:Vocalo.org

Thursday, June 25  at 5:30pm, On-Air Wedding 

Lindsey Bauer and Kevin Adank got married in our cameo studio on the ground floor of Navy Pier, in full view of passers-by-- with a national audience listening.

They were the winners of a month-long contest, selected by our panel of judges for having the most charming and moving tale of romance among our contestants. 

Their prize included a wedding cake from Tonya's Patisserie, salon services from Brandi Anderson of Bella' Amore Weddings, a $1,000 gift certificate from Albert's Jewelry, and a bouquet and boutonniere from LaSalle Flowers.

See below for a play by play of the prep, pre-interviews, wedding and party!  And listen to the story that won them the prize.

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After the Ceremony....

  The Ceremony

6:10: Kevin and Lindsey at ceremony

6:01: The couple's first kiss...

6:00: Kevin and Lindsey at the altar

5:50: The beautiful bride walking down the aisle with her mother...

5:46: Kevin waiting for Lindsey to walk down the aisle, all smiles...

5:45: Kevin and mother, walking preparing to walk down the aisle

 5:38: Minister Claude preparing to marry Lindsey and Kevin

5:35: Lindsey with her soon to be sister-in-law, ready to walk down the aisle

5:30: Erik laying out the aisle...

 5:20: Chris and Lloyd running through the music before the ceremony...

 T-30 minutes: The beautiful wedding cake in position at the Cameo Studio...

4:45: Lindsey just ready to add her beautiful dress...

 4:15pm Groom and his Sister - Dressed and ready to go!

4:06: Lindsey and Kevin's mothers bonding before the wedding...

 4:00: Brandi, the hair/makeup stylist, getting Lindsey ready for her big day...

 3:00: Maid of Honor, Trina, giving the bride a pre-wedding snack...

 3:30pm Claude and Lindsey - the Minister and Bride

3:00pm Family in the HOUSE

2:45pm In Studio - Kevin and Lindsey arrive and get a pre-interview in the studio.

2:30 pm: Brandi Arrives to do Hair and Makeup

1:30 pm: Dress Arrives

 1:10pm Musician's Practice: the specially selected tunes of the bride and groom.

12:30pm Flowers: Thank you LaSalle Flowers for the beautiful arrangements!

 4 Hours to Go: The Vocalo gang put a few more wedding touches on the studio

 Top of the hour: Where close family will sit for the wedding in the ABC Studio...

T-4 1/2 Hours: Taping marks and shaking out table skirts...

 High Noon: Preping the Anne Brodie Cameo Studio for the wedding

 Morning Shift: Tom and Shantell talk to the Groom's Sister.

 Morning Shift: Tom and Shantell interview Violet who was entered into our wedding contest and didn't even know it!

8:30 Pick up the Cake from Tonya'sHere Tonya is putting on the finishing touches on the cake for the event. Thanks Tonya's Patisserie!

When Lindsay met Kevin, he fixed her bike, and she said, "I'm gonna marry that guy."  She was eleven.

All these years later, Steve asked them, "Yeah, but why should we pick you?"

... And then came the day our judges decided who would get married here.

They heard the story that Lindsey had called in, and they heard that snippet of Steve's interview with them... and Steve did his part to help them make their pitch:

The judges had their say on the spot:

And at the end of the hour, Dan added up the points the judges had assigned to each couple.  We called the winning couple:

 And got voicemail.

Luckily, Lindsey called back about three minutes later. 

 (Her mom called in about 10 seconds after we put Lindsey on the phone.  Nice!)

Lindsey and Kevin will come to our studios on Wednesday the 24th to collect a check made out to the county clerk’s office for their wedding license, and we’ll be counting down to the big event all day on Thursday June 25th. 

Meanwhile, you can start sending them advice about married life-- by writing your comments at the bottom of this page, calling 'em in to 888-635-1112, or tweeting them @vocalo. 

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The story so far:

Seven couples called in to tell us why they should be our lucky pair, and we recruited a trio of expert judges to tell us which story was the most charming.  

* Brandi Anderson of Bella' Amore has planned at least a hundred weddings, and in her capacity as a hair and makeup artist has had last-minute heart-to-hearts with more than a hundred brides in the moments before they've walked down the aisle. 

* Pia Berdoukas Collins has crafted and conducted more than 200 custom-tailored wedding ceremonies for Chicago-area couples in her role as a wedding celebrant. 

* Chuck Williams-- a.k.a. vocalero chucwill, a West Side native, has been married for more than 32 years to his childhood sweetheart.  Earlier this year, he told us the story of his parents' whirlwind courtship. 

They judged the stories in three categories:

-- Best story:  Twists and turns ("Holy moly!  No way!")

-- Best story:  Heartstring-tugging ("Awwww!  No waay!")

-- Best storytelling:  Style  ("Hey, tell me another one!")

The judges made their decisions live on-air on Friday, June 19. 

Lindsey and Kevin took top place, but all of the contestants definitely had their charms.  Check out their stories:

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Yael and Josh were set up by their families.  And they almost split up after three years-- he wasn't ready to get married.  Until he was.  Also, there's the python.

They told Tom a little about their animals:

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She was the girl next door, and she invited him over for a party a couple of nights after Christmas.  Turned out, he was the only guest.  That was a dozen years ago.

Tom asked Mike what made him ready to take the plunge now:

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Grace came to Navy Pier to audition for ABC's American Inventor TV show. While standing in line for 14 hours she met Jimmy, one of the security guards for the production. His partner asked Grace if she would join them for dinner while they were in town filming, and the rest was history. This is the third marriage for both of them, and Grace, who seems very in love, said she never knew what the phrase "third time's the charm" meant before she met Jimmy.

And from what they told Luis-- or didn't--  they must have had quite a first date:

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He surprised her with a ring at the end of a day in scenic Genoa, Wisconsin-- the setting for her favorite TV soap opera.

But he had already won Christine's heart.  She tells Bibiana the story:

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He moved to Iowa for her and their love survived.  But they can't agree on anything when it comes to planning a wedding.

Luis got into it with them...

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When an online dating service set her up with a nerd, she thought there wouldn't be a second date.  Until she met him. 

Luis asked how she decided to even go on date #1:

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That's it for now!  Tune in on the 19th to hear the results and come back on the 25th for the big day.  And check this page for photos and updates over the next week.

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It's too late to enter-- June 17th was the cutoff-- but here are the terms, as originally posted here.

Here’s what you get:  

*  Someone licensed—-and awesome-- to administer your vows

*   Music by our charming house band

*   The MADD skillz of one of our on-air hosts as master/mistress of ceremonies  

*   Hair and makeup for the bride 

*   Cake     

*   A primo location on Chicago’s Navy Pier, and…

*   A potential worldwide audience of zillions!

… and we’ll chip in to get you the marriage license. Can't beat that with a stick.

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Here’s what you’ve gotta do to get it:  

1. Start by answering a few questions. 

2. Call 888-635-1112 and tell us why we should host your wedding.

3. Save the date.

4. Wait by the phone.

We will select the winning couple by Friday, June 19.

If we pick you, we’ll need you to come back to our studio on Monday, June 22:  We’ll put you back on the air for a minute to get everybody excited about the big day, and we’ll give you a check to take to the County Clerk’s office to pay for your wedding license.

Then come on back for your special day on Thursday June 25!  The wedding will be live from the Anne Brodie Cameo Studio, right across from the world-famous Billy Goat Tavern. 

Sound like fun? To get started fill out this form.

* More options and hints here.

See Official Rules.