Road to the Altar

By Lisa Arnett
April 2024 View more Better Together

A classic coupe highlighted this couple’s wedding celebration

As it turns out, first impressions aren’t everything—or at least that was the case for Shalonde Oglesby, 53, when she met her now-husband, Anthony Gatewood, 60, 15 years ago. The two had been briefly introduced by mutual friends, but when Gatewood picked her up in a flashy sports car for a first date at Navy Pier, she nearly wrote him off. “I’m getting into the car thinking, ‘This guy, he’s showing off,’ ” says Oglesby, an appeals officer for the U.S. Department of the Treasury. “ ‘This is going to be a nothing date, so let’s just get it over with, and I can move on with my single life,’ ” she recalls. But as their conversation flowed, Oglesby realized she had him all wrong. He was equally enamored with her, and they were soon inseparable. “Everything and anything, we do together,” says Gatewood, a former master sergeant with the Bellwood Police Department who now works for the U.S. Marshals Service. Over the years they’ve enjoyed traveling together but also delight in the daily grind. “When we do something as simple as go to the grocery store together, it’s literally fun,” he says.

For this Bellwood couple’s friends and family, their October wedding at Morton Arboretum seemed like a long time coming. Gatewood was upfront with Oglesby that he didn’t want to get married until he retired from law enforcement. Marriage wasn’t a priority for Oglesby, either. “It wasn’t a big deal to me because I felt the relationship was really solid and that mattered to me more than anything,” she says. So on Christmas in 2022, when Gatewood pulled out a jewelry box, Oglesby assumed it was earrings. She was truly shocked when he dropped to one knee.

On their wedding day, Oglesby turned the tables and was able to give her groom a big surprise. After getting ready at Hotel Arista in Naperville, they headed to the Arboretum, where Gatewood stumbled upon his dream car—a 1963 Corvette Split-Window Coupe—parked out front. The bride’s sister (who deserves a shout-out for all her help with wedding planning) had found a local museum that agreed to let them rent it for the day. “I felt like I was on an episode of Punked,” Gatewood says. “I looked over at [Shalonde], and she was just smiling. We didn’t get to celebrate my 60th birthday since we were so busy preparing for the wedding, and this car was made in the year I was born.”

After a moving ceremony from their longtime pastor, it was time to hit the dance floor. “When couples plan weddings, they have all these visions and they want to try and create that magic,” Oglesby says. “We knew that we just wanted it to be about love. We love each other and we wanted all the people in our lives who we loved and who loved us to just be together and have fun.”

Wedding Details

Venue & catering
The Morton Arboretum, Lisle

Bride’s attire and accessories
House of Brides, Lombard; Badgley Mischka shoes from Zappos

Bride’s hair & makeup
A’Nu Salon and Jolie Simply Beautiful, Chicago

Bridesmaids’ attire
David’s Bridal

Groom’s attire and accessories
Tuxedo from Agriculture Custom Clothier, Chicago; shoes from Allen Edmonds

Groomsmen’s attire
Men’s Wearhouse

Rings
Donna Jewelry Co., Chicago

Florals
Southside Blooms, Chicago

Entertainment
Cellist Ayanna Williams; guitarist Edward Vaughan; DJ Duerell Jones of Spark Entertainment Group

Cake
Rachael Watson Photography Inc., RWP Associate Cassie Lacina

Car rental
Klairmont Kollections Automotive Museum, Chicago

Photography and videography
Jermaine Horton Photography, Aurora

Photos: Jermaine Horton Photography