Lauren Brocato Lauren Brocato | May 31, 2024 | Wedding Features,
Dimitra’s Bridal Couture sourced extra fabric from Molly’s strapless Reem Acra gown to create detachable sleeves. She paired the dress with a veil adorned with scattered pearls.
Molly Manus and Matt Tully go way back—sort of. They grew up a few blocks from each other in Lincoln Park, and both attended Saint Ignatius College Prep. But it wasn’t until years after graduation that they officially met through mutual friends; and in January 2018, they finally, fatefully, went out for drinks. A few years later, “Matt completely surprised me by proposing on our rooftop,” Molly says. “It was perfectly just the two of us.”
In late June 2023, the big day—or rather, the big weekend—arrived. “We opted for an untraditional wedding weekend schedule to maximize time with our loved ones and create the most fun experience for our guests,” Molly says. The festivities kicked off on Thursday with an intimate ceremony at Saint Clement Church and rehearsal dinner at the couple’s favorite Lincoln Park restaurant, Gemini; the next day, a Hawaiian-themed white party welcomed guests. Saturday began with a short and sweet ceremony in the stunning Saint Ignatius courtyard. “We never needed to explore alternate venue options,” Matt shares. “I serve on the Board of Trustees at the school, so it continues to be a very important place to both of us. We have a strong emotional attachment, but the spectacular grounds and historic buildings make it one of the most beautiful places in our city.”
For the 400-guest reception, HMR Designs built a venue from the ground up on the school’s football field, with the Chicago skyline as backdrop. “The theme was inspired by my obsession with blue and white,” Molly says. “The vision was to start very natural with greens and white for the ceremony, keep things airy with light blues and blonde wood for cocktail hour, and incorporate darker navy blue hues for dinner and dancing.” The couple—along with wedding planner Chrissy Magliano and the Big City Bride team—pulled out all the stops. “The only thing better than the exceptional team we were able to work with was the picture-perfect Chicago weather we had all weekend,” Molly says. “Looking back, we wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
The ceremony setup in the lush courtyard at Saint Ignatius. Photographed by Ben Finch
Venue Saint Ignatius College Prep, ignatius.org
Wedding Planner Chrissy Magliano, Big City Bride, bigcitybride.com
Design, Decor & Florals Rishi Patel, HMR Designs, hmrdesigns.com
Bride’s Gown & Veil Reem Acra, Dimitra’s Bridal Couture, dimitrasbridal.com; Afterparty: Oscar de la Renta, oscardelarenta.com
Bride’s Hair & Makeup Hair: Erin Graham Hair, eringrahamhair.com; Makeup: Julia Simone, Shannon O’Brien Weddings, shannonobrienmua.com
Groom’s & Groomsmen’s Tuxes Ralph Lauren, ralphlauren.com
Groom’s Shoes Del Toro, deltoroshoes.com
Rings Hers: Corey Friedman Fine Jewels, coreyfriedman.com; His: Cartier, cartier.com
Bridesmaids’ Dresses BHLDN, anthropologie.com/bhldn-weddings
Invitations & Escort Cards EJD Design, ejddesignllc.com
Catering Limelight, limelightcatering.com; Late-Night: Al’s Beef, alsbeef.com; Mario’s Italian Lemonade, marioslemonade.com
Cake Sweet Mandy B’s, sweetmandybs.com
Sweets Do-Rite Donuts, doritedonuts.com
Custom Italian Ice Cart Remarkable Events, remarkableeventsco.com
Entertainment The Lakeshore Encores, Gold Coast Events, goldcoasteventschicago. com; John Vincent, johnvincentlive.com
Lighting FROST, frostchicago.com
Tent Blue Peak, bluepeaktents.com
Transportation The 312 Limo, the312limo.com; CelebLux Limos, celebluxlimos.com; V.I.P. Valet Services, vipvaletservicesinc.com
Photo Booth Snapbooth, snapboothchicago.com
Videographer Charlie Hilbrant, charliehilbrantfilms.com
Photography by: Ben Finch