First Couple of 2013 Marries In Cook County

Angela McKinney, wearing a white lace wedding gown, and Stephen Pyo, wearing a gray suit, arrived two hours before the Cook County Clerk's office opened on Jan. 2 in order to become the first couple to obtain a marriage license, and get married, in 2013.

Cook County Clerk David Orr performed the ceremony himself, and a judge waived the 24-hour waiting period, according to a statement from the Clerk's office.

Orr waived the $60 marriage license fee and provided the couple with donated gift certificates, including a complimentary weekend for two at the Palmer House Hilton; two tickets to "The Jungle Book," courtesy of Broadway in Chicago; and dinner for two at Frankie's Scallopine, a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant.

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Pyo, 47, a computer programmer, proposed to McKinney, 28, a nurse, on her birthday, Nov. 3, according to the statement. He arranged for the staff to pipe "Will you marry me?" in chocolate on her dessert plate.

"I love this part of my job," Orr said. "It's a special gift to marry couples in love, and I hope the legislature will soon extend the right to all couples."

The couple has not yet decided where they will reside. 

The clerk's office granted 32,292 marriage licenses in 2012.

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