Community Corner

Local Couple Hopes to Win Summer Dream Wedding

Lauren Armendariz, of Naperville, and Andrew Hansen, of Bolingbrook, are one of four couples hoping to win a summer wedding from ABC7's Windy City LIVE.

The last month has been a whirlwind for Lauren Armendariz and Andrew Hansen. The couple became engaged on May 5, which was exciting news in itself.

Then, Armendariz’s mother entered the couple in a contest to try and win a wedding with the help of ABC7's Windy City LIVE. After the couple did a phone interview, Armendariz and Hansen were chosen as one of the four couples to participate. 

Voting in the Windy City LIVE Summer Wedding Contest ends on May 31 and if they get enough votes they will win a dream wedding. The winners will be announced on the show on June 4. 

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Armendariz, 20, is from and Hansen, 25, is from Bolingbrook. The couple met as members of the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at Northern Illinois University, Armendariz said. The couple dated for about a year before becoming engaged. They are living in Sycamore while they continue their studies.

“It was definitely his personality,” that grabbed Armendariz’s attention, she said. “He was always making me laugh and smiling and his smile caught me.” 

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Hansen had served two tours of duty in Afghanistan before returning home. He received a scholarship to attend NIU and participate in the ROTC program there, Armendariz said.  He is studying international politics and she is studying Spanish. Both are on the dean’s list at the university. 

The couple has no idea how many votes it has received, but are hopeful, she said, adding family, friends and people they don’t even know have offered support. They will be on the TV show again on June 4 and hope they will be named the winners, she said.

Being on TV was a little nerve wracking, Armendariz said.

“We were really nervous beforehand, but after we were really excited,” Armendariz said. “It was a once in a lifetime chance to be on TV and talk about yourself.” 

The couple had planned to marry sometime next summer and winning the contest would push that date up, but moving the date up wouldn’t be that big of a deal, she said. Since they are on a tight budget, winning the contest would be a great opportunity.

The couple wants to marry before being commissioned, so they might stay together, she said. Armendariz and Hansen still have two more years of school left.

“We both work really hard and we motivate each other at school and we are on student budgets, and it’s hard to plan a wedding,” she said. “We are really excited.” 

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