Sunflowers Filled This Chicago Cultural Center Wedding in Illinois

When you get married under a soaring Tiffany stained-glass dome, a grand celebration is in order. So for their wedding at the Chicago Cultural Center, Laura and Harris filled the historic space with candles, covered their chuppah in roses and sunflowers (Laura’s late grandmother’s favorite) and set manzanita trees on tables. “We wanted the décor to feel lush and romantic,” Laura says. “Our goal was to bring the outside in.”

Laura’s close friend designed her lace-and-silk wedding dress and her bridesmaids were told to choose their own dresses, with flowy and romantic being the keywords. The invitation’s slanted brush lettering and floral crest set the tone for the wedding design, which filled the event space with ceramic vases holding roses, sunflowers, eucalyptus and cocculus foliage. A gospel choir escorted guests from cocktail hour to dinner, where they dined on tomato-burrata salad, steak with crispy smashed potatoes, wild Scottish salmon and gnocchi.