The champagne has popped and couples have shared their midnight kisses! Ready or not, 2017 has begun and we are looking forward to a brand New Year full of excitement and even more celebrations!

Before we jump into the future, we wanted to share some of our favorite memories from 2016! The big 1-6 was a great year for us at Michigan Avenue Events, as well as for many of our wonderful clients. Keep reading to take a trip down memory lane... and a dive into 2017!

Travel

Sundowner after a land safari in Botswana, Africa.

The Silvermist Wine Estate at La Colombe in Constantia, South Africa.

The excellent design of Only You Hotel in Madrid, Spain.

Market in Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain.

Stained glass of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain.

Enjoying Park Guell in Barcelona, Spain.

We hope everyone receives an opportunity to take time out of their busy schedules to travel. Learning about different cultures, meeting new people, and trying new cuisine are just a few of our favorite things when stepping outside of the U.S. From honeymoons to anniversary-moons and quick getaways, 2016 proved to be quite an adventure!

MAE's Tip: Make it your 2017 resolution to travel somewhere new, near or far, at least twice this year! For inspiration on where to plan your next trip, we recommend checking out Travel + Leisure. The site has a ton of enticing journeys for every budget that will get the wheels in motion for the next time you want to leave on a jet plane.

WEDDINGS & EVENTS

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We have been fortunate to experience many "I Do's" this year! Each wedding and event that we've had the pleasure to plan has been an absolute joy, always unique to our couples and so full of love! All of us at Marquette Avenue Events would like to thank our clients for inviting us into their lives to help make their wedding dreams come true - We feel so honored! As much as we enjoy looking back on top moments in 2016, we also look forward to assisting our clients and couples making their vision a reality in 2017!

One of our personal favorite moments was being selected for The Knot's Best of 2017 Wedding Planner! We could not have done it without the love from our incredible clients and partners - Thank you so much!

LEARNING LESSONS & MAKING MEMORABLE MOMENTS

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“If you learn something new every day,” top creative Martha Stewart once said, “you can teach something new every day.”

We absolutely love this quote and we live by it too! Throughout our many years of planning, 2016 definitely did not disappoint! We've learned a great deal and we love sharing all of our knowledge, industry tips and tricks with our clients and also through our beloved MAE The Blog! Each passing day has brought us a new opportunity to learn and grow whether it be from meeting a new client and learning their story, hearing from an industry partner across the miles or getting inspired by a unique design from a trusted vendor partner. We feel very fulfilled in these daily interactions.

Below we have listed lessons and memories from some of us at Team MAE:

“As a team member with MAE working on Haley & Bobby's wedding, I was touched by how the wedding party and family welcomed me with open arms. It allowed me to do my job even better and jump right in.” — Tyler
“With lots of exposure to different cultures, design and travel, I feel very fortunate to have these experiences as they have allowed me to offer even more to my clients in the conceptualization of their weddings and events.” — Brianne
“Patience. Love is worth the wait! After seven years of dating, I finally got engaged!” — Janet
“I met Brianne at The University of Iowa, we were on the board of the PRSSA together. I'm so excited to work with her and Team MAE on 2017 events!” — Krissy
"It's easy to reach out and connect with Brianne. She makes herself extremely accessible to clients and our team." - Tiffany
"Seeking out the best new talent for our team has been rigorous but worth every second. I'm very proud of our strong, always positive (no egos here!) and hard-working team! - Catherine

MAGICAL MUSIC

Like fashion, some songs are timeless. We’ve put together a playlist of hits that we plan on carrying over to 2017! These songs would be perfect for receptions, walking down the aisle, a honeymoon playlist, getting ready with your girls, etc!

This Is What You Came For - Calvin Harris & Rihanna

One Dance - Drake, WizKid, & Kyla

Starboy - The Weeknd & Daft Punk

Closer - The Chainsmokers & Hasley

Chantaje - Shakira & Maluma

Let Me Love You - Justin Bieber

Into You - Ariana Grande

24k - Bruno Mars

Reggaeton Lento - CNCO

Fade - Kanye West

Black Beatles - Rae Sremmurd & Gucci Mane

MAE’s Favorite: Love Me Now - John Legend

LOOKING INTO THE NEW YEAR

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We are beyond excited about our all-star line up of weddings and events in 2017! We still have dates available in our calendar and encourage you to contact us as soon as possible if you would like to plan with us! We’re also very excited to announce that we are planning special events with the LGBTQ communities (Information coming soon!) We stand firmly that love is welcome for all and we do our very best to convey this with everyone we plan with! In addition, we are excited to share that one of our very own team members, Janet, got engaged over the holidays! Congratulations and Happy Planning to all 2017 couples!

From all of us at Team MAE, we hope that inspiration, good lessons, music, adventure, and love fill your days in 2017! We wish all of our family, friends, clients, partners and prospects the very BEST in the New Year! We appreciate you reading Team MAE's look back into 2016 and following MAE The Blog throughout the year. 2017 is shaping up to be one for the books and we can't wait to share what we have in store! Happy New Year!

xoxo Tiffany & Team Mae

We hope that our reflections from 2016 get you excited for your next special occasion! To see how Michigan Avenue Events can help plan your dream wedding or next special event, please visit us at www.michiganavenueevents.com or call us at 312-585-7265.