A Cheerful Flower-Filled Wedding at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Chicago, Illinois

Chelsea grew up near the Chicago Botanic Garden, so it was a natural place to host her wedding to Andrew. Chelsea’s mother painted floral invitations that set the tone for a horticultural-themed celebration that focused on fresh, local ingredients. “We wanted it to feel like a cozy, beautiful farm dinner,” Chelsea says. The couple used potted succulents as escort cards and printed menus on biodegradable seeded paper. “It had flecks of lavender and wildflower seeds so you can just tear it up, put it in dirt, water it and flowers will grow,” Chelsea says. Gold terrariums, wood planters and mismatched china topped farm-style tables, where guests dined on beef with crispy oyster mushrooms and grilled salmon with shaved asparagus salad and sweet corn puree. Edible gold lash garnished layers of vanilla-almond cake with vanilla-almond buttercream and banana cake with chocolate ganache and peanut butter buttercream. “When choosing vendors, we wanted to support women-owned small businesses as much as possible,” Chelsea says. “That led us to some truly amazing people.”