Suburban couples pick unforgettable 11/12/13 to wed
It wasn’t superstition that prompted a River Grove couple to marry at the Rolling Meadows courthouse on Nov. 12, 2013.
It was sentiment.
Sequential dates figured prominently in the relationship of Charles Darcy and Victoria Rudnick, who met at a barbecue on 7/8/09 and wed on 11/12/13.
The couple arrived at the courthouse at 10:30 a.m., more than an hour before a judge was scheduled to officiate at their wedding.
“We wanted to make sure we were first in line,” said Victoria’s mother, Mary Rudnick of Des Plaines.
Victoria Darcy, 49, had other reasons for choosing such an auspicious date.
“I wanted him to remember,” said the bride, adding “I’ve been planning this for four years.”
The couple were visibly excited standing before Cook County Judge John Tourtelot, who joked “not yet” as Charles Darcy, 55, leaned in to kiss his bride before the ceremony concluded.
“A happy marriage means two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one,” said Tourtelot, who characterized marriage as the most important and solemn contract between two people and described the couple’s wedding rings as an “everlasting sign and symbol of the love you have for each other.”
Magdalena Hajdo and her groom Michael Murdza chose 11/12/13 for purely practical reasons.
“The anniversary is easy to remember,” said Murdza, whose nuptials at the Rolling Meadows courthouse were witnessed by about 10 family members and friends.
“She loved the idea,” Murdza, a dental student said of his new wife, a dental hygienist he met through work.
Candance Broadway, of Zion, and fiance Shaik Javeed had similar reasons for marrying Tuesday at the Lake County courthouse in Waukegan.
“My sister came up with the idea and I loved it,” Broadway said. “It’s easy to remember because I have a horrible memory.”
The first couple to marry at the courthouse that day, Broadway and Javeed planned to head for a honeymoon in Milwaukee shortly after the lunchtime ceremony.
Hajdo and Murdza say they’ll host a party for friends and family on Saturday.
Family members burst into applause as the couple kissed following the ceremony.
“Have a wonderful life,” called Tourtelot as they exited the courtroom.
Ÿ Daily Herald staff writer Lee Filas contributed to this report.