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thePeorian.com
RUSTIC IS IN AS FEWER SEEK
CHURCH WEDDINGS
The good old fashioned church
wedding remains the most
popular choice with couples
today, the planners said. But
a big trend has been toward
outdoor weddings or even indoor
ceremonies with settings that are
more common and rustic.
“
Barns or old rustic, wooden
buildings or areas are popular
now, even when the attire is still
formal. And we’re seeing a lot
of growth in using vineyards
for weddings, at least around
here,” O’Shea said, noting that
Kickapoo Creek Winery and
Mackinaw Winery are among
the most popular in this region,
largely because they can be a
one-stop shop in hosting the
ceremony and the reception and
doing the catering themselves.
Another popular place, she
said, is The Waterhouse in
downtown Peoria, a converted
warehouse space. “A place like
that is a neutral palette, so to
speak. Couples can do glam
or shabby chic and that is the
type of place that is becoming
popular,” O’Shea said.
Couples, she added, “are
becoming more open to doing
something other than a church
wedding which, if there are
mixing religions as more and
more do these days, something
other than a church offers
more common ground for the
families.”
Ragan said those types of
settings can allow a wedding
planner to be more creative but
at the same time be challenging
if the intention is to have the
wedding and reception at the
same place.
That challenge becomes bigger
when couples ask her to plan
their destination weddings. A
destination wedding is usually
in a more exotic locale, such as
Hawaii or the Bahamas, where
the bride and groom invite family
to more or less join them not just
for the wedding, but also the
honeymoon.
O’Shea said destination
weddings are more popular but
are still a small percentage of
weddings that are performed
because it isn’t always easy for
the families and friends to make
it to the destination.
Ragan agreed but said she’ll
accept a request to plan one,
and she’ll go along. “I’ve done
a few and have traveled to the
destination. It’s work, but it’s
fun,” she said.
This photo of a newly married Peoria couple was taken by Fully Alive Photography
and depicts part of the vintage-style wedding the couple enjoyed.
