Last Saturday was a day frozen in time as I experienced a full-circle moment as I sat and watched my next-door neighbor of 20 years, Jason Lahr, marry his college sweetheart Erin O’Connor, whom he courted for more than seven years.

When the Lahr family moved in 20 years ago, they had two children. Jason was 6 and Lindsay was 4. About four years, later Kelly was born. Our families slowly connected, and we enjoyed the pleasure of watching our children grow up together and develop a true next-door-neighbor relationship. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it is having eggs, sugar, butter, advice and a shoulder to cry on available for one another on the coldest winter day at a moments notice. We shared in our children’s accomplishments and worried about them if something went wrong.

As Jason said his vows, I thought of the little squirt who tried in vain to be included in the basketball games on the block. And then I would be surprised when I hadn’t seen him during the winter and he appeared at my door 6 inches taller. His accomplishments are many, but being a good neighbor will always stick out in my mind.

Their wedding was held at a unique banquet hall I did not know about so I am letting any future brides and grooms in on this. Café Brauer is located in Lincoln Park Zoo, just north of the Farm-In-The-Zoo. The pavilion building this café is housed in was built in 1908 and has served as a dining hall, cafeteria and beer garden. It was designated as a Chicago landmark in 2003. It is available to rent for special events such as weddings. What intrigued me about their selection was that they could hold the ceremony and reception at the same site. The convenience was really great. Their Web site is www.cafebrauer.com.

When we arrived, we climbed stairs to the second floor, went through a reception line and were directed to an outside wing overlooking the ponds of the zoo. Chairs were set up for the 175 people attending the wedding to witness the wedding ceremony. At 5 p.m. sharp, the ceremony started with touching stories of the couple’s courtship and words encouraging this union. The weather was perfect, which made everything run smoothly. We also enjoyed this room, which had a great view of the city, in the evening.

The room set up for the wedding reception was ideal. The tables were on the outside with a huge circle for dancing left in the middle. The DJ was fantastic. The music he played that night was light jazz and music mostly from the 1970s and 1980s, which I assume are what the bride and groom picked out. What I liked about him was that he gave us a chance to mingle and talk after dinner without blaring music. It was soft enough to hear background music and hold a conversation with someone. He had the dance floor rockin’ all night after that, eventually winding down with “American Pie” as the finale. All ages loved it.

It seems like only yesterday Jason told me about his new girlfriend. Now, he is a married man living in southern Illinois as an engineer starting a new life. Thanks for a wonderful evening. We wish you both the best, with God’s blessings on your new life journey.