends and family to join them on the dance floor” and once he said that, the song switched to the EDM version (Disclosure & Sam Smith). It was awesome!”

The Elegant Celestial Decor

On being asked why she chose this particular theme, Sara explains, “Drew is extremely passionate about space exploration and is definitely a bit of a nerd when it comes to anything related to space. All of his friends and family know this about him. Meanwhile, I have always been interested in astronomy as well as astrology, and I loved the idea of honoring my husband’s passion for space while also incorporating the otherworldly mysticism of the zodiac. I was also really excited to have a unique wedding theme – and so, the celestial theme came to life!”

Regarding the colour palette she says, “The exquisite feel at the Stan Mansion helped us decide on our gold and white colors for our celestial wedding, as the gold tied in beautifully with the luxury drapery offered throughout the venue. The grand ballroom even included dangling twinkle lights that made a fitting ode to the stars in the sky!”

The seating plan included naming each guest table after a real constellation of the night sky. I worked on and created the Table Names, matching Seating Chart, Cards and Gifts Sign, In Memory Of Sign, Safety Sign, Love Is Sweet Sign, Menu Sign, and Bar Sign according to Sara’s preferences.

On asking how she put together the gorgeous and elegant celestial details like the metallic moon-shaped accent as well as the various other gold geometric-shaped accents around the candles and votives on the tables, and if she needed to hire a wedding planner, the creative bride revealed, “I found my decor from a variety of sources – big box stores, resale groups online, and on Etsy. I did not have a wedding planner, so I did it all myself!” The gold mirrored place settings (with names) were from Etsy. The gold geometric terrariums were found on Facebook Marketplace (and bridal Facebook groups). “We purchased a moon, spray painted it gold, and secured it to piping so that it could stand up straight and used that on our sweetheart table as well! Finally, we also used a star shaped ring box which was beautiful, also from Etsy.”

Here’s the remaining excerpt from my customer, Sara’s interview:

What did your guests say about your unusual theme (decor)?

Our guests were wowed by our theme. They thought it was very unique and fitting to Drew’s obsession with space. They loved the constellation themed table numbers and corresponding quotes.

What was your experience working with me?

You were an absolute pleasure to work with. You patiently and professionally worked with me as I worked out the details for our unique theme, and you answered my questions promptly and kindly to ensure I felt comfortable. You went above and beyond to bring my vision to life!

Where did you print the cards and posters you got from me? Were you happy with the print shop’s service?

Staples – yes, I was happy!

Thank you so much Sara!

Credits:

What Next?

Planning a celestial themed wedding or event? Check out all my Celestial and Starry Night themed items. Not sure of your event’s theme yet? Go through all my Collections here for a variety of themes. Don’t see what you’re looking for? Feel free to contact me.

About Me

I’m Soumya, a Graphic Designer. I love all forms of design. I create graphics at www.soumyasdesigns.com/shop
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