A Classy Venue: North Pond Cafe

 

The North Pond Cafe is an awesome restaurant that I, unfortunately, don't visit enough. The menu is a foodie dream comprised of some of the freshest ingredients that you'll ever taste - primarily grown at farms throughout the tri-state area. Their web site states it better than I could:

The menu at North Pond is designed to feature products raised or grown in their native environment and offered at their seasonal peak. We seek out farmers, producers and other artisans who take special care with their chosen craft, and can offer us exceptional products just recently harvested. We then work to highlight the special character of these ingredients, choosing preparations and pairings meant to accentuate their unparalleled flavor.

In addition to being delicious, North Pond is also incredibly adorable. The space is a beautiful Arts and Crafts building that provides a tasteful nod to the Chicago area's Frank Lloyd Wright history. And its Lincoln Park location is to die for - check out the views:

North Pond was the second place that I called after Andy and I were engaged. I used to live two blocks from NP and would often sit in the park reading and thinking about how pretty a wedding would be there. A pond-side ceremony** overlooking the skyline would be so romantic.

The venue IS available for weddings and special events, but as with most restaurants, you must meet their minimum food and beverage requirements. And I believe it only holds 100ish people - which was too small for us. I'm still dying to see a wedding there. It is truly a venue upon which to build your entire event - stationery, dresses, floral...I think that an inspiration board is in order in the next day or so.

All North Pond photos from http://www.northpondrestaurant.com

I recently had a conversation with a friend and fellow blogger who commented that Chicago was pretty weak in terms of weddings. She feels that all local weddings were either Catholic masses followed by Michigan Avenue Hotel Receptions or Catholic masses followed by Loft Receptions. I can't argue the Catholic mass thing, as being a local raised on the South Side, I knew exactly three non-Catholic people until I went to college (and all three of them went to the Catholic schools I attended). But I know that we've got more than the 'Mile and a few lofts! Does anyone have a cool place that they'd like to share? A DC bride getting married here in September will be getting married at Enoteca Roma, a restaurant/wine bar in Wicker Park with a kick-ass outdoor patio. A wedding at a neighborhood wine bar? Sign me up for that!

**The North Pond is also a stone's throw from quite a few local churches:

• Catholic: St. Clement Church (I am still bummed that we could not get married there, as it is my favorite of all of the churches that I have attended.) and St. Vincent dePaul
  
• Lutheran: St. James Lutheran Church
• Methodist: Holy Convenant
  
• Non-Denominational: New Life. I think that this church is non-denom. It sounds like they're really just a bunch of people that love Jesus and rock out.
  
• Presbyterian: Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church
• United Church of Christ (UCC): Saint Pauls

  

Flower Friday

So, yesterday was my meeting with the florist -- and I have no idea what I am getting. Seriously. Here's how it went:

• Tina: So, I really don't know what I want.
• Andy the Florist: That's cool.
• Tina: Oh, I hate orange and yellow lillies.
• Tina: I like lots of texture.
• Tina: Oh! Look at this pile of pictures I've randomly collected.
• Tina: Did I already tell you that I hate orange and yellow lillies?
• Tina: Oh! Look at this picture. It's my favorite.
• Tina: I have these cheap orange vases or candle holders if you want to use them. Or not. Whatever. They were so cheap.
• Tina: My mom loves Halloween. Maybe you can put a little pumpkin in her corsage.
• Tina: Can I get a wreathe for the front door?
• Tina: Oh! And my mom loves marigolds.
• Tina: Can I get some colored lanterns hung in the garden?
• Tina: I meant to bring a rosary to hide  in your bushes to bring good weather.
• Tina: Did I mention that I love dahlias?
• Andy: You mentioned them, yes.
• Tina: Oh! My mom also likes those orchids that start with an "V."
• Tina: Oh! I forgot to show you this picture. It's my favorite too. I like how they're all cohesive, but different. And I LOVE these little yellow flowers.
• Tina: Oh! The groom is 6'5", so he needs a hearty bout. Do they make big and tall bouts?
• Andy the Florist: (not laughing)
• Tina: Oh yeah, and the one bridesmaid is 4'10", so her bouquet can't be huge.
• Tina: The flower girl's five. Yeah, the entire wedding party is really pushing the acceptable age limit of a bridal party for a first marriage.

(Silence)

Seriously, the entire meeting was one long Tina Stream of Consciousness. Every other ANL bride that I've spoken too said their meeting was 15 minutes long. Mine was an hour. And I don't know what I'm getting. But I hope that they're as cool as these:

Images: Rock 'n Roll Bride

My Blogorrhea Has Dehydrated My Creativity

I am too lazy to come up with a clever blog post, but I am going to blog anyway to annoy my sister when she does her monthly "Catch Up on Tina's Blog." (Ha, Ha, Bay-e!)

This is a completely selfish post in that I am only posting this colorful photo of the storefront attached to our wedding venue so that I can steal peeks at it when I'm away from my home computer. Isn't it adorable? We're so lucky!

Image: Personal Collection

When we were sitting around the campfire last week, Andy was telling his family how we found and selected A New Leaf. I think that someone's suffering from a case of the Revisionist History! :)

Cool Venue

I've never heard of this place before but it looks awesome. The Ravenswood Billboard Factory provides a huge space with views of the city, a rooftop deck, and an antique car display. And parking's so easy in this neighborhood.