The 5th Annual Joffrey Ballet’s “Couture & Cocktails” was one of the most exciting and fun-filled parties of the season thanks to this year’s new co-chairs Kristina McGrath and Marci Holzer. They worked tirelessly throughout the year to ensure this event’s continued popularity and they succeeded in spades! The designer for this year’s C & C was the handsome American designer, Carmen Marc Valvo, who brought his Fall 2010 collection that included chic cocktail dresses and glamorous evening gowns in luxurious silks, chiffons and taffetas with beading, brocade and fur embellishments. The hair, styled by Charles Lord (who also did last year’s Pamella Roland show), was a nod to the ‘40’s with the models wearing jaunty little hats over their eveningwear. The party décor was an all white palette and the ballroom was filled with an SRO crowd of almost 600 guests as Joffrey Executive Director Christopher Clinton Conway and Artistic Director Ashley Wheater took to the stage. They thanked Helen Melchior and me, as founding co-chairs, and then introduced Marci and Kristina. They each thanked the people responsible for helping them this year and then the parade of our Joffrey dancers took to the runway. Besides being world class dancers, they are also all world class dressers! Each of their outfits looked like a page right out of Vogue or GQ. The crowd went wild applauding and celebrating them and it was a very proud moment. Carmen Marc Valvo’s fashion show was produced by Lisa Marie of Visual Therapy and it was a very glam affair indeed. I loved the hats on the models wearing evening gowns…it was a cool touch to an elegant look. After the show, Michigan Avenue Magazine’s Susanna Negovan took to the stage with her WGN-TV anchor/husband Tom. They made a great pair as they auctioned off the evening’s live auction packages which included four nights and three days in the McGrath Family Chateau in Deer Valley, Utah (plus four United Airlines tickets), a beachfront villa at the Bitter End Yacht Club in the British Virgin Islands (airfare for two included) and finally, a private power lunch with Mayor Daley. I loved the program description for this: “The Daley family is legendary and their mystique rivals the Kennedy’s but, everyone is a winner when it benefits the Joffrey.” And benefit the Joffrey it did to the tune of $54,740 which was the total raised from both the silent and live auctions. Congrats Susanna and Tom! You did a great job! Other silent auction items included tickets to a Notre Dame game, a private dance class for eight with dancer Fabrice Calmels, tickets to a Steppenwolf play, dinner for 10 at the new steakhouse Mastro’s, Bulls tickets, Tony White 18K gold earrings and a private jet for four to Art Basel Miami Beach with VIP all-access among many other exciting offerings. The day before the event, there was also a private book signing with “America’s Next Top Model” judge Nigel Barker and the night of the event, there was a VIP reception with designer. The following day, there was also a private brunch at Neiman Marcus with Valvo as he previewed his spring collection to a group of around 60 women. It was another fabulous year for “Couture & Cocktails” and I would like to congratulate Kristina and Marci along with their fabulous committee for their fundraising efforts which will benefit the Academy of Dance, The Official School of the Joffrey Ballet. The Academy of Dance serves 1,500 students ages 3 to 83 and their after-school programs reach out to 4,000 students from the Chicago Public Schools. Thanks to all who attended and I hope to see you next year for this fun and worthwhile event! To view ALL event photos, please click here.
Love has been in the air this week with a wedding AND a bridal shower. My dear friend and Candid Candace photographer, Caitlin Saville, married her Prince Charming, Brendan Collins, in a love-filled ceremony at St. Mary’s in Lake Forest. There were so many special touches, as only Caitlin would think of, that even extended right down to their shoes! Caitlin’s shoes were blue, as in “something borrowed, something blue” and had yellow soles (which is Brendan’s favorite color). As if this weren’t enough, they were also embellished with crystals ON THE BOTTOM with one shoe saying “I” and the other shoe saying “do”…too cute for words! And then Brendan’s shoes, being the sports nut that he is, had “ND” on one shoe and “score?” on the other since the ceremony ran during the Notre Dame/Stanford game. (Stanford won…) The reception was held at the tony Knollwood Country Club where Caitlin had even chosen the vintage milk glass vases that matched the fabric in her wedding gown! The flowers, in pale shades of peach, white and crème were some of the loveliest I’d ever seen. The groomsmen gave very touching speeches as did the bridesmaids but it was the speech made by Caitlin’s mother, Connie Saville, that had everyone in tears. The love in the room was palpable. Brendan and Caitlin are honeymooning in Hawaii and she sent me a text message showing the ocean from her villa balcony…once a photographer, always a photographer! And they lived happily ever after…congrats Mr. and Mrs. Collins!
A beautiful bridal shower was held in the grand home of Michaela Parillo for Nicole Stege, the stunning daughter of beautiful woman-about-town Lynn McMahan. This was the first event Michaela had hosted in her Burling Street mansion and it was an elegant affair indeed. Her co-host Dede Lubeznik helped organize this wonderful day for Nicole who is a freelance photo stylist. Her fiancé, Rory Brown, is originally from Cape Cod but lives in Chicago and has a master’s degree in Library Science (he works for the public library system here). They are getting married on October 30th in Tulum, Mexico, which is located on the Yucatan peninsula. This quaint town of 10,000 on the Mayan Riviera is Mexico’s most visited pre-Hispanic site dating back to 1200 to 1450 AD. Early in its history, it was an important center of commerce as well as a place of pilgrimage. I can’t imagine how romantic this location will be for Nicole and Rory’s wedding! Oh boy, I was just starting to feel the sun on my face but back to the shower! The tables were laden with flowers and petals and set up in the magnificent dining room off of the dramatic backyard. It was a gorgeous day and the light streaming in from the banks of windows made the home even more dramatic. Happy friends in attendance included Jan Flanagan, Lyn McKeany, Shelley MacArthur Farley, Shauna Montgomery, Mamie Walton, Hazel Barr, Cookie Cohen, Lynda Silverman, Heather Farley, Hedwig Golant, Nina Mariano, Gretchen Jordan, Susan Gohl, Kristina McGrath, Toni Canada, Gayle Anthony, Nicole’s maid of honor Amy Lahoff-O’Brien, Holly Dickens and Diana Barr among others. Michaela and Dede thanked everyone for coming and then Lynn got up to speak. It was a ferklempping moment between mother and daughter and so very sweet. Congrats Nicole…can’t wait to see the wedding pics!!! For more shower photos, click here!
On Thursday, October 21st, the Drake Hotel will be hosting a fashion event from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. called “50 & Beautiful.” This very special catwalk event’s initial fundraiser last year was dedicated to the courageous spirit of Lynn Sage while this year’s event will benefit the Chicago Academy for the Arts. Designers who will be featured include Elizabeth M, Joy Scott Millinery, Fabri Furs, Quinton d’Alexander, Bryan K. Osburn and Lily of Trieste among others. Models will include Dori Wilson, Cookie Cohen, Juell Kadet, Denise Tomasello, Hazel Barr, Dorothy Whealan, Marci Holzer, Sherrill Bodine, Bonnie Gross, Debra Goodman and moi among others. Lynne Jordan will emcee the fashion showcase which begins at 6:30 p.m. and then will be performing with the Shivers. A suggested donation of $10 can be made directly to the foundation or offered at the door the night of the event. For more info on this fun-filled evening of fashion, please contact Shaun Rajah at [email protected] and for charity info, please visit www.chicagoartsacademy.org/index.html.
Hef is coming back to his hometown on Friday, October 29th, to the Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N. State) for the 6 p.m. screening of his new documentary, “Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel.” The film, directed by Oscar-winning documentarian Brigitte Berman, concentrates on his status as a standard bearer for the sexual revolution as well as his lesser known career as a tireless social activist fighting battles for free speech, civil and gay rights, and yes, women’s rights! An array of celebs appear in the film as well as vintage Playmates and clips. Hef will be doing a Q & A after the film and had this to say on Twitter, “It will be a special treat to revisit my childhood and the early days of Playboy with my boys, brother and Crystal.” He will also be visiting PB headquarters, the original Mansion (where I also lived when I first moved to Chicago) and the neighborhood where he and his brother Keith grew up. The film is two hours long and will be shown at the Gene Siskel Film Center from October 29th through November 4th. For more info, please visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org/hughhefner. Hope to see you there! Welcome home, Hef!
Tails in the City owners Bruce Haas and Phillip Emigh have planned a BIG October for their four legged friends and the humans who love them! On Sunday, Oct. 17th, they will co-host the first annual charity dog walk, “BARK for Breast Cancer Research,” which will begin at 10:30 a.m. at CosMedic Clinic at 58 E. Walton. And then, on Sunday October 24th, they will host their 7th Annual Halloween Party & Parade. It begins at 11 a.m. at 1 E. Delaware and will include a costume contest for scariest, most glamorous, best duo (pet and parent) and best overall. Could anything be cuter?! A $10 donation will benefit PAWS Chicago. For event info, please click here.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s edition! Candid Candace will return in two weeks with more fun news from the greatest city in the world, Chicago!!!
Love,
Candace
[email protected]
P.S. Thanks so much to Cover Chicago Magazine’s Mark Rashid for featuring me on two of their magazine covers this month! This magazine is dedicated to covering the people of the fashion and entertainment industry in Chicago and they do it in a big way! (The photos were taken at Elda de la Rosa’s fashion show and are her designs.)
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Thanks so much Candace! No one spells my name correctly! Thanks for that also! See ya on the 21st October! Great issue as usual this week!
Posted by: lynne jordan | October 11, 2010 at 01:23 AM