Melissa Nunez and Elizabeth Branske win Cook County marriage license lottery, become 1st couple there to tie the knot in 2026
CHICAGO (WLS) — A celebration of love got underway on Friday as Cook County married its first couple in 2026.
After two years together, Melissa Nunez and Elizabeth Branske tied the knot.
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The 27-year-old hair stylist and mother of an 11-year-old son and the 25-year-old retail worker became the first couple in Cook County to get married in 2026.
“2026 is supposed to be, like, a year of love and prosperity, so I’m excited to see what it has in store,” Branske said.
The couple met through a dating app and got engaged in September. Nunez, who is originally from the city’s Southwest Side, came up with the idea to enter the clerk’s annual marriage license lottery.
“I came home from work one day, and she was like, ‘I did something,’ and I was like, ‘What did you do?’ And she told us that she entered us in this raffle,” Branske said.
Nearly 1,000 Chicago-area couples entered this year’s lottery, the highest number of entries ever received in the 35 years since the event started, according to the clerk’s office.
Nunez and Branske, an Elk Grove Village native, were chosen after the couple initially selected dropped out of the contest.
“They called us, and they were like, ‘The first people dropped out, and you won,’ and we were like, ‘Oh, ok!'” Branske said.
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The nuptials not only made the couples’ day, but also history. This is the first time two brides won the marriage license lottery and were married.
Two men won back in 2022 and exchanged vows.
“I believe in love. I believe in forever love. And I’m looking at you two, and I’m like, this is going to last forever,” said Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon.
As a wedding gift from the county, the couple not only received their marriage license for free but were given a one-night stay at a downtown hotel along with other special gifts.
On Friday morning, the couple’s family and friends said their love story was meant to be.
“They’ve always been going through something, struggling and never had time for themselves and it’s just like after all the struggle and the negativity. They finally have, like, a happy ending,” said their friend, Jen Guzman.
After the ceremony, everyone went out for pizza.
Chicago’s first married couple now lives on the city’s Northwest Side and says they look forward to building a strong foundation and hope to have more children.
The couple is going to forgo a big honeymoon and celebrate with family and friends before having a larger celebration next year.
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