Larry Herman recently took on new role in his position as Oak Brook Village President.
Herman was elected to office in 2023 and has been very active in the village’s business. But he put on a different hat Saturday Dec. 23 when he officiated a wedding in the Village Hall boardroom.
“I believe starting in around 2019, Illinois law has allowed mayors/presidents to perform civil weddings,” Herman said. “It’s the first one I’ve done. I’d welcome the opportunity to do it again, particularly for Oak Brook residents.”
Herman’s first experience officiating a wedding was extra special to him, as he has known the groom, Adam Roth, since the time of his birth.
“Andy Roth, my closest friend, who I grew up with in Brook Forest, has lived in Saddle Brook for decades, where he and his wife, Sharon, raised their twin boy and girl (Adam and Rachel), and they still live there,” Herman said.
It’s not the first time Herman has been a key player at a Roth wedding, as he was best man when Andy and Sharon married. Herman and Andy Roth also served together 40-plus years ago as Oak Brook paid-on-call firefighters.
“It was special to me to get married in my hometown, right by Fullersburg Woods, where I proposed,” Adam Roth said.” It was special knowing that our ceremony was officiated by Mayor Herman, who I’ve known my whole life. With him as our officiant, it truly was a family event.”
Roth, 33, who works for Chicago Public Schools as an AP calculus teacher, married Shihua Huang, who is from mainland China.
“We could not have asked for a better service,” Roth said. “Shihua and I still re-watch the video of our ceremony. We are grateful to everyone who came.”
Roth said he and his new wife first thought of having their wedding ceremony elsewhere before deciding to do so in the boardroom at Oak Brook’s Village Hall.
“While we initially thought about doing the ceremony in Chicago City Hall, it would have been more difficult to reserve a spot, the number of guests would be limited, and the venue would not be very picturesque for such an important day,” he said. “In Oak Brook Village Hall, we were able to get married in a beautiful council boardroom with time and space for many guests to come. The ceremony was beautiful, relaxed, and intimate.”
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Andy Roth enjoyed every aspect of his son getting married in Oak Brook in a ceremony officiated by Herman.
“As someone who grew up in Oak Brook and raised my own family there, having Larry Herman, who has been by my side for every major life event, officiate the wedding of my son and my daughter-in-law at the Village Hall was especially meaningful,” he said.
“Larry put the same careful thought into making this a special occasion for our family, much as he puts careful thought into everything he does, both in his personal life and on behalf of the village. It further cements the bonds of another generation to Oak Brook.”
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.