After his first date with Tiffany Lim at since-shuttered Henry’s Swing Club in River North, Jack Griffin consulted his notes to prove he’d been paying attention. “For our next dates, we had sushi at Sushi-San—my favorite food—and a Chicago Architecture Tour since I mentioned I had never been on one,” Tiffany remembers. “It all kicked off a whirlwind summer of us being inseparable.” A few years later, Jack proposed surrounded by family at The Ritz- Carlton, Rancho Mirage in Palm Springs.
Chicago has always been home (Tiffany grew up here, and Jack’s family moved to Naperville from Canada when he was young), so the two never considered looking elsewhere for a wedding venue. And though they toured many venues, one immediately stood out. “From the moment we stepped into The Langham, Chicago, the hospitality blew us away,” Tiffany says. “The location felt perfect, in the center of the city. It was important that we gave our guests an amazing experience, and we were confident that with the full-service team at the Langham, we would not need to worry about that.” Their aesthetic vision aligned with the famously pink hotel, too. “I love flowers, pink and soft pastels and wanted an ethereal, romantic feel,” Tiffany says. They enlisted Clementine Custom Events and Life in Bloom to make their vision a reality and started with a palette of blush, coral, peach and pink with gold accents.
Tiffany fell in love with Monique Lhuillier’s Versailles gown, a 3D floral-embellished dress with matching embellished opera gloves and veil. Jack didn’t see it until she walked down the aisle—a moment that brought him to tears—but he did get a hint. “Although we didn’t want to do a first look, we did a ‘first touch’ before the ceremony,” Tiffany says. “We stood back-to-back and held hands. I loved this moment because it gave us a little time to be together without ruining the surprise, and we still got some photos together before the ceremony.”
The couple had a traditionally Western wedding but wove elements of Tiffany’s Chinese-Burmese heritage throughout the details. “We had the double happiness Chinese character on our escort wall and gift boxes, which were red, the traditional color for weddings and good fortune,” the bride says. “We had Asian-inspired hors d’oeuvres, like chicken shu mai, pork dumplings and duck confit spring rolls.” And, after the newlyweds twirled across the cloudy pink dance floor—a stunning addition from Remarkable Events—Chinese lion dancers surprised their 135 guests. “The lion dance traditionally blesses the couple for a long and happy marriage,” Tiffany says. “We kept it a surprise, and I loved looking around at everyone’s faces when the Chinese lion came in; it was very memorable and unique.”
Espresso martinis fueled a night of dancing until 1 a.m. at the venue—for which Tiffany changed into a satin halter dress by Galvan—and then the party continued at River North bar Rossi’s Liquors, just around the corner from that very first date spot.
THE LIST
Venue The Langham, Chicago, langhamhotels.com
Wedding Planner Suzy Sparacio, Clementine Custom Events, clementinecustomevents.com
Bride’s Dresses Ceremony: Monique Lhuillier, Ultimate Bride, ultimatebride.com; Reception: Galvan us.galvanlondon.com Headpiece Dareth Colburn, darethcolburn.com
Bride’s Shoes Jimmy Choo, us.jimmychoo.com
Bride’s Hair & Makeup Hair: Elegance by Kim, elegancebykim.com; Makeup: Bridal by Aga, bridalbyaga.com
Groom’s Tux Suitsupply, suitsupply.com Rings Rahmanim’s Imports, ridiamonds.com
Florals & Decor Life in Bloom, lifeinbloomchicago.comLinens BBJ La Tavola, bbjlatavola.com
Rentals Nüage Designs, nuagedesigns.com
Cake Pistores, eatpistores.com
Invitations Hudson Paperie, hudsonpaperie.com
Place Cards & Signage Kristine Steiner, instagram.com/kyjsteiner
Entertainment Okyne Medialab, okynemedialab.com; Yu Lion Dance, instagram.com/yuliondance_chicago
Lighting & Draping Remarkable Events, remarkableeventsco.com
Favors Top Notch Bake Shop, topnotchbakeshop.com
Photo Booth Pixster, pixsterchicago.com
Videography Mirar Weddings, mirarweddings.com
Photography by: Clary Pfeiffer
