04.26.2025 Wedding at Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church/Drury Lane Events

A+H were married on a bright but chilly Saturday at the Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church in Westchester, Illinois. The church was absolutely stunning, needing very minimal decoration as the walls and ceilings were covered in beautiful mosaic. A+H waited until the ceremony to see each other for the first time and it was incredibly special. The ceremony was a traditional Greek Orthodox event, complete with a crown exchange, reading from holy texts, circling around the alter three times, and tossing flower petals. An organ accompanied the entire ceremony.

After the ceremony, A+H and their wedding party and parents headed over to Katherine Legge Memorial Park for wedding photos while I drove over to Drury Lane Events to start setting up for the reception. The couple chose neutral colors for the wedding day, mostly whites and greenery. The bridesmaids wore a slate blue color while the groomsmen were in black tuxedos.

There were a couple of hours in between the ceremony and reception but guests started to arrive early and spent the time looking at the photos on the memorial table and filling out the guestbook.

The reception was held in one of Drury Lane's banquet halls. Two giant chandeliers filled up the ceiling and fifteen round tables were set up surrounding the dance floor. Centerpieces were made up of white flowers, greenery, and votive candles. At each place setting, candy coated almonds - a Greek wedding tradition, and a small box of Chinese wedding candy, were placed for guests to enjoy. A+H created table numbers by matching photos of them at that age to the table number. The four tier wedding cake was decorated with white flowers and the cake topper was Chinese characters meaning happiness.

Once A+H arrived, they took a few more photos around Drury Lane before heading into their reception. They were one of three weddings there that night but you wouldn't know it once you were in the reception space! After their grand entrance for the first time as a married couple, they cut the cake, and then led the room in a Greek prayer.

Once dinner was served, speeches started, with the bride's father making the groom shed a tear (with happiness!). After the bride's father spoke, the groom's mother said a few words, followed by the Maid of Honor, two of the groomsmen, and the Koumbaro.

Then dessert was served, which included not only the wedding cake, but various cookies from an Italian bakery, and homemade baklava (that the groom's mother and grandmother made themselves!).

After the couple did their choreographed first dance and each of them danced with their parents, the first Greek dance began. The bride led the groom and their immediate families in a circle around the dance floor. Then guests were invited to join them. Once the dance floor fully opened, it was never empty again. These guests loved to dance! Greek dances were first with guests grape-vining around the dance floor and money being tossed on the happy couple. The groom's grandmother even led the groom and his mother and uncle in a traditional Greek dance. Then the DJ switched to American music and guests were jumping along to the music for the rest of the night. When the last song came on, the dance floor was still crowded!

This wedding was a beautiful celebration of two families and two cultures coming together. A+H did a wonderful job making sure that both of their backgrounds were celebrated and I could tell their guests really enjoyed experiencing a different culture from their own. This wedding was also very sweet for me because I was able to coordinate a wedding for one of my college friends.

Vendors:

Ceremony: Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church

Reception: Drury Lane Theater and Events

Photography/Videographer: Eivan's Photo & Video (Will C., Mike R., Gregory I.)

Florist: Naperville Florist

DJ: DJ John Grammatis

MU&H: Hairs 2 The Bride

Cake: Milette's Cakes