Katie and Will

I’m so delighted I had the chance to film Will and Katie’s wedding at the Stan Mansion in Chicago, Illinois! As a non-traditional wedding videographer, I’m always excited to work with clients who want to put a fun, personal spin on the traditional wedding experience. 

Will and Katie have some of the coolest jobs of anyone I’ve worked for. Katie is a producer for Magic Mike Live in Las Vegas, and Will is a professional poker player. Talk about a POWER COUPLE! And while they put together a wedding that was classy, elegant, and traditional in many ways, they also found ways to adapt common traditions to better fit the unique story they have to tell.

The awesome story of this couple, and how they incorporated that story into their wedding, contains great advice about how to put a personal spin on the usual traditions, how to put just as much focus on your loved ones as you and your partner, and most of all, how to make YOUR wedding feel like YOU. 

THE COUPLE

Will and Katie’s love story is all about taking a gamble on love. And what better place for that story to unfold than Las Vegas?

The story, as told by their wedding officiant and close friend, Amy, began when Katie made the decision to move to Vegas from New York. They had always run in the same circles in NYC, but really hit it off when they both ended up in The Gambling Capital of the World (that’s a real nickname for Las Vegas that I just looked up). It was with Amy’s encouragement that Katie built a dating profile for this new chapter of life, and before long, they managed to find a match.

That match was Will, another fish out of water from Chicago. They hit it off, and for their first date, Will invited Katie out to a Billy Joel concert. This was, of course, a green flag. With common interests, and jobs that were similar in their levels of bravado and individuality, they found it easy to understand one another, and their bond only continued to grow.

They both knew they’d found someone special early on. Katie says it was the first time she saw Will’s dance moves. Will says it was during their 3rd date, when he realized how calm, casual, and familiar their rapport had become. Eventually, it only made sense to propose, and yet again, Amy was the friend for the job. She helped orchestrate a night of stargazing in southern Nevada for the two of them. With the two of them in the bed of a truck, surrounded by the awe-inspiring desert night sky, Will found his moment to ask the question, and Katie said yes.

Will and Katie both were visitors to Vegas, in a way. They moved their to take a chance on life and their careers. And after meeting each other, they decided to take a chance on love, too. Clearly, it’s a gamble they’re happy they made.

Amy was a close friend of both of them when the time came for wedding planning. But there were also many other friends and loved ones that the two of them had welcomed into their lives, many of whom also had some showmanship of their own to share. They knew they wanted a ceremony that put this large, loving community front and center, and I was so happy to work with them and help them capture that unique love!

THE VENUE

Will and Katie’s ceremony was held in the Stan Mansion, a tucked-away historic gem in Chicago’s wedding and events industry. Located in the Logan Square neighborhood on the city’s north side, the Stan Mansion is actually part of the Logan Square Historic District, an area that has been preserved for more than 100 years! According to their website, the Mansion originally served as a Masonic lodge for many years, but it was in great need of renovations when founder Cera Stan purchased the building decades later. The space was officially opened as an events venue in 2018, and it serves as an excellent place to experience the kind of refined and elegant Chicago architecture we rarely see today.

The venue is open to many kinds of events, and offers several different spaces to accommodate gatherings of all kinds. Their website says: 

“Throughout our history, we’ve hosted a number of events that range from a traditional ceremony, to a circus-themed reception with a magical grandeur. Our experienced staff of wedding designers and planners can bring your wildest imagination and dreams to life.”

My kind of venue!

For larger gatherings, spaces like the Grand Ballroom are recommended. The ballroom is a massive, art deco space that can accommodate up to 300 sitting guests or 400 standing guests. It’s ideal for both exquisite ceremonies and raucous receptions alike. On the other end of the spectrum is the Versailles Lounge, an intimate space with a bar and a fireplace, ideal for gatherings of 50 or less. A wedding of just about any size could call this venue home for the day.

Though, with how many friends Will and Katie have, you can guess which space they picked for their special day. The Grand Ballroom served as the perfect space for both the quiet, classy ceremony Will and Katie had, AND the explosively fun and celebratory reception that came right after. And it was all tucked away on a surprisingly quaint and beautiful street in Logan Square.

THE DAY OF

As mentioned above, Will and Katie’s close friend Amy was the officiant of the ceremony. For one, it makes sense that someone from The Marriage Capital of the World would have the certification needed to officiate a wedding (that is another real nickname for Las Vegas that I just looked up). 

But for two, Amy played a large role in Will and Katie’s love story, not just as a matchmaker, but as a loved and trusted friend. Bringing friendship front and center was a big priority for Will and Katie. Here are all the ways their ceremony helped do that.

The ceremony began with a traditional, classy feel. The couple opted for a simple but elevated decor, made up of a candlelit center aisle with green foliage, and white floral accents all throughout the space. This choice complimented the elegance of luxury of the Stan Mansion well, letting modern aesthetics come forward from the vintage trappings of the space. 

The wedding party entrances were also classy, simple, and elegant, accompanied with live music on the piano and violin. Then, vocals joined the mix for Katie’s entrance, a rendition of “Feels Like Home” by Chantal Kreviazuk. The couple’s love of music was all throughout the ceremony, and although Billy Joel’s work didn’t make an official appearance, it only felt right that classic artists like Kreviazuk, and Fleetwood Mac, were present throughout the ceremony as a testament to what brought the two of them together on that fateful first date.

From here, Will and Katie really began to make the ceremony their own. Or rather, they allowed their loved ones to contribute in ways that made their special day ALL of their own. After the attendees were seated and Will and Katie were together on stage, one of Will’s closest friends, Mike, came up to read a poem. It’s words were about probability and taking chances, a prominent theme for the couple in many ways, and choosing to gamble on each other despite the odds.

“Tell me the ratios, the theories, the probabilities stacked against us finding home in one another. I will smile, nod over coffee cups, the steam lifting from them, and listen to that melody.”

Afterwards, Amy recounted the couple’s love story from her point of view, and even more of their friends were invited up to participate, to sing, read scripture, and more. There was even a performance of “Grow Old With You” from The Wedding Singer on the acoustic guitar. 

This comes down partially to having an awesome posse of multi-talented friends, of course. But it’s also a testament to Will and Katie’s values that they put their friends so front of center. They were willing to step out of the boxes of some of the traditional wedding experiences, and find ways to put their community front and center.

But nothing made this priority more clear than their decision at the end. When it came time for vows, Will and Katie said “I do” as they placed their rings on each other’s fingers. But then, Amy spoke to everyone in attendance, inviting them to say their own set of “I dos.”

“We, their community of friends and family,” she said, “are invited parties to this commitment, and thus have a responsibility to this couple.” And everyone in attendance was asked to vow one simple thing: that they would surround Will and Katie in love, support this community, and support their marriage. The crowd responded not only in “I dos,” but in applause.

I think this was a wonderful decision that highlights a part of marriage that is often overlooked. A wedding is not just a union of two people, but two communities, and taking the time during their ceremony to showcase this and acknowledge its importance shows just how much Will and Katie prioritize this element of love.

The couple’s own vows had quite a few gems as well. Both of them perfectly blended the silly with the sentimental (hey, it’s my brand!), and found ways to both seriously attest their love for one another while also playfully roasting one another and giving us all a laugh.

Katie, for her part, said, “I promise to love your people like my people, because they all already are.” She also said, “I promise to firmly  believe every year that the Bears could win, even if that means staying ignorant to facts about the organization as a whole.” Ouch.

But, Will must’ve been ready for such a dig, because he had a football joke of his own. “I promise to love you more than the Chicago Bears,” he said, “who always disappoint me the way you never would.” He also said, “To the world, this ring will explain that you are not flirting with them, you are just hot and very friendly.”

There was even a very cute moment where the couple realized that both of their vows began with almost the exact same words: “Standing here today, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.” No wonder they get along so well!

And of course, their commitment to their community was still front and center. “I envision our future as an unstoppable team,” Katie said, “where our home is a welcoming haven with a crowded table for all those who need a soft place to land.”

The reception was a blast, featuring live music from a nine-piece band that filled out the large space of the Stan Mansion nicely. And Will had one more surprise up his sleeve: a Magic Mike-themed dance in honor of Katie’s job, and the many friends she made from it along the way. Katie did say she fell for him when she saw him dance! What better way to celebrate their marriage than that?

ADVICE FOR YOUR CEREMONY

Will and Katie had the STORY of their love down pat, and they were able to build a lot of their ceremony around it. Here are some things I learned from them that might help your own wedding:

Pick a few theme words for your wedding team. Since their love story happened in The City of Lost Wages (yes, that’s another real nickname for…you get it), and they both have unique jobs in the world of nightlife, Will and Katie landed on themes of gambling, placing bets, and taking chances, all things that apply quite well to love. I’m assuming these themes were communicated with at least some of the other people involved, because they kept coming up again and again. From Amy’s words as officiant, to Mike’s poem about the probability of happiness in love, the theme grew into a constant and made the whole ceremony feel cohesive and meaningful. Thinking of something like this that can serve as a throughline in the story of your love life could be helpful in deciding what songs to share and words to say in your own ceremony.

Find ways to involve your guests. Not everyone will want to have their attendees participate in their vows, and that’s okay! But it can be worth considering what other unique ways you can involve your loved ones in attendance, and allow them to be part of your special day in a bigger way than usual. Community really is one of the biggest parts of a couple’s love, and it was beautiful to see it placed front and center in this wedding.

A little bit of humor goes a long way. Will and Katie are both VERY funny people. But they also knew just how much humor while still letting their day feel as special as it deserved. When everyone in the room is already in happy tears, all it takes is one good, unexpected joke to win over the whole room. You can have both the silly and the sentimental at your wedding without either of them competing for space above the other. That’s exactly the kind of energy I love to foster at every wedding I attend!