Lake View Couple Snags First Marriage License in 2016

Kinzy Frizzle and Dimitar Stamatov, both 26, of Lakeview, are married in the Cook County Clerk’s office by Judge Robert Balanoff Sr. after receiving the first marriage license in Cook County in 2016. | Office of Cook County Clerk

Kinzy Frizzle and Dimitar Stamatov arrived at the Cook County Clerk’s Bureau of Vital Records on Monday from their Lakeview apartment to grab a marriage license before work, a happy start to the week, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Little did they know, they would soon be issued Cook County’s first marriage license of 2016.

They received their marriage license soon after the Clerk’s office opened at 8:30 a.m. Monday, the first business day of the new year.

Wedding ceremony for first couple to receive marriage license in 2016

A judge waived the 24-hour waiting period so the couple could be married immediately in Clerk David Orr’s office by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Robert Balanoff Sr.

The two 26-year-olds knew they wanted to get married this year. “We expected a long line ahead of us but we thought we may as well come here on the first day,” said Dimitar. “We just can’t believe that we are the first of the year.”

Dimitar moved to Chicago from his native Bulgaria when he was 10 years old, and Kinzy moved to Chicago five years ago from Kelowna, British Columbia, to pursue her doctorate.

Kinzy, who works as an optometrist, and Dimitar, an electrical engineer, were introduced two-and-a-years ago by Kinzy’s classmate who happened to be one of Dimitar’s best friends when he was an undergrad student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

As is tradition, the Clerk’s office showered the newlyweds with a slew of prizes donated by local Chicago businesses. This year’s gifts include a complimentary weekend for two at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in downtown Chicago, a $100 gift certificate to Wildfire restaurant from Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, four VIP passes to the iO Theatre, a panoramic canvas print of the Chicago Skyline courtesy of Bryan Docter Fine Art Photography and a beautiful white and pink bouquet and boutonniere from LaSalle Flowers.

Clerk Orr also paid the marriage license fee of $60 and provided them with a colorful Commemorative Certificate.

“We’re holding a ceremony in British Columbia, in June,” said Kinzy. “For our honeymoon we’ll be traveling to Bulgaria to spend time with Dimitar’s family.”

A photo album of the event can be viewed on the Clerk’s website.

The Clerk’s Bureau of Vital Records issues all marriage licenses in Chicago and suburban Cook County. The office issued: 35,253 marriage licenses in 2015; 36,738 in 2014; 31,016 in 2013; and 32,292 in 2012. Additionally, 170 civil union licenses were issued in 2015.

Source: Cook County Clerk David Orr’s Office