Diana Moreno heard about the 103.5 KISS-FM's wedding sweepstakes one morning and told her partner, Emma Rodriguez, that they should enter. The sweepstakes invited couples to submit their love stories and explain they should receive a free wedding.
Moreno and Rodriguez submitted their 100-word story and a photo of them with their two dogs, a Yorkie and a Pit Bull. Then, last Saturday, August 16, they and two other same-sex couples tied the knot amid vibrant decor and two-hundred guests at Carnivale, a Latin fusion restaurant in the West Loop. KISS FM's morning host, Christopher "Fred" Frederick, presided.
It all started when Frederick told his co-host, Angi Taylor, that he wanted to be the first radio personality to marry a same-sex couple after marriage equality became law in Illinois June 1.
"Really, it began as a celebration of union and love, and we asked all couples to submit entries, including same-sex couples, and it just happened that the people who won were all women-women couples," Frederick said.
Before the weddings took place, Frederick's co-host, Taylor, indicated that this ceremony was personally meaningful to her because her brother is gay.
"It's great to see these ladies here with their family and friends and know that they're supported by the radio station and Carnivale, who want to let everyone know that we support same-sex marriage," she said.
Along with Moreno and Rodriguez, the two other couples who were married were Deanna Gebbia and Jennifer Grove, and Yessenia Castellano and Genesis Matthiesen. The couples are all from the Chicago area.
Gebbia and Grove were engaged in 2010, and Grove's 9-year-old daughter acted as their flower girl. In her vows, Grove thanked her partner for accepting her daughter as her own. "With Chicago being one of the biggest gay and lesbian communities in the country, it's about time that we are able to get married here in Illinois," Grove said.
Castellano and Matthiesen have been together for 11 years and couldn't believe they were finally going to be married. "We met our sophomore year of high school in 2003 and are basically high school sweethearts." Matthiesen said.
The couples' 200 guests busily snapped photos as each woman processed down the steps to meet her partner at the front of the banquet hall festively lit by hot pink and chartreuse lanterns hanging from the ceiling.
"We have always been a supporter of the LGBT community and we're thrilled to have been a part of this historic time in a celebratory way," Jim Jablonski, Carnivale's general manager, told Windy City Times.
For Moreno and Rodriguez, who are in the process of closing on a house, the sweepstakes couldn't have come at a better moment. "Words really can't describe how I feel. Just so grateful, humbled, and blessed," Moreno said.