Bridgeport Arts Center Wedding

The Couple: Danya + Radwan

Danya and Radwan celebrated their Arab and Somali multicultural wedding at one of our favorite industrial loft wedding venues in Chicago: The Bridgeport Arts Center. Being the art savvy couple that they are The Bridgeport Arts Center exuded the character and history that created the best backdrop for their big day.

Setting the Scene: The Skyline Loft at Bridgeport Arts Center

The Bridgeport Arts center loft is called the Skyline Loft. With it’s original rustic brick walls, soaring beamed ceilings and industrial chic vibe, the Skyline loft has unparalleled character. Our favorite feature of the Skyline loft are the permanent large chandelier orbs that create a beautiful warm glow to evening wedding receptions.

The loft is a great flexible space that can host a large or intimate wedding and enjoy sweeping views of the Chicago skyline. The event staff at the Bridgeport Arts Center also knows how to manage multicultural weddings and keep the timeline moving.

If you are considering outside catering, this intimate Chicago venue will also accomodate your wedding catering needs.

Lastly, city weddings can be a parking and logistical nightmare. However, there is ample free parking at Bridgeport Arts Center and valet parking is not necessary.

Wedding Day – Getting Ready

Danya and Radwan needed full day coverage with our Chicago wedding photographers. For a one day wedding, we always suggest a full day of coverage to best capture the story of your day. We started at Danya’s home in the south Chicago suburbs where we captured Danya’s wedding details, wedding dress, and final makeup touches.

Before she slipped into her wedding dress, we captured fun moments of Danya and her mom having a good laugh playing with balloons on her bed. You don’t have to get emotional with your parents on the morning of your wedding day. You can just get silly with them too and create moments that is true to your relationship.

Wedding Portraits at University of Chicago

During the planning process, Danya asked us for our suggestions of unique photo spots in Chicago for wedding portraits. As an experienced Chicago wedding photographer, we recommended University of Chicago’s campus because it was close to her wedding venue and made the most logistical sense from her home.

Danya loved our portrait location suggestion because she loves wedding portraits with amazing architecture as the backdrop.

Their wedding portrait session began with a first look and the flowed right into wedding portraits of the couple around the campus. We made sure to get key bridal and groom details as well in natural light.

Wedding Reception at Skyline Loft | Bridgeport Arts Center

Danya spent months seamlessly planning a beautiful wedding reception. Since the couple already had their muslim marriage ceremony months before, the reception was more to celebrate.

Danya is a super talented graphic designer. She designed the entire wedding signage for the cocktail hour and wedding tablescape. The minimalist but vibrant wedding signage she created was the perfect DIY wedding hack that not only saved her money but added a personal touch.

Once the wedding guests were seated, Danya and Radwan entered separately with their parents. Each walked in to cultural music respective of their heritage. They exchanged rings and kicked off the evening of celebration with a first dance. Actually, the entire night, guests danced to cultural music and enjoyed the delicious food.

One thing that we absolutely loved was the Churros cart. Yes! You may want to go simple on a wedding cake or just nix wedding cakes altogether because the churros cart was a hit at their wedding reception.

If you are taking wedding inspiration from this multicultural wedding, make sure to add personal wedding touches to your event. These DIY wedding details can still be elegant and classy!