Grain Exchange Wedding

Breanna & Jacob

Breanna & Jacob’s Grain Exchange wedding day was filled with sunshine in the morning and rain in the afternoon, but it was also filled with abundant joy ALL day long! 🙂 Both Breanna and Jacob brim over with joy, spunk, and laughter. They are best friends who truly complement one another, and it was so much fun for us to get to know them and capture their wedding day. The day began with gorgeous sunshine while the girls and guys were getting ready at the Hilton Garden Inn hotel right next to the Grain Exchange. When all was prepared, Breanna & Jacob got to see each other for the first time at the iconic staircase inside the hotel. Afterward, we traveled to Good City Brewing for their wedding ceremony.

Breanna & Jacob met in college. It was through various sorority and fraternity events that they met and soon became great friends. After being good friends, they found themselves best friends, and they both knew that if they started dating, this was IT! As their story would have it, they did start dating, of course. It was a dinner out celebrating Bre’s new job, and although nerves were high, they melted over a mutual love of beer. (Make note of this theme throughout their wedding day!) Once they started down the path of dating, loving each other was easy for them both. Soon Jacob decided it was time to propose, so he created an elaborate plan including a friend hiding out to take photos as well as friends and family gathered nearby for a celebration to follow.

In December, Jacob planned to make it official and ask Bre to marry him. He planned to do it at the Lincoln Park Zoo, so he and his sister went beforehand to scope it out and find the perfect spot. From Breanna’s perspective, they were simply out on a date night and (finally) doing cute Christmas stuff! As they walked through the zoo, Bre was soaking in all the Christmas joy and Jacob was getting really nervous. He had planned to let the words flow out naturally, and when they got to a lighted flamingo display, he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. In a crowd of clapping, happy onlookers, she said YES! The second surprise which followed was the house full of family and friends who were waiting to celebrate with them afterward!

Circling back to Breanna & Jacob’s Grain Exchange wedding day, their ceremony at Good City Brewing was performed by a close friend of theirs. Breanna’s entrance down the aisle was filled with SO many happy tears. (It might be the most joyfully tearful entrance to date.) It was equally an intensely personal ceremony, complete with a couple of specially chosen readings from some of their very good friends. They created their own vows to recite to each other, and we just savored all of the personal moments they included in their ceremony. With rings and a kiss, it was official! The newlyweds, Mr. & Mrs. Carlson!

Following the ceremony, Breanna, Jacob, and their amazing wedding party followed us out into the pouring cold rain. They laughed the whole way. We were so thankful for a great group of adventurous souls with whom we could dance in the rain! Once the cold and wet photos were done (which, by the way, turned out so cute!) we headed to the Grain Exchange for the remainder of the celebration. We loved all of the moments their wedding day included and were in awe the grandeur of the Grain Exchange. Without further ado, we introduce to you Mr. & Mrs. Carlson and their joy-filled Grain Exchange wedding day!