Couple To First Marry In Cook County In 2017 Receives Surprise
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago couple from the West Side is the first couple to say "I do" in the city in 2017.
31-year-old Charlotte Passley and 32-year-old Darnell Lane met while working together eight years ago and have been together ever since.
They were the first couple to apply for a marriage license in 2017.
Cook County Clerk David Orr waived the 24-hour wait period and married the couple right away. Orr, as he does every year, surprised the first couple to apply for a marriage license in 2017 with an immediate ceremony and gifts.
The couple actually wanted to get married Tuesday, and did not know about the usual 24-hour waiting period. Orr performed the impromptu, but very official, ceremony in his office. WBBM's Craig Dellimore reports.
Why did the two nursing home workers want to get married?
The couple said they have waited long enough and losing family members made them realize how important family was.
Charlotte Passley said she and Darnell Lane just woke up one day and decided to get married.
"It's time," Passley said. "Life is too short. And we lost a couple of people along the way of our relationship during the way, including my mother, so I just thought it was time for our kids to see us as a unit stop 'playing' house and become house."
The couple has four kids, ages ranging 12 to four, between the two of them.
The lucky couple received donated flowers, Eli's cheesecake and other goodies, a stay at Lowes Chicago Hotel, dinner at Michael Jordan's Steakhouse and more.
They plan to celebrate Tuesday night and said they are excited to show their marriage ceremony to their friends and family on TV.
Will the couple hold another ceremony for friends and family who missed this one?
No, said Passley. This is it, and it's been recorded
