A Champagne-Themed Wedding on a Chicago Rooftop

When Brittany Ferrin was moving into her new apartment in February of 2016, she ran out to meet her mom at a nearby Starbucks on her way to get the keys. “I was in yoga pants, totally makeup-free,” she remembers. She spotted a familiar face from high school at a nearby table, and approached David Jelinek to say hello. “He had noise-cancelling headphones on, so I very uncooly poked him in the shoulder,” she laughs. The two had connected through Facebook over the years since graduation, but this chance meeting was what stuck—and a few months later, they had their first date.

After almost a year of dating, David and Brittany decided to get married—and even hired a wedding planner and chose a venue and a date!—but they weren’t engaged quite yet. “David is so detail-oriented and wanted my ring to be perfect," she explains. "When not one, but three, types of diamond magnifying glasses arrived in the mail, I knew he was serious!” David finally found the right stone, and he and Brit headed to Lake Louise in Banff for a ski trip. “When we first started to get serious, David told me that he’d fallen in love with the beauty of Lake Louise on a solo trip, but it gave him a profound feeling of missing ‘his person,'" she recalls. "So I played along when we planned the trip, but I knew it was going to be special!” After a day of skiing in sub-zero temperatures, the couple warmed up by the fire for an après-ski cocktail and started talking about their relationship. “The next thing I knew, David got a nervous look on his face and asked me to be his wife," she says. “He’d originally planned to propose by the lake with a photographer, but the moment just felt right.” The couple toasted with champagne—the first of many glasses they would share on their way to “I do.”

Before they were even engaged, Brit and David chose Morgan’s on Fulton in Chicago for their July 15, 2017 wedding. “We wanted our wedding to be really well done, but not to feel stuffy, and this was the only venue we looked at,” explains the bride. They loved the Chicago rooftop space and sunny views but took a chance on a venue that depended on great weather. “I’m in the catering industry [as the co-founder of Truffleberry Market], and have always said ‘no way’ to rolling the dice on an outdoor wedding, but sure enough, we did it!” says Brittany. Thankfully, they got lucky with a gorgeous July day that was perfect for popping champagne on a Chicago rooftop. Keep reading to see how photographer Rachel Red captured Brittany and David's champagne-themed party, which, of course, was full of opportunities to raise a glass and celebrate!

Brittany knew exactly how she wanted to feel when she put on her wedding gown. “I was looking for a dress that made me feel like twirling and sashaying,” she says. And as soon as she slipped on the Gabrielle gown by Leanne Marshall, she was dancing through the salon. She paired her dream dress with rose gold Manolo Blahnik sandals with a knot at the ankle.

Garlands of café lights strung with greenery hung above the aisle, which led to a semicircle of blooms, including hot pink gladiolus and roses, overlooking Chicago.

“My nieces were our flower girls, and I knew they didn’t have the same fairy princess taste, so I let them each pick their own Tutu Du Monde dress,” says the bride. Gretal wore the “Swan Queen,” with feathers covering the bodice, while Scarlett opted for the ballet-inspired “Garden Angel.”

Brittany’s yoga teacher, Lara, served as the officiant, leading guests through a moment of meditation before the couple met at the altar.

Instead of formal vows, the couple wrote and read love letters to each another. “David and I wrote the entire ceremony," she says. "We wanted to be very deliberate about what we said about love, marriage, and our commitment.”

After the ceremony, the newlyweds snuck away for photos—and sabred a bottle of champagne in the alley! “David had given me the sabre as a birthday present the year before,” says the bride.

The bride and groom joined their guests on the roof for a meal that was as luxe as the tables. Each was topped with collections of gold vessels holding wine-toned dahlias, peach roses, and fresh fruits like plums and apricots. Lucite menus were tucked into wine-colored napkins, and water was served in mismatched amber goblets.

Hors d’oeuvres included bites of ahi tartare on crispy rice and fried chicken and caviar —all paired with champagne, of course. At dinner, guests dined on a salad of heirloom tomatoes and burrata with avocado mousse, truffled risotto, and sea bass with saffron corn puree and pearl couscous. Adds the bride, “One of my best friends in the world is also my biggest competition within the catering industry, so who else would I want at the helm of our wedding menu?”

A boxwood wall was dressed up with a custom neon sign that read “I Veuve,” inviting guests to the champagne bar where the iconic bubbly was served in cut crystal coupes. Even the couple's hashtag—#BandDSayIVeuve—was on theme.

“I’m not much of a cake person, so instead we had a tiered cake made of cheese,” Brittany explains. Triple crème Brie, Humboldt Fog, and Tuffle Tremor were adorned with figs, apricots, and berries, then transformed into a cheese board for late-night snacks.

“Our band was incredible, and our friends are still talking about the energy on the dance floor,” she says. After a first dance to “These Are The Days” by Van Morrison, Enough Said played mash-ups all night long. Adds the bride, “A few of our friends tried to head home late at night, but kept getting drawn back to the dance floor as the mash-ups mixed in their favorite songs!”