Weddings go on amid NATO protests

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CHICAGO, May 20 (UPI) -- A Chicago couple said this weekend's NATO summit made for an interesting wedding after they tied the knot at a downtown restaurant.

David and Kristen Kosyluk posed for photos and were wished well by both protesters and riot police on the streets, which were unusually clear this weekend.

"It's been awesome -- no traffic," the new Mrs. Kosyluk told the Chicago Sun-Times.

"The NATO convention helped us," added David Kosyluk.

The Kosyluk wedding was one of several that took place on schedule in downtown Chicago despite the city's urgings to stay away from the area due to planned marches in the streets.

Eddie and Patty Villarreal, in fact, were having their wedding photos taken outside the Chicago Theater when a noisy march of about 400 people rolled past. Although the march had a distinctly anti-establishment tone, the institution of marriage wasn't on their target list, the newspaper reported.

"The people are so happy," said Mrs. V. "They were making noise and cheering for us."