Crowning Glory

By Lisa Arnett
January 2025 View more Better Together

At their traditional Serbian wedding, this couple gets the royal treatment

Eva Book and Eric Martin’s first date was one they’ll never forget, not just because it took place on Halloween but also during a freak snowstorm. “We thought it would make for fun people-watching, but we ended up being the only ones in the whole two-story bar,” Martin says.

Book was at first wary of Martin’s outerwear choice—“He was adorable, besides the fact that he was only wearing a windbreaker in a blizzard,” she says—but they ended up talking for hours and bonded over their respective large families, hers Serbian and his Irish-Catholic.

Though their early months of dating were interrupted by the pandemic lockdowns of spring 2020, their relationship flourished. In October, Martin told Book that he loved her the night before they left for a weekend together in New Buffalo, Michigan. “She didn’t say it back until the next morning, so I like to say I’m 12 hours more in love with her,” he says. Knowing marriage was their next step, together they custom-designed an engagement ring for Book, and Martin proposed in spring 2022.

With much of the groom’s family flying in from the East Coast for their August 17 wedding, they decided to welcome guests with drinks the night before at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora. The wedding day itself began with a Skup, a Serbian pre-wedding celebration, at Book’s parents’ home before their guests gathered at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Joliet. “In a Serbian ceremony, you get crowns—you are the king and queen of your own kingdom,” Book explains.

Next came cocktails, dinner, and dancing at Company 251 in Aurora. “I remember looking around, and everyone was talking and mingling, and the music was just perfect, and everyone was just having fun,” Book says. “Life passes so fast, we were so grateful to just be able to cheers each other and take it all in.”

They mini-mooned in New Buffalo and now have plans for a delayed honeymoon in Croatia and Italy for their first anniversary in August 2025. Rather than one of them taking the other’s name, the couple decided to join their last names and now go by Eva and Eric Book Martin. They currently live in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood and are eyeing the west suburbs for their next move.

Wedding Details

Reception venue
Company 251, Aurora

Rings
Jan Dee Custom Jewelry, Chicago

Bride’s attire
Gown by Grace Loves Lace, Chicago; shoes by Kate Spade New York

Bride’s hair
Madison Marie Hair Boutique, Plainfield

Groom’s attire
Custom gray suit by Bespoke Custom Clothing, Las Vegas

Florals
Flowers for Dreams, Chicago

Catering and cake
Movable Feast & Company, Aurora

Entertainment
Music By Design, St. Charles

Photographer
Tawny Ballard Photography, Chicago

Videographer
Marcos Singletary, Joliet

Photos: Tawny Ballard Photography