MDM was all over downtown Chicago last weekend setting up  lighting for some beautiful weddings at some absolutely amazing  venues. It was a very busy (and long) day but we got to be part of some really great weddings.

Our first stop of the day was The Trump Hotel where we setup a custom gobo, pinspots and uplights for Mindy and George’s wedding. The Trump Hotel is a gorgeous venue and we cannot wait to work there again. The room looked gorgeous and it was definitely a very elegant affair.

The lights were all computer controlled so we developed a lighting design to change the look of the room to something a little more “clubby” once the party got under way. They were a very light pink during dinner then as soon as the bride and groom did their first dance they slowly changed to a more modern purple which totally changed the look and feel of the room. As the  night wore on we ran a program that had all of the lights changing color to the beat of the music.

Mindy and George flew in their own photographers all the way from their hometown of Baton Rouge, LA just to make sure they got the look of their wedding captured exactly how they wanted it. The DJ was from Chicago’s very own Style Matters and played a great mix of music to keep the party going.

Our next stop was the Elysian Hotel just down the street from Trump. This is a gorgeous property and exactly what I would picture when someone says “high end hotel”.  Here we set up purple uplights to give the room an elegant yet contemporary fixture. The room looked great. This was definitely a partying crowd as when we came back at 1 am to pick up the lighting the party was still going strong. When we came back at 2 it was still going! They finally wrapped it up at 3 and we were able to load out pretty quickly and get home to some well deserved sleep.

I think my favorite setup of the day though was the Art Institute. Of course I am partial to this one because MDM Entertainment’s very own Chicago Wedding DJ David O DJ’d it as well so we had a lot of interaction with the bride and groom over the year leading up to the wedding. We absolutely loved Stephanie and Ben and we knew this was going to be a spectacular wedding (it did not disappoint!).

We had been to the Art Institute several times to develop a game plan as the wedding was scheduled to be outside in the McKinlock Court but we wanted a backup lighting design and plan for the Stock Exchange Room just in case the weather did not cooperate. Luckily though the day was perfect and Stephanie and Ben got to have the wedding of their dreams. We uplit every other window surrounding the patio area with amber uplights and we used a breakout pattern and an amber color wash projected onto the patio floor to delineate the dance floor area. The area looked beautiful.

For the very last song of the night David played “Purple Rain” by Prince, a personal favorite of Ben and Stephanie’s (and all their friends too judging by the packed dance floor of people singing along to it!). At the moment the song came on we changed the amber wash on the dance floor to purple and the whole garden was bathed in a purple glow. It was a spectacular effect, especially the purple light reflecting off the water in the fountain in the center of the garden.

We have to say thanks to the catering managers and staff (dock security, maintenance, room captains,  etc) at the Trump, Elysian and Art Institute for all their assistance and cooperation at making everything go so smoothly from the initial planning stages to the day of.

And most importantly, thanks to all of our brides and grooms for letting us be a part of your wedding!