Wedding Wednesdays: Choosing the Date & Venue

Tre and I based our wedding date on the venue’s availability.  At first we struggled. Either they were booked or it didn’t suite us.  Keep in mind, most venues were booked two years out!

I’ve actually thought about getting married at a certain place for a long time.  It has the best skyline view of the city and it is an iconic building. Tre also knew I pictured my wedding being there.  However, when we visited, something did not feel right. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a beautiful venue. Tre mentioned he wasn’t feeling the place as well. From there, I knew that wasn’t the right place.

I remembered visiting the Chicago Cultural Center a couple years back and thought that the building was gorgeous. When we arrived for our site visit of the Chicago Cultural Center, it was just as beautiful as I remembered it. I couldn’t help but get all giddy. I turned to look at Tre, and he was just in awe. We both couldn’t stop complimenting the place.

We both looked at each other and knew that the Chicago Cultural Center is where we are going to get married! The event coordinator told us there was one date in June 2015 available. I was ecstatic because I was secretly aiming to have a June wedding. CCC couldn’t have been more perfect. Tre and I immediately told the event coordinator to place that date on hold for us. So there you go, that is how June 26, 2015 became our wedding date.

After deciding on the reception for the wedding, the next step was the ceremony. I grew up in a very religious family. My family is very Catholic. I grew up knowing several different prayers, having prayers for every event in my life (good or bad), and praying with the Rosary. However, despite having such a religious upbringing, for some reason I never imagined myself getting married in a church. The CCC can host wedding ceremonies in addition to receptions, and surprisingly my parents did not mind having my wedding ceremony wherever I pleased.

However, as time passed, and Tre and I weighed our options regarding our ceremony, I couldn’t help but picture myself walking down the aisle…. in a church. Every day I kept feeling stronger about having the ceremony at a church. I started to feel more passionate about all the different Catholic wedding traditions and the symbolism of each tradition. I also love the fact that having a church ceremony means Tre will see me for the first time when I walk down the aisle. After discussing how I felt with Tre, we decided to proceed with picking a Church! So on June 26, 2015, Tre and I will be getting married at St. Josaphat!