A Timeless, Elegant Wedding at Odyssey Country Club in Tinley Park, Illinois

Ashlei Birch (29 and in hotel management) and David Shepherd (29 and in sales) met at Eastern Illinois University, where they had many mutual friends and built a strong relationship together. After five years of dating, Ashlei and Dave moved to Pennsylvania and soon began discussing marriage. They wanted their families and friends to be a part of their proposal, so Dave worked for months preparing video footage of faraway loved ones wishing them well. One night after work, Dave asked Ashlei to watch a video on YouTube he made for her. As the video went on and evolved from pictures of themselves to the segments of loved ones, Dave got down on one knee and proposed. They decided to have their wedding at the Odyssey Country Club in Tinley Park, Illinois. "I wanted a venue with high ceilings, and the Odyssey was perfect for that, and the beautiful chandeliers were amazing," Ashlei says. Initially, Ashlei wanted a very neutral color palette of white, gold and champagne, but Dave suggested adding a brighter touch with navy blue. The entire reception was decorated with whites and navy blue with sparkling accents. Centerpieces were white arrangements of roses and hydrangeas in alternating heights. To ensure their guests enjoyed the wedding and would dance, Ashlei and Dave chose to have their first dance after the father-daughter and mother-son dances. After their dance, they had the DJ invite all guests to the dance floor. "So it was a great introduction to the reception and got everyone out of their seats dancing," Ashlei says. "And our night -- that we will never forget -- started off with a bang!"