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Mount Prospect wedding a neighborhood affair

Mount Prospect neighbors pitch in to make nuptials a community event

The 200 block of south Pine Street in Mount Prospect is known for its annual block parties, coordinated Christmas decorations and even holiday cookie exchanges.

But its latest neighborhood get-together took the cake. Literally.

On July 30, the neighbors all gathered in the middle of the street for a wedding, complete with 200 chairs set up for the ceremony, followed by a reception, dinner and dancing on a dance floor set up under a tent.

The bride, Susanne Lello, had grown up on the block, and her parents, Tony and Susan, still live there.

She married her high school sweetheart, Miles Osei, who led Prospect High School to three straight playoff appearances in football. The former quarterback went on to earn a scholarship to the University of Illinois, and he now teaches and coaches football at Wheeling High School.

Although the couple dated eight years, they only became engaged in January and, consequently, the odds seemed long for finding a banquet hall for a summer wedding.

Instead, they opted for what seemed more natural: having a block party-type wedding right in the bride's front yard.

"This was their dream," said the father of the bride as he attended to final details before the wedding ceremony.

The neighbors - every family on the block, residents in their 90s down to toddlers - were invited to the wedding, and they turned out in force to help pull it off.

There was a staging crew to set up the two bars, tent for the food and dancing, chairs for the ceremony, and tables for the reception.

They hung baskets of flowers around the tent and strung white lights in the trees, created centerpieces for the tables, before attending to the electrical wiring for the music.

"Everything here has been a team effort," said Dan Lello, brother of the bride. "The neighbors have been great."

It seemed as if they left no stone unturned. Tim McDermott, who lives immediately next door to the Lellos, helped in decorating the portable toilets, and he even pointed to a fire hydrant painted in white and decked out in a flowered wreath and veil.

"The fact that they got married on the block where she grew up speaks highly of the families in this neighborhood," McDermott said, "and of the kids themselves and how much they value family."

In part, the neighbors also were responding to the desire to make the wedding accessible for the mother-of-the-bride, Susan Lello, who is seriously ill. She had been a junior high science teacher at Winston Campus School in Palatine before becoming ill.

She has been at home the last four years, and for the last two years her husband has left his job to care for her.

"We wanted to get the wedding in while my wife could still enjoy it," Tony Lello said. "I think we got our wish."

Susanne Lello and Miles Osei's wedding was a celebration of community. Every family on the block - residents in their 90s down to toddlers - was invited and neighbors turned out in force to help put the event together and make it a success. Courtesy of Bob Burdick
High school sweethearts Susanne Lello and Miles Osei marry on the street in front of the home where she grew up in Mount Prospect. Osei, who led Prospect High School to four straight playoff appearances in football, teaches and coaches football at Wheeling High School. Courtesy of John Ward
High school sweethearts Susanne Lello and Miles Osei marry on the street in front of the home where she grew up in Mount Prospect. "This was their dream," the father of the bride said. Courtesy of John Ward
Susanne Lello dances with her father Tony after marrying Miles Osei on the street in front of the home where she grew up on the 200 block of South Pine Street in Mount Prospect. Courtesy of John Ward
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