Our story began July 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. Kirk was beginning his medical school rotations in the city and I, Oralia, was attending Loyola University. After chatting online, talking to a mutual friend, and exchanging numbers, we had our first date at Maggiano’s Little Italy. I remember walking up to the restaurant and seeing the most handsome man standing there waiting for me! It was one of those “Love at First Sight” moments. We had a wonderful evening full of laughs and delicious food. After our first date, I knew this was somebody I wanted to create memories with. Luckily, Kirk felt the same way! That summer was full of fun, adventure, and romance. Some of our first dates included riding the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier, strolling through the Lincoln Park Zoo, hitting the batting cages at Sluggers in Wrigleyville, watching concerts at Millennium Park, and sharing our first kiss over a lovely picnic at Ravinia, everything was just perfect! Since the beginning of our relationship, my friends and family absolutely adored Kirk! Eight years later, and countless adventures, Kirk continues to give me butterflies and make me feel like the most beautiful woman on Earth. I can’t wait to walk down the aisle and become husband and wife in the eyes of God.

We were living in Tampa, Florida and planned to visit Chicago, Illinois for the holidays. I, Kirk, planned a weekend downtown to see the Nutcracker Ballet. When Oralia and I first started dating, she mentioned having always dreamed of a serenata, a cultural tradition in Mexico were the man surprises his girlfriend with a mariachi group and dedicates romantic songs to her. Unbeknownst to her, I flew to Chicago months before the proposal to ask her parent's blessing. At that same meeting, I asked her parents and brothers to be in on the surprise. Oralia's parents usually travel to Durango, Mexico for Christmas and this year they told her they would be out of town. On the day of the proposal, her brothers helped distract her while I snuck eight mariachi group members into her family's home. Shortly after they began playing, Oralia enters the room where I was kneeling and holding a sign that said, "Marry me?" A brief moment of surprise turned to joy as she said, “Yes!" and I ran over to her to hug her. It was at that moment that her brothers gave the cue for my family to enter the home and add to the celebration. Again, Oralia was surprised to see them and overjoyed to have so many people she loves there to celebrate with her. However, perhaps the biggest surprise came seconds later when her parents, who she thought were in Mexico, came walking through the door. It was at this moment that she began to cry tears of joy. While listening to the mariachi, we popped the champagne and toasted. We continued the celebration with an intimate engagement party at Seasons 52 in Oakbrook. It was truly a beautiful moment becoming engaged to the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with while having all of our loved ones present.

Together we have devoted many years to our professional careers, nine years to be exact. Our respective programs have taken us to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Tampa, Florida. After so many years away, we are finally back home to the city where it all began, sweet home Chicago. We feel so thankful and blessed to have amazing friends and family whom have always supported us in our endeavors. People say there is never a right time to get married, but in our case, we wanted to finish our medical training and graduate program. After the proposal, there was no question on where we would get married. We chose the Madonna Della Strada Chapel at Loyola University because of our history there and beautiful lakefront views. We both agreed to have a summer wedding downtown. After all, we did fall in love during the summertime in Chicago. We decided to look at venues and instantly fell in love with the first place we toured. We are elated to have our wedding reception at the historic Chicago Cultural Center, also known as “The People’s Palace.” We can't wait to listen to live music and dance the night away with our guests under the world’s largest Tiffany dome. Our wedding is about celebrating the unconditional love between us and God, as well as celebrating having such wonderful people in our lives.