First off let me just start by thanking everyone behind the eleven eleven WEDDING Giveaway. Thank you to everyone who voted for us and thank you to the amazing sponsors!
The past month has been intense! We spent the whole voting week glued to our computers, phones, and pounding the pavement. We pestered our friends and family, we contacted every media source we could get our hands on, and utilized social networking websites to promote the contest in every way possible. We were so shocked by the overwhelming response from everyone that voted for us, shared our link, or wrote about our story. Our story and the contest was shared all around the world! We received such wonderful responses from long lost grade school friends to the It Gets Better Project. Regardless of whether we won or lost, we felt like this contest showed us that we are loved, that we are accepted, and that there is so much support for our relationship and for same-sex marriage. We never dreamed of this much support.
When we found out that we were finalists we were even more surprised! All our hard work (17 hour days of tweeting, sending out press releases, going to local businesses and organizations) really paid off. The next step was the interview processes. We were so excited to meet the Greatest Expectations team! Poetic Productions made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera! After the interview we waited a few weeks for the live reveal event at Nellcote. Let me just say that we were sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear who won!
Tuesday night finally came and we were so excited to be able to bring three of our closest friends and Jessica’s mother to Nellcote for the live reveal. The staff at Nellcote was wonderful, the food and drinks were amazing, and the space was stunning! It was a pleasure to finally meet the other finalists and generous sponsors, but as the event went on we grew more and more excited for the big reveal! Luckily having a blast in the Shutterbooth photo booth kept us at ease.
And then.. all of a sudden there we were, watching the interviews with the other couples and ourselves. Everyone had such an amazing story, some of which brought us to tears. It was such an honor to be in this contest with the three other couples. Then finally.. the big moment when last year’s winners Amy and Howard came to announce the 2012 winners and it was (Drum Roll Please!) Connie and Jessica! We were beyond shocked, but as we held each other close and cried, the applause from the crowd and the love from our friends and family affirmed our win.
The sponsors and other couples rushed to congratulate us with hugs and kind words. Our friends and family, who have been so supportive throughout our relationship and this contest cried. It was overwhelming and emotional and we couldn’t have felt more love and acceptance in that moment. We are truly blessed.
We cannot wait to start the planning process with all the wonderful sponsors of the eleven eleven WEDDING Giveaway! We look forward to keeping everyone up to date throughout the process! And guess what? We’re getting married… IN NOVEMBER!
It’s such a pleasure to welcome back Poetic Productions for the 2012 eleven elven WEDDING Giveaway. The staff at Poetic Productions continues to be invaluable in the production, planning and presentation of all our wedding giveaways.
For most couples, your wedding day goes by so fast that you don’t even have a moment to soak it all in. Thanks to Poetic Productions you don’t have to worry about doing anything except have the time of your life. Their wedding videos will make you feel like a movie star and your friends will actually want to come over and watch it with you!
For the 2012 eleven eleven WEDDING Giveaway Poetic Productions will be donating and engagement session in combination with Amanda Hein’s engagement session, 8 hours of coverage on the wedding day, three edited DVD’s with custom DVD menus including a reception Montage, wedding day recap montage (this is also posted online), and all uncut footage on a DVD.
Click here to watch the recap from last years winners, Amy & Howard and just for fun, here is their engagement video.
As an added treat, here is a picture of Ken (our videographer) in action at Amy & Howard’s wedding. Yes, he really is that good with a drink in his hand.
Words cannot describe how amazing Amy & Howard’s wedding was, but it wasn’t just the wedding day, they were such a pleasure to work with from the first moment we met them.
It was such a pleasure for all of the event sponsors to work hand in hand with Amy & Howard to create their dream wedding. We took great care to make sure the event beautifully represented their personalities and their cultures. I can speak for each sponsor involved, this was an extraordinarily fun event to be part of!
As Amy & Howard began the planning process it was clear that they wanted something elegant, sophisticated and slightly modern. The talented women of Greatest Expectations worked tirelessly to ensure that the process was fun and exciting for the couple and also each of the sponsors. Their dedication and hard work spanned months of planning and you should have seen them in action on the big day! This stunning wedding would not have been possible without the onsite assistance of so many extra hands including the entire Greatest Expectations staff, Susan from The Left Bank, Sheshe from Berghoff, Kelly and Caleb from Fleur, Barb from the Chicago History Museum as well as countless others brought in by individual sponsors.
The bridal party started the day at Hotel 71 where the ladies had hair and make up done by Mario Tricoci Salons and were then transported to the ceremony in style by Chicago Trolley.
All of the little details, which we all know are not so little, were attended to by Magnificent Milestones and Rosemary Hall Calligraphy with the most beautiful menu cards, programs and hand done signage.
Because this was a brunch wedding, Berghoff Catering offered an amazing pancake bar, savory station and beverage bar featuring speciality champagne cocktails. It was really so much fun! Amy Beck Cake Design seriously blew our minds with the most spectacular cake ever and the guests were treated to delicious custom created favors by Truffle Truffle.
I am not sure what you were doing at 1:00 p.m. on 11.11.11, but I can tell you that all of the guests at Amy & Howard’s wedding were dancing their butts off! The Larry King Orchestra gets a party started like no other band! They are so amazingly good that it’s impossible to stay in your seats. It was extra fun because the guests were really into music. Seriously one of the best afternoons ever.
When people were not dancing, they were having a blast with the photo booth from ShutterBooth Chicago.
A special thank you is due to Bev Albert from Ceremonies for your Life for creating a truly meaningful and beautiful wedding ceremony and Rappatone Boutique Training for helping the bride and groom get fit and healthy for their big day (and the rest of their lives).
Thank you for following along with us as we took this journey! Much love to Amy & Howard! We are very much looking forward to what 2012 has in store! Stay tuned for more details over the next couple of months!
Poetic Productions is thrilled to be part of the eleveneleven Wedding giveaway again this year! As videographers, we don’t usually get the opportunity to create an engagement video for our couples. But, when given the chance, we jump at it.
So, last Monday, we took to the streets, specifically Museum Campus, with Amy and Howard and our super good friend Amanda Hein of Amanda Hein Photography for what turned out to be an outstanding couple of hours on the Lakefront. And even with the blazing sun and balmy temperatures, Amy and Howard, true to form, were excited and up for any crazy request thrown at them. We accomplished great things and walked what seemed like a million miles around the entire picturesque campus, from Soldier Field to the Adler Planetarium. Through it all, Amy and Howard were absolutely delightful, even though I know they must have been super hot, especially Howard, who despite his better judgment, insisted on wearing the dark suit jacket he brought along because he wanted the photos and video to look good. That’s dedication, folks!
Amy and Howard are so natural together and anyone who views this video can see that they are very much in love. When all was said and done, we had a lot of great footage, which made the task of editing very difficult. But that’s a good problem to have and one that I’m sure we will have after we shoot their wedding. Definitely looking forward to it. There’s nothing quite like spending time with happy people. Thanks Amy and Howard!
We are so pleased to have Poetic Productions on board for the eleven elven WEDDING Giveaway 2011. The staff at Poetic Productions was invaluable in the production, planning and presentation of both the 2010 giveaway and Amanda and Mike’s 11.11.10 wedding.
For most couples, your wedding day goes by so fast that you don’t even have a moment to soak it all in. Thanks to Poetic Productions you don’t have to worry about doing anything except having an amazing time. Their wedding videos will make you feel like a movie star and your friends will actually want to come over and watch it with you!
For the eleven eleven WEDDING Giveaway 2011Poetic Productions will be donating and engagement session in combination with Amanda Hein’s engagement session, 8 hours of coverage on the wedding day, three edited DVD’s with custom DVD menus including a reception Montage, wedding day recap montage (this is also posted online), and all uncut footage on a DVD.
Here is the wedding day recap from Amanda and Mike’s 11.11.10 wedding … Enjoy!
I cannot even believe it but here we are … 11.11! When we first decided to hold the eleven eleven WEDDING Giveaway it all seemed so abstract. We completely worked backwards, getting the venue and all of the vendors on board before having a Bride and Groom. I’m not sure if it was luck or fate that led Amanda and Mike to us, but they have been the perfect couple to win this wedding.
Everyone at Greatest Expectations has loved working with Amanda and Mike throughout this entire process. They are so in love and so thankful to be going through this experience. I’d say we are all winners!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all of the extraordinary vendors who came together to make this happen. Each and everyone of them took a leap of faith with me on this experience. I asked them to give of their time, talents and products for a couple they did not even know … And boy did they all come through! What an amazing group we have assembled. Not a single aspect of this would have been possible with out each of them and I am, quite honestly, humbled and honored to be in their company.
We all sincerely hope you have enjoyed watching the process from “behind the scenes.” I cannot thank the staff from Poetic Productions enough! They have worked so hard and given so much of their personal time to allow each of you to be a part of this experience with Amanda and Mike. Honestly, words fail me.
And now here we are … Yesterday Amanda, Mike and their bridal party were massaged, polished and pampered by the staff at Mario Tricoci, then they checked into their beautiful rooms at the Hotel InterContinental to freshen up for the rehearsal dinner. It was the perfect way to set the tone for the next couple of days.
Before dinner Amanda and Mike rehearsed the ceremony with their Celebrant Toni Hassett and then were treated to an amazing experience at ZED451. It was really exceptional to see everything coming together so beautifully and the staff at ZED451 really outdid themselves to make everything extra special. They even surprised everyone with a champagne toast at the end of the night!
As you read this, Aga and Frankie from Mario Tricoci are getting the bride and her bridesmaids ready for the big day and set up is already underway at West Loop Studio.
Be sure to check back soon to see a sneak peak of the pictures and hear all about tonight. Thank you for being part of our eleven eleven WEDDING journey.
Amanda Hein is used to being behind the scenes as she photographs her couples. Thanks to our friends at Poetic Productions we are able to catch a glimpse of her doing her thing. They were out together for Amanda and Mike’s engagement shots. It’s fun to see what it looks like from the other side!
