Alby & Ryan's Modern Gold and White Wedding

Alby & Ryan tied the knot during a church ceremony then moved to Venue SIX10 for their modern gold and white wedding reception in the heart of Chicago.

From the planner: The day of the wedding I will never forget the room reveal. It was a moment they wanted for the two of them to see the space with everything we had worked towards. When they came down the elevator and the doors opened the pure joy and awe that they had on their faces proceeded by the jumping up in down while they embraced and held hands was one of the most touching moments I have ever witnessed at a wedding. They enjoyed their day to their fullest and periodically I would see them taking a moment to just enjoy each other and sneak away. They didn’t let the day slip by and took it all in.

How they met: I fell in love with Ryan when I was 16. I saw him in a picture that my cousin had; I remember thinking, “who is that??” Meanwhile, I had no idea he was thinking the same about me. Timing was never on our side growing up. When I was in a relationship, he was single and then when I was finally single, he was in a relationship. It wasn’t until 2012 when I came home to Chicago from Australia for my sister’s wedding that we saw each other again at a friend’s dinner. About a month later, he finally asked me for my number and then we went on our first date just a few days after he first called me. We clicked instantly, though I still kept my distance because I didn’t know where this would go as I would return to Australia soon. We dated all summer; I went back to Australia to finish just a few more months of my contract but decided to come home to be with Ryan. When I came home, things didn’t go as planned, and only after two weeks of being at home, we parted ways. It was quite devastating for both of us; we loved each other but Ryan had things going on in his personal life that he wanted to battle alone.

After a few months, he had overcome those personal battles and wanted to work things out. I was still too angry and hurt and didn’t want to give it a chance. He did everything he could to at least be a friend or be a part of my life but I resisted. In fact, I even told him that I didn’t even love him anymore when he asked me if I still felt the same about him. A month after this happened, I realized that I didn’t ever want to wonder what would have happened if I had just given us another chance. I decided to give us another chance and I am glad that I did.

A year after we got back together, he proposed and then we got married a year after. I waited until our wedding vows to tell him that I had been secretly in love with him for as long as he had loved me. HAHA! I will never forget his face or how the rest of what I said overwhelmed him and brought him to tears. It sounds so cliche but in our case, I truly believe that we were always meant for each other and that God really had a bigger plan for us that led us to each other. God has really shown us his love and kindness by blessing Ryan and I with each other.