Hospitals are fertile ground for romance on the small screen, but sometimes sparks fly there in real life, too. In 2010, Pennsylvania native Danielle Cichowic and South Korea-born Dr. John Chi met in the operating room at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a nurse and he was a surgical resident. “We were stuck in the same room together for many hours,” Danielle says. “One day after class he asked me out.” Their relationship bloomed in Philadelphia, then Cleveland, where the pair got engaged before moving to St. Louis last year.
This summer, the couple will have a quiet church ceremony at St. Clare of Assisi in Ellisville with two friends attending as witnesses. Afterward, they’ll head to Pennsylvania for a big ceremony and wedding at Hotel Hershey, the lavish hotel built by chocolate baron Milton Hershey in the 1930s. “I grew up about an hour from there, and John grew up two hours from there, so it’s a nice middle point,” Danielle says.
At the rehearsal dinner, the bride and groom will don traditional Korean attire for a Paebaek ceremony, a Korean marriage custom. The next day, they will exchange vows in the hotel’s garden, followed by a cocktail hour on the patio and reception in the ballroom. “It’s like the inside of a castle,” Danielle says. “We’re going for romantic and elegant, but still fun. The ballroom is gorgeous and we’re going to use lots of pastels and bright colors.”
Danielle and John will honeymoon in Napa, Calif. “We go every year, and we stay at Bardessono,” Danielle says. “Napa is my happiest place on earth. We love renting bikes and riding around between the wineries; the food is amazing.”
The bride and groom live in Ballwin with Pippa, their Australian shepherd. John is a Washington University facial plastic surgeon and Danielle is an internal medical nurse practitioner at Esse Health.
[resources]
Ceremony location | Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Penn.
Reception location | Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Penn.
Florist | Jeffrey’s Flowers and Accents
Photographer | New Chapters Photography
Dress Designer | Vera Wang
Honeymoon | Napa, Calif.
[wedding party]
Maid of Honor | Lindsay Pajakinas
Bridesmaids | Erica Strilbyckij, Katherine Bethel, Ashley Keppley
Best Man | Seong Chi
Groomsmen | John Kang
Bride’s parents | David & Donna Cichowic, Pottsville, Penn.
Groom’s parents | Minam Chi, Fredricksburg, Md.
Officiant | Dave Hong
By Stephanie Zeilenga
Photo by New Chapters Photography of Harrisburg, Penn.
