Deema and Ermin’s fall wedding was filled with unique and thoughtful details that reflected their personalities and their love for the city of Chicago! Steve Koo Photography even captured their portraits in front of their favorite restaurant, Portillo’s. Their multicultural celebration had beautiful pops of color and decor to symbolize their interests and heritage!
A colorful and unique multicultural wedding in Chicago, IL
You’d be surprised how difficult it was to find plain, white shoes that are not overly trendy. Prada had a custom shoe event that occurs once a year in store, and I managed to pick the style and color of my shoes, and had my initials included at the bottom as well. Before ever meeting Ermin, I saw the coolest shoes online where people would have their wedding shoes painted. I kept the information in mind and contacted Figgie shoes in hopes that she would have the time to make my shoes for me, and she did. I wanted my wedding shoes to tell the story of my relationship with Ermin. She did an amazing job! We included our first date when we went apple picking, and I tried salvaging the apples for as long as possible. We like to play Mario, but I always push him in the lava so the character floats in a bubble when he dies. We love eating burgers and fries from Portillo’s, the local fast food place. He loves Pokemon as well as his cat, Boots, and I love Disney. We have been apart for over a year now so we have to fly to see each other. All these ideas we connected on the shoes using the yellow brick road, my favorite movie!
I wanted a long simple veil with just a bit of sparkle, to complement my dress. I had a family member custom create the veil for me. I’ve always loved color and I wanted bright flowers as part of my arrangement. Stems Chicago was amazing in getting my vision to the table! I didn’t want that perfectly round and neat look. I was looking more for a bit of a fuss, with fluff. I wanted lanterns (to symbolize my Middle Eastern background) to be a part of the table settings, and they even included it in the arch that later in the evening was moved to behind the sweetheart table in the hall. We also included clementines in the table settings.
We really wanted a wedding that reflected us. We didn’t care if something was an unpopular choice, we went for it because it was very much us. We wanted people to enjoy our day with us doing what we loved, so we tried to include the photobooth, ice cream, Portillo’s, and lights! I love string lights so we made sure to have them at the wedding. My background being Saudi Arabian, and Ermin being Bosnian, we really wanted both our cultures present. It’s very hot in Saudi Arabia, which makes everything happen indoors, so I really made sure to have nature present and have an outdoors aspect at some point during the wedding. Also, we both had friends and family fly in for the wedding so we wanted it to be familiar and comfortable for all. We had the flower girl hand out flowers to the guests as they were coming in (Bosnian tradition). I walked down the aisle to traditional Saudi music, and we had my brother as well as Ermin’s cousin’s wife speak during the ceremony. We didn’t want a play list because we wanted guests to enjoy the wedding dancing to songs that they loved, too! So guests brought in their favorite Bosnian and Arabic songs, and everyone danced whether they understood the lyrics or not! – Deema
Artists
- Photographer: Steve Koo Photography
- Reception Venue: Cafe Brauer
- Caterer: Calihan Catering
- Event Planner: Clementine Custom Events
- Cake Designer: Elysia Root Cakes
- Hair Stylist: HolliBeauty
- DJ: Okyne Medialab, Inc.
- Makeup Artist: Sonia Roselli Studio
- Floral Designer: Stems
- Photobooth: The Traveling Photo Booth
- Videographer: Shutter and Sound Films
- Dress Store: Kleinfeld Bridal
- Dress Designer: Romona Keveza
- Bridal Shoes: Prada
- Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss
- Groom’s Shoes: To Boot New York
- Groom’s Accessories: Canali (belt), Amazon (socks), Salvatore Ferragamo (tie), Baume and Mercier (watch)