our longtime friends, pete and ken, were married!

hc had met them years ago when he lived on the ‘bend’. we’ve become very good friends with everyone on that little strip of houses. they all have been to our wedding and so forth. over the years, we have kept in touch and have been able to hang out with them several times a year, whether it’s a summer night in the backyard or a holiday party over the winter. they are truly a great group of people!

we were so excited to receive the invite to pete and ken’s commitment ceremony a couple of months ago. it was such a cute idea…a balloon you can blow up with their invite information on it. so cool.

we dropped off olive at my parent’s house for the evening and headed on our way to the city. traffic was totally fine and we cruised there. we got there a bit early, found an awesome parking spot {right next to the building}, and headed our way in.

they had a door lady who was checking everyone in. we were waiting patiently when ken came busting out of the doors. we said our jubilant hello’s, checked ourselves off the guest list, and trekked our way in.

we entered into the event space and we were wowed by the bright, colorful decorations! they had pinwheels all over the place and the sweetest, funniest pictures of themselves. ken had worked so hard on all the picture banners hanging from the ceiling. he printed out each picture and framed every single one of them. they had pretty little flower centerpieces on all the tables and they also had matching table cloths, runners, and plate ware.

[festive decor]

[picture banners]

[lisa – the fab party planner]

right after we got there, we ran into lisa {one of the cool people on the bend} who helped pete and ken coordinate this whole event. she basically was their day of coordinator. she did such a wonderful job! everything ran so smoothly and perfect.

hc and i hung out and chatted it up with ken for a bit. the rest of our friends were still on their way {apparently there was an accident and a concert at wrigley that was causing traffic delays}. one group arrived and the crazy fun began! carrie, dave, nancy, pat, and pete made it there right after us. we were so excited to see them. they are such a fun bunch and i was glad to be able to hang out, i don’t get to see them as often as hc does.

[flower centerpieces]

[me and the groom]

[ceremony outdoor space]

[carrie, pat, nancy, hc, dave, and pete]

[cute photos of the couple]

[the gals]

once all the guests arrived, the ceremony started. it was so sweet. pete was walked down by his brother and ken was walked out by his daughter. ooohhhhh, they were so emotional. it was quite endearing. before they started, they were already in tears…i think it got everyone going. i started to get weepy too. they exchanged their vows through quivering voices, exchanged their rings, and were pronounced husband and husband!

[walking of the grooms // pete with his brother and ken with his daughter]

[vows and exchange of rings // husband and husband!]

they had us shake maracas once they were announced! it was fantastic! you could tell pete and ken were so relieved! they were a bit anxious leading up to the ceremony and once it was over, they were so happy, and then the party really began!!!!

[we shook our maracas once they were pronounced husband and husband!]

[carrie being super silly!]

[darrin and bethany…she’s eight months pregnant]

the food was served and we noshed until our bellies were full. they had chips and salsa, tacos, coconut shrimp, empanadas, ribs, and much more. we socialized while we ate and mingled around a bit.

unfortunately, we could not stay very long. my parents were watching little odog and she goes to bed early, but so do my parents! it was so hard for us to leave. we were hanging out with people we don’t get to see very often and we wanted to stay to continue the celebration of pete and ken’s union!

after the food, the party continued upstairs in the building’s other deck. everyone relocated and that’s when we said our goodbyes. we were so sad to be leaving but we needed to get home to relieve my parent’s from their babysitting duties.

[the food being served!]

[wedding cake]

[ken’s wedding band]

[the after party upstairs!]

[we finally snagged a pic with pete]

it was absolutely wonderful to be able to celebrate pete and ken’s relationship that evening. we had such a swell time partying it up with all of our friends. thank you to the fabulous couple for letting us share in this special moment in your lives…we love you guys!

xoxo