Couple engaged 3 years ago are Cook County's 1st to get married in 2023

CHICAGO (WLS) -- After more than a decade together, Daniel Ferguson and Mandy Fila finally tied the knot.

"We've know each other for a long time, probably since our early 20s, and been together for about 13 years and just ready to keep moving forward," Fila said.

The 42-year-old diabetes educator and the 47-year-old electrician became the first couple in Cook County to get married in 2023.

"We were planning on it for three years, but the last couple years it really didn't make sense to have something," Ferguson said.

Although Ferguson proposed a few years back, the couple decided this would be the year they would get married.

"It was just a big surprise," said Emily Ferguson, the couple's 9-year-old daughter.

So, along with over a hundred other couples, Fila entered last week's lottery drawing by the Cook County Clerk's office for the county's first marriage license of the new year, never expecting to actually win.

"He's the best son in law now!" said Marge Fila, the bride's mother.

For the first time in two years, Clerk Karen Yarbrough performed the first in-person ceremony of the year at her office. She's the only clerk in Illinois with the ability to perform marriages.

"This is one of the highlights of the year," Yarbrough said.

The couple, along with their two children and lots of family and friends, celebrated their love story some 20 years in the making.

"I've been waiting for this a long time," said Marianne Ferguson, the groom's mother.

As a wedding gift from the county, the newlyweds received their marriage license for free and other items.

In the meantime, they're going to celebrate this wonderful moment with their family and friends as they start the next chapter of their lives.