Minimalist Industrial | Historic Loft Wedding Venue in Chicago, IL
As seen in: Lakeshore in Love
The concept for this styled shoot began very simply — when researching options to create an inspirational wedding editorial with my friend and colleague, Rebecca Pope, wedding planner at Something Profound Weddings, we were drawn to the simple and elegant backdrop of Chicago’s Room 1520 with whitewashed brick walls and plenty of oversized windows.
The space was the perfect canvas for an editorial made of dozens of small, beautiful parts. Drawing inspiration from the venue’s neutral color scheme, we created a stunning editorial built around a mood board of black and white, with hints of gold, ivory, and green.
Read on to learn how this amazing editorial came together!
Styled Shoot
It was very important to Rebecca and me that this editorial be representative of a real wedding day, so as we built our all-star vendor team, it was very important to us that our team partnered together to create distinctive vignettes that might be part of a real bride and groom’s wedding journey. And in the spirit of telling as close to a real wedding story as we could, we partnered with two recently-married couples to capture a first look, bridal portraits, ceremony, cocktails and various reception vignettes.
Our photo sets included:
Details: When Rebecca and I serve clients on their wedding days, our partnership always begins in the bridal suite, styling small wedding day details as the bride and her closest ladies put the finishing touches on their make-up. We created a variety of feminine and masculine-styled flatlay images featuring hand-made stationery by Lively House and Home and both vintage and custom wedding rings on gracious loan from Bryn Mawr Jewelry.
Architecture: Room 1520 is one of the most flexible and transformable wedding venues in Chicago I’ve had the pleasure of working in. With high ceilings and plenty of room to create dedicated spaces for ceremony, cocktails, and reception with it’s flow-through floorplan, we capitalized on this layout when partnering with Art of Imagination to create a bespoke lounge space and romantic ceremony set up.
In keeping with our minimalist theme at Room 1520, Deborah and the team at Art of Imagination used neutral-toned furniture, with green upholstery and touches of natural smilax being the only colorful accents in our photo sets, allowing the minimalist romance of the space to shine through.
The mirrored bar was decorated with a custom-calligraphy welcome sign by Lively House and Home, with intentional tie-ins to the cocktail menu curated and crafted by Something Profound Weddings. (It was so fun for me to see Rebecca trade her wedding planner hat to play bartender for us!)
An additional structural photoset was created by the team at Bubbly Events Chicago, featuring a white champagne wall, adorned with escort cards from Lively House and Home and topped with delectable charcuterie hand cones from The Grazing Table.
Fashion: No wedding day is complete without a statement gown (or two), and we were incredibly grateful to have two stunning yet minimal gowns on loan from Honey Bridal, and bespoke menswear was graciously provided by The Black Tux.
Beauty: Our two bridal models, Mia and Daniel received full glam hair and makeup treatments from the talented team at Tamara Makeup and Hair Artistry.
Florals: After photographing Luci Floral Design’s work at an intimate elopement last year, I couldn’t wait to see what she would create on a grander, wedding-centric scale, and Luci did not disappoint, providing a custom bridal bouquet, floral pocket square, a floral headpiece and cathedral veil with delicate floral appliques for our two model couples.
Cake: A stunning marbled wedding cake was the centerpiece of the bar at Room 1520. It looked almost too good to eat!
Cinema: Our styled shoot as masterfully filmed by Trevor of Maloch Media.
Vendor Credits
I am so grateful for the team that made this Room 1520 wedding editorial possible. Each person’s creative contributions far exceed what I could have hoped or imagined. I’m so excited to share some individual blog posts showcasing their unique talents in the coming weeks.
Venue: Room 1520
Beauty: Tamara Makeup and Hair Artistry
Cake: ECBG Studio
Catering: The Grazing Table
Cinema: Maloch Media
Fashion: Honey Bridal / The Black Tux
Floral: Luci Floral Design
Jewelry: Bryn Mawr Jewelry Co.
Planner: Something Profound Weddings
Photography: Joshua Harrison Photography
Rentals & Decor: Art of Imagination / Bubbly Events Chicago
Stationery: Lively House and Home