Susan and Zach’s Love is Essential Wedding
In the Spring of 2020 our world came crashing to a halt when the threat of Covid-19 forced us to shelter in place. As wedding vendors, we watched helplessly as countless couples rescheduled their weddings . . .
In the Spring of 2020 our world came crashing to a halt when the threat of Covid-19 forced us to shelter in place. As wedding vendors, we watched helplessly as countless couples rescheduled their weddings and wondered when we would get back to doing what we love. A wave of support for essential workers took hold of us and we desperately wanted to do SOMETHING to give back to those who were selflessly giving of themselves to our community.
Inspired by the Gratitude Project, Conrad and I had the idea to give a FREE wedding to two deserving essential workers. Knowing this idea would be an enormous undertaking we enlisted the help of some of our favorite “friendors” and called Jenny of JPB Designs Wedding & Event Planning and Ken of Amp Event Professionals. Jenny and Ken’s enthusiastic response to Love is Essential laid the groundwork for what would become an 18+ month project to plan the perfect wedding for two deserving essential workers.
We met every week over Zoom to plan this wedding, and as our vendor team grew so did the love and excitement we all shared. After an extensive search and application process we chose Susan and Zach to be our Love is Essential couple. Susan and Zach both work at James A Lovell Federal Health Care Center where they serve our veteran population. They were forced to reschedule their wedding twice because of Covid and had all but given up hope that they would ever have the wedding they dreamed of having.
As we got to know Susan and Zach we fell in love with their humility and loving kindness. We could not have possibly found a more deserving and wonderful couple to gift this wedding to. It was such a joy to plan their dream wedding with our incredibly talented and generous vendor team at the absolutely gorgeous Old Post Office. For all of the hard work and investment of time and resources we would do it all over again in a heartbeat. We only hope that our photos and videos do justice to the beautiful scope of Love is Essential.
Love is Essential was featured on WGN, click here to watch the segment!
Congratulations, Susan and Zach (and Shiloh!), we love you and wish you a lifetime of happiness together!
And to every single individual who worked to make this unforgettable wedding possible. thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We are in awe of your talent and generosity and so grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside you on this project.
To see all of Susan and Zach’s gorgeous wedding photos, click here
VENDOR DETAILS
PHOTOGRAPHY
Something Blue
PLANNING + COORDINATION
JPB Designs
VENUE
The Old Post Office
FLORALS
Vale of Enna
CATERING
Blue Plate Chicago
CEREMONY BAND
J Livi & The Party
HAIR AND MAKEUP
Tricia Clarke
EVENT DECOR
Yanni Design Studio
LINENS
BBJ La Tavola
RENTALS
Tablescapes Chicago
INVITATIONS
Ink Love and Paper
STATIONERY
Simply Scripted Ink
CAKE
Defloured
DESSERTS
Vanille
BRIDAL DRESSER
The Wedding Dresser
BRIDES DRESS
The Altar
BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES
Anthropologie
MENSWEAR
Emanuele Tuxedo
love is essential
Rooted in radical generosity, this is a movement to gift a wedding to essential workers
ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS UNTIL JULY 31st, 2020
Rooted in RADICAL GENEROSITY,
this is a movement to GIFT AN ENTIRE WEDDING to a deserving couple.
This is a movement is to serve and give back to ESSENTIAL WORKERS. To show LOVE triumphs over trial. To support fellow vendors in the wedding industry. We are working together to GIVE BACK in a time of uncertainty by gifting a deserving couple a completely FREE wedding.
Born from a desire to give radically, even in a time of great uncertainty, we have put together an amazing team of wedding vendors willing to donate their talents. Now, we are looking for the perfect couple. Two essential workers in love willing to share their story as we follow their wedding adventure. A couple madly in love who put their wedding plans on hold because of the pandemic. The Love is Essential wedding will take place in 2022 – between now and then we will follow our couple’s love story as they look forward to their dream wedding.
Love is Essential is happening because of the generosity of the best wedding vendors in Chicago. Our team is dedicated to giving back to essential workers to show our gratitude for their service. This outstanding team is comprised of:
LIZ SCHRENK – SOMETHING BLUE PHOTOGRAPHY
Liz developed the concept of Love is Essential when the shelter in place began. Inspired by the Gratitude Movement, Liz wanted to save her own small business and support friends in the wedding industry. Her heart is to serve others and give back to Essential Workers in this challenging and historic time.
JENNY BARTKUS – JPB DESIGNS WEDDING PLANNING
Jenny runs JPB Designs + Co., a renowned boutique wedding and event planning firm. Jenny specializes in creating unforgettable weddings that showcase each couples’ individuality. Philanthropy is at the heart of JPB Designs and Jenny is thankful to be giving back through Love is Essential.
CONRAD WERES – SOMETHING BLUE VIDEOGRAPHY
Conrad is Liz’s business partner and the backbone of Something Blue. Conrad helped Liz dream about the possibility of being radically generous and gifting an entire wedding to a couple serving on the front lines of the Covid-19 battle. Conrad has a background in marketing from Columbia College.
KEN MURPHY – AMP EVENT PROFESSIONALS
At the heart of every wedding beats the party, the joyful celebration of love. No one throws a party like Ken and his team at Amp Event Professionals. Ken is the hardest working DJ in Chicago; his top priority is to create unforgettable memories for his couples and their guests at every event.
JAMIE AND LEAH – POST 433 EVENTS
When we first envisioned Love is Essential we dreamed of finding the perfect Chicago venue to host this incredible event. The Old Post Office is a monumental Chicago landmark whose history naturally honors essential workers. This grand historic building has been reimagined as a magnificent venue space capable of hosting beautiful and unforgettable events. We were thrilled when Jamie and Leah joined our team; we can’t wait to celebrate our couple’s wedding in this amazing venue!
The couple shown in these pictures are Stephanie and Jeremy, two amazing essential workers who were married in January of 2020. Stephanie is a nurse and Jeremy is a firefighter. To help us with this project, they generously volunteered (on their shared day off) to model for us in the heart of Chicago. We loved documenting their connection and getting a glimpse of what life has been like for them as essential workers as they wade through the rough waters of 2020.
We are searching for two essential workers who have put their wedding plans on hold. Two people madly in love but committed to serving our community. If you would like to nominate yourself or a friend, please complete this form.
We have the most beautiful gift to give – now, we need to find the perfect couple.