Let’s Celebrate!

By Lisa Arnett
April 2026 View more Featured

Event industry pros dish on the latest trends in weddings, parties, prom, and more

From weddings and milestone anniversaries to quinceañeras and graduations, there’s much to celebrate. Whether you’ve just got engaged (congrats!) or are preparing to send your high-school senior off to prom, here are some ideas to help make your special occasion the best ever.

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Strategic Spending

Photographer Jermaine Horton sounds off on elopements, sneakers, and more wedding trends

Naperville-based photographer and videographer Jermaine Horton actually picked up a camera for the first time on a whim. “I had reached out to a local photographer to take photos of my daughter, and he would not respond,” Horton says. “I thought: All right, I’m not going to beg anybody to take my money.” He bought his first camera and took to YouTube to research some basic techniques. “I was self-taught at first, and then I started going to workshops with photographers like Jerry Ghionis in California,” Horton says. He got his start photographing the weddings of friends and launched his own business officially in 2013.

Though it was Naperville’s highly rated school districts that brought his family to the suburbs from Chicago’s South Side in 2016, the move ended up being a boon for Horton’s budding business. “Once I got to Naperville, I feel like my business opened up,” he says. In addition to weddings, Horton also does portraits and sports photography, and over the years he has shot for the NCAA and pro sports teams such as the Chicago Bears, Chicago Sky, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Mets. He also teaches workshops at photography conferences around the country as well as locally at Procam’s retail store in Aurora.

When it comes to weddings, Horton has seen a shift in how couples he works with are approaching their celebrations. “Before, couples were like, ‘I want my dream wedding and I want all of these people there,’ ” Horton says. “Now, many couples are like, ‘Do I really care about having this many people at my wedding? Have I had a meaningful conversation in the last six months with all of the people I am inviting to my wedding?’ ”

In addition to shrinking guest lists, Horton is also noticing more elopements. “I feel like this shift is because of the economy, for one,” he says. “There are couples that are realizing, ‘Having a big, beautiful, lavish wedding is going to keep me from being able to buy the home I want.’ ”

Elopements have other perks, too. “I love photographing elopements because I get more intimate time with the couple and get to try more creative things,” Horton says. “We’re not rushing to get all of the family portraits during a 45-minute window.” During one elopement session in downtown Naperville, he photographed the couple not only along the Riverwalk, but also choosing ice cream in Ben & Jerry’s and strolling along Water Street, cones in hand.

For couples who are still opting for larger weddings, Horton sees them being strategic about where they’re spending. “Some couples will go with a more inexpensive venue and then go with a higher-priced person for decor so they can max out the creativity for what they want their wedding to look like,” he says. “When you get your pictures back, you can really see all the details of the decor, and the impression it leaves on your guests is: Wow, they must have spent so much money on this venue.”

Capturing all those priceless wedding-day moments makes for long days on his feet, and Horton is known to make several footwear changes. “I will usually start in my Yeezy Foams and then go into my Jordan 11/12s and then my triple-black New Balance [sneakers],” he says. For years now, it’s been similarly popular for couples to ditch their dress shoes for sneakers to hit the dance floor; however, now some hosts are encouraging their guests to come comfy as well. “Younger couples that are sneaker heads, they are doing sneaker balls where they say, everyone, instead of coming in those high heels, come in your best sneakers, whether they are Jordans, Converse, or Pumas,” he says.

Down to Downsize

Venue owners Robyn and Michelle Lytle prove smaller weddings can have big fans

Robyn and Michelle Lytle (at left, left to right) have had front-row seats to watch local couples say “I do” for years: They’re the wife-and-wife team behind Michelle Lytle Photography as well as two event spaces, Lytle Auditorium in Downers Grove and Lytle House in Chicago.

Photography was Michelle’s first foray into the wedding industry. After graduating from Downers Grove North High School, she planned to study photography at Columbia College in Chicago. “I discovered pretty quickly that college was not for me…and I dropped out and started taking photography jobs wherever I could, for the Downers Grove Reporter [newspaper], for Brookfield Zoo…and then it took off from there, and I started shooting weddings,” Michelle says. She and Robyn met through mutual friends while living in Chicago. “We were off and on for a while, and I kept building my photo career,” Michelle says. “I was doing 50 weddings a year, and Robyn started being a second photographer with me.”

Through the process of planning their own wedding in 2015, the Lytles came to realize a gap in the market for smaller wedding venues. They renovated an old auto garage in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood and opened Lytle House in 2017, specializing in events for 100 people or fewer. “Almost every single person we tour there says they hate being the center of attention and they don’t want to do all these traditional things,” Michelle says. “What they do want is to celebrate with their closest family and friends.”

After moving to Michelle’s hometown of Downers Grove to raise their family, they opened Lytle Auditorium, a natural-light photography studio and event space, in 2023. With concrete floors, modern lighting fixtures, and exposed ductwork, it delivers that city-in-the-suburbs vibe for couples looking for a smaller, hipper alternative to sprawling banquet halls and rustic farm venues.

The Lytles are seeing couples pass on multicourse dinners in favor of food trucks, more casual buffets, or cocktail-style receptions. “One of our couples, their families hadn’t gotten to spend much time together, so they really didn’t want them sitting at assigned seats for an hour and a half,” Robyn says. “They love charcuterie so they did a 16-foot-long grazing table, and there was someone walking around pouring Champagne constantly, and everyone got to graze and mingle and get to know each other. It was so fun.” Another couple decided to cater a buffet from Portillo’s because the legendary hot dog institution played a significant role in their love story. “The guests were all so surprised, and everyone loved it,” Robyn says.

Throwback touches are also popular right now. “When I pull back and look at the last few years, what’s trending are ’80s and ’90s things,” Michelle says. Think disposable cameras, camcorder videos, and vintage corded phone guestbooks where friends and family can pick up the handset and leave a voicemail for the couple. “We’ve seen temporary tattoos in those old-school dispensers that you remember from Scooby’s or Johnny’s Red Hots,” Michelle says. Dessert is another avenue for couples to shake it up. “For a while, it was cupcakes and then it was doughnuts,” Michelle says. “We don’t often see tiered cakes, but instead people are using dessert to show their personality or bring in something fun, like dirt cups or pints of ice cream with cookies.”

The weekday wedding is also having a moment. “Some couples are saying, ‘We want to get married on the anniversary of our first date, and it happens to fall on a Wednesday,’ ” Michelle says. “It’s flipping the script.” Because vendors have a limited number of weekends available for booking, a perk of weekday weddings is the potential to work with someone who might otherwise be booked or over budget. “Maybe that photographer you love has a eight- or 12-hour minimum on a weekend, but on a weekday they might be more flexible because that’s a day they wouldn’t be working anyway,” Michelle says.

The Lytles have three children and have experienced firsthand the mental load of birthday party planning. “You can spend so much time looking up different party packages…Funtopia, Sky Zone, this is only for eight kids, this is for 15 kids,” Michelle says. They recently partnered with Aimee Tyler from Rainbow Tree Events to offer all-inclusive birthday parties for kids ages 6 to 12 at Lytle Auditorium. The $1,000 package for up to 25 kids includes themed decor, music, and activities that range from high-energy (bounce house) to crafty (making sensory dough or decorate-your-own belt bag) to culinary (dirty soda bar, cookie decorating, smoothie making). “[Tyler] does everything,” Michelle says. “The theme is there, the styling is there, they handle the activities, and you literally just bring cupcakes, and that’s all you have to do for your kid’s party.”

Dressed for the Dance Floor

The Prom Shoppe’s buyer Stacy Shaw discusses dresses, tuxes, and more

In the 22 years Stacy Shaw has spent working in the formalwear industry, she’s seen prom trends cycle through many variations. “When I first started, it was all about the big princess ballgowns. Then it went to slimmer silhouettes, then to cut-outs, then to two pieces,” says Shaw, store manager and buyer for The Prom Shoppe in Oswego. “As weird as it sounds, you can only do so much with a dress.” And she would know: The Prom Shoppe stocks close to a thousand of them. “If you look at our selection now, we have ballgowns, we have A-lines, we have mermaids, and a lot of slim cuts,” she says. Two-piece ensembles and high-low hemlines aren’t trending right now, but other than that, she says, just about anything goes.

Every year in August, Shaw attends Formal Market in Atlanta, a wholesale event for the formalwear industry. “They show the hottest styles and designers, and you go to the fashion shows and you place your orders,” she says. “When we were at market this year, at all of these shows we were seeing a ton of baby blue. But when it comes to stocking the store, we need to make sure we have all colors. However, I will say that baby blue, baby pink, and baby yellow are all huge right now.” Pearl embellishments are also expected to be big for this prom season. “All of a sudden all my [sales] reps are texting me about pearls, and I don’t think anybody anticipated they were going to be big,” she says.

In January, the shop hosted a fashion show with local high school students modeling the latest dresses and tuxedos. Many gowns featured structured corset tops, tiers of ruffles, floral prints, and side slits. Though Shaw says most of their tuxedo rentals are in classic black or gray, the fashion show was an opportunity to showcase other options, such as white, ivory, tan, and navy. “We have two shades of navy that are very pretty, but if it doesn’t match with your date’s dress it’s hard to do,” Shaw says. “When I was in high school, you didn’t go to prom unless you had a date. Now it’s popular to go in a group, and if you don’t have to match your date’s dress, you can be free to have more fun with the tuxedo.” Though there’s been industry chatter that cummerbunds are making a comeback, Shaw says she hasn’t seen that take hold locally. “Vests are still huge, and it’s fifty-fifty on bow ties versus long ties,” she says.

The Prom Shoppe is part of a clothing retail hub in downtown Oswego that dates back more than 40 years. The Kaleel family opened American Male & Co., a men’s clothing store, in 1977, and later added Jacqueline Dresses, specializing in formalwear. The store names and offerings have shifted over the years. Today, you can shop gowns and tuxedos at The Prom Shoppe, women’s clothing at Bella-gia, and men’s clothing at American Male. Last year, owner Greg Kaleel sold the businesses to longtime employee Gabby Plachetka and her husband, Mike.

For parents who went to prom in the 2000s and are now prepping for prom with their own high schoolers, some traditions have changed and others haven’t. “Garters are not happening; boutonnieres are still in,” Shaw says. Petite bouquets are favored over wrist corsages. As far as hairstyles go, formal updos are a thing of the past, traded for polished blowouts or loose curls. “For our fashion show, we teamed up with Versed Salon in Plainfield, and the hairstyles they did were very simple and pretty,” Shaw says. “Back in the day, you also had to have an earring, necklace, and bracelet, and now I would say, jewelry is very minimal. It might be a simple earring or a more simple necklace.”

Going Big

Event planners Victoria and Dan Schultz share the latest trends for large-scale events

A packed wedding weekend, 500 guests, and dozens of vendors to coordinate? That’s no sweat for Dan and Victoria Schultz, the husband-and-wife event-planning team behind Naperville-based DVS Events. “With four kids and two dogs, we are used to chaos,” Victoria says. Their specialty is South Asian and multicultural fusion weddings and juggling the multiple events and long guest lists that traditionally come with them.

Victoria and Dan met in 2004 during their senior year at Naperville North High School and married in 2011. Victoria earned her bachelor’s degree in interior design, but a tough job market forced her to pivot. “I graduated at the crash of the market and could not get a job in my industry,” she says. Having worked in restaurants in Chicago, she moved back to her hometown and took a serving job at the newly opened location of Cooper’s Hawk; she eventually became event manager there. “I was working on wine club events and parties for 50 or less, and it was so much fun,” she says. With a newfound love for event planning, she went on to work for Hyatt in Lisle and then Marriott in Naperville, where she started specializing in South Asian weddings.

Victoria was managing the 1,000-seat banquet facilities at the Q Center in St. Charles when she was laid off in the wake of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Dan had been working as a franchise operator of four locations of uBreakiFix and was looking for his next challenge. They agreed the time seemed right to team up and strike out on their own. Coming from a long line of local entrepreneurs, Victoria had watched her family members operate multiple businesses in Naperville and wasn’t daunted by the prospect. Though weddings are their focus, they also work on birthday and holiday parties, galas, and corporate events. Victoria handles all meetings with clients and vendors, while Dan works behind the scenes on operations, accounting, and contracts.

Depending on what country or region a couple’s family is from, South Asian weddings can include multiple events taking place over several days, including the haldi (a ceremony of good luck), mehndi (ritual application of henna to the feet and hands), sangeet (a prewedding dance party), and baraat (groom’s procession to the ceremony), all leading up to the ceremony and reception day. “It’s like running a conference, but with emotions,” Dan says. “It’s very comparable because you’ve got a ton of people and multiple events each day, and it’s important that you organize the vendors associated with each event, and there are so many moving parts.” Multicultural weddings that incorporate differing religious or cultural traditions from both sides of the couple’s families can be even more involved: In recent years, the Schultzes have planned Indian-Chinese, Indian-Turkish, and Indian-Christian weddings.

Their couples are looking to incorporate unique experiences for their guests. “This year, we have a Cuban-Indian fusion wedding, and they really wanted a salsa dance instructor at their mehndi event,” Victoria says. Couples also may spot a novel idea on social media and ask the Schultzes to put their own spin on it. “The bride saw on TikTok a custom perfume station where you can build your own scent and have that as your take-away from the event,” Victoria says.

Tech at weddings also has evolved beyond the classic photo slideshow on a projection screen. “I think incorporating AV has become more important, and every single year we are seeing more demand for that, whether it be LED screens on the DJ’s backdrop or an LED dance floor,” Dan says.

When it comes to food and drinks, the Schultzes’ clients are looking to impress their guests with outside-the-box options. “Our clients are loving action stations for food because they don’t want just the standard buffet,” Victoria says. “We will do a live action station with dessert that’s gelato scooped to order or jalebi [a dessert pastry] fried onsite.” Signature cocktails (and equally creative mocktails for guests who don’t drink alcohol) continue to be popular with their clients. They recently planned a Greatest Showman–themed 50th-birthday party that featured circus decor, a whole roasted pig, and cocktails such as the Bearded Lady with a fluffy cotton candy garnish. They also had a 20-foot rig set up in the client’s backyard for an aerial acrobatics performance, making this milestone birthday bash one to remember.

Razzle Dazzle

Event stylist Claudia Merlo shares the latest in quinceañera trends

Naperville-based event stylist Claudia Merlo wants you to know one thing about quinceañeras: They’re not just a party.

Quinceañeras are a long-standing 15th-birthday tradition in Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America, and among Latino families in the United States. “They’re not the same as a Sweet Sixteen—it is a coming of age; it is very, very deep,” Merlo says. “It is the way we bring our heritage and where we come from to these little girls. Every single piece that goes into it is a connection to who we are, who we want them to be, and how proud we are of them.”

Merlo (above, right) started her Naperville-based business, Claudia’s Sweets & Event Stylist, nine years ago with her mother (above, left), who is also named Claudia. “This business has been such a blessing, and it came from a need to do more for our family and have a better life,” she says. Merlo’s family immigrated to the United States from Honduras when she was 14 years old. They settled in Montgomery, and Merlo graduated from Oswego High School. “I was in college, almost done with my teaching degree, when I saw how tired my parents were working multiple jobs,” she recalls.

Merlo had the idea to start a sweets table business, inspired by her mother’s talent for creating elaborate dessert setups for her friends’ celebrations. “My mom has always been very artsy and she is the one who was always helping with her friends’ parties,” she says. “I said, ‘Mom, people are getting paid for this. Let’s take a picture of what you do.’ ” Merlo posted a photo of a sweets table on Facebook Marketplace and received more than 50 inquiries that same day. “Our very first event was a tiny dessert table for 20 people for $200, and we were working out of my parents’ garage. And today it has evolved into so much more. People would say, ‘Do you also do backdrops? And drapery? And balloons?’ ” she says. “We did baby showers, kids birthday parties, and then we started to get more and more quinceñeras. Now it’s been nine years, and 90 percent of our events are quinceañeras.”

Quinceañeras are often compared to weddings in their scale and budget, and Merlo says many of her clients have been saving for their daughter’s quinceañera since the day she was born. Once the family has booked a venue, Merlo sits down with the guest of honor and her family for a design consultation, the first step in bringing their custom celebration to life. “We have markers and coloring books, and they get to design their dream quinceñera with us,” Merlo says.

Customary attire for the guest of honor is an intricately embellished ballgown, which often sets the color palette and serves as inspiration for the entire celebration. “If her dress is emerald, we might say, ‘What about an enchanted forest theme?’ And then we’ll do tree centerpieces, butterflies, twinkling lights, all to give the feeling that guests are walking into a magical forest when they come to the venue.”

Subtlety is not in style when it comes to quinceñeras, Merlo says. “An over-the-top main table is at the heart of every celebration,” she says. “This is where she is going to sit, this is where all of her pictures are going to happen, it’s where the cake is going to be cut—this is the backdrop to the entire event.” Merlo and her mother create elaborate main tables with sparkling drapery, floral displays, tufted furniture, and even the guest of honor’s name spelled out in lights.

The handcrafted treats that launched Claudia’s Sweets nearly a decade ago remain a mainstay. “The dessert table is meant to be the most fun. You go up to it and it’s full of wonder and magic,” Merlo says. “Every single desert is customized to the theme. For a Cinderella theme, you can fully expect to see a glass slipper cake pop, a cupcake with a big pumpkin on top of it or a carriage. Fully customized and themed items are what’s in style right now. Everybody wants to feel like everything was made just for them.”

Photos: Cassandra Eldridge Miers of Cassandra Photo (Lytle Auditorium); Jermaine Horton Photography (elopement photo); Blake Martin (Horton portrait); Jess Diaz Photography (Lytle portrait); Cassandra Eldridge Miers of Cassandra Photo (cake and grazing table); Michelle Lytle Photography (signature book and table setting); The Prom Shoppe (Shaw portrait); Brady Dunnett (fashion show); Kait Jensen Photography (Schultz portrait); R.E.M. Video and Photography (wedding); Georgia Modi Photography (aerialist); Purple Peacock Studios (dance floor and table); Claudia’s Sweets (portrait); Gerardo Castro Photography (head table and crown); Quinceañeras by Sylk Marti (table setting and sweets table)