Emily and Spencer met on their first day of classes at the University of Michigan. They quickly became fast friends before ultimately dating. For their 250-person wedding planned with the help of Stacy Saltzman Swislow and captured by Mashaida, the couple and their team of vendors completely transformed a warehouse space in Chicago into an otherworldly installation that played with light and shadow. From draped elements to hanging scrims and projections, they interpreted all of these current trends and made something truly unique. And it's safe to say that their non-traditional dinner choice of burgers and giant onion rings was a big hit with the guests!

Industrial venue: Morgan Manufacturing

Emily and Spencer opted to get married in Chicago where they live because they liked the idea of inviting all of their family and friends to fall in love with the city like they have. They chose Morgan Manufacturing in the West Loop/Fulton Market area specifically because they loved what the space would allow them to do. Having formerly been a rubber manufacturing plant, it has a really great industrial vibe with unique elements such as long skylights—one of which framed the aisle Emily walked down—and big windows to let in a ton of natural light. They couple also liked that it would allow them to keep all of their wedding events in one area.

Pre-ceremony photo fun

It wasn’t a traditional “destination” wedding, but for the most part, everyone stayed within a few blocks from the wedding and rehearsal dinner venues. At the recommendation of the photographers, the bridal party even walked from the hotel to the venue day-of! Little did the bride know, they had a surprise up their sleeves. They ended up taking the bridal party into a bar and they danced and took tequila shots before the ceremony. It was such a fun, informal way to take pictures.

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Bride's favorite decor: the skrim

The skrim ended up being one of the couple's favorite parts! Because they got married in a warehouse space with tons of natural light and the sun was still out during the ceremony, it shone onto the skrim, and the guests could see the bride's silhouette before she walked down the aisle.

How to make 250 people still feel intimate

Emily and Spencer hosted a big wedding (250 people), but they wanted it to feel intimate. One way they tried to do that: Emily’s brother, Jackson, officiated the wedding. In Judaism, one traditional component of the wedding includes the seven blessings. It is normally performed by the rabbi, or sometimes family members. The bride and groom used less traditional blessings in English— basically just wishes for love and happiness. Jackson ended up having the guests read them all together. It was so special hearing all 250 voices all together.

Featured food: strolling dim sum carts

For cocktail hour, the newlyweds wanted to make sure the food was accessible (Spencer has a habit of chasing the passed appetizers at weddings), so in addition to very heavy passed appetizers and dirty martinis, they incorporated strolling dim sum carts with sushi and dumplings.

Custom paintbrush stroke font

Matthew and Kehoe –the design team–and Christen (Maison Blanche) who handled all of the paper products–absolutely killed the decor. Emily and Spencer had the idea of a paintbrush stroke that they wanted to use throughout everything. They had it on the invitations, on the skrim that Emily walked behind before she walked down the aisle, on some of the runners, on ceiling drapes, and on part of the chuppah.

Unexpected element: dry erase markers

Throughout the event and into the reception, the bride and groom put an emphasis on drapery and candlelight over florals. Also, instead of name cards to denote peoples’ seats, they wrote names in dry erase markers right on the plates.

Note to self: don't block the dance floor!

Another seemingly small thing that the bride and groom thought about was not blocking people from the dance floor. It was in the middle of the room, but they didn’t want “good” tables and “bad” tables. They set the longer ones up to run diagonally away from the dance floor. The Gold Coast All Stars created the super-fun experience the couple was hoping for. They had a 14-piece band for the reception, and no one left the dance floor all night!

Must-see nontraditional wedding menu

Emily and Spencer love good food and neither of them was particularly excited by “traditional” wedding food. Fortunately for them, caterer Entertaining Company was on the same page. For dinner, they ended up doing Caesar salads with big, homemade croutons, and cheeseburgers. The burgers were served with a massive onion ring and a knife sticking out of the top. The guests loved it!

A post-wedding plug for the planner

Overall, Emily will tell you that their planning process was great. She shared, " Stacy, our planner, was absolutely incredible. She kept us organized and made sure we got things done. The day went perfectly because of her. My mom was my saving grace. She is a born host, has truly impeccable taste, and loves to celebrate big life moments. She was at every meeting and helped with every single decision."

After-the-fact advice from the bride

"All of that being said, planning a wedding is stressful. You want to make sure that your guests–many of whom travel in from out of town–have an amazing time. We certainly felt that stress but really tried to remind ourselves that at the end of the day, the point of this is to celebrate the next chapter of our lives. Spencer and I were going to have an amazing time no matter what. Hopefully, our guests would follow our lead!"

• Wedding Photographers: Mashaida
• Event Planning & Design: Stacy Saltzman Swislow
• Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Shannon O’Brien
• Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Erin Ahern
• Decor: Matthew Kuntz (Lahey)
• Decor: Kehoe Designs
• Wedding Films: Pablo Marioni
• Venues: Morgan Manufacturing
• Cakes & Catering: Entertaining Company
• Music: Gold Coast All Stars
• Lighting, Entertainment & Photo Booth: Ben Swislow
• Cake: Momofuku Milk Bar
• Wedding Dresses: Vera Wang
• Shoes: Jimmy Choo
• Dress & Apparel: ILA