I can safely say that as of last Friday, February 1, 2013, I
have completed one of my goals for 2013.
No, it wasn’t completing a marathon.. we got married!
First, let me say this. Making the decision to get married
without our families being present was not one we came to lightly. We tried to
figure out all kinds of crazy plans – flying everyone to SF, flying and
training everyone to Chicago – Skype, FaceTime, etc. There was just no way that
we were going to be able to get both of our families in the same place until
this summer at the earliest, so we came to a decision. If it couldn’t be
everyone, than it would have to be just us.
I was really apprehensive about not sharing our special day
with our families. I always invisioned that on my wedding day I would be
surrounded by my family and my soon-to-be-husband’s family. Getting fussed
over. Too much champagne. Not enough food. CAKE. Flowers. Tears.
Congratulations. The works.
However what we had was something that was just as special
and although our families were not here in person, they were present all day.
Our day started off with sunshine. The first day the sun had
been out all week, following a crazy week of 60 degree weather in January with
thunderstorms, torrential downpours, flash flooding, and then, not more than 24
hours later – snow. The first measurable snow fall in over a year. And then, on
February 1, sunshine. Which in the winter means one thing. FREEZING COLD DAY.
That’s right. We may have had the sun, but we didn’t break double digit degrees
until the mid-afternoon.
We picked up our flowers from the florist that Jason had
found the day before. Jason’s mom was wonderful and took care of our flowers
for us. A beautiful bouquet for me and a nice boutineer for Jason. We decided to go with white and yellow
(with green hints!) flowers to match the yellow tie that Jason was going to
wear. It was nice to have a very simple pop of color that was so bright and
cheery this far into the winter. After a strict warning from the florist to
“not leave the flowers in the car because they would freeze”, we were on our
way downtown so Jason could drop me off for my hair appointment. The
beautification was to begin.
In San Francisco blow dry salons are extremely popular, but
has yet to catch on here in Chicago in the same magnitude. So, when I got to
Blow by Blow in the Gold Coast, I was the only person in the salon, which meant
100% attention. I had a blast getting my hair washed and styled, drinking a
mimosa to calm the slowly rising nervousness I was beginning to feel.
When I was done, I pulled out my wallet to pay but was
immediately told that I was all set. In shock, I asked what she meant that I
was all set. She told me “an angel called and took care of paying for you last
night”. Of course, I began to cry. It was hard enough having to get ready alone
for my big day, but to know that someone cared so much and had taken care of
paying for me really overwhelmed me. Of course, being the only person in the
salon, and balling in front of strangers, they had no idea what to do but hand
me a paper towel to wipe my eyes and laugh with me that it was probably better
that they did my hair and not my makeup, because I would’ve been a hot mess.
Around the corner I went to Bloomingdales to visit the girls
at the MAC counter to get my makeup done. After Whitney’s wedding, I decided
that for my own I should go with something a little more “natural” than my
vintage bombshell hair/makeup. I loved how I looked on her wedding day, but
thought I should look a little bit more like me for my own.
The girl at MAC did a fantasic job. I felt gorgeous when I
left.
I ran into The Drake basically across the street to check
in, as it was getting close to when we needed to meet the photographer at City
Hall and closer to getting married! After I checked in I went to meet Jason at
the parking garage so we could carry everything in for our overnight stay and I
could put on my dress (finally!).
I opened one and immediately began to cry again. Cards from
people from home. Family and friends who wanted to wish us good luck and best
wishes for our wedding day. Who although they couldn’t be with us in person
wanted to let us know how much they loved us and were so excited for us. I had
to put the cards down. I didn’t want to ruin my makeup before the photos!
Before I knew it, we were in a cab and on our way to get
married! The Marriage Court at City Hall in Chicago re-opens at 2PM, so we
planned to meet our photographer Nicole at 1:30 to get some quick photos at
City Hall before the ceremony happened. We tried to brave the cold, and make it
look like it was a warm, sunny day in Chicago. Then we headed inside to get in
line and be married!
There were four couples ahead of us, which made for
interesting people watching. The people who choose to get married in the
Marriage Court are all across the board. All types of people. All walks of
life. People like Jason and I who were dressed up and had a photographer, people
who were in jeans, people who brought lots of witnesses and people who brought
their families.
When you get into the marriage court, it seems slightly like
a doctor’s office. The clerk sits behind a sliding glass window. You walk in,
hand her your license and the $10 payment for the ceremony. The people who were
in front of us didn’t have cash (like all city government agencies – cash or
check ONLY), so in the spirit of love and excitement, I paid it forward
(literally). And then we went and sat down in the waiting room for our names to
be called.
After what felt like an eternity, it was finally our turn!
Off we went into the back room where we had a very quick, but emotional
ceremony. Then we were MARRIED!
Since it was still about 10 degrees outside, we started with
taking photos inside Chicago’s City Hall, which is beautiful. For those of you
who have not had the pleasure of experiencing a City Hall wedding either for
yourself or for a loved one, I will say this. It is a very surreal experience
where you are surrounded by strangers, but strangers wishing you the best of
luck and offering their congratulations.
We walked through the underground pedestrian walkway (thank
god, as I mentioned it was freezing!) to the Chicago Cultural Center to take
photos there, before braving the cold again to walk down North Michigan Avenue
back towards The Drake.
I won’t spoil all the photo surprises, but we had a fun time
taking them! Into a cab we went to start regaining feeling in our fingers and
toes. At this point we realized my flowers had started to freeze and die. No
wonder the florist gave us such a stern warning! I am glad they stayed alive
through the wedding and photos.
We had a drink and wandered around The Drake with Nicole,
taking more photos around the amazing lobby. Then we were left to our own
devices! First up, a bottle of champagne from the hotel. Since our dinner
reservations weren’t until 8:45pm, we found a wine bar around the corner from
the hotel for a nice glass of wine and some cheese to tide us over until our
celebration dinner.
I had made dinner reservations for us at Café Spiaggia, which is the more down-to-earth and casual off-shoot of Spiaggia, a fabulous Italian restaurant on North Michigan Ave. I wanted to pick a place that Jason and I could go back to year after year if we wanted to, to celebrate our special day. Additionally, I wanted to remember the amazing trip to Italy we took this fall, which is also where we got engaged. So, at 8:45 we were seated at our table in the window overlooking Michigan Ave. where it had now began to snow.
Dinner started with a glasses of champagne and
congratulations from our waiter. We ordered a few appetizers, entrees and an
amazing bottle of wine from one of the Italian regions we visited while we were
there. Then, when the check came – surprise #3 of the day. Instead of a bill,
there was a note – our families had called ahead and arranged to take care of
our dinner for us. Another amazing surprise that we were not expecting but made
us feel loved from the other side of the country.
We made our way back on a snowy walk (thankfully it was a
one-block walk) to the hotel, and were greeted by another bottle of champagne,
this one from one of Jason’s good friend from Michigan. (Thanks again lady!
What a beautiful surprise!)
It’s been a week now since we had our special day. I can’t
wait to see the photographs that Nicole captured! I am sure there are some
really beautiful ones that I can’t wait to share!
