And the winner is …

Last night was the eleven eleven WEDDING Giveaway live reveal party at ZED451!  It was truly a magical night and we want to thank all of our sponsors who went the extra mile to make everything just perfect. Gina and the staff at ZED451 truly outdid themselves!  Also a giant thank you to Poetic Productions for creating the outstanding interview video and shooting footage of last night’s event, Amanda Hein Photography for capturing all of the details and emotions, Chicago Lighting Design for enhancing the room with beautiful lighting, BKO for providing musical entertainment, Still Point Creative for stepping in last minute to provide the audio visual and Michelle Moy for her breathtaking design work!

I must admit, this has been a very emotional journey for me (and many other sponsors) and last night I was overjoyed to be announcing a winner but also heart broken for the two couples that did not win.  I feel honored and privileged to have been invited into each of their lives and I wish them nothing but love and happiness for the rest of their lives.

So now I guess you want to know who won, right?

By secret ballot from each of the sponsors … I am proud to announce that Amanda and Mike are the winners of the eleven eleven WEDDING Giveaway!  They were gracious and thrilled when their names were announced and we couldn’t be happier for them!

We won’t have all of the event pictures until next week but Amanda Hein was kind enough to give us a few shots of the lucky couple. I promise to post more as soon as we have them!

Amanda took pictures of each finalists during the cocktail party on the rooftop. It was a beautiful evening without a cloud in the sky. Then we went inside to watch the video interviews and just as we started the sky opened up and down came the rain … Just in time!  It was a heartwarming experience to look around the room and see each of the finalists tear up as they watched not only their story but the other finalists stories as well.  The anticipation built as we prepared to announce the winner, especially because not even the sponsors knew who the winners were and let me tell you keeping a secret like that is a lot of pressure! Each couple was surrounded by family and friends as we announced the big news!  I don’t think I could describe the reaction and mood in the room, but perhaps these images from Amanda will tell you all you need to know.

I absolutely loved seeing Amanda and Mike’s families reactions in these pictures.  The emotion was overwhelming! Shortly there after you could see the excited text messages flying

We couldn’t be more excited to get to work with such an amazing, strong couple and can’t wait to help them plan their dream wedding!