Hello, nice to meet you, my name is Jasmine Kent! Yes, Matt and I got married on May 27th and it was such a special day. The year of our engagement was actually not as stressful as some make it out to be. I know that we have dated almost 8 years, so maybe we knew what we wanted for the most part, but I was surprised how smoothly things went.
Some describe the wedding as industrial-urban chic, while others call it Miami Vice, but more minimal and clean. Whatever it was described as, it was amazing. Matt and I chose to get married in the industrial district of Chicago. We love the rugged, abandoned, raw feel of the area and to have a space that you can transform into whatever you want is I dream we have always had. A white blank canvass, with exposed brick and concrete floor? Yes please!
We decided on Room 1520, after checking out numerous venues and that was by far the best decision. Next up, was food and catering of course. One of the many things that drew me to Matt was his love for food. I of course love all types of food and wanted to make sure to support our local small businesses. Maison Cuisine was all of the above. Danielle got all of her produce from local farms, everything is fresh and her business is basically run out of her home. Danielle quickly turned into somewhat of a planner and helped us with many aspects of our wedding. She worked closely with a rental company, so that was easy and often met with us at the venue to work out how the day would go, seeing as how we were having the wedding and reception all in the same location.
Location, food, rentals done, the only big things we were missing was flowers and booze. Binny’s was definitely a star player for our wedding. We found out through the Be My Guest Company suggested to us by Haley from Room 1520 that would handle our bar, in Illinois Binny’s does buy back on any booze you don’t use (should be a rap). So we were able to buy crazy amounts of booze, have an open bar, and if any wasn’t used we could sell it back. As far as flowers, you have to use your connections. My friend Stephanie’s family owns a flower shop in town and Jennifer (Steph’s sister) was great to work with. She was honest about flower costs, she helped us reduce rates using what was in season and we even got a nice discount.
So far so good, it was now about the little details like lighting, cake, dress/suit, bridal party, honeymoon things like that. There were days my emotions got the best of me, but in looking back, it was such a great experience. I remember getting my nails done and having Inna tell me how composed I looked. Even the day of my wedding I stopped by Trader Joe’s for some fruit and champagne for the girls and when asked what the special occasion was for the champagne, I told him I was getting married. The cashier was so surprised at how calm I was. Not a big deal buddy, just solidifying something that has been true for many many years.
It’s funny because I never got comfortable saying fiancé and even now it’s weird to say husband. Just the other day Matt and I were having lunch and we bumped into one of my bosses and I introduced Matt as my boyfriend I guess when you date someone as long as we have dated, using the term lover or just saying each other’s names instead of labels, the switch doesn’t come easy. I’m working on it though. So now we are married, living in a beautiful condo, hopefully renting to own with my sister slu Tiffany and eventually we will be ready to start a family. Not any time in the very near future, but I cannot deprive the world from seeing Matt’s offspring, I just cannot be selfish like that.
Life as I know it is pretty good, we have truly been blessed and I am more comfortable in my own skin than I have been in a long long time!
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