St Lukes Lutheran Church

Wedding Rehearsal

Maggiano's Little Italy

Rehearsal Dinner

Armour House at Lake Forest Academy

Reception

Wedding

Ceremony

Winter

Our Wedding

It was a cold November evening (pre-COVID!) and both Mike and Joanna were attending a speed dating event (https://www.chicagofirstdates.com/ for anyone who's interested!). Joanna was a little reluctant to go, and was persuaded by her very dear friend Shivangi to attend, with an assist from Rani and Shelu (all in the wedding party). As it happened, Mike and Joanna met on the last round of the speed dating and ended up talking for 30 minutes. The first date (Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba) followed two weeks later, and they have been together ever since!

How we met 

Our Story

Photos

My older sister (just kidding) - my bestie and much, much younger sister :) Jessica has been hugely supportive of our relationship and engagement and has been performing her maid of honor duties, in addition to her critical care attending and "living her best life" duties, in style!

Jessica Kuppy

Keith and Mike met when Mike was practicing in Seattle and have been friends ever since. Keith is one half of a set of devious identical twins, a tough love physical therapist, and eternal Tom Brady and Patriots fan. 

Keith Boyd

Shivangi and Joanna have been BFF since 1996 when meeting in Commons West at UIC (go Flames, haha) - went to college, medical school, and out to residency in LA together! Shivangi also very persistently encouraged Joanna to go to that speed dating event :) It is very difficult to summarize almost 30 years of dear friendship into a few lines but suffice it to say - Shivangi is one of the kindest, most selfless individuals one could ever hope to meet! Shivangi introduced Joanna to the wonder of the beach vacation and actually figuring how to relax and unwind (without worrying about work!) She has been one of the biggest cheerleaders of Mike and Joanna, and is an amazing friend to both! (Although she loves Joanna just a little bit more 😉)

Shivangi Bhatt

Dave and Mike met in residency in Grand Rapids, Michigan where the nursing staff constantly mistook them for each other. Their plans to be roommates were thwarted when Dave married his wife, Jennifer. They still remain steadfast friends to this day. 

Dave Raffo

Rani and Joanna have been thick as thieves and partners in crime since 2011, when Joanna joined Rush as newly minted Pediatric Critical Care (PICU) attending and Rani showed her the ropes! Over the years, Rani and Joanna have indulged their love of international vacations (Istanbul, Riviera Maya, Turks and Caicos, anyone?) and Nordie's runs, in addition to being BFF and always supporting each other. 

Rani Ganesan

One of three excellent choices made by Mike's sisters, Jason has been a great brother-in-law, frequent B-movie viewing partner, and grillmaster extraordinaire!

Jason Burrows

Madhuri and Joanna first connected in 1996, when meeting in Commons West on the Honor College floor at UIC freshman year of college and have been BFF ever since. Madhuri and Joanna share a strong love of big-ticket concerts (Taylor Swift, Beyonce/Jay-Z, Adele, etc), exciting dining adventures, and the occasional beach vacation!

Madhuri Konanahalli

One of three excellent choices made by Mike's sisters, Ben has been a great brother-in-law, no-pass-line craps enthusiast, and semi-pro disc golf champion!

Ben Van Dusen

Nisha and Joanna met in 1996, became fast friends, and then roommates during sophomore year of college! Besties since then, Nisha encouraged Joanna to apply to Rush (where Joanna has been since 2011) and take an attending job. Nisha is the very definition of a "ride-or-die" friend; a fantastic companion for all forms of dining; amazing fun on the beach; and all-around dynamite human being! 🧨

Nisha Kakodkar

One of bride's best friends for years, Shelu accompanied Joanna on the infamous speed dating adventure and was an excellent wing woman (thanks Sheels!)  Shelu and Joanna share a common love of many things, including lighter topics such as fashion, celebrity gossip, and movie critiques; in-depth explorations of every topic under the sun (especially if it relates to the above, haha!) 

Shelu Bhandari

Tony is one of three excellent choices made by Mike's sisters! He has been a great brother-in-law, dog training mentor, and occasional sports injury consultant! Andrew, Mike's nephew, recently finished his football season just in time to serve as a groomsman. 

Tony (L) and Andrew (R) Catsaros 

Bestie for life; cousins; always together (despite the distance between Chicago and New York) since childhood; young adult years spent in NYC exploring the city and going on all kinds of adventures; world travel (Thailand, Israel, etc); always there for each no matter what! 

Devi Nampiaparampil

Mike's godson, community thespian, and minimalist camping expert. He attended and survived his first trip to Vegas - with his uncles and dad. 

Peter Burrows

Alex and Susie are Mike's niece and nephew and we are thrilled they will be serving as a ring bearer and flower girl, respectively :)

Alex (L), Ben (middle), Susie (R) Van Dusen

One of the bride's adorable nieces, we are very excited that she is assisting us as a flower girl🌸

Maya Buckler

The bride's niece and very excited flower girl! We are so happy she will be assisting us with her flower girl duties during our wedding!🌺

Akira Thaliath

Wedding Party

Q + A

Hotel with dedicated room block - planning shuttle service to wedding (Park Ridge) and to reception venue, as well as back to hotel in the evening. Please use the link to access our room block and discounted rates for the weekend.

Hilton Garden Inn Lake Forest Mettawa

Residence Inn by Marriott Chicago Lake Forest/Mettawa

For guests seeking another option, the Deer Path Inn was voted the #18 hotel in the world by Travel + Leisure Magazine in 2020; there is no dedicated room block or shuttle service here, but this hotel is a 10 minute drive from the reception venue with Uber/Lyft rides about $15 each way.

Deer Path Inn

WIndy City Limousine will be providing shuttle service for out of town guests/guests staying at block hotels to the wedding and from the wedding to the reception. The hotels will supply shuttle service from the reception venue back to the hotels starting at ~10 pm.

Joanna and Michael

Joanna and Michael

Q + A

Do I have to wear a tuxedo (for gentlemen)? It says "black tie optional".

Is there shuttle service the day of the wedding to either the wedding or reception?

Ladies: what do I wear?

How do I get to Lake Forest (block hotels) from the airport?