Here’s another beautiful Rookery Building wedding. A real Chicago wedding from earlier this year, this wedding ceremony was a simple and minimal affair where the decor played off against the ornate and beautiful detailing of this historic venue.

A traditional Jewish ceremony, this lovely couple opted for a clean and minimal chuppah structure that allowed a good number of people to stand underneath and allow all the guests to see into the ceremony space. The bride was led to the chuppah by her parents and our fabric upgrade at the top of the stairs was a great and economic choice to enhance the look of the pictures, without requiring the couple to drape off the entire second floor.

      We are the exclusive vendor for light & decor for all Rookery Building weddings. To learn more about the venue, explore the Rookery Building portal here. Photography by Andre LaCour Photography.

In the winter months, our team of Event Production Experts are often called upon to be a part of corporate holiday party decor and we love the challenge. These events are always a fun challenge and this was no exception.

SAVO group brought us on board for their Winter-themed holiday party in the cool & minimal West Loop event venue, Room 1520. We played up the venue’s white walls with bringing in panels of semi-sheer imported fabrics and hundreds of cut hanging crystals. The crystals sparkled in the icy-blue up-lighting and washes that transformed the venue into a true winter wonderland.

We projected leafless winter branches over the bar by the entrance to set the mood. The rest of this corporate holiday party decor included ghost bar stools and sparkling crystal centerpieces with candles and winter greens. Crisp white lounge settings with glass tables and leather benches all throughout the venue completed the look.

Deborah worked hand-in-hand with the client in realizing the vision for their event. Be sure to explore the rest of our corporate events and see our full range of event production and event design.

Venue: Room 1520. Photos by Vitaliy Vladimirov.

Earlier this year we were part of yet another Galleria Marchetti wedding. The beautiful & unique wedding venue played host to this couple’s gorgeous summer soiree. Featuring gorgeous and thoughtful touches throughout, it was a memorable evening.

While it’s hard to pick just one favorite detail, it could easily have been the champagne bar which served the guests a number of lively and fresh cocktails during cocktail hour. The couple included sweet touches, such as colorful bunting and menus for the bar, matching signs for their sweetheart table and simple but elegant decor that let the setting really shine and make a statement.

The definite centerpiece of this West Loop reception was the up-lighting of the permanent tent structure that transformed the already beautiful space into something even more elegant with our summer branch gobos in soft shades of purples, pinks and lavenders.  The couple even had their initials projected on the dance floor in a matching tone.

We’ve worked with the photographer, Steve Koo, a number of times and know him to be talented & creative, but we can’t help but be a little proud of how our light & attention to detail comes through in so many of the pictures. Be sure to visit his website sometime, but meanwhile, scroll through the gallery and be inspired by this real Chicago wedding!

Photos by Steve Koo Photography. Venue: Galleria Marchetti. Event Planning by Sweetchic Events.

As you saw in Part 1 of this real Chicago wedding, the couple warmed the clean and elegant aesthetic of the Room 1520 with our amber and pink lighting.

For the rest of the evening, the couple continued to glow, as if still lit. You can see from the photos how they reused the ceremony draping as a backdrop for their sweetheart table. For the dancing and the reception, we continued the same lighting palette as in their ceremony, using soft blues, purples and pinks to tie the light & decor to the centerpieces and the many romantic details throughout the event.

In case you missed it, the previous post featured this wedding’s soft and elegant ceremony – view those photos here.

Thank you to Jason & Anna Photography for so beautifully capturing our work and for sharing the images with us. Be sure to visit their portfolio.

The wedding decor at this event at downtown’s Elysian Hotel was truly stunning. Featuring only our best wedding decor, the setup included a wide wall of our platinum crepe-back satin and a stunning, show-stopping platinum, crystal-laden fabric structure with elegant detailing on the ties and a soft & sheer canopy overhead.

The dramatic displays were up-lit in soft pinks to play off of the warm amber and golden tones throughout the space. Juliet, of Cattleya Bridal matched the glitz and glamor of the space by bringing in tall crystal displays that sparkled with candlelight. Later, as the space was reset for reception-style seating, a sweetheart table was placed under the fabric structure.

We loved seeing the fabric structure stay up throughout the evening, creating a perfect focal point. A sweetheart table with a sparkly linen was added underneath and the aisle decor were repurposed as centerpieces.  

All guests were greeted by this dramatic entry – using matching platinum fabric and crystals, it created a stunning display that set the mood of the whole event. Photos by Adrian Nastase.

This real Chicago wedding was really something. Combining the clean, modern and elegant aesthetic of the West Loop’s Room 1520 with the warm personality of the bride and groom was a perfect match.

For their ceremony, we brought in a wide panel of our beloved crepe-back satin, in a pretty, satin-like platinum,  which we up-lit in a warm shade of pink. The light filtered from the windows and through the fabric, creating a beautiful sort of glow on the ceremony stage. The aisle was lit with a golden amber light, giving the bride a stunning halo-like look as she walked down the aisle, with her father at her side. She literally glowed!

Scroll through the ceremony pictures and stay tuned for part two – the dancing, the speeches and the fun & energetic, after dark reception that is not to be missed!

Don’t miss the second half of this stunning wedding – check out the reception and dancing here.

Thank you to Jason & Anna Photography for so beautifully capturing our work and for sharing the images with us. Be sure to visit their portfolio.

The civil union decor at this Loft on Lake event was soft, romantic, with a slight touch of rustic elegance. The two gorgeous brides had a strong vision when it came to their event decor and were so sweet and gracious every step along the way.

Their “first-peek” was touching for everyone – both teared up at once and all through the evening, the ceremony and reception were filled with touching moments such as these that really made this event special.

Aside from building the forty-foot wall of crepe-back satin fabric, we gave the space extra warmth with soft amber uplighting and touches color and light throughout. For the reception, we added draping at the back of the space to create a clean look with a branch GOBO projection that matched the couple’s aesthetic.

Photos by Lofty Weddings Photography. Courtesy of Loft on Lake. Catered by Honest Foods.

As a Style Me Pretty “Little Black Book” member, we love seeing our name come up on weddings we have been a part of. Especially when the featured weddings are of a couple as laid back and wonderful to work with as these two.

For this cool, urban event at Architectural Artifacts, we were asked to make the expansive atrium more intimate by stringing Italian globe lights and adding warm, amber ambiant lighting to create a lively and inviting space for the guests to dance in and celebrate.

Be sure to see the other weddings featured on Style Me Pretty that include our work.

Corporate event decor is just as diverse as the weddings and other private events we are so often a part of. For example, Leo Burnett, with offices in 80 plus countries hosts an annual award show at their Chicago headquarters to showcase the wide range of  their work and highlight some of the best design and advertising moments from the past year. For the past several years, we have been a part of this event – having worked closely with their team for the previous iterations, this year’s event was completely redone, providing a fresh challenge to showcase the many areas of work in a matter that was consistent with past presentations.

The red and black fabric allowed the presented work to shine, while the red carpet added a sense of elegance to the fun, multi-day event. We enjoyed being a part of this celebration of creativity and imagination and can’t wait to see what the Leo Burnett designers will have to share next year.

Loft on Lake in Chicago’s artsy West Loop neighborhood is such a unique, urban venue, that it only makes sense that it would host a civil union just within months of the law’s passing in Illinois. The owners, Cher and Steve Garrett have always been proud marriage equality supporters, even helping found the Stand Up project recently. For this civil union, the couple opted for a 40′ wall of fabric that ran the length of the entire space.

After the short but touching ceremony, the two grooms performed a Unity Candle ceremony and while the guests cockailed in the front space, took pictures all around the West Loop. For their reception, the pair had us transform the space using dark blues to match the look of their union. To bring warmth back into the open loft venue, we used GOBO projections of leaves and branches in an ambre shade of orange to add texture to the space.

We had a lot of fun working with this lovely couple and we were thrilled to be part of their Special Day!

Photos by Lofty Weddings Photography. Courtesy of Loft on Lake. Catered by Hearty Boys.

We recently were brought on by Guggenheim Partners to produce their annual holiday party at the Trump International Hotel’s Grand Ballroom. This was the company’s first time at the Trump International Hotel and the client was nervous about the change of venue. Impressed by Deborah’s event production and event design experience, they asked Deborah to personally oversee every element of the production of their event. Because of another event in the same space, the Art of Imagination team had only a three hour window to transform the space into a chilly winter-scape – which included five glow bars, GOBOS and dozens of LED lights throughout the ballroom and a second area which played host to the silent auction during the event.



Juliet Tan, of Cattleya Bridal, was responsible for the centerpieces – using crystals, mirrors and winter greens to continue the event’s theme. Photos by Vitaliy Vladimirov.

Situated on the historic Kedzie Boulevard in the trendy Logan Square area, the Stan Mansion is hidden behind a neatly-manicured wall of hedges but even from outside, it’s clear that the building is something truly special.
And while the building is a turn-of-the-century construction, the Stan Mansion as a venue is new – having turned 3 last year. Art of Imagination, though, has been the exclusive vendor for all light and decor at the Mansion since it’s founding by owner, Cera Stan. In just three years, Cera transformed the gorgeous but vacant space into one of the most in-demand wedding and event venues in all of Chicago. In those three short years, Cera undertook a series of massive upgrades and renovations for the venue, including a formal marble foyer, new floors and carpeting and much more – which have only added an additional sense of grandeur.
The Stan Mansion has consistently been featured on “Four Weddings’ – and we’re glad to say, the featured Stan Mansion brides have won every time!

We love featuring real Chicago weddings – such as this stunning event, hosted at the Chicago Cultural Center. We worked closely with the bride in realizing the vision for her Special Day – bringing in the branch GOBOs for a touch of organic whimsy to this elegant affair.

Details of the romantic Chuppah wedding structure we constructed in partnership with Cattleya Bridal.

We created a chic lounge setting for the reception which offset the rest of the event decor wonderfully.