A Chicago Wedding

My good friend Abby got married in Chicago last weekend. Aaron and I made the trip there with some of our other friends, Kole and Amy. 

It was such a fun and memorable weekend!!

The trip there took about 2 ½ hours more than it should have. This was due to: 1) the heaviest rain and lighting storm I ever remember driving through (this picture doesn’t do it justice),

2) the misleading of Amy’s parents’ supposed-to-be-trustworthy Garmin, Gretta, and 3) stand-still traffic in downtown Chicago because of a Cubs vs. White Sox game, Fourth of July traffic, and the Taste of Chicago, which we learned brings 2 million people to Chicago.

We finally did make it to the hotel, however, and received an extra room at no charge because the hotel was over-booked on double-bed rooms. So while it would have been fun to share a room with Kole and Amy like we were planning, it was so nice to have an unexpected, free, king-size room!

When we got there, we received a “goodie-bag” from the parents of the bride and groom. It was full of yummy snacks,

but we were a little concerned that it also contained “Deep Woods” bug-spray wipes for the outside wedding and reception :). (The bugs turned out to be not bad at all, though!)

Since we got there about 2 ½ hours after we were planning to, we had to get ready for the wedding pretty quickly to catch the shuttle to the ceremony site.

We also met up with some of our other friends, Todd and Jessica, on the shuttle-ride over.

When we got there, we were just in awe. It was the most beautiful location I have ever seen for a wedding.

Abby looked so gorgeous, and there is no denying the fact that she and Matthew are very much in love! They are such a sweet couple.

After the wedding, we had a wonderful time catching up with friends,

eating appetizers that the waiters and waitresses carried around the yard on silver platters (just like in the movies! :)),

and enjoying treats like these Turkish Delights.

The dinner was amazing, complete with salad, bread, two kinds of meat, and a create-your-own pasta bar, where your choice pasta was made right in front of you.

After dinner was dessert. Usually at weddings, there is just a wedding cake. But not at this wedding! There was wedding cake, home-made chocolate éclairs and cream puffs, other desserts that I was too stuffed to try, and a create-your own crepe bar. I got mine filled with strawberry and banana.

Soon after Matthew and Abby’s first dance,

we had to catch our shuttle back to the hotel. We stayed up with Kole, Amy, Todd, and Jessica in the lobby until after midnight, waiting for the wedding party to come back to the hotel.

The next morning, after a long, extremely interesting conversation with one of Matthew and Abby’s friends about ministry, missions, evangelism, and Christ, we headed out.

We stopped at our favorite Chicago pizza place, Giordano’s, for lunch on the way home

for some stuffed, deep-dish pizza.

It was a really fun and unique weekend that I know we will always remember!


Congratulations Abby and Matthew! :)