JACQUELINE GOULD & DANIEL BLOCK
JACQUELINE GOULD & DANIEL BLOCK
November 17, 2018 Chicago, Illinois
One day, while casually scrolling through a friend’s socialmedia page, Jacqueline Gould spotted a handsome face that made her stop and think, “He’s going to be my husband.” She immediately called her friend to learn more about him. Busy schedules, airline cancellations, and the timing of life took its own course, so it wasn’t until four years later that Jacqueline finally met Daniel Block. Three more years passed and Daniel found himself proposing to his beloved, followed by a dinner party with family and friends. “It was an actual fairy tale!” describes the bride-to-be of the memory.
When it came time to plan the festivities, Daniel encouraged Jacqueline to orchestrate the wedding of her dreams; his only requests were “a lot of tequila and a raw bar.” Being the eldest child and the only daughter, the bride’s parents were delighted to be involved and attend all the vendor appointments alongside her. “It was a such a special time for them,” Jacqueline shares.
A private club proved to be the ideal venue for the couple. “It was a blank slate, yet historically beautiful, and I really wanted to transform the space,” the bride notes. The concept for the ceremony was inspired by a winter wonderland, including all-white florals and butterflies to emulate snow. “I wanted it to feel like winter, but still feel warm and mystical,” illustrates Jacqueline.
Butterflies became a focal point of the décor, first introduced in the invitation suite and carried through to the reception where colorful designs were suspended over the dance floor. “When my grandfather passed away, a butterfly landed on me at the burial and my mom told me it was him. ‘That’s Poppy,’ she said, ‘he will follow you around forever and protect you.’ Since then, I have been obsessed with butterflies,” explains the bride.
A gorgeous chuppah with acrylic beams and bedecked in snowy white blooms was erected for the vow exchange, where the couple recited their handwritten promises to one another. Jacqueline looked ethereal in a modern sheath featuring a cowl neck and stud embellishments, which she wore over a long-sleeve lace bodysuit. Her groom looked equally dapper in a black velvet tuxedo.
As the evening celebration commenced, guests were introduced to a ballroom where the ambience was dramatically different than the earlier portion of the day. The “outside” was brought indoors and with the unparalleled talents of HMR Designs, the bride’s vision of a mystical forest came to fruition. “Rishi blew my mind with his ideas,” Jacqueline admits of the whimsically bold, yet sophisticated, floral creations in hues of red and garnet. Massive trees with florals and candles, towering vases with more flowers, and shorter, lush centerpieces alternated on tabletops. “Anywhere a guest looked, I wanted them to see flowers!” exclaims the bride. Stunning Christian Lacroix china with a butterfly motif and red silk napkins completed the look.
Because the couple wanted the reception to be mainly dancing with guests rarely sitting down, they had chosen to serve heavier fare during cocktail hour and a lighter dinner service. “The music was phenomenal,” confirms the groom. “Jacqueline and I were specific with the vibe we wanted and the band was amazing.”
“Anywhere a guest looked, I wanted them to see flowers!”
When it was time for the father-daughter dance, Jacqueline had prepared a surprise for her dad. “I stopped pursuing theater as a career, but my parents still dream to see me on stage,” she explains. As dad and daughter began to dance to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a recording of the bride singing their favorite version played. “It was a moment I will never forget. He even told me as we were dancing that it was the single proudest moment of his entire life. Not a dry eye there!” she remembers.
The couple confirms that the day was pure magic. However, “try not to get lost in the chaos of it all,” the bride warns. “I was told, ‘the second you walk into your rehearsal dinner, let go and just float. Float through the entire weekend,’ and that’s exactly what it felt like. I felt like I was floating.”