A Mix of Traditional and New: Ovation Wedding

With a laid-back approach to wedding planning, Milena and Brad wanted their day to encompass an effortless boho vibe, while still keeping things simple and traditional. Their mix of traditional and modern decor brought so much romance to their day at Ovation and This Is Feeling sure knew how to capture the beauty … even in the rain! Enjoy these fantastic images of their wedding below!

Written by Milena, the bride:

Brad and I actually met back in good old middle school - we have been together since we where 13 years old.. being 26 now! We had science together, and I actually initiated the relationship with a good old fashion note! We are one of those lucky couples that grew together, rather than apart. We would not be who we are today without each other back in the day. We truly are best friends. My favorite part of our relationship is that we truly can be ourselves around each other. We have a very chill relationship.. which is the vibe we wanted for our wedding. We go to a ton of music festivals and concerts love music, dive bars, live in Chi.. love to enjoy chi and discover all the nooks and crannies of each neighborhood but really we just like to be together doing nothing at all.. and we are so good at it.

We actually choose our vendors based on who was the most relaxed. We wanted to surround ourselves with vendors / wedding parties that where not pushy, not high strung. If we went to a meeting with a vendor and left overwhelmed we cut that person out immediately. Each and every vendor we worked with made us feel comfortable and at ease planning a wedding.. its a ton of money and we wanted to make sure we felt as clam as possible. Other then staying relaxed.. we wanted a bohemian whimsical vibe, while still honoring family with the more traditional aspects of marriage... like the catholic church.

Our wedding party consisted of my younger sister Olivia who is 13 ( we actually base our relationship around her.. we started dating basically when she was born!) My college roommate, and two friends from home. The groom’s wedding party included his three brothers and cousin. We decided to have the smallest wedding party we could.

Ladies got ready at the Freehand hotel, super boho feel. And boys got ready at the venue, Ovation. We spent all morning / the ride to church listening to the raunchiest music we can find so that no one was super nervous. Ladies wore bride-side dresses in Forest Green, with gold earnings from BHLDN, my dress was a two piece from Worsflet’s Bridal - I wanted a flowy yet not poofy skirt.. illusion sleeves and I wanted to be comfortable. My favorite part of the dress was the slit with opal + rose gold earrings from BHLDN. I also wore my moms / her moms gold + gem ring which was special because I wanted that ring since I was very young / my grandma ( and family ) lives in Poland. . she was suppose to make it but then last minute had some health scares that ensured she would not be able to travel.

Boys wore black on black on black suites from BlackTux, groom had forest green pocket square and bow tie. I gifted robes from Etsy + Champaign flutes + earrings to the ladies. Brad gifted black bowties with their initials to the groomsmen + flasks with their photos cartoon style. My gift to brad where rose gold cuffs with our wedding date + Love Mil hand written. His gift to me was a rose gold thumb-ring. Flowers where super boho, overflow of burgundy and greenery + pampas grass, bridesmaid bouquets where just greenery, boys had all different boutonnieres that matches my bouquet.. but they forgot to wear them!

Weather needs to be mentioned because it was terrible.. the days leading up, day of, I kept getting texts being like rain is good luck it will clear at the perfect moment for you do not worry... as I got my make up and hair done all I could see was pouring rain, thunder and lighting. It did not clear up BUT at the end of the day we got some cool shots with the rain and everyone was a trooper!

(For the decor) we had greenery behind our heads suspended on rose hold rings (head table) as well as hanging organically on the ceiling and garland on the tables. No runners on any table outside of the head table (we bought cloth from Michaels and dyed them a deep green on our own... not sure if I could recommend that because it’s a lot of work and we where green for a couple days). Desserts displayed on bohemian wooden cake (thank you TJ maxx) stands standing on boxes that we pained rose gold so they varied in heights. I got these amazing gold vintage brass candle holders from etsy and we played glass cylinders around them so that the candle wax could drip freely and used geodes as our name tags. We had a guest book for photo-booth photos ( Ovation has a killer vintage photo-booth ) glow foam sticks, cat ears and flower crowns. Mid night snack was some Pierogi with tons of toppings to choose from.. a little shout out to home / Poland!

Our first dance was Angel by the XX.. we wanted something different.. and we actually saw the xx live one year . (2012 or 2013) , and we sat on the grass listening.. and joked how it should be out wedding song one day.. forgot about it for years and then remembered during wedding planning. Prime example of being in a magical moment and missing it!

One of the most important parts of our wedding was the music.. we legit picked our wedding party entrance song, ours, parents, cocktail hour and the dance music for hours and hours... and I do not regret it. It was so much fun and made the night feel unique to us ( bye bye overplayed wedding music! ) We walked out to music sounds better with you by Stardust.. which was also decided at a music festival... similar to above story, which is actually a bit strange now that I think about it! haha!

My favorite moment was looking out, on the dance floor or at the tables and seeing everyone interact, and smile, and laugh.. it was such a real genuine moment that is so easy to overlook. When else will all your worlds collide? Also speeches, My maid(s) of honor, dad and best man KILLED their speeches!

My biggest advice to future brides is relax, weddings have become so showy lately but it’s all about YOU and your groom. Pick vendors and styles that inspire you. Do not plan every single moment out because you’re going to spend the whole day thinking about the next "event" and you will miss everything that is in front of your face. ALSO eat, drink and dance... say your hi's during dinner and move on! I enjoyed my dinner, enjoyed some cocktails and danced the whole night!

Wedding Pro’s:
Photography: This Is Feeling
Venue: Ovation
Catering: D’Absolute
Engagement Ring: Tom Poe Diamonds
Florals: Dirty Boots Flowers
Cake: Alliance Bakery
Beauty: Beauty by Ann Krause & LG Makeup + Tans
Grooms Attire: The Black Tux
Dress Boutique: Wolfelt’s Bridal