Chicago Wedding

Last weekend we were part of a special wedding. Les has a cousin, Debbie, whose daughter, Courtney, was married near Chicago. Courtney was raised in Illinois, and we only met her once while she was growing up, but she moved to Austin a few years ago, and connected with us. During the couple of years she was in Austin, we enjoyed getting to know her, and she became part of our family.

She moved back to Chicago, met a special man, fell in love, and became engaged. Courtney called me this summer and asked me to perform the ceremony. I was honored and thrilled to be a part of her special day. 

So, Friday we flew to Chicago, and drove to a beautiful location to be a part of Courtney and Levi's wedding. This is Mora Farm, located Southwest of Chicago. As we drove there, I was surpirsed by how beautiful the area was; green grass, tall corn growing, huge red barns, stately homes. 

Here is Les with his cousin Debbie, the mother of the Bride, and her sister, Jeri the day before the wedding. 

Here I am with Debbie, ready for the wedding. 

The wedding was beautiful, sweet, and personal. 

 
My favorite part of the ceremony was a surprise that Courtney and I had for Levi and his daughter Brooklyn. In order to include Brooklyn, after the Bride and Groom said their vows and exchanged rings, I announced, "Today Levi and Courtney are beginning a new life together. A child is also entering into this marriage, and it is Courtney’s desire to extend her commitment to Levi by making some promises to his daughter." Courtney then spoke to Brooklyn, promising to love her, to make a home for her, to listen to her, and support her. Sweeeet! 

Besides being at the wedding, we enjoyed some sight seeing. The following pictures are not the most important thing to see in Chicago, but, we were extremely impressed. As we drove to the Saturday afternoon wedding, we stopped in some charming towns for a bit of window shopping. 
We stepped into a chocolate shop and found "chocolate sculptures" below.

These are actually made completely of chocolate. The first one is a tree, with leaves and little critters made from spun sugar. 

Full size hockey player and astronaut.

And, here are some normal pictures of Chicago; the lake shore, and the city skyline. 

We took a Segway tour of the shorelone...soooo much fun, and in 3 hours, we saw what would have taken all day walking.

Since we were staying in Elgin, an hour from downtown Chicago, we only spent one and a half day there. 

Sunday morning, we went to Willowcreek Community Church. Willowcreek is one of  my "bucket list churches." I have heard Bill Hybels via Satelight and read his books. Being at the church in person for worship and to hear Hybels was incredible. 

We flew out Tuesday evening, so we spent that day driving along the Fox River, relaxing and enjoying the beautiful day.