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I married Chad and Kim about 45 minutes ago out on golf course. We had a good rain this morning and it’s been threatening rain all day but the weather cooperated and the ceremony went very well. This is a fun loving couple and the ceremony was a lot of fun for everyone. I concluded with an Irish blessing and told everyone I had chosen it especially for this occasion. The blessing starts with these words “May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow.” Everyone got a good chuckle! They are still outside for the cocktail hour and so far no rain, but it looks like it could come down at any minute!

Courtney and Aaron were married on the Bloomingdale Golf Course in a very fun ceremony. One of the bride’s maids was very emotional and that in turn seemed to have an impact on several members of the audience. The temperature was hot and we were right in the sun but there was a nice breeze that kept us from overheating. The groom was escorted in by both of his parents and the father of the bride placed his daughters hand into the hand of his new son-in-law and it was very touching. The bride and groom stopped to kiss twice while walking down the aisle and everyone clapped and cheered.

I just completed the marriage ceremony for Sarah and Ben about a half hour ago in the fragrance garden at Morton Arboretum. The weather was perfect. I always carry a spare handkerchief in case the bride or groom need it. These two wrote their own vows and I ended up giving them both a handkerchief as their vows brought many tears for both of them! A family member is a retired judge who does weddings from time to time and he was highly complementary of the job that it did. This is something I really enjoy doing because it is such a happy point in people’s lives! A good friend of ours from Bartlett is related to the bride and it was nice surprise to see her at the ceremony as well.

Earlier this evening I conducted the wedding ceremony for Kristen and Brian at the metropolis Ballroom in Arlington Heights. It’s a great place for a wedding. For the unity celebration Kristen and Brian did a unity in glass ceremony as part of their wedding. They included both their mothers and all 4 had a container with different colored glass crystals. These were all poured together in a single container. The glass crystals will be sent to an artisan who will put together a one-of-a-kind glass sculpture for them using the glass crystals that were part of the ceremony. I really enjoyed working with both of them and received a lot of kind words from their families

I performed the wedding ceremony for Ewa and Jason in Aurora this afternoon under the tent in the back yard of a family member. I watched a big storm approach straight above as I arrived but it went just enough south to miss the wedding. The father of the bride said his line in Polish. These two have great family and friends!

After 2 weeks of relaxing on vacation I performed the wedding ceremony  for Christina and Dan at Randal Oaks Golf Course in West Dundee. The weather was perfect and the ceremony went well. The bride’s mom was at the rehearsal but got very sick before the wedding and could not attend. Christina was very brave and we are waiting to hear about her mom’s condition.

I performed my first wedding ceremony that actually started early tonight in the Koten Chapel at North Central College in Naperville! HoJoon and Amanda are a great couple and their announcement invited people to come 1/2 hour before the ceremony – and even the late comers were there before the 5:30 starting time – so we got going 10 minutes early. Hojoon’s parents traveled from Korea to attend. His mother read several scriptures in Korean and his Uncle read them in English. They had small stones for each person to take upon entering and markers so we could put our initials and any brief message we wanted to write. Each person was asked to hold their stone during the ceremony and they were collected at the end and will be in a container in their home.

I performed the ceremony for Russ and Linda this evening at the Knights of Columbus hall in Westmont. Fortunately the AC was working well, it was a hot evening. These two have a very close relationship and I enjoyed working with them. The older brother of the bride goes to church less than a mile from our house.

We had a great Wedding Ceremony today as I officiated for Thurston and Felicia. It was great working with both of them and I had another opportunity to meet a number of really nice and interesting people from both of their families. The ceremony was at Astoria Banquet Hall in Buffalo Grove and was an absolutely beautiful setting for the Wedding!