Vinesh and Simi: Brilliance

 I remember when I first sat down with Vinesh and Simi. I asked Vinesh to explain why he knew Simi was the one for him, and the resident of London used one of those British phrases that I've always found interesting:

"She's brilliant," Vinesh told me.

 It took me a second to catch what he was saying. In the Americanized version, "brilliant" means highly intelligent, which is a fair description of a woman who works in the challenging field of physical therapy for disabled youths.

But in the traditional (British) sense, something that is brilliant has light radiating, even exploding, out of it. Once I figured out what Vinesh was saying, I thought his word choice was excellent.

On their wedding day, both of them were brilliant.

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Doug and Kimmie: kiss her now

In any arena, success depends heavily on timing. And, allegedly, Doug needed a few cues to know when was the right time to kiss Kimmie.

Doug and Kimmie hired me last summer for their engagement photos, so I was excited when they brought me back for their wedding. My excitement grew when I saw the inside of The Church of Holy Apostles in McHenry — a beautiful, round sanctuary that offered me a lot of gorgeous and uncommon angles.

Jonah, the ring-bearer, had a good time in the bridal party's ready room.

But I was especially intrigued when I learned about what had happened before I got there — allegedly.

The couple set a unique order for their ceremony, and put their first kiss in the middle. Depending on who you ask, the story is that during the rehearsal, Doug wasn't sure when he was supposed to kiss Kimmie.

So, the night before the wedding, his family made him some cue cards.

At 31 North Banquets for the reception, with the toasts from matron of honor Cath...

...and best man Matt.

As you can see here, though, by the end of the night, Doug was having no trouble deciding when to kiss his bride.

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Mike and Jen: every 11th, forever

Mike, Jen and their families toasted their wedding with champagne at Telegraph,

but it was wine (just a little) that brought them together

One of the more reliable signs that a couple is in love: Happenstance turns into tradition, because it happened to them.

Mike and Jen are in love, and as such, they will probably be found in some type of wine bar on the 11th of every month, for the rest of their lives. Because they found themselves there on the 11th of the first two months of their lives together.

When Mike asked Jen on their first date, they went to Rootstock on May 11, 2011.

"We pretty much knew we were right for each other, right away," Jen would say later.

Exactly one month later, while checking out the Old Town Art Fair, the new couple dropped in at Bluebird for a bite to eat.

They realized it was June 11. One month after their first date, they were in another wine bar.

It became Mike and Jen's thing. Every 11th, for almost two years now, the couple has gone to a new wine bar. A few times, work has taken one or the other to a different city on the 11th; they still go out, to different bars, sharing the experience from afar.

"It's a lot of fun, exploring the various wine bars in the city," Jen said.

Mike proposed on Aug. 24, 2012, and their full-sized wedding ceremony and reception is scheduled for Aug. 3, 2013.

But Mike is Canadian (and sometimes tries to pass himself off as an Iowa Hawkeye fan...which is an issue in a family full of Iowa State Cyclones), and to expedite the paperwork, he married Jen in March in a small ceremony with their families at St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Logan Square, a remarkable building that I'm glad the couple introduced me to.

There are a lot of 11ths to come in these newlyweds' future.

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The Mayor and the numbers: Builders' luncheon

When will the recession end, and what is the shortest path to the future? At the 2012 year-end meeting of the Builders Association, members heard a range of views from men who are close the the problems and, possibly, the solutions.

Another sold-out crowd in the 16th-floor gala of the Trump International Hotel & Tower

One of the headline speakers was Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago.

Emanuel credited the city's construction community with being a key part of the economic turnaround.

After the Mayor, the builders heard from Ken Simonson, chief economist for AGC America. He filled his presentation with figures about the economy's recent past and possibilities for its future.

At the day's conclusion, each B.A. member had to decide for himself how to proceed in 2013. The choices they make will determine much of the future of one of the world's most spectacular skylines.

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Strollers in the Front 5K, Chicago

A group of stroller-pushers completes their 5K while the festival area teems with finished (and famished) racers.

I've covered plenty of races...but I've never seen one like this before.

The Strollers in the Front 5K is exactly what it sounds like: a race where people pushing strollers automatically start at the front of the pack, and strollerless runners have to begin in the back. The event was organized by the Neighborhood Parent Network and Event360 on a cool but gusty morning during Halloween weekend at Chicago's Montrose Beach, and hundreds of parents of infants and toddlers came out for a "stroller derby."

The pre- and post-race festival included youth soccer...

...and face-painting.

Four-wide groups like this may have been hard to maneuver around...

...but Dan "Mr. Incredible" Cushman managed to. Seen here near the end of the starting pack, Cushman beat every other runner to the finish. 

The kiddie races had plenty of exciting finishes...

...but Danny Shuck did not think the awards ceremony was much to look at.

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Seth, Alice and the secret identity

Seth and Alice told me that the journey of their first pregnancy has been a pleasure, even as they go through it.

"We're laughing a lot during the pregnancy," Seth told me — a story that his wife corroborated. "As much as your nerves get the best of you, the baby's made us laugh a lot."

The couple know their child's gender and have a name picked out, but aren't announcing either. Both said that autumn is their favorite time of year, and that they are feeling a multitude of emotions as the fall day when their lives will be permanently changed approaches.

"Words that would describe the feeling include 'excited,' 'scared,' 'determined'..." Seth began, "...and 'faithful.'"

I photographed them on the campus of Concordia University, where Alice studied.

(They asked for outdoor shots around the campus — and a nice soft cloud provided some wonderfully diffuse sunlight — but as we walked through the main hall, I had to pose them in the beautiful lobby)

Seth attended the University of Illinois, and met Alice in 2000.

"She became my best friend first," he recalled. "After that...that was it."

Although they are keeping the baby's identity undercover — and although they are enjoying the ups and downs of a first pregnancy — Seth and Alice said they are looking forward to the day when they will have some big news to share with their loved ones.

"And what could be bigger," Alice said, "than sharing a child with the world?"

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Rob and Colleen: what it looks like

This is what hard-earned, well-deserved loyalty looks like.

Robert and Colleen said their vows recently during an outdoor service on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Maryland — a ceremony that remained, technically, outdoors after the minister moved the proceedings under the hotel patio's awning.

We all knew that the 5:30 p.m. start was going to be steamy, but the forecast that morning called for partly cloudy skies and only a slight chance of rain. The heat was no problem for the couple: both are athletes (Rob has finished the Boston Marathon), so both can make themselves comfortable in climates that average folks find insufferable.

The Annapolis Ice Cream Company kept the crowd brain-frozen.

A lot of family and friends came out, and they sat down in the sun to watch the union happen. I was already impressed: At most outdoor weddings, a few guests stray inside the dining hall for some air conditioning, or at least under a tree for some shade. It looked to me like either Robert or Colleen meant a lot to each member of the audience.

The ceremony began — and that was when a single, menacing storm cloud moved east from behind the hotel's roof. The audience, facing the bay, could not see what was coming…they just saw the suddenly vexed look on the groom's face.

Robert, vexed.

I say this without exaggeration: The first raindrop fell exactly as the first bridesmaid began her walk down the aisle. Watermarks start appearing on the gentlemen's shoulders, and the ladies started covering their hair with their programs. A few well-prepared guests, who must have read a more recently updated forecast than mine, pulled out umbrellas.

No one got up.

Colleen walked out...and the sky opened at the same moment. As Robert watched his bride coming toward him, I'm not certain that all the wet spots on his face were raindrops.

After a minute of steady precipitation, a few guests got up and took shelter. I remained impressed: So many of these people cared more about Robert and Colleen's moment than their own comfort.

But halfway through the already-abbreviated proceedings, steady rain turned into a downpour, and the minister instructed everyone — especially the bride, who had been standing under an umbrella held by her groom — to move under the hotel's large awning behind them.

It was dry, but everyone had to crowd in, and it was plenty steamy. On the opposite side of the banquet room's glass doors, air-conditioned and spacious comfort with a view of the couple was available.

No one took advantage. Through heat, rain and shoulder-to-shoulder herding, Robert and Colleen were surrounded by family and friends who displayed the kind of loyalty one does not see often.

I'm glad I did.

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