This beautiful wedding was catered by Paramount Events! Thanks for the shoutout, Splash!
Ever After: Anjelica Bannos and Erich Totsch
By Annabeth Carlson on July 7, 2015
Family has always played a big role for newlyweds Anjelica Bannos and Erich Totsch. Both born and raised in Park Ridge, the couple were introduced by Bannos’ cousin at a party — and five years later, their families helped plot their engagement during a trip to New York City. Bannos thought she was attending her brother’s cooking event but, en route, Totsch suggested they stop by the stoop of her old apartment in the West Village. Totsch pretended to call Bannos’ dad about the dinner plans until the street was empty, then he got down on one knee. “I kind of just blanked — it was very unexpected!” Bannos says. It began snowing right after he proposed, making the scene even more surreal. Immediately after Bannos said yes, they joined her family at a bar around the corner to celebrate with burgers and beer.
Bannos, a makeup artist, and Totsch, an insurance consultant at E.J. Coyne & Company, Inc., tied the knot April 25 at Ignite Glass Studio (401 N. Armour) in an intimate ceremony in front of 200 friends and family. Totsch’s parents’ friend officiated and Bannos’ mother and father walked her down the aisle. The bride said she even felt the presence of her late grandparents — she held her Yiayia’s handkerchiefs while exchanging handwritten vows. But it was one of the flower girls, Totsch’s two-year-old niece Gianna, who made the biggest statement at the ceremony: “She’s shy and didn’t want to walk down the aisle, but as soon as she saw my sister-in-law at the end, she just sprinted,” Bannos says. “Then during the ceremony, when the priest was talking, she interjected at the most perfect times. It was so funny because you couldn’t have ever planned it.”
Both the ceremony and reception were held in the studio’s main room, a warehouse-like space that Jeffrey Foster from Event Creative decorated with blush tones, metallics, white and pops of greenery. The food — mini tacos, ribeye “the size of your head” and truffle mac ‘n’ cheese — was served family-style to reflect relaxed Sunday dinners. “It was just one big family dinner,” Bannos says. “Everything was beautiful in the details, but it was casual too.” After the feast, the reception became a huge dance party with tunes from Fig Media DJ Megan Taylor — and guests didn’t leave the dance floor all night. “That’s how we wanted it. … You just felt the happiness and love in the air.”
The food and festivities may have left the couple on cloud nine, but the most memorable moment for Bannos was when Totsch’s sister’s bandmate sang and played an acoustic version of “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles during the ceremony. “There was so much going on that day and I remember walking down the aisle to that song and … I just saw [Totsch]. It was pure magic.”
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