Bridal Shower

AmericInn Hotel

Rehearsal Dinner

The Barn at Hornbaker Gardens

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Spring

Please check out our Pampered Chef Registry at the bottom of our Registry section! There is a secure link that will take you to our Registry!

Our Wedding

Anthony (Tony) and I met back in 6th grade. We were 12 years old. He had just moved back into the area that school year, so I decided I wanted to be his friend. He sat in front of me in class for majority of the year. My mom used to pack me fruit snacks for snack time. Tony never had a snack, so I also gave him my cherry ones because the cherry ones are the best. Plus I thought he was cute. I remember when he asked me to be his girlfriend for the very first time. the bell rang and all the kids ran out of the classroom and into the halls to get their back packs. As I was getting my back pack, he walked up and whispered in my ear, "will you be my girlfriend?" I panicked. Without turning around I said, "I need to ask my mom." Of course my mom said yes, and we "dated" for 11 months during 6th and 7th grade. By dated, I mean we held hands twice. He was ready to advance our relationship, and I wasn't just yet so we parted ways in 7th grade.

How We Met

12/13/15Tony moved after 8th grade. I didn't see him again until 12/13/15. I slid in his DM's when I saw he was single again. I knew this was my last chance to see if we were truly meant to together. We texted for about 2 weeks before we decided to hang out in my parents basement. We were both seniors in Highschool. We were sitting on the old futon in the basement talking when he turned to me and held both of my hands. He looked into my eyes and asked "will you be my girlfriend?" I could feel the sweat building in our palms and the trembling in both of our legs. I quickly replied, "yes, of course!"

Chapter 1: Boyfriend and Girlfriend

01/18/25We got engaged in Big Bear, CA. Tony arranged a vacation for two of us to go to California with a few of his friends to see Mike’s House on the mountain. We had spent the day exploring a local street market in California. Then we spent the evening huddled together around a fire in the backyard of the house surrounded by some of his and my closest friends. That’s when he decided we should take a group photo, then got down on one knee taking me by surprise.

Chapter 2: Fiance

Our Story

Anthony & Courtney

Camping & Fishing

Family

Friends

Arizona Road Trip

Our First Cruise 2023

California 2025

Photos

My favorite color is pink. My favorite Disney movie is Cinderella. My favorite holiday is Christmas.

Ms. Courtney Kraus

My favorite color is Midnight Purple. My favorite Disney movie is Cars. My favorite holiday is 4th of July.

Mr. Anthony Dicharia

My favorite color is Crimson or Scarlet. My favorite Disney movie is Lion King 2. My favorite Holiday is Halloween.

Ms. Amber Kraus

My favorite color is yellow. My favorite Disney movie is Camp Rock. My favorite Holiday is Halloween. 

Mrs. Taylor Jarvis

Mr. Ali Cardenas

My favorite color is green. My favorite Disney movie is The Lion King. My favorite Holiday is Thanksgiving.

Mr. Thomas Borst

My favorite color is green. My favorite Disney movie is Tangled. My favorite Holiday is Halloween. 

Ms. Madelyn Stirn

Mr. Nico Scott

My favorite color is blue. My favorite Disney movie is Tangled. My favorite Holiday is Christmas. 

Ms. Samantha Hall

Ms. Erin Painter

My favorite color is blue. My favorite Disney movie is Lilo & Stitch. My favorite holiday is Christmas. 

Mr. Michael Greenwald 

My favorite color is Red. My favorite Disney movie is Treasure Planet. My favorite Holiday is Halloween.

Nick Vamvakas

Wedding Party

Q + A

Wedding Venue Details

This is the closest hotel to the wedding venue. A block of rooms is reserved. Once those rooms are gone, you can still reserve rooms at the hotel if there are some available. Other options include: Air BnB, VRBO, and surrounding hotels. The hotel has free breakfast. If you want to book only one night, you have to change the setting. It is default to 2 nights. We will be running a shuttle to and from this hotel to the venue on the day of the wedding. Please see the transportation tab for more details on the shuttle service!

AmericInn by Wyndham Princeton IL

Hotels & Lodging

Shuttle Service

• Complimentary • Shuttle ride between the venue and the hotel is 15 minutes • Shuttle Pick Up before the wedding at AmericInn Hotel leaves at 3:30pm • Shuttles after the Wedding will be 10pm, 11pm, 12am (midnight) • No Glass Allowed on the bus • We will have a cooler of beer on the bus

Transportation

Hiking! Beautiful views, peaceful walks. A little bit of a drive, but if you're in the area for the weekend, its a beautiful place to check out! There is a lot of history to learn about with Starved Rock.

Starved Rock State Park

This is another hiking spot. Not as popular as Starved Rock, but just as beautiful!

Matthiessen State Park

Delicious restaurant in Downtown Princeton, IL. This is close to the hotel and relatively affordable. We ate here after we toured the venue.

Anthony & Courtney

Anthony & Courtney

Things to Do

Starved Rock State Park

Matthiessen State Park

Spoons and Forks