From Jr High Dance to First Dance

Chad and Diana met in middle school, but didn't start having feelings for each other until their eighth grade literature class.

"Chad felt an instant connection and knew immediately that "I was the one," Diana says. "It took me until our eighth grade graduation dance to realize he was the one for me too. As we were dancing, I looked into his eyes and knew right then and there I felt something for him."

The pair started dating in high school and during their first date, visited an Evanston beach for a moonlight walk. Things didn't exactly go as planned that night.

"We smelled this horrible stench coming from the beach and realized we weren't alone, but surrounded by dead fish everywhere," Diane recalls. "We sure had a good laugh about it. Naturally, he waited to give me a kiss once he dropped me off at home."

While still in high school, the couple broke up and didn't hang out for a couple of years. But Chad was never far from Diane's mind.

"No matter who I was with or what I was doing, I always thought about him," she says. "He never left my heart."

Shortly after high school, a friend of Diana's decided to reach out and call Chad to let him know how much Diana missed him.

"We started dating right after high school and have been inseparable ever since," Diane says. "We've been together 12 years before marriage. We have survived most Hollywood marriages. It has been a long courtship, but I've enjoyed everything from graduating college together, getting our first real jobs and growing together as the adults we have become today."

When flappers, gangsters, swing dancers and classic detail meet, the results can be fantastic.

That was the idea behind Diana and Chad's 1920s-themed wedding, which showcased a hip combination of black, white and red colors. Diana wowed guests in her spellbinding Oscar de la Renta gown and custom veil. She wore a pendant loaned by her godmother that was blessed in a Bulgarian monastery. The couple exchanged vows at the majestic Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Chicago—the city's oldest Serbian Orthodox Church.

Diana's bouquet included a mix of different shades of red roses wrapped in ivory satin and crystals.

"I love red roses," she says.

The bride's affinity for red roses continued in the centerpieces, which featured a mix of red roses in various shades, as well as roses immersed in water. Martini glasses, crystals and feathers added a touch of 1920s glam to the centerpieces. Diana and Chad's cake boasted decadent chocolate mousse and red raspberry flavors, as well as a posh design in black, white and red colors. Red roses topped the tasty treat.

The couple designed a romantic ambiance by having the room draped in ivory fabric with up lighting that changed from purple for dinner to blue for dancing.

"We also created two upscale lounges to create a space for our guests to escape from the dancing lights to relax with their drink in hand," Diana says.

Tables at the reception were numbered by each year Diana and Chad had been together, with black picture frames with the year printed in vintage text and a photo of the couple from that time. A photo booth at the reception allowed guests to take home unique, entertaining mementos from Diana and Chad's wedding day.

To keep guests jumping, jiving and wailing into the night, the couple hired a Chicago swing band. For their first dance, Diana and Chad had the band play "The Way You Look Tonight."