Anna and I had the pleasure of attending Chad and Andrea’s wedding in Chicago in late July.
Before I get into the post, allow me to share a little background. Chad is one of my first cousins (one of 5 on my mother’s side). Growing up, although we didn’t live in the same city and see each other more than a few times a year, he was always more like a brother to me. In school, Chad always pushed me to get better grades … because he always seemed to have better marks than I did. We also shared hunting and fishing with our fathers (his father is my Uncle David, who you will see later in this post), which provided lots of male bonding time. Once we both finished undergrad, while I commissioned into the Air Force, he moved from the Ivy league to the Big Ten for med school. After the requisite 4 more years of college, he did a residency in Chicago where he met a beautiful girl, Andrea (or Andy). She’s a lawyer with an effervescent personality, brilliant and beautiful. They seem perfect for each other. Fortunately for Anna and I, we had 6 months in the US when we could hang out and spend time with Chad and Andy. I think it came as a surprise to no one when Chad and Andy decided to get married. I was honored when Chad asked me to be a groomsman.
So, here we are … in addition to standing up in the wedding, I managed to snap a few images. Although my work pales compared to their official photographer, Erica Rose, I had fun making some images. I felt a little better prepared than I was for Gabi and Philipp’s wedding. Below are some of my favorites from that weekend.
The rehearsal dinner was held in the penthouse of their old apartment building (they moved to Minnesota right before the wedding to start new jobs). As you can see, a rainbow fortuitously appeared.
The harbor was very pretty as well.
Andy with some of her girls.
The venue was great.
Here you can the cake Andy picked out for Chad. If you aren’t a big gamer (I’m not), you probably won’t recognize the symbol. It’s a helmet from the video game HALO, of which Chad is an aficionado.
On either side of the mass of buildings is the Sears/Willis Tower (its new name) and the Trump Tower alight in the diminishing sunset.
Uncle David has been one of my inspirations for getting into photography. He and his late wife (Aunt Cheryl/Chad’s Mom) are both accomplished photographers.
Mike’s camera phone was not cooperating … Julie was trying to get an image, but I think it’s time to upgrade.
So, T (another of our first cousins), who you may remember from Julie and Mike’s wedding post wasn’t too keen on being in this image. Yet, here he is. 🙂
So, I am not quite sure what’s going on here, but this is Jeff (another groomsmen) with a little help … doing what? Well, I’ll leave that to you.
So, after the rehearsal dinner and rooftop party, most of the wedding party took the party to other late night establishments. Julie, Mike and I went back to the hotel to catch up with Anna and X who were resting after a long day.
The morning of the big day, I treated Chad (and the males in the wedding party) to a lunch at a quintessential American male establishment, Hooter’s. They have great … owls. 🙂 OK, so the food wasn’t the best, but it was the same thing I did before my wedding and it was kinda fun. Chad was a good sport.
After lunch, it was back to the old apartment to get ready.
Speaking of quintessential, this is classic T. 🙂 He even caught the guy on TV’s attention.
Chad getting ready to deliver his big lines.
Since I was standing up, I don’t have any images from the actual ceremony … so, I’m going to skip ahead to the party bus which took us to several great locations in the city. This one is the “Married With Children” fountain, also known as the Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park.
Chad and Andrea brought a little more class to the fountain.
Andy is a gorgeous bride, don’t you think?
I was again honored when Andrea asked me to pick out a little bubbly for the pictures. Of course, I felt Dom Pierre PÉRIGNON from Champagne, France was apropos. But, since he’s not the most affordable, I balanced that with several Gloria Ferer and Chandon California sparkling wines to get some more mileage for the money. However, the Dom was BY FAR the best and seemed a perfect match to the union … I think the Wine Advocate captured it best in their tasting notes:
“The 2000 Brut Dom Perignon is a gorgeous, seductive wine that floats on the palate with remarkable grace. Toasty aromas meld into freshly cut flowers, apricots and pears, with sweet notes of mint and licorice that linger on the long finish. This perfumed, inviting Dom Perignon is elegance personified, and in this vintage the wine fully merits its lofty reputation.”
94 Points
The Wine Advocate
Here’s Chad enjoying his glass of Dom.
The next photo stop was on the waterfront. It provided a stunning cityscape, complete with Lake Michigan in the foreground.
Julie and Mike in front of the Sears/Willis Tower. Julie was also a bridesmaid for Andrea.
Amy and Steve sharing a tender moment by the lake. Seemed that romance was in the air.
Of course, there were those who just had a good time too. 🙂
We walked over to the beach nearby. There was a small lifeguard rowboat sitting, just asking for the happy couple to come sit in it. Although I had to go talk to the lifeguard supervisor, they eventually acquiesced. Erica had some amazing images of the boat (check out her blog to see those: Erica Rose).
Yep, romance was DEFINITELY in the air.
Their choice of reception venue, the South Shore Cultural Center, was consistent with the day … elegant and romantic. A perfect setting. It doesn’t hurt that the Obama’s also used these halls in their marriage.
Chad and Andrea on their first dance.
More of the same dance.
Chad and my mom, Nancy, sharing a dance. She was filling in for her sister Cheryl as Chad’s mom for the day. Although Aunt Cheryl couldn’t be with us, her presence was definitely felt. I know she would have been so proud of Chad.
Although my lens wasn’t wide enough to capture the whole room, it was stunning.
I thought the blend of Christian and Jewish wedding traditions was a nice, fitting touch.
So, that concludes my images from the wedding. The next morning, Amy hosted a very nice brunch for everyone. After that, we spent another day in SE Wisconsin with our family to celebrate Julie’s birthday, then headed up to Hayward to hang out with Uncle David.
The Chadrea Wedding was phenomenal. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and think that Chad and Andy have embarked on a great journey together. Hopefully, you’ll see more images of shared adventures on here soon!
Until the next post!
–Jim