*All photos by the wonderful Robert Gigliotti!
After my bridal metamorphosis had been completed, we went down to the room that Ben and Robert had scouted in which to do our first look.

Ben, pretending to fasten his cufflinks
I waited briefly for the signal from the best man, and then Benjamin and I had our Big Moment.

Ben and me, pretending to be in motion, but probably paused for photos
Oh, the pretending of wedding pictures! Spoiler alert: The first look is very, very contrived. We stood awkwardly for the camera, not looking at each other, but then Ben could finally turn around and we ?saw? one another for the first time. Ben was very moved and got choked up?I did not, because my heart is cold and stony. LOL.

  In all seriousness, this was a really lovely moment. We had asked our friends and family to hang back in order to give us some time alone, and it was nice to have a minute to take in all the craziness together. And, of course, to get some pics with the Bae.

You can’t see it, but her brain is exploding here.
Mae was completely overwhelmed with all the stimuli in the hotel and really didn?t cooperate for photos, but we?re still glad we did it.

The flocking on the trees! The 1920s feel of the decor! It was just perfect.

“Chicago winter wedding” theme achieved, I think
 The weather was icy and frigid at this point, but we manned up for a few last photos outside.

The fur shrug (and adrenaline) really worked.
And then it was time to go! ...