In 2010, with each escorting out-of-town friends to
Lollapalooza Music Festival, Brian and Christina met on Chicago's public
transit system, the "EL.” Waiting on the Western Blue Line platform,
Christina approached a handsome stranger, also clearly heading to Lolla, to ask
for directions. Mutually charmed, they chatted for the duration of the ride to
Grant Park. Only when walking into Lolla did Brian finally gather enough
courage to ask Christina for her number. The following week he called Christina
who was volunteering at a children's theatre camp. Amid the noise, he
did his best to make her laugh and formally asked her out for the following
weekend. In any case, it was worth the wait.
Engagement: In September, 2012, Christina and Brian
returned to that same, now hallowed "EL" platform to take the train
to Chicago's Loop (or so said Brian). There, with trains speeding by, Brian
surprised Christina, first, with a large painting (done by a friend Joe
Miller) that included the full text of a poem by Chicagoan, Li-Young Lee. Upon
request, Brian read that loveliest of love poems "Living with Her",
and then, as is proper, descended to one knee to propose. A still bigger
surprise for the new bride-to-be came when they bounced down from the El to
find families and friends greeting them with ebullient cheers. Brian had
plotted the gathering and also, in still another surprise, they all rode
northward to Chicago’s famous Ravinia, an outdoor music venue, for an epic
Hall and Oates concert. And all danced the night away under the stars.
Christina, a Grand Rapids native, would love to have Gilmore catered a wedding in her home town! She spent years waiting tables at the Bite, a Glimore restaurant, and still claims Rose's as her favorite spot to eat in GR! Her family, friends, and relatives still all live in area.
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