Wed on the Waterfront

By Lisa Arnett
View more Better Together

Celebrating with a gourmet meal and riverside views of the Fox

After matching on a dating app in 2021, Erin O’Connell and Trevor Pigney went on their first date at Old Town Pub in Geneva. A week later, they met for sushi at Sword Fish in Batavia for a second date, “and we’ve seen each other almost every day since,” O’Connell says. “Our conversation just flowed.” Within months, they had vacationed with each other’s families, and they moved in together in St. Charles later that year. “We’re both in our 30s, and we just had the same mindset,” she says. They’ve since moved to North Aurora, and Pigney proposed in August 2025.

They set the date: April 10, 2026, at The Graceful Ordinary, a downtown St. Charles restaurant right on the Fox River. “We were both on the same page about having a smaller wedding, and we didn’t really want a DJ, we weren’t about the dancing, we didn’t want the loud music,” O’Connell says. “We wanted our wedding to revolve around a really nice meal.” And indeed it did, from the butter-poached lobster topped with salmon roe to the chocolate hazelnut cake with milk chocolate mousse, dark chocolate crémeux, praline feuilletine, and white chocolate malt whipped cream. The sleeper hit of the menu might have been the Nashville hot chicken sliders, which Pigney convinced O’Connell to include in the hors d’oeuvres lineup. “They were the one thing I really wanted, and they were delicious,” he says. “We got so many compliments on them.” 

The night of their rehearsal and wedding, they stayed down the river in Geneva at Herrington Inn & Spa. Their future plans as newlyweds include a honeymoon cruise to Alaska. 

Wedding Details

Venue, cake, and catering
The Graceful Ordinary, St. Charles

Invitations
Zazzle

Florals
Town & Country Gardens, Geneva

Groom’s attire
Suit by Indochino, Oak Brook; tie and shirt from Men’s Wearhouse, Geneva

Bride’s attire
Gown from Veiled by ChaCha, Glen Ellyn

Bride’s hair and makeup
One Salon & Bridal Co., St. Charles

Entertainment
Cello and guitar duo from Moeller Music Events, St. Charles

Day-of coordinator
Noelle Bushman of Olive Fine Weddings & Events, Chicago

Photography
TWA Photographic Artists, Lombard

PHOTOS: TWA Photographic Artists