Rehearsal Dinner

Villa Macri Ristorante

Welcome Party

The Brick

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

Reception

Our Wedding

We are both big sports fans so it was fitting that we met at a bar while watching NFL football. Heath is a big Green Bay Packers fan and rarely misses watching a game. The problem is that, living in Chicago, the Packers aren’t always on tv so he needs to go to a bar to watch the game. That day he decided to go to Joe’s on Weed St. He was standing near the bar watching the game when a girl started talking to him. He was a little surprised when someone started talking to him because people in Chicago typically aren’t very friendly to people wearing Packers jerseys. It turns out that girl was one of Emily’s friends Jen Violi. Emily and Jen were also there to watch football. We ended up hanging out and watching football together all day. We had a great time so we all decided to exchange numbers and planned to hang out again. Fast forward a few months and Heath received a text from Emily inviting him to Jen’s brother’s St. Patrick’s Day party. He lives along the Chicago river and you can see the green river dyeing from his place. Heath thought that sounded awesome and was excited to see Emily. Heath met Emily at the party and they had a great time. After the party Heath decided to ask Emily out on a date and she said “Yes”. For our first date, we went for a walk along the Chicago river to watch “Art on the Mart”. This is where they project art on the Merchandise Mart building. Heath and Emily talked for hours and both had a great time. The next year and a half consisted of going to Cubs, Blackhawks and Bulls games, exploring new restaurants, having pool parties and of course Emily’s favorite weekly activity, playing trivia at Butch McGuires. Finally in the Fall of 2024, Heath decided to propose. It was a Wednesday night and Heath made reservations at our original go-to date spot, Gilt Bar. Normally we would be heading to trivia so Emily knew something was up. After we finished dinner, Heath asked Emily if she wanted to go for a walk along the river. It was a perfect fall night outside and the city was all lit up with all of the downtown lights. We started walking and once we got out to the spot where we had our first date, Heath got down on one knee and asked Emily to marry him. Emily, of course, said “YES”! Then Heath had another surprise. He said “let’s go have a celebratory drink at the London House rooftop”. Once we got there, Emily was surprised and happy when a big group of our Chicago friends were there to help celebrate!

Our Story

Photos

Meredith Clark

Benna Walker

Janey Cunningham

Jen Violi

Eric Jorgensen

Alex Walker

Max Clausen

Matt Sparks

Hayes Walker

Billie Walker

Wedding Party

Q + A

We have a hotel room block here for $179/night. Call and mention Walker Wedding Room Block to lock in your reservation. Rooms can also be booked online with the website link below. All rooms must be booked by 7/2/25 to receive the discounted rate.

Hilton Garden Inn South Bend

We have a hotel block here for $179/night. Call and ask for Walker Wedding Room Block. Reservations can only be booked by phone. All rooms must be booked by 7/2/25 to receive the discounted rate.

The Inn at Saint Mary's

Guest shuttle will begin at 3pm at the Inn at Saint Mary’s. The Hilton Garden Inn is right next door to the Inn at Saint Mary’s, so pick up at the Inn at Saint Mary’s will accommodate both hotels. Guest shuttle services will be provided from the Brick back to the Inn at Saint Mary’s/Hilton Garden Inn beginning at 9:00 and will last until the end of the reception around 11pm. An announcement will be made when the final shuttle is leaving.

Emily & Heath

Emily & Heath

Registry