Gold Coast Room at the Drake
Growing up in Chicago, you learn to associate The Drake with old school glamour and sophistication combined with proper tea times and refined evenings out. On Saturday night, The Drake lived beyond these expectations. I was there attending the most elegant, beautiful wedding my eyes had ever seen, something purely out of a movie.
As we walked into the Gold Coast Room at The Drake the gatsby themed wedding was in full swing. Dancers had been hired to do the charleston in 1920’s flapper dresses, dripping pearl necklaces and feather boas. The food had perfect presentation and the salad dressing I could’ve drank straight from the salad dressing dish but I had to show some self control.
Once everyone had sat down and the bride and groom had been introduced, a champagne parade ensued, I didn’t even know something like that existed but on cue to Raise Your Glass by Pink came on and 20 servers came marching out with bottles of champagne raised up in the air and they did a lap around room ending at the head table then trickling through the crowd.
For months I had been searching for a dress for this wedding and couldn’t find anything suitable for the occasion. I finally found luck at one of my go to e-commerce websites, Shopbop.com. They always have an amazing selection and their return policy is seamlessly easy to navigate. I bought a Joanna Augusta long black dress that wrapped closed with a delicate ruffle trim at the top. I wore a pair of strappy heels that resemble the Nudist heel by Stuart Weitzman, except mine were from Forever 21 and I can wear them the entire day plus dancing and not get tired! I found the perfect arm cuff by Vanessa Mooney to wear to make my outfit more unique and fun and then I wore about 15 Alex and Ani bracelets on my wrist to complete my look.
I didn’t let my boyfriend see me in the dress until the day of the wedding because I wanted it to be a surprise. He then got the same idea in his head to not let me see him in his tux… So I took him to Men’s Warehouse to pick up his tux a few days before the wedding and I couldn’t get out of the car. 30 minutes later he emerged from the store with a grin on his face and said he had gone in thinking he was was going to look like James Bond and he came out looking like the Penguin from Batman. The suit they had chosen for the groomsmen was what was appropriate for the 1920’s Gatsby themed event, with long coat tails, wide pants (not fitted like he prefers) and a pleated shirt. I thought he looked incredibly handsome and I felt like we were Daisy and Gatsby for the evening.
For me no event is complete without a photo booth. I am a complete sucker for them and it doesn't matter where one is, it could be in the corner of a sticky bar and I will be in there, and I've done that more than once. While I'm sure photo booths were not invented until after the Gatsby era, it was a nice element to have to the wedding and they even included props! The props included packs of candy cigarettes, my boyfriend and I stole 2 packs and couldn't stop eating them at the end of the night!
The wedding was undeniably wonderful and The Drake was the perfect setting for a Gatsby themed wedding complete with a 16 piece orchestra and 200 + guests that filled the room with dancing, laughter and fun. We capped off the night by taking a walk to Oak St. Beach since the weather was so nice and just sitting on a bench and enjoying each others company while we looked out onto the lake.
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