With Vows Like These… | Ravenswood Event Center Wedding, Chicago Illinois | Mallory & Anthony

Chicago Weddings, Weddings

THE REFLECTION

As we head into one of my favorite times of the year, I thought about a wedding we filmed a little over a year ago and how important intent and choice are in marriage. Anthony and Mallory wed during a crisp and cloudy Chicago afternoon with their love as a bright reminder of how love is more than a warm feeling – it’s a deliberate choice.

All photos by the very talented @thisisfeeling || thisisfeeling.com

THE RITUAL

Notably, a ring warming was held before the official ceremony. This allowed the couple’s friends and family to hold their rings while speaking a small prayer or blessing over their marriage. I personally love the idea of saturating the couple with love. Infusing the symbols of their life-long commitment to each other with nothing but good intent and love that will stay as a reminder of their vows exchanged that day.

Not that you needed a ring warming to see how loved and supported Anthony and Mallory were! One of our favorite interactions was watching Mallory’s dad as he looked at his daughter for the first time in her wedding dress.

In their relationship, Mallory and Anthony have seemed to arrive shockingly close to the perfect balanced dynamic. Mallory looked beautiful, classy, and polished — sentiments that were clearly shared by her dad during the first look between bride and father. And what’s a classy, polished bride without her foundation of strong, lovely, bridesmaids to back her up?

THE REVELATION

We got to see more of their laid-back love following the ceremony, when the couple took a stroll down Ravenswood Ave in downtown Chicago. What was it about their love that made them so effortlessly comfortable and at ease with the other person?

Is it their love of discovering new and casual breweries or taking walks with their dog down by the river? There is a certain childlike love and wonder in their relationship. That love has matured and evolved into such a beautifully accepting love for the other person.

Anthony and Mallory hold such a tenderness and fondness for each other that we are so glad we got to capture during the ceremony. The lofted atrium made it so that you felt as if you were watching Mallory float in a bubble, rather than walk, down the aisle.

Nothing mattered to Anthony in that moment except the woman walking towards him. That understanding and acceptance of who she is was written all over his face. It’s as if he said, “Look at this beautiful, strong woman,” with nothing but pride and enamorment in his eyes.

THE VOWS

Let me just get to the good part that perfectly highlights their love and devotion to one another.

“Mallory, because of you I am the person I am today. I laugh louder and dream bigger. I will always listen to you with an open heart and an open mind.”

“Anthony, I love the way you love me,” *cue the heart melting* “and I will continue to choose you.”

BOOM! MARRIED!!!

THE AFTERPARTY

Now who doesn’t want to celebrate that kind of love? The open, airy space of Ravenswood Event Center drew all eyes to the awesome couple as they and the rest of their guests got down during a fun dance reception. There was even some traditional Greek dancing! And how instantly more fun does that make a party?

Who doesn’t want a love like that? Love that motivates you to love harder than you did the day before. A love that is so understanding that you instantly feel not just accepted, but safe. Can you imagine what our world would be like if everyone acted from that place of motivation?

It’s a shocking and bold kind of love. The kind that was written on Anthony and Mallory’s faces after taking the first walk up the aisle as husband and wife. It’s a love that I hope we all get to experience some day, if not for ourselves, then for our loved ones that surround us.