A Sunset Loft Wedding at Centered Chef in Chicago, Illinois

Stacey (28 and a resident physician) and Rob (28 and a chemical engineer) met at a gym in Detroit as both of them had a 6pm workout schedule. Rob worked up the nerve to ask her out, and they went on their first date to their mutual favorite sushi restaurant, Ronin. Not long after, however, Stacey accepted a summer internship in Chicago, but Rob made the long distance relationship work, driving to see her almost every week. When it came to the proposal, Rob had everything planned. Stacey had a long week at the hospital and missed Valentine's Day, but Rob had a belated holiday plan, taking her on a snowy walk around the Detroit to drink coffee, shop at Eastern Market, and visit the Museum of Contemporary Art before settling at home. After they ate Rob's home-cooked dinner, Rob and Stacey exchanged cards, hers reading "For my fiancee on Valentine's Day." Confused and then incredibly excited, Stacey looked up to see Rob on one knee. When it came to the wedding, they knew they wanted to get married in a loft setting somewhere in the West Loop, which they loved for its "vibrant culinary scene, beautiful architecture, and unique history," they say. They ultimately decided on Centered Chef in Chicago, where they threw an intimate wedding of 75 guests with a color palette inspired by sunsets in the south of France. Bouquets and floral arrangements featured vibrant ranunculus and dahlias (Stacey's favorite), and the bridesmaids wore long dresses with ruffled necklines in a complementary shade of "evening blue" so their flowers would pop. Meanwhile, the bride wore a spectacular strapless, lace, peplum dress that she found at a Mori Lee trunk show and paired with a lace-edged, double-tiered veil. Sharing their love for the culinary arts, Stacey and Rob served an Asian-inspired dinner (a nod to their first date) followed by a cake and a variety of petit-fours, some of which they saved for their first wedding anniversary.