Jenny McCarthy & Donnie Wahlberg

“I met Donnie when I was a guest on Watch What Happens Live in the fall of 2012. For some reason I thought he was married,” reflects celebrity and recent Chicagoland bride Jenny McCarthy. But, a year later, when her now-husband and all-around Hollywood hunk Donnie Wahlberg was booked to appear on her talk show, the celebrity did a little digging and found that her guest was certainly single. “Needless to say, I felt a strong connection.”

Donnie popped the question while the pair were spending time together in Turks and Caicos. Donnie included Jenny’s son Evan by asking him to deliver separate notes to his mother that read, “will,” “you,” and “marry.” “Then Donnie came out with a shirt on that said ‘me?’” says Jenny. In that moment, she admits, her eyes filled with joyful tears.

The couple married five months later on August 31 because “that was the available date at one of our favorite hotels in the world: Hotel Baker in St. Charles,” says Jenny. The pair immediately contacted their wedding planner and designer, Shuki Moran. “I told Shuki I envisioned a red rose wedding, with mirror-top tables and candles everywhere… When I walked down the aisle, it was the first time I had seen the room decorated. It took my breath away.”

Donnie, too, was heavily involved in planning the details and cuisine. He “wanted to make sure we combined Boston and Chicago,” says
Jenny about their surf-and-turf cuisine. And as for the cake, she gushes, “When I saw the cake for the first time, I nearly fell over.” The speeches by the couple and their respective sons made the evening extremely special. “We became one family that night.”

Vendor List:

Hotel Baker

Wedding Planner & Designer: Exceptional Events by Shuki Moran
Videography: 44 Blue Productions
Bride’s Gown: Ines Di Santo
Formalwear: Reiss
Stationery: Couture Ink
Cake: All Chocolate Kitchen
Catering: Chef David Hassan, Hotel Baker
Floral: Avant Gardenia
Entertainment: David Rothstein Music, Inc.; Rob Lewis Enterprises; DJ Stubbs

Brian Babineau Photography & Lilly Photography