The couple took portraits at the Eli Schulman Playground at Seneca Park, dedicated to Haley’s grandfather, across the street from where his famous restaurant once stood.
“BREWSTER, MY DOG, was our matchmaker,” says Haley Schulman about her meet-cute with Abdul Mazin in 2014. “We met in our apartment building. I was taking Brewster on a walk when a cute guy in the lobby said, ‘That’s my dream dog.’” It was only fitting, then, that Brewster feature in the proposal as well: Haley returned home from dinner in 2019 to find a ring tied around the pup’s neck. The oval diamond was extra special. “Just prior to our engagement, Abdul started his lab-grown diamond jewelry company, HauteCarat, and my ring was one of the first pieces he created.”
Their wedding at The Peninsula Chicago featured a ceremony incorporating Jewish and Muslim customs, and a whimsical reception awash in vibrant decor and full of surprises, like the bride’s sister’s rendition of “The Way You Look Tonight.” But it was the food—and dessert—that stood out. Haley’s grandfather was Eli Schulman, founder of the famous restaurant Eli’s The Place for Steak and patriarch of Eli’s Cheesecake. For the wedding, Eli’s pastry chefs made a gluten-free version of Haley’s favorite coconut cake and recreated Abdul’s favorite Canadian pecan tart. But that was just the beginning: “We had a New Orleans-style second line dessert parade, complete with horns,” Haley says. On offer: mango tres leche cake, hot chocolate cheesecake, goat milk cheesecake with apricots, chocolate coconut mochi, tahini chocolate chip cookies, frozen cheesecake dippers and so much more.
Even with such a focus on food, there’s little time for any bride to eat. So as a surprise for her birthday a few months later, “my family arranged a dinner at The Peninsula with a menu of everything I missed at the wedding,” Haley says. It was the perfect cap to their sweet celebration.
Haley’s mother, Maureen, helped her get ready.
Desserts were listed first on the menu.
HMR Designs’ Rishi Patel took inspiration from the decor at Le Colonial for the “eclectic, artistic and whimsical” florals.
“Brewster and my 3-monthold niece, Elly, both walked down the aisle with zero crying or accidents,” the bride says, laughing.
pastry chefs from Eli’s Cheesecake brought in the countless desserts in a second line parade.
The List
Venue & Catering The Peninsula Chicago, peninsula.com
Wedding Planner Reva Nathan & Associates, revanathan.com
Bride’s Gown Lela Rose, Dimitra’s Bridal Couture, dimitrasbridal.com
Bride’s Shoes Ceremony: Manolo Blahnik, Nordstrom, nordstrom.com; Reception: Golden Goose, Neiman Marcus, neimanmarcus.com
Bride’s Hair & Makeup Hair: Alex Brown, alexbrownhair.com; Makeup: Carl Ray, carlraymakeupartist.com
Groom’s Tux Pants & Shirt: Tom Ford, tomford.com; Ceremony Jacket: Dolce & Gabbana, Neiman Marcus, neimanmarcus.com; Reception Jacket: Gucci, gucci.com
Groom’s Shoes Ceremony: Fendi, fendi.com; Reception: Golden Goose, goldengoose.com
Rings HauteCarat, hautecarat.com
Cake & Sweets Eli’s Cheesecake, elischeesecake.com
Florals HMR Designs, hmrdesigns.com
Invitations Hannah Handmade, hhdesign.com
Entertainment Band: The Gold Coast All Stars, Gold Coast Events, goldcoasteventschicago.com; Violinist: Demola, demolatheviolinist.com
Photo Booth Fotio, fotio.co
Videographer Light Leak Pictures, lightleakpictures.com
Photographer Lucy Cuneo, lucycuneoweddings.com
Photography by:
