Florals & Flurries Open House

June 19, 2019June 19, 2019 / thehaightblog / Leave a comment

Friday marks the official start of summer and we LOVE the summer florals from this open house. The Haight hosted the Florals & Flurries winter open house on Tuesday, January 15th. Along with our current clients, we invited brides, grooms, and their friends/and or family members to check out the venue and meet a variety of wedding professionals and vendors for their big day.

Just over 200 guests joined us and had the opportunity to explore the space and get to know each of the vendors that helped make the night such a success!

Couples and their family members were able to try different foods and desserts like Graham’s Chocolate & Graham’s 318 Coffeehouse. Fun music from Backthird Entertainment & Monastero Entertainment was just the cherry on top of a great evening!

Be sure to keep your eyes open for our next open house event! A lot of our vendors offer a discount if you book them at the event, so you don’t want to miss out!

The following were the featured vendors:

Catering: Belvedere Banquets| Cuisine America | Pinstripes|Uncle Bub’s

Sweets & Treats: Herb’s Bakery| Graham’s 318 Coffeehouse| Graham’s Fine Chocolate & Ice Cream

Coffee Cart: FreshGround Roasting

Wedding and Event Coordination: Ashley Nicole Events

Hair & Makeup: Shine. Salon & Dry Bar

Florals: Eden | Town & Country Gardens

Photographer: Fox + Ivory Photography

Videographer: Newlyweds Cinema

Officiant: Rent-A-Rev

Event Entertainment: Backthird Entertainment | Monastero Entertainment | Caricatures By Rich

Invitations: Too Chic & Little Shab Design Studio, Inc.

Outfitters: Lorenzo’s Tuxedo

Rentals: Halls

Travel Agency: Guru Travel

Hotel: Courtyard Marriott Elgin/West Dundee

Madison & Brandon 11.11.18

June 11, 2019 / thehaightblog / Leave a comment

The Meeting

Madison first met Brandon in high school—she was a freshman and he was a senior. Their first date was at Olive Garden on November 11, 2014.

The Moment

We knew we wanted to get married about 5-6 months into our relationship when Brandon got me a promise ring.

The Proposal

Brandon and I were moving from Illinois to Arizona and we decided to make our move into a road trip. We stopped in Colorado to visit my uncle, and he took me to a waterfall on a hike. He took me into the middle of the stream and it was there that he got down on one knee with so much confidence and asked me to marry him.

The Wedding Day

My favorite part of the wedding day was just spending it with him…dancing with my friends and family AND just so many photos! Oh yeah, and my dog!

The Venue

I fell in love with The Haight the first minute I saw it and I knew that everything else would fall together.

The Dress & Tux

Brandon’s stuff we got from Kohls. My dress was a limited Sherri Hill prom dress that began as just plain white, but I had a complete redesign done to it that I overall chose the design for. The redesign was done bGemma out here in Arizona.

The Advice

Make sure to get a GOOD photographer and videographer for the wedding (even if it’s just a friend). These photos will mean more to you than you know.

The Shoutouts

All of my vendors did such a fabulous job. Danny’s Pizza for food, David Leith for DJ, Mary Zygulski’s desserts through Danny’s Pizza, The Haight for my venue, and many, many more.

The Vendors

Photographer: Judith Rackow Photography| Florals: Jewel Osco

Catering, Late Night Food, Cake, & Sweets: Danny’s Pizza

DJ, Cocktail, & Ceremony Musician: David Leith| Alcohol: Drinks on Me Catering

Vendor Spotlight: Anthony Alanis

May 23, 2019 / thehaightblog / 1 Comment

How Long Have You Been In The Business?

I consider my first wedding on July 21, 2012—although I shot weddings for other companies starting in 2009.

How Did You Get Started?

After graduating from the Los Angeles Film School and moving back to Illinois, I spent a few years working freelance gigs. It wasn’t until I started second shooting weddings that I realized I had the ability to capture weddings on my own. The first wedding I shot I actually had to pay to film it—I filmed it for free and needed to rent a bunch of extra gear. I turned that one video into 3 clients the following summer, 5 clients the year after, etc.… and now I’ve been lucky enough to capture nearly 80 weddings!

Ryan & Kathryn – The Crawford Wedding from Anthony Alanis on Vimeo.

What Do You Love Most About Shooting Weddings?

Weddings afford me the ability to raise my children during the day, edit until the early hours of the morning, and sleep on occasion.

What Do You Think Makes Your Work Distinct?

Simply put, filmmaking is storytelling. Every story has 3 parts: a beginning, middle, and an end. Too many times, I see a beautiful looking wedding video that leaves me feeling like I’m missing part of the story. I focus my attention on documenting the day as a whole, as candid as possible. You’re not going to get any crazy visuals or flashy edits, but you will end up with a video that tells the complete story of your wedding day.

Matt & Kristi – The Sterricker Wedding from Anthony Alanis on Vimeo.

What’s Your Favorite Part of a Wedding Day?

No two weddings I’ve captured have ever been the same, yet there is ALWAYS coffee after dinner.

What’s Your Favorite Time of Year to Shoot?

Every season has its advantages and disadvantages. In my experience, no weather has ever changed the outcome of a wedding day as long as the couple embraces it and has the best time possible! Although I used to dream of shooting a wedding in a blizzard until I did it 3 times in a row!

What Advice Do You Have For Newly Engaged Couples?

Find a vendor whose work you like but maybe more importantly, find someone you get along with!

Why Do You Love Working With The Haight?

I was born and raised in Elgin so I tend to have a different perspective on The Haight than many other vendors. Growing up you’d see people getting married at the churches in Elgin, but their receptions were always somewhere else—different towns. When The Haight opened, it gave locals a beautiful space to host their weddings (or any event, really) but it has grown into something much larger. Now you’ll find couples from all over the Chicagoland area coming to The Haight to have their wedding, bringing their families from all over the country and even the world to Elgin. It’s great for the community and I love anytime I can help The Haight provide a great experience for the families!

Mock Wedding at The Haight from Anthony Alanis on Vimeo.

Kelsey & Mike 09.28.18

May 1, 2019May 9, 2019 / thehaightblog / Leave a comment

The Meeting

Kelsey and Mike first met in high school. Senior year they became friends when they were paired up as lab partners in microbiology class. Their connection was instant and they went on to spend a lot of time together that year.

Mike would pick me up for dates in the 1990s Chevy Caviler with silver flames that he painted on himself. It wasn’t until a year after we graduated high school in 2010 that we made our relationship official.

The Moment

Mike and I got to grow up together from being just 19-year-olds—we always had each other to lean on, through college, and starting our careers. We both knew we were meant for each other.

The Proposal

Finally after seven years together Mike proposed in our home with just the two of us and, of course, our dogs Levi and Ella. I knew something was up because he kept calling to ask when I would be home from work, which was very odd. The bigger the surprise was him putting together a little engagement party that night with out family and friends.

The Wedding Day

Our wedding day was perfect; Mike and I were both thrilled to celebrate with our friends and family. For both of us while sitting at dinner at the front of the room and looking out at everyone who was there for us was a very humbling moment and something we will both remember forever.

The Venue

Both Mike and I always said we did not want to have our wedding in a typical banquet hall we wanted a venue that was unique. Mike’s work holiday party was at The Haight and we both knew that was where we wanted our wedding. We did not even look at any other venues.

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The Shout Outs

We had an incredible vendor team behind us to make our day special. Cranes Chicago Photography captured our day perfectly. Our florist MC Designs put our vision together.

The Marriage

Since Mike and I have been married we have enjoyed the process of becoming a stronger couple. We are no longer two individuals in a relationship we are a unified couple working together towards our best life. We are both excited to see what the future holds for us.

The Vendors

Photographer & Photobooth: Crane’s Photography| Videographer: Kevin Wagen Cinematography | Florals: MC Designs, Inc.

Catering: Cuisine America | Late Night Food: Danny’s on Douglas | Cake & Sweets: Herb’s Bakery

DJ & Ceremony Musician: DJs For You | Ceremony Musician: Lauren Canitia

Hair/Makeup:Kara Stiverson & Bella Makeup | Alcohol: Drinks on Me Catering

Devyn & Matt 12.29.18

April 25, 2019 / thehaightblog / Leave a comment

The Meeting

Devyn and Matt first met November 2011 at 3AM at The Ranch in Bartlett. She spotted him hanging out and started a conversation. Her first words?

I like your beard, and your shirt, and your shoes.

Matt went on to try and get Devyn’s number into his extremely old iPhone while his friends were pressuring him to leave. A month later, they were officially dating.

I say that I was interested first, but Matt says he was “putting out the vibe.”

Essence Photo & Video

The First Date

We did a lot of hanging out with friends when we first met, so the first couple dates were either him meeting my friends or me meeting his. He asked me to be his girlfriend at his sister’s birthday party!

Essence Photo & Video

The Moment

I’d like to think we knew we wanted to get married right away, love at first sight and all, but I think we both knew when we started to become a part of each other’s families. We took a lot of time growing together before we got married.

The Proposal

Matt proposed at our niece’s birthday party on our fifth dating anniversary. He had my family sneak in so they could be there too.

The Wedding

Our favorite part of the day was laughing and dancing with all of our favorite people.

The Song

We love going to see bands together and have a lot of shared songs together. We danced to Somebody Loved by The Weepies as our first song…Matt took me to see them right after we got engaged.

The Venue

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We chose The Haight because the space is so beautiful. The staff impressed us right away—they offered us their preferred vendors so we had choices, but not too many choices. We are so happy we chose this location!

The Attire

I found my wedding dress at a vintage resale shop and all the girls found their own dresses. Matt got his suit custom-made at Indochino in Chicago along with the best man; the rest of the guys just used a black suit they already owned!

The Marriage

Since we were together for seven years before getting married, we didn’t know if or how being married would change our relationship, but it is definitely more fun being husband and wife!

The Advice

Make sure you have a beautiful location with a helpful staff, really great food, and fun music so the party is taken care of…then you can enjoy your day with your new husband or wife!

The Shoutouts

Lauren at The Haight! She seriously made our wedding day go by so smoothly and any time I started to get concerned about something, she already had it under control. I tell any friends who are getting married to make sure they have someone like that at their wedding!

The Vendors

Photographer/Videographer/Photobooth: Essence Photo & Video| Florals: Town & Country Gardens

Catering & Late Night Food: Cuisine America | Cake & Sweets: Herb’s Bakery

DJ & Ceremony Musician: Midwest Best DJs & Entertainment | Cocktail Hour Musician: Chris Linenberger

Hair/Makeup: SLT Makeup Artistry | Alcohol: Drinks on Me Catering

Lauren & Brian 10.06.18

April 19, 2019 / thehaightblog / Leave a comment

The Meeting

Lauren & Brian first met in 2009 while attending the University of Iowa. Their two friends were hitting it off while they joined them at the table. Brian bet Lauren she could get a free shot by flirting with the bartender and he lost the bet and ended up having to buy her one! They didn’t exchange numbers until a couple of weeks later when grabbing late night food at a taco stand after a long night of drinking.

The First Date

A local pizza place in Iowa City, Sam’s Pizza.

The Quirkiest Things?

Brian is a super nerd and loves telling me random facts about everything and anything.

Lauren is a terrible driver and loves to blame everyone else on the road.

The Proposal

Lauren and Brian had been planning a trip to Europe and Brian knew he wanted to propose on the trip.

He did it while we were in Capri, Italy and we celebrated with the most delicious seafood and sangria on the ocean.

The Wedding Day

The best part of the wedding was popping bottles in the bridal suite after the ceremony and then dancing the night away with our friends and family.

The Venue

Focus on what is important to you about your day, we really wanted to make this a celebration our way about our relationship and I think this helped us create that experience for our guests.

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The Songs

Music is something that both of us really enjoy together (despite having fairly different tastes in music)—a few songs that are important to us—Better Together by Jack Johnson. Brian played guitar and sang it to me right before we starting dating… and In My Life by The Beatles, which was our first dance song.

The Dress & Tux

My dress was Jenny Yoo and Brian’s suit is the navy suit from Black Tux.

The Marriage

It really hasn’t changed at all, we knew we wanted to spend our lives together and the wedding was really just a party to celebrate that.

The Shoutouts

Honestly, to all of our vendors! Even 6 months later, we still hear about how much fun people had at the wedding. To Rob Monastero, the most wonderful DJ who kept the dance floor packed all night. To Smoque, our favorite BBQ restaurant in the city that never fails to disappoint… I swear we had the best brisket ever that night. To our photographers, Carolyn Marie Photography, who captured the night in the moment and exactly how we remember it. The Haight, who helped us enjoy our day without having to worry about all of the details. And finally, to Lauren, she was the absolute best at keeping us on track and getting everything set up the way we pictured it.