• Skip to main content

Branching Out Event Florist - Chicago

Wedding & Event Florist for Chicago and the Northwest Suburbs

  • Home
  • About
  • Weddings
  • Pricing Guide
  • Gallery
    • Ceremony Decor
    • Bouquets
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Venues

Garden style

Sweetheart Tables and Why We Love Them!

August 3, 2026 by Christine Leave a Comment

Sweetheart Table or Head Table?

That is a question that many couples wrestle with. With 40 years in the wedding industry, I’ve seen enough weddings to have a good idea of how to answer that.

A sweetheart table will always be my choice and there are two simple reasons why.

1. It may be the only time you get a moment alone(ish).

Weddings are hectic; everyone wants to talk to you and share their love and best wishes. That goes both ways; you want to greet and thank all the amazing people that showed up to celebrate this one perfect day. But don’t you both deserve just a moment to sit back, look around, and just soak it all in? You, alone together, sharing your first meal as a married couple. The pre-ceremony nerves are gone and you are off your feet with a refreshing beverage. Take a moment to breathe and really enjoy the moment.

Sweetheart Table_BW EventsSweetheart Table_The Grove at Redfield Estatescouple kissing at Sweetheart Table with hanging Installation _Brix on Fox

2. The sweetheart table is the focal point for your reception.

Just like the decor you use for your ceremony is a focal point,  so too is the sweetheart table.

Think about this for a minute: this is where you will be sitting when everyone gives their speeches and toasts. All eyes on you to see your expressions. Photographers LOVE those moments. Some of the best pictures of the two of you are taken in this one spot. Well then let’s make it gorgeous!

Sweetheart Table Toast Sweetheart Table_The Standard

Flowers in front of you! Flowers behind you! A vase for your bouquet(s)! Candle for a warm glow that makes your skin radiant!

Wait, you ask, isn’t that really expensive? Maybe not as much as you think.

Nearly every couple I talk to asks what they can repurpose from the ceremony; this is your answer! Aisle arrangements? Of course. Archs? Probably. Staggered arrangement on columns? Yes Please!! Having a gorgeous Sweetheart Table is your excuse to blow up the ceremony site.

Here is a tiny taste of some of the Sweetheart Tables we have made magical recently

Sweetheart Table-the Standard_Rockford
Sweetheart Table_The District
Sweetheart Table_RPM_Chicago
Sweetheart Table_Lacuna Loft (2)
Spring pastel sweetheart table
Bold Boho Sweetheart Table_The Arbory_Chicago
orange, white and blue Sweetheart Table_Lacuna Loft
colorful Sweetheart Table_Itasca CountryClub for wedding
Elegent Sweetheart Table_Chicago Botanic Garden
Sweetheart Table_Armour House with baby's breath and rose waterfall

Hey, we can do head tables too, if that’s your thing!

Head table at Lacuna Loft reusing the flowers from the ceremony

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Sweetheart Table, Wedding Tagged With: boho, flower arch, Garden style, roses, sweetheart table, yellow

Wild & Precious Editorial Shoot for Chicago Style Weddings

July 15, 2024 by Christie Delort

 When Alexandra Dillard, editorial director of Chicago Style Weddings, asked if Branching Out-Chicago would like to participate in the magazine’s fashion editorial shoot, the answer was a definite YES!!! and we would bring the garden!

garden meadow background for bride on magazine cover

Our inspiration was to combine florals with fashion in a fun, romantic, yet inventive way. The day of the shoot was amazing, collaborating with some of the best vendors in the business. Alexandra was a master at styling, as she and her team pulled from endless racks of gowns and tables of accessories.

Room 1520 was the perfect canvas with its white brick and natural lighting. Anamaria Vieriu Photography captured it all and Jennifer Tello with Amorella Events created content from the day. The team from Patty McGuire Hair and Makeup was on-hand keeping the models looking camera-ready at all times.

 First up was our flower meadow; a summer garden in full bloom in which the bride could pick her favorite stems. The groom wore a floral pocket square. Our garden style graced the magazine covers, as well as being featured throughout the editorial pages.

Bride with garden meadow background
garden style wedding ceremony design
Flower meadow ground arrangements for the cover of Chicago Style Weddings
Chicago Style Weddings Nov Cover
Groom with pocket square

The next look was a romantic garden party; urns bursting with blush, burgundy, and pale green flowers and flowering branches. The bridal bouquet was an assortment of unique flowers in shades of pink. To complete the look, we created a fresh flower lapel for the groom.

Spring flowering branch arrangement for wedding ceremony
spring flowering altar arrangements for wedding
flower-lapel-and-spring-flowering-garden-urns.
pink garden style bouquet

To bring in some brightness and color, we designed a bouquet and arrangements of roses in shades of pink, fuchsia, and orange.

shades of pink bouquet and wedding decor
Wedding ceremony backdrop in shades of pink
flower tower in shades of pink for wedding ceremony
Shades of pink wedding bouquet and decor

For a touch of whimsy, we made a flower curtain with fresh tulip stems.

Bride with tulips
bride surrounded by wall of hanging tulips
floating tulip wall
floating wall of tulips

 

We are thrilled with the results and honored to have been a part of Chicago Style Weddings Magazine.

Vendor team that made it all happen:

Publication: Chicago Style Weddings Magazine

Location: Room 1520

Photography: Anamaria Vierio Photography

Styling: Alexandra Dillard

Hair and makeup: Patty McGuire Hair & Makeup Artists

Floral: Branching Out Chicago

Content  creator: Jennifer Tello with Amorella Events

Models: Aryss Gaden , Rune Model Management; Greta Meyle, The Rock Agency; Santo Perez, The Rock Agency; and Cici Rindy

Gowns: Bella Bianca Bridal Couture, Bri’Zan Couture, The Crystal Bride, Here Comes the Bride Bridal Boutique, Kathryn’s Bridal, Dimitra’s Bridal Couture, Grace + Ivory, Laury Bride, Love Story Bridal, Volle’s Bridal & Boutique, White Satin Bride 

Jewelry: Rolland’s Jewelers

Menswear: Formally Modern Tuxedo, Generation Tux

Shoes: Kailee P.

Accessories: Aveil

Filed Under: Garden style, Wedding Tagged With: bouquet, Choosing Wedding Flowers, Garden style, pink, wedding bouquet

Garden Style Design for a Style Shoot

March 17, 2021 by Christine

How we created a Garden Style Design in the dead of winter.

We were honored to be a part of the Fox Valley Styled Bride photoshoot. Beth at Element’s Preserved wanted a spring look that incorporated her fabulous vintage columns. Now mind you, there was a foot of snow on the ground and the temp was in the single digits! My southern girl heart was longing for the lushness of a garden in full bloom.

Hmmm, vintage columns, a venue bathed in natural light. I knew that the wonderful Janet at Dish and Decor Vintage Rentals would be bringing her amazing collection of vintage china and glassware to the shoot. How could I make this special?

Did I mention that this was for a friendly competition of 5 wedding venues in the Fox Valley? No? Well, it was, so I knew It had to be different and amazing.

The idea came to me to create the garden-style ambiance of a formal luncheon in the abandoned garden of an antebellum mansion. The perfect definition of shabby chic!

First off, was to create a climbing rose bush run amuck, up the column, and off to the wall it went! Next, we juxtaposed that with an almost formal arrangement in a vintage compote that had spent many years in our “garden”.

Rose bush and vintage urn by Mary Rose Photography-130

We used those same climbing vines to enhance a structural column at the venue and the wall behind Beth’s antique setee.

Our original plan for the farm table was to do a series of arrangements in gold compotes in keeping with the formal vibe in our abandoned garden. At least that was the plan until I spied 3 perfectly old cement urns sitting on the floor. Bingo! A perfect juxtaposition to Janet’s china and glassware.

Take the talented model Anna Page and put her in a gorgeous gown from The Crystal Bride and you have everything the talented and creative Mary Rose needed to capture a perfect early summer day in our indoor garden style set up.

I hope you enjoy these images of my abandoned garden style wedding.

Instagram for all the participants below gallery.

Garden style wedding backdrop and bouquet
Spring bouquet
Spring garden-style bouquet
Garden urn for a wedding
Spring garden urn arrangement
Elements Preserved Styled Shoot by Mary Rose Photography-172
Garden style compote
Garden style shoot lounge group
garden style vine installation

 

Photography: @mary_rose_photography

Venue: @elementspreserved

Gowns: @crystalbrideofficial

Cake: @ekcakery

Charcuterie: @forkitgrazing

Vintage China Rentals: @dishanddecorvintagerental

Stationery: @pretty_script

Jewelry: @shockeyjewelers

Hair: @tamaraholdenhair

Makeup: @danielakostabeauty

Model: @annanpage

Venue, Planning, Styling, Rentals: @elementspreserved

Filed Under: Fun, Garden style, Wedding, wedding bouquet Tagged With: blush, bouquet, centerpiece, flower arch, Garden style, wedding bouquet

  • Weddings
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Gallery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap

© Copyright 2025· Branching Out-Chicago · All Rights Reserved ·

Loading Comments...