Looking for an option for catering for a rehearsal dinner, wedding shower or other small event? Went to a volunteer appreciation party for volunteers to Jubilee Habitat for Humanity at The Old Rectory, and guests were well taken care of by Thrifty Sisters Catering. Sisters Karen Douglas & Sue Tapscott merge family recipes with new ideas for fun events. (Sue and her husband Joe also taught us to swing dance!)
Posted by Steve. Warmowski Photography, husband-wife team of photojournalists focusing on wedding photography. Chicago natives, based in Springfield/Jacksonville, will travel anywhere to tell your wedding story. Find us on Facebook.
Prairie Production was the venue for Anne & Loren’s wedding in Chicago on Saturday, April 23, 2011. It’s a fantastic space because it’s a blank slate! There is so much that can be done to decorate. Anne’s cousin Melissa used her artistic talent to make a drape that separated the eating area from the ceremony area before and during the ceremony. When the eating area was ready for guests, the curtain was pulled back.
Posted by Tiffany/Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team available to for your wedding photography. We love unique decorating ideas – especially when they involve talented family members and make the wedding more personal for the bride and groom. Follow us on Facebook.
May 14, 2011, was the wedding day of Jessica & Kenny. They were married at Chapin Christian Church. It’s a beautiful, old church, and is the church Kenny grew up in.
One of the favors the guests found when they entered the reception was a bottle of Jones Soda with Jessica & Kenny’s photo on it! What a great idea for a favor! Wedding reception at Hamilton’s 110 North East.
The head table was treated to beautiful raspberry champaign cocktails.
The cake was amazing. The red strawberries went with the color scheme and who doesn’t love chocolate-covered strawberries?!
Aside: Pastor Steve Peters was the officiant, but his “day job” is banquet and catering director at Kickapoo Creek Winery in Edwards. Be sure to check out his venue for wedding receptions for the Peoria area.
Posted by Tiffany/Warmowski Photography. We love to photograph weddings in meaningful spaces such as small country churches near where the bride or groom grew up.
For Jessica & Kenny’s wedding, Jessica wanted to add some pizzaz to the dance floor.
We have seen vinyl signs meant for dance floors, but we had not yet seen a transfer like this. Hamilton’s 110 North East let Jessica go ahead and give it a try. She said it was harder to get off than the vinyl sheets, but it did come off fairly easily – albeit in pieces.
The best part was that is took the dance traffic very well. Jessica said she bought it off the website etsy.com.
An aside: check out the WallTat video and WallTat web page by one of our brides, Jordan Guide (info also on her design blog). She has her own line of wall tattoos that might be fun for a personalized wedding day. We photographed her wedding to Jim (Shkëlaim) in 2008 with ceremony at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, reception at Venuti’s in Addison. They had a combination Albanian wedding and western ceremonies, a fun day for wedding photography!
Posted by Tiffany/Warmowski Photograpy. Special touches make a wedding special. We look for details we know you put a lot of effort into, so that you can remember them for a long time! Follow us on Facebook. Member with Hamilton’s Catering in Springfield Local Favorites, a group of the top wedding vendors in Central Illinois (on Facebook). See the Springfield Local Favorites web page for free tickets to a bridal show and bridal expo, the 4th Annual Bridal Bash in Springfield, Illinois on 25 September 2011.
I woke up this morning after a night of rain and decided to check out what was going on with the Town Brook (I’m helping a group trying to create a linear park through Jacksonville, find out more at townbrook.com).
Turns out all the roads going east from Jacksonville are closed by flood waters! Old Jacksonville Road/Old State Road, I-72 eastbound and Morton Avenue are all blocked. Hopefully anyone with a wedding today that has to travel between Jacksonville and Springfield can schedule extra time to thread through any open country roads.
(Lori from Ashley’s Petals & Angels reported on her Facebook page that she had to thread her way through county roads to go to Springfield. A wedding that was planned for MacMurray College’s Annie Merner Chapel with reception at the Jacksonville Country Club had to be relocated to Springfield. Oh my! She says she had to travel through Arenzville to Virginia and then on to Springfield.)
This reminded me about a wedding we did in 2008 in Blandinsville, Illinois. Liz & Mike had their ceremony at the Blandinsville (Ill.) First Christian Church and then had to make it over the Mississippi Rover to Burlington, Iowa and their reception at the Catfish Bend Inn & Spa Event Center. The road headed towards Iowa was covered with floodwaters, and traffic was down to one lane and controlled by a traffic signal. They allowed extra time to get to their reception.
But the fun part (and a signature of our style) is while Tiffany & I were stuck in traffic behind them, we stopped and got our our camera and a light stand. We lifted the camera 13 feet up into the air to get an overall view, and tripped the shutter with a remote switch.
Stuck in traffic slowed by floodwaters, on the Illinois side across from Burlington, Iowa.
As we were making the photos, Liz, Mike and the whole wedding party got out of the limo to get in the photos.
Tiffany's view from the ground.
Just an example of how we work to capture the story of every wedding, and help you remember your day.
Posted by Steve. Warmowski Photography, husband-wife team of photojournalists focusing on wedding photography. Chicago natives, based in Springfield/Jacksonville, will travel anywhere to tell your wedding story. Find us on Facebook.
Portrait of Liz & Mike at the Blandinsville (Ill.) First Christian Church.
Erin’s Pavilion at Springfield’s new Southwind Park was a wonderful place for Nicole and Erik to get married and have their reception. Nicole and Erik were married June 12, 2011.
Posted by Tiffany/Warmowski Photography. Tiffany & Steve love to photograph weddings in Springfield, Illinois, Chicago, St. Louis, and beyond! We capture real moments on your wedding day.
Jessica & Kenny wished the guests who caught the bouquet and garter luck. Both the bouquet and garter were made out of scratch-off lottery tickets. It was a perfect idea since the tickets are so colorful.
It was a very unique idea that we hadn’t seen before!
Posted by Tiffany/Warmowski Photography. We love when brides put creative touches into their wedding day, whether it’s at the altar or part of the reception. Jessica & Kenny’s wedding was May 14, 2011, at Chapin Christian Church and their reception was atHamilton’s 110 N. East in Jacksonville.
Nicole & Erik were married Sunday, June 12, 2011, at Erin’s Pavilion at Springfield’s new Southwind Park. The cake design was something we had never seen before. Nicole said she saw the design in a book of ideas at Specialty Cakes and loved it. Here Tammy from Specialty Cakes decorates with flowers and greenery from An Event Design.
Posted by Tiffany/Warmowski Photography. We love to photography the details of a wedding, including unique cakes, flowers and decorations! Warmowski Photography and Specialty Cakes are both member of Springfield Local Favorites, a group of the top wedding vendors in Central Illinois (on Facebook).
Tickets are free! All you have to do is register on-line at the Springfield Local Favorites web site (direct link to registration). Bring your registration to the show, and you will be registered in a drawing. Each Springfield Local Favorite member will have prizes, as well as a grand prize (to be announced, last year a free honeymoon trip sponsored by Savvi Formal).
Matthew Stevens gives away another prize during the drawing at the 3rd Annual Bridal Bash.
Warmowski Photography is proud to be a member of the group (the top wedding vendors in the Springfield, Illinois area and Central Illinois region), a sponsor of the show and an exhibitor.
The show is different from most wedding expos you’ll see.
We don’t make brides pay to enter. And, you can bring any friends or fellow planners for free.
The atmosphere is relaxed and laid back. Visit any booth you want with no pressure.
Education: instead of a style show, the show is based on wedding tips and ideas you can use. Each Springfield Local Favorites member says a little bit about her area of expertise and gives background on their services.
Sample food from vendors, drinks available from cash bar.
Cake by Specialty Cakes and flowers by An Event Design, displays at the 2010 Bridal Bash.
Check for exposure of the bridal expo on Springfield radio stations WDBR, WYMG, WQLZ and Abe (WABZ). Adverts will be on the station’s Internet streams as well as on the air before the show. Please tell your fellow brides to be and invite your friends to the bridal show! Check our web page or the SLF site for updates. Doors open at 1 p.m., drawings throughout the day and the grand prize drawn before the close at 5 p.m.
Recently I went to a party celebrating Dixie Thompson’s years of teaching at Our Saviour School, and it reminded me that the Old Rectory is a great option for bridal showers and other small events.
The Old Rectory used to house Our Saviour’s Church staff, and is located at 462 E. State St., Jacksonville, IL 62650. Phone 217.479.8833 or 217.245.8767 or 217.245.2707. The restored and historic building has several large rooms downstairs and a kitchen perfect for catering.
Katie Carrigan's wedding party on the porch as they ready for the ceremony. (We photographed her sister Monica's wedding and the family liked us so much we were asked back!)
We’ve photographed several weddings at Our Saviour Catholic Church who used the Old Rectory as a place to get ready before the ceremony. It’s a nice resource and can be used for small parties, too.
Ginny Fanning gets a greeting kiss from her son, Wade, at the Old Rectory. Audra (Fanning) Nelson and her bridesmaids got ready for her ceremony at the historic home.
Other ideas for bridal showers and small events in Jacksonville:
Buena Vista Farms, rural Jacksonville/Chapin 217.243.3290 (1630 US Highway 67, Chapin, IL 62628)
Blessings on State Bed & Breakfast (offers catering, too) 217.245.1013 (1109 W. State St., Jacksonville, IL 62650)
Annabelle Lee’s (which is also the home to our studio) 217.243.2747 (611 E. State St., Jacksonville, IL 62650)
Hamilton’s 110 North East rooms for small parties, too 217.675.2720 (110 North East St., Jacksonville, IL 62650)
