The best part about life is when your family becomes your friends,

and your friends become your family. 

Hello!  We are excited to spend the weekend of August 16 with you and are honored that you will be such a large part of our wedding.  With the countdown on, we wanted to introduce everyone to each other and give you additional details about the wedding weekend.

(Since Mark is currently working, classing, and studying, Kate created the webpage...but Mark approved it for publication.)

Our Story

Mark and I met in May 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia.  I was nearing the end of my first year of teaching seventh grade Language Arts and Reading at A.T. Walden Middle School, and Mark was working for ETG as a day trader.  We signed up to play in a summer kickball league with our respective friends and ended up on the same team.  Our first conversation occurred in the outfield in Piedmont Park.  We went on our first date on July 17 (Mark tolerated my enjoyment of silly Will Ferrell movies and took me to see Anchorman, followed by a drink at Moe's and Joe's in Virginia Highlands), and the rest is history! 

The Engagement 

For my 26th birthday on December 30, 2006, Mark took me to Pico, Vermont, for the long holiday weekend.  Our drive to Vermont was marked by a massive snowfall that required us to creep up I-93 at 20 mph.  We arrived on Friday evening and Mark surprised me with a sleigh ride through the snow.  Despite the expensive champagne his aunt and uncle had sent with him, the suite he'd booked, and the sleigh ride, it was only after Mark mentioned that he'd booked every seat on the sleigh that my heart started to pound.  When the sleigh ride ended, Mark proposed.

My parents (Bob and Margaret) are hosting the reception which will be in the Science Museum of Virginia's Rotunda Room, beginning immediately after the ceremony.  The Science Museum was originally a train station and the Rotunda Room, with its high domed ceiling and marble floors, was the waiting room.  Champagne Taste Catering will prepare the food, Eric Jaundoo with Choice Entertainment will play the music, and Colleen Cook with CCS Events will take care of design and logistics.  Mark and I will exit around 11 p.m. but the music will continue and the bar will remain open until midnight!

       Sunday Brunch

On Sunday, my parents are inviting the out of town guests and wedding party over for brunch.  We're looking forward to seeing everyone once more before we fly back to Boston and then to Spain for our honeymoon!

Our Parents

        Kate's Parents  

A native of Tennessee, my mother Margaret lives in Richmond, Virginia, and recently "evolved" (retired) after over three decades at The Virginian-Pilot (where she met my father), first as a news reporter and then as an editorialist.  Margaret participates in a quilting group and a book group and continues to write freelance pieces.  She also enjoys playing Scrabble with Mark.

Bob, Kate's father, grew up in New York City but has lived in the South since graduating from Wake Forest University.  He has been a sports columnist at the Richmond Times-Dispatch for nearly three decades, which has enabled me to go to events like the 1996 Summer Olympics and the NCAA Men's Final Four in 2004.  Bob tends to be the main walking companion of the family's dog Jerry and makes a delicious chili.

           Mark's Parents

Dawna, Mark's mother, lives in Tewksbury, Massachusetts and is a real estate paralegal for a New Hampshire law firm.  Dawna loves hosting family dinners and frequently plays racketball at the gym.  Dawna attended the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and was a classmate of Mark(!).  She graduated in 2002 as valedictorian.

Mark's father Phil also lives in Tewksbury and works for Kraft Foods.  Phil is an avid golfer and cards player and has become the top babysitter for his granddaughter, Hazel Maeve.  When I moved to Boston, Phil welcomed me into his home and even tolerated my cooking!

The Wedding Party

       My Attendants

My sister Sharon will be my matron of honor.  Sharon lives in Greenville, North Carolina, with her husband, Brett, and my nieces, Taylor (16) and Lauren (13).  She graduated from North Carolina State University (she's a huge Wolfpack fan) and is self-employed as a paramedical examiner.  She is also one mean Bunco player!

I met Christen in 1st Grade at John B. Cary Elementary School.  We became best friends in 6th Grade when, despite having no classes together, we managed to pass notes daily.  Christen graduated from Longwood University and now teaches Language Arts in the Henrico Public School System.  Her wedding was in June 2006, and she and her husband Dan are recent homeowners in Richmond.

Amy and I were in the same First Year suite at the University of Virginia and were roommates for the following three years.  Amy moved to Richmond to work with Carmax after graduation, but we now live together again in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Amy is pursuing her Masters of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and helping me keep our refrigerator stocked with ice cream.

Jess was also in the UVA Class of 2003, but we didn't meet each other until we both decided to do Teach for America after graduation.  Jess and I lived together for one year in Atlanta where we were obsessed with Average Joe and were teammates on the kickball teams.  Jess received her Masters of Public Health from Emory University and works at the Atlanta Veterans' Affairs Medical Center.  She is getting married in October 2008 and will be moving to New Orleans with her fiance, Zach, later this year.

        Mark's Attendants

Mark's best man is his brother Michael.  Mike and his wife, Bridget, live in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and welcomed their first child, Hazel Maeve, in March 2007. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell (both undergraduate and MBA), Mike works in Boston for Archibus as a senior application engineer.  He is an invaluable help when I manage to contract computer viruses, which happens too often.

Peter, Mark's first cousin, recently completed the Boston Police Academy and is a police officer in Boston.  (He is following in the footsteps of his father who is a detective in Lexington, Massachusetts).  Peter lives in Brighton, Massachusetts, and has been one of Mark's closest friends since they were children, spending countless hours playing video games together. 

Matt, another first cousin of Mark's, lives in Tewksbury and is pursuing his undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Finance at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.  Matt grew up with Mark as his babysitter and later his youth football coach. 

My brother Adam rounds out the groomsmen.  Adam graduates from the University of Georgia in May with a double major in Journalism (Magazines) and Sociology and a minor in German.  He spent the Spring 2007 semester abroad in Berlin, and in May 2007, we spent a week together, exploring Greece.

        Flower Girl 

Our flower girl, Elizabeth, lives in Portland, Oregon, with her parents, Joe and Kate.  I passed out programs and bubbles in their wedding when I was in high school, so Elizabeth's participation will continue the families' wedding connection!  Elizabeth loves to read and play fantasy games with her stuffed animals.  She is also a voracious talker!

The Countdown is On!

If you need anything or have any questions, check in with us!