The Wedding Story of Andrew and Christopher Hillak

Photos ByJosephiney Photography

Written By

Carri Fras

Date

November 21, 2018

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Like many couples today, Andrew and Christopher met on a dating website and spent a significant amount of time chatting online before going on their first date. Christopher says, “Over the next several months, we continued to do life together and take steps in our relationship. Andrew met my parents over lunch in March and then spent Easter with my family (I was so nervous about that first meeting but he handled it like a pro!). I also took him to visit my 102-year-old great-grandma so that they could meet. Gertchie thought that ‘Andy’ was a very nice boy.”

Christopher’s proposal was quite unique. He says, “I had no idea how I was going to propose. We had an upcoming trip planned for Irish Fest in Milwaukee, and I thought I might do it there along the lake. But I felt like Andrew was starting to anticipate that. So the week before the trip, I gave Andrew a Coach wallet. Inside the wallet was a metal card that was engraved with our photo on one side and a message on the other side. The message written in Irish Gaelic said, 'I love you. Will you marry me?' and had my signature. Andrew had to use Google Translate to figure out what the message said, and I was next to him with tears streaming down my face. I then gave Andrew the ring and he said 'yes!'."

Lucky for Christopher, his background is in marketing and event planning. He says, “I started a spreadsheet with multiple worksheets to organize all of the details. We determined what aspects of the wedding were the most important to us (1. Photographer, 2. Venue, 3. Caterer) and nailed down those vendors and details first. I also put together the liturgy and music for the wedding and then met with my priest to review the details and get his approval.”

Andrew and Christopher loved the modern, masculine feel of The Brick. They also had the flexibility to design the space to their tastes and bring in their own caterer.

“Andrew and I determined that photography was the most important thing to us for the wedding and where we would spend money,” says Christopher. “Josephiney Photography was recommended to me by a former colleague. Joanne has done their wedding and family photos which were beautiful!”

The florals featured a great mix of Bells of Ireland and white ranunculus with orange berries.

The kilts were inspired by the couple’s family ancestry. Christopher says, “My family ancestry is Irish (Kelly clan) and Andrew’s is Scottish (McLean clan). He already had his family tartan, but I didn’t have mine. I had met a lady at the Michiana Celtic Festival that wove fabric for tartans, but I couldn’t remember her name. I mentioned this to a friend and she let me know that there was someone at South Bend Farmer’s Market that did this. Turns out, it was the same person! I took Nancy from A Wee Bit Warped a photo of what my family tartan looked like. She verified the colors through the kilt registry and made the fabric for my kilt. She also made additional fabric for Andrew’s tartan. This was then shipped to a lady in the Detroit area that made the kilt out of the fabric. She also made bow ties that were half the Kelly tartan and half McLean. They were then tied together which signified our wedding!”

Christopher wore owl cufflinks as a nod to his 104-year-old great grandmother (who was unable to attend the wedding) because owls are her favorite animal. He says, “We went and visited her the afternoon of the wedding to get photos and so that she could help me put the cufflinks on."

Christopher also prides himself on doing all of the wedding planning. He says, “We purchased the candle centerpieces from IKEA, did the seating chart board and set-up and decorated the reception space.”