After Chicago P.D.’s Burzek Wedding Flopped With Many Fans, I Revisited All The Cop Drama’s Other Weddings To Compare

The world of One Chicago on NBC often ends the spring TV season on life-or-death cliffhangers, but the finales in the 2025 TV schedule were short on imminent disasters (unless Hannah’s complicated situation on Chicago Med counts). Chicago P.D. ended Season 12 on the long-awaited wedding of Kim Burgess and Adam Ruzek, and I for one breathed a sigh of relief that they made it down the aisle without any last-minute crisis to kill the mood.

The fandom as a whole wasn’t on the same page about the wedding, however, and I’ve come to understand where the frustrated viewers are coming from as I sit in on NBC's summer reruns on Wednesday nights. And what else was there to do with Burzek on the brain but rewatch the other Chicago P.D. weddings to compare?

Why Chicago P.D. Fans Didn’t All Love The Burzek Wedding

First things first! Burgess and Ruzek are not only the longest-running main relationship on Chicago P.D., but arguably the longest-running main relationship in all of One Chicago. So, anticipation was high for their nuptials, not least because of all the ordeals they had to go through separately and together to get to an exchange of “I do.”

And as it turned out, there was no “I do” from either character, with the focus of the wedding scene being more on Chapman’s conversation with Voight in the pews rather than on the bride and groom. Showrunner Gwen Sigan told CinemaBlend about the wedding that the concept of having vows “just began to feel a little bit too soft and almost too sweet for the the tone we wanted at the end” with the stakes they’d set up. (The finale is streaming now with a Peacock subscription.)

So, nothing was ever scripted or shot of how Burzek pledged their love for each other in front of all the friends and family that P.D. could assemble from One Chicago. Perhaps I just went into the three NBC finales dreading the possibility of death and destruction so much that I was fine with getting at least that much peace for Burgess walking down the aisle, but other fans had higher expectations from the jump. Marina Squerciati’s excitement over picking the wedding dress certainly raised anticipation!

Viewers in the comment section Squerciati’s Instagram post with BTS photos for the wedding had a LOT to say. Here are just a few examples:

• luvtiva: "We deserved more than what we got. No vows, I do's, rings and the first kiss ☹️. Burzek deserved more."
• mrst_mama2a: "Was that really it for the wedding?! They better pic that back up. This beautiful couple deserves more QT and Burzek fans deserve vows after all they have been through. AND a Kevin best man speech. Please tell me there will be more."
• gem61719: "Sigh….that was about Voight and Chapman, not Kim and Adam. After all their history, the characters and fans deserved more. Here’s hoping we get it in the season opener next season!! Gorgeous dress!!"

So, there isn’t really a consensus among fans en masse that I’ve seen about whether Burzek got the wedding they deserved, but the common complaint about the event is consistent: they should have gotten more and the finale didn’t need to end on Voight and Chapman. Happy events can be few and far between on Chicago P.D. toward the end of a season, and the wedding ultimately wasn’t a 100% joyous event.

So let's look back at an event that was definitely a celebration!

Mouch And Platt Get Married

Okay, technically the first wedding for a P.D. character actually happened on Chicago Fire and the emphasis was mostly on the Firehouse 51 characters, but I’m counting it for the sake of comparison because 1) P.D. doesn’t have a lot of weddings to revisit and 2) it’s just nice to look back at Platt looking so happy when tying the knot with Fire’s Mouch. (If you also want to revisit it, check out Episode 18 of Fire Season 4 on Peacock.)

The build up to the wedding involved the kind of shenanigans that really fit on Fire in a way they never could on the crime drama, but when I went back to the episode, I realized what I’d forgotten: we don’t actually see these two characters exchange vows either. Mouch and Platt both looked overjoyed, and then the scene cut to the reception at Molly’s. No "I do."

The scene was emotional to rewatch, but honestly, mostly because characters like Otis, Dawson, and Casey were still in the mix on Fire at that point in Season 4, and it was nice to see them again. As the earliest One Chicago wedding that I’m counting for P.D., I’d say it was more celebratory than what Burzek got.

But there is another ceremony that definitely counts as a Chicago P.D. wedding without Chicago Fire being involved, which brings me to…

Halstead And Upton Elope

If you’ve been reading CinemaBlend’s coverage of Chicago P.D. over the years, you may already know: I had a major soft spot for Upstead and held onto hope for as long as reasonably possible for a happy ending after how Halstead left in Season 10. But before fans had to justify Jay quitting CPD, rejoining the army, and then going radio silent, and before Upton was overwhelmed by the abandonment with some powerhouse performances from Tracy Spiridakos, we had the partners eloping at the courthouse. (This was Episode 9 of Season 9, if you want to rewatch.)

Even knowing that Upton got a happy ending of sorts by the time she left Chicago in Season 11, rewatching their Season 9 midseason finale wedding stung a little bit because it was such a hopeful sequence. Nobody knew at the time that couple wouldn’t be together too long. But I did rewatched that wedding!

They got married under the least joyous circumstances of the three P.D. couples, as it was immediately after Halstead found an option to get the FBI off Upton’s back without flipping on Voight, and they went through the wringer throughout the arc. But as it turns out, these two lovebirds are the only ones of the three P.D. weddings to actually exchange vows on screen!

It was also the only one of the three to show the newly married couple consummating the marriage on screen, with Jesse Lee Soffer and Tracy Spiridakos addressing those wedding decisions to CinemaBlend at the time. Oddly enough, the only Chicago P.D. married couple to exchange vows on screen is also the only marriage that ended in divorce, as it still pains me to say.

How The Crime Drama's Weddings Measure Up

My goal of ranking the Chicago P.D. weddings really ran into a snag after watching all three in a row. When it comes to the most satisfying wedding, I’d give the top spot to Upstead and their courthouse vows, then probably Burzek and then Platt/Mouch. Even if Burzek didn’t get all the fireworks fans were hoping for, the actors really sold how meaningful it was that their characters were finally tying the knot.

When it comes to the most rewarding wedding, I’d give that to Burzek simply because of how long and painful their journey was to finally building their family together. I’d place Upstead at #2 and Platt/Mouch at #3, pretty much just because I was more sold on Upton and Halstead’s will they/won’t they than Mouch and Trudy’s cross-show romance.

It remains to be seen how P.D. will handle Burgess and Ruzek’s working relationship now that they’re officially married. As the most procedural of the One Chicago shows, I wouldn’t be surprised if the marriage is mostly unacknowledged other than wedding rings for episodes that aren’t centered on either of the two characters.

Find out when Chicago P.D. returns to NBC Wednesday this fall for Season 13, in its usual 10 p.m. time slot following Chicago Fire Season 14 at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET. All three shows are also streaming on Peacock now.