Celebrate love and friendship a decade in the making

Our first date was the most memorable first date of our lives. We spent an afternoon at 31st Street beach in Chicago together drinking wine, eating lunch, and walking along the lakeshore. We reminisced about our upbringings and our shared memories of the area we grew up at: Hazel Crest, IL. There isn't anything remarkable about this area besides the fact that we lived on the same street and rode the same bus stop during middle school. We could relate to each other while also respecting the fact that our personalities seemed to be opposites. At this time (and very much still to this day) Nia was a fiery, brave, impatient, and compassionate young woman, while Jordan was a quiet, methodical, and even keeled presence. Our opposing traits are what allowed us to find balance within our budding relationship, while juxtaposed against a world that we both found challenging and chaotic during those adolescent years. Who knew everything we needed all that time was right across the street for so many years and we barely even knew we existed? The time we took to work on ourselves and better ourselves, making mistakes and learning more has allowed us to get to this day. And now we are thrilled to share our happiness, love, and friendship we gained with you! Since our love story began with the beach, it's only fitting that we continue it there. Thank you for joining us, it means the world to us that you support our marriage. With love, The Pedens