Love Connection

By Lisa Arnett
April 2023 View more Better Together

A Naperville couple chose Danada House for their wedding day

Emily Oprins, 32, and Tom Cruger, 30, met in 2016 when a mutual friend introduced them. After they started dating, they realized they had unknowingly been in each other’s orbit for years. “We had a number of near misses,” says Cruger, who grew up in Sugar Grove and works as an accountant at Spark Hire in Northbrook. “We even had dinner together once at opposite ends of the table.”

Years later, after deciding to get married, they knew just who to ask to officate the ceremony, held last Septemeber 24 at Danada House in Wheaton: that mutual friend, Kate Even, who agreed to be ordained for the occasion. Cocktail hour was the groom’s favorite part of the day. “Moving around and through Danada House, it was so pretty to go from the outside porch by beautiful trees into a library, and we even went upstairs at one point,” he says. “It was just cool to hop around the whole house.”

Partying with their flower-girl niece was another highlight. “She was just under 2, so we had no idea if she’d even make it to dinner,” says Oprins, who grew up in Glen Ellyn and works in marketing and graphic design at CannonDesign in Chicago. “She danced her little butt off until the last song at midnight and then she fell asleep immediately as soon as she was picked up. She was the life of the party.”

For the honeymoon, the groom planned a weeklong escape to the Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson, Arizona. “We relaxed at the pool, went on a hike, we stargazed and ate a lot of really good food,” he says. They’re currently settling into newlywed life in their Naperville home and enjoying bicycling together on nearby trails. “We live right near Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve where there are beautiful paths to bike,” Oprins says. “We are obsessed.”

Wedding Vendors

Venue
Danada House, Wheaton

Catering
My Chef Catering, Naperville

Planner
Victoria and Dan Schultz of Wedding Whisperer, Naperville

Bride’s attire
Stella York gown from the Crystal Bride, Geneva; Kelly & Katie shoes from DSW.com; Keds x Rifle Paper Co. sneakers from keds.com; Nadri earrings from Nordstrom

Bride’s hair and makeup
Jojo’s Hair Studio, Naperville; MXA Beauty Bar, Wheaton

Bridesmaids dresses
Azazie.com

Groom’s and groomsmen’s attire
Men’s Wearhouse, Aurora

Invitations
Minted.com

Florist
Prairie Honey Floral Studio, Lombard

DJ
An Enchanted Evening, Rolling Meadows

Cake
The Quintessential Cake, Wheaton

Rings
Dimend SCAASI, Chicago

Photography
Being Joy Photography, Carol Stream

Photos courtesy of Being Joy Photography