A Chicago Wedding

My son was married last week to his beautiful girlfriend, on the 10-year anniversary of their meeting! It was a glorious event in Chicago, an intimate affair with around 45 friends and family. I am still in Afterglow Mode even as I write.

We enjoyed a 6-day stay for the wedding. Apparently Chicago had been in a dry spell until we arrived. The night of our arrival I went foraging for healthy food to fill our little frig and it dumped buckets! I brought a hardcore raincoat along and I’m glad I did. It is The Windy City after all and umbrellas just get turned inside out. Note that in every city photo there are clouds…

I am from a small town southwest about 90 miles so this is familiar territory. I LOVE Chicago!! The media has portrayed it as a violent city with peril at every turn. My son lives in Streeterville, an area of downtown Chicago. You can walk the streets at 2AM and be safe. And the food is fabulous! Chicago is a hard core foodie kind of town.

We stayed in the River North section, 4 blocks from the Chicago River. I got up early each day to walk the Riverfront. There are so many fun bars, restaurants and lovely areas to hang out in. I could make this a very long post if I went into the architectural diversity and history of Chicago.

When walking the river you are surrounded on all sides by intriguing architecture. I find it much more interesting than other large cities with which I am familiar. There is great variety in shape, size, height, era and design. And I get highly annoyed at the dismissive comments about this being “flyover country”. You are missing a wonderful part of America if you believe that.

Caught in yet another downpour during a “15% chance of rain” period, we ducked into the Oppenheimer Gallery which specializes in works by natural-history artists. Their collection of rare works by Audubon, Redoute, Thornton, Besler and more was fascinating. We were the only patrons in there during the deluge and I loved every minute. Hubby has a Time Bomb so my stay was somewhat limited but what a treat! You WILL in the future see work influenced by my chance encounter.

I did A LOT of walking while I was there! I hoofed it down to the Willis Tower (old Sears Tower), as I remembered an old lady, er comfort shoe place that has really cool shoes. I found my shoes but wasn’t ready for a $500 dollar pair!

As I approached the center I came upon this display. You may be aware that the Chicago Cubs have clinched the National League Central Division title and are having a stellar year. The poor Cubbies have not won a World Series since 1908 and have not made a World Series appearance since 1945, so this is Big News.

My Mom was a hard core Cubbie fan for her entire life. I joked that she could not pass before the Cubs won the series but that did not happen. So it was poignant moment for me when I approached the Willis Center and saw this huge, flamboyant Cubs display. And there was no one to send the photos to….

I took 28 photos of Chicago planters. This is an art form in Chicago! Look at this one-the interesting hand-forged fence, beautiful weeping Japanese Forest Grass and that huuuuuge cabbage!

This beauty was overflowing with color on the Navy Pier.

Stunning grasses gracing the Riverfront…

And I was delighted to see succulents.

This beauty adorned the entrance to our hotel.

Oh just one more…cute pumpkins add even more interest to this grouping. It was so hard to edit my photos and not post all 28 planters!

Hubby brought his Texas Longhorns windbreaker-yes he is a die-hard fan, even during tough times like this season. Burnt Orange is a very recognizable (and trademarked) color if you’re into college football. Just a snippet of his jacket all curled up in his hand created a ridiculous number of “Hook ‘Em Horns” from passersby, the Nike store clerk, the hotel concierge, the waiter, the grocery store clerk, the passing tour guide, the policeman….. It was downright ridiculous. We need to go to Japan and see what happens.

Okay, would you like to hear about the wedding now?

I did not attempt to document the wedding with my own camera as there was a professional photographer who took a zillion photos for 6 hours. So my photos are not that great, but this is what I have. Here’s the happy bride and groom-look at those smiles! Aren’t they just the cutest couple ever? They dated for 10 years and really rushed into this marriage thing. My son met his bride at Univ of Ca-Irvine during Sept of their Freshman year.

The bride did a wonderful job of creating a very personal experience. I loved everything about the wedding. It was held in the event area of a hipster bar. I have never been to a wedding in a venue like that but it was so nice to not have to leave for another venue after the ceremony. And the intimate setting made for easy mingling of the family and friends. There were very personal touches everywhere and it wasn’t so overdone as to take the limelight away from the reason for the event.

And here are all my handsome men at once: Hubby, the Groom and Best Man, youngest son. I am soooo proud!

Couldn’t resist including a better photo of my sons. The groom is a Nurse Practitioner specializing in Psych in Chicago and youngest son is a Mechanical Engineer in Tucson for a defense contractor. When you have your own blog you can occasionally brag about how fabulous your family is, grin.

And everyone kept saying my son looked a lot like his Father….ya think?

It is a rare and special event for all the sisters to get together! My oldest sister lives in the Denver area (middle) and my next oldest sister (right) lives in Massachusetts. I’m the baby. And my niece is pregnant-I’m soon to be a Great Aunt for the first time!

I don’t even like this photo but it’s the only one I have so far of my Hubby and I. I look forward to getting excellent photos from the professional photographer.

During the reception I did prepare a 90-second talk about raising my sons and welcoming our new Daughter-in-Law. And since I am shamelessly assuming you care about all the details of my family I want to share the topic.

I raised my sons with the endgame in mind. I remembered that I was raising a future husband, father, employee, leader. I didn’t focus on raising a good little boy with great grades. I did not necessarily expect them to be the fine men they are, but I was going to make sure I did the best job I could and I tried my hardest to focus on my family over other matters. At this moment in time it all looks good. Who knows what tomorrow may bring. I am so thankful for my family. My pontificating is done.

I always link up with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday because the links are always so good!