Bridgette and Matt are huge sports fans.  Living in the Windy City, they support each of the local sports franchises.  They regularly attend games throughout the year and have followed the many championship runs produced by their hometown favorites.  They can agree on Chicago’s Bulls, Bears, and Blackhawks, but when it comes to baseball, the battle lines are drawn as this sports couple finds themselves at odds over Chicago’s two professional baseball teams.  Bridgette is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan and Matt lives and breathes Chicago Cubs baseball.  Fortunately, they’ve found common ground in their love of our national past time, and as such, have decided to include their favorite sport in preparations for their special day.

Let’s hear from the bride …

“Matt and I met, fell in love, and were engaged within a month. Our engagement was approximately 2 years, which gave us plenty of time to plan the wedding. We put a lot of time into making the wedding centered around baseball (our ceremony recessional was “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”!), but making sure it was still a classy wedding. I feel like we did just that and if given the chance, I’d do it the same way all over again.”

Bridgette and Matt were married on a beautiful summer day in June at the Concorde Banquets facility nestled in the quaint suburb of Kildeer, Illinois.  Matt proposed to Bridgette at US Cellular Field, the home of the Chicago White Sox, and as such, the couple arranged to have Southpaw, the White Sox mascot, on hand for their wedding ceremony.  Their wedding was photographed by Jolie Images out of Wheeling, Illinois.  The couple had baseball themed wedding programs custom designed by SportsThemedWeddings as well as baseball event ticket invitations that included their photo.  The custom monogram created with their initials helped to unify their theme on all printed materials.

In order to join these two houses, the Chicago White Sox colors of black and white were accented with the red and blue of the Chicago Cubs. The bridesmaids wore red gowns, while the groomsmen wore tuxedos with blue vests and ties.  In addition, the couple had custom Louisville Slugger baseball bats made for their groomsmen and Matt wore a BaseballRose boutonniere on his tuxedo jacket.  Each of their mothers were also presented with a long stem BaseballRose during the ceremony as a remembrance of their wedding day.  These BaseballRose products were also provided by SportsThemedWeddings.

The happy couple also did an incredible job bringing the baseball wedding theme with them into the wedding reception hall.  Table place cards that look like baseball jerseys were created to allow each guest to find their seat.

Each centerpiece was created and assembled by Bridgette and Matt as well.  A rectangular glass vase was filled with roasted peanuts and sunflower seeds to form the base of the table centerpiece. It was topped with a piece of synthetic turf and a mini baseball bat held the table number in place.

Personalized guest favors were also provided by the bride and groom.  As mementos from their wedding day, Bridgette and Matt had a custom bobble head wedding cake topper created to look like them and had the guests sign a pinstriped, one-of-a-kind Jenkins baseball jersey.

The wedding reception included custom wedding towels and their wedding cake featured ivy accents that were specifically requested by the newlyweds as a nod to Wrigley Field.

“My only tip is to stick with your vision! It’s YOUR day, and there are plenty of resources out there to help you, including this blog!”