Chicago Couple Becomes First To Tie The Knot With Zoom Ceremony

CHICAGO — The first wedding held in 2022 in Cook County wasn’t a formal affair and lasted just a matter of minutes. But the brevity of the online ceremony didn’t take away from the significance of the occasion, which Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough hopes lasts a lifetime filled with joy and happiness.

Dressed in polo shirts in a nondescript indoor setting in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, Jake Harris and Justin Luna exchanged vows Monday morning. The couple was selected by lottery as the first in Cook County to receive their marriage license in 2022 and according to Yarbrough's office, is the first same-sex couple to win the lottery.

Unbeknownst to Luna, his partner of almost seven years was planning to propose on New Year's Eve before Harris learned by email on Dec. 28 that they had won the Zoom wedding. It actually marked the second time Harris' plans to ask Luna to marry him were ruined, after the start of the coronavirus pandemic postponed an anniversary trip to Japan in 2020 when Harris was planning to pop the question.

Monday's ceremony made up for it.

"It was kind of a like a Hail Mary thing, hoping I would win," Harris, 28, told Patch on Monday about entering the lottery without telling Luna.

"A week ago, neither of us realized we would be married and so it kind of surprised us both, but it was definitely a welcome one."

For the second straight year, the county’s first wedding was held via Zoom due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The online ceremony ended up being a perfect setting, as Luna is scheduled to undergo a stem cell transplant Jan. 12 as part of his treatment for leukemia, which he has been fighting for the past two years with chemotherapy treatments.

Harris and Luna, 29, won a drawing to be recognized as the first licensed couple in the county to receive their marriage license and have their wedding officiated by Yarbrough. The ceremony was broadcast live on the clerk’s office Facebook page.

Luna said he was surprised when he saw the email, which turned into an impromptu proposal in which Luna asked Harris if the whole thing was for real. Harris said he got the idea initially of applying after seeing a story on a local newscast about the lottery drawing.

"It is if you want it to be," Harris said.

"I thought he was just playing a trick on me, honestly," Luna said Monday.

The couple, wearing blue and black polos, respectively, became legally married after Yarbrough instructed them to face one another and look each other in the eye. After asking Luna if he chose Harris as a lawfully wedded husband — which was met with a brief delay before Luna responded with an “I do” — Yarbrough joked about the timing of the two-word acceptance.

“I was wondering,” Yarbrough said, drawing giggles from both grooms.

Luna said in the excitement of the moment that he wanted to make sure Yarbrough was finished with the vows before he answered.

Harris was much quicker in his response after Yarbrough asked him the same question and whether he committed to love and keep his new husband through health, sickness, prosperity and whatever the couple’s future may be.

When Harris responded immediately, the clerk gleefully praised the response.

“You said it a little quicker,” Yarbrough said. “That was great.”

“Today certainly marks the beginning of a commitment that promises to have no end,” Yarbrough continued. “The vows that you exchanged today will stand as a sign of your everlasting faith and love for each other. May they always remind you of the solemn promises that you made today and keep you faithful all of your lives.”

By being selected as the first Cook County couple to be married in the new year, Harris and Luna received a number of gifts from the county, including steaks and lobster tails from Whittingham Meats, a sparkling wine basket and champagne flute from Cooper’s Hawk Winery, gift cards from Eli’s Cheesecake, The Chopping Block, Jackbox Games and the Laugh Factory as well as flowers from LaSalle Flowers.

Once declaring them legally married, Yarbrough asked, “How does that feel?”

Like the ceremony — which clocked in at under 3 minutes — the response was short.

“It feels great,” both Luna and Harris said, almost in unison.

“If you want to salute your groom, you can do that,” Yarbrough said. “Come on — big hugs, something here. OK, kisses.”

With that, and with no questions from media members assembled on the Zoom call, Harris and Luna started their life as a married couple — officially as the first to be united in 2022.

“You guys are up for this,” Yarbrough said. “You’re kicking it off real good …. may you share a lifetime of happiness together."

For the new married couple, Luna and Harris hope it's just the start of a long life together. At some point, the couple hopes to hold an in-person ceremony or celebration for their friends and family in Chicago and Nashville, where Luna is from. But for starters, Monday's ceremony was magical.

"I feel like it's a great start," Luna told Patch. "With the stem transplant, we're kind of starting all over, and so I just kind of felt like this was a great kickoff to 2022. It's definitely a great way to lift our spirits for sure."