Going to the Chapel

By
January 2019 View more

After meeting in downtown Naperville, this sweet couple married at nearby North Central College

Thanks to the popularity of taking wedding portraits before the ceremony, the time-honored tradition of a groom seeing his bride for the first time walking down the aisle has become more rare. But when Brent Flickinger, 34, and Erica Price, 26, married at North Central College’s Koten Chapel, the Naperville residents both wanted that old-fashioned reveal. “It was probably the happiest moment of my life,” Flickinger says. “I couldn’t hold back the happy tears.”

The couple said their vows in front of the chapel’s stunning stained-glass window, and instead of lighting a unity candle, they created a unity canvas. “We had our parents dip their thumbs in ink and make a heart, and then we each did one to connect the hearts,” Price says.

Their first dance to the acoustic version of “Latch” by Sam Smith recalled the couple’s early days of friendship after meeting as employees at Ted’s Montana Grill in downtown Naperville. “Back when we were just friends, we would always go to … Peanuts [Bar & Grill] after work. … There’s a jukebox and I would always play that song,” Price says. “Whenever Brent would hear it on the radio, he always said it reminded him of me.”

Their friendship blossomed and soon led to romance. Flickinger proposed in Lake Norfolk, Arkansas, on an annual summer vacation in 2017 with Price’s family. Price’s mother—Naperville magazine sales director Jenni Price—vacationed there with her family as a kid. “Now we all go with my cousins, aunts, and uncles,” Erica Price says. “That’s a super special place to me. And now we can bring our kids there when we go someday.”

Their reception at Prairie Landing Golf Club in West Chicago featured rustic walnut-toned wood and rose gold details, along with floral arrangements of white ranunculus and eucalyptus leaves. “It was everything that we expected,” Price says. “Everyone was dancing all night, and we had a photo booth that everyone just loved.”

Price now works as assistant general manager at Jackson Avenue Pub, and Flickinger is general manager of Front Street Cantina, just a block away on Jefferson Street in downtown Naperville. They honeymooned in Jamaica and enjoy going for walks and snuggling with their white pit bull, Lando.

WEDDING DETAILS
Venues Ceremony: Koten Chapel at North Central College, Naperville; Reception: Prairie Landing Golf Club, West Chicago
Bride’s attire Wolsfelt’s Bridal, Aurora
Bride’s accessories Shoes by Guilty Shoes, amazon.com; earrings from Francesca’s, Naperville; bracelet borrowed from a friend; veil borrowed from sister-in-law Annie Price
Hair and makeup Melanie Bauer and Jacki Cope of Amber Waves, Jessica McKane of LuxeSkin Med Spa
Bridesmaid’s attire Bill Levkoff
Groom’s and groomsmen’s attire Black Tie Formalwear, Aurora
Invitations Paper Source, Naperville
Catering and cake Prairie Landing, West Chicago
Music DJ Tony Ho
of Sounds Abound, Naperville
Florals Christine Plier of Town & Country Gardens, Bartlett
Rings Jared Galleria of Jewelry, Aurora
Transportation Party bus by Naperville Limousine; tuk-tuks by Tuk Tuk Naperville

Photos by Rebecca Haley Photography