A Chicago couple, on April 12, found themselves in the spotlight when their engagement was referenced in the video that officially announced Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid.
Jared Milrad and Nathan Johnson, who live in Uptown, were among myriad Americans depicted in the video who were preparing to undergo change of some sort, all of which led up to Clinton's stated change—her run for president.
"I'm getting married this summer to someone I really care about," Milrad, an attorney and community activist, said in the video. Johnson, who he met in 2008, works as a health-care consultant.
They initially didn't know what specific purpose the video was produced for, just that it had something to do with Hillary Clinton.
"A friend who works for an advocacy organization, Organizing for Action, reached out to us after hearing we were getting married," Milrad explained. "She said that her friend was working on a video about people undergoing big life changes. We'd been to a Hillary Clinton event, and she thought we'd be a good fit to talk about our upcoming wedding."
The wedding will be held in Montrose Harbor this summer, with the reception on the rooftop deck at Center on Halsted. They extended an invitation to Clinton, whose organization sent back congratulations but was obviously non-committal about an RSVP.
"We addressed it with a 'plus-one,' so she could include Bill, Chelsea or 50 Secret Service agents," Johnson said, laughing.
The video was "really special to the both of us," Milrad noted. "It'll be something to tell our kids and grandkids about, for a number of reasons. First, it's potentially the first female president, and second, it's the first time a same sex couple has been included in a presidential announcement in this manner."
Johnson added, "It sounds funny, but we were honored to be included as 'everyday' Americans. Ultimately the whole goal is to be ordinary like anyone else, walking our dog and holding hands in the video, along with all these other people who are going through life changes too."
The video also featured a Los Angeles-based lesbian couple, Christy Spitzer and Kassie Thornton, preparing for their wedding as well.
