On the 15th of each month we feature a new and magnificent wedding! This is more than just a weekly "best site" contest with a link to the couple's wed-site. We will take you through the entire wedding process...from the planning, to the actual event, and everything in between...including every detail which made each big day special, as told by the newlyweds.

From this moment life has begun...
Tricia describes how she met Casey: "The story from the beginning starts when I was in first or second grade. My mother tells me that I thought Casey was cool, even back then. He had this cool red hair and did things like ride skateboards. I thought that was just the neatest thing, apparently. I don't really remember much about that, but enough to know that she's right. I thought he was pretty darn cool.

Then years and years later, when we were both in high school, my mom ended up working at the same place as Casey. By now, Casey had grown his hair pretty long. The only thing that I can really say about it is that most women would kill for hair like his. He was this sweet, smiling young man who got along with everyone. Most people knew who "Casey-Dude" was, even if he didn't know them.

I had a summer job working in some local sweet corn fields and when I got off work, I would stop and see mom at her job. Of course, working in the fields didn't make me the most presentable person in the world. Lets face it...I was dirty, smelly, and kinda cute. Those are Casey's words, not mine. Anyway, I developed a little crush on him, but was too shy to really do anything about it.

At school this guy kept bothering me. I had told mom about it and she had told Casey. Well, he went to this guy and told him that if he didn't leave me alone, there would be heck to pay. I thought that was really sweet and decided that I really, really liked Casey. So, that's basically how it all got started. On our first date, we went with my family to Six Flags in St. Louis."

From this moment you are the one...
Tricia describes their engagement: "Now, to jump ahead through the years...We spend most of the next six or seven years together, breaking up occasionally. Finally, about two years ago, we sat down and decided that if we were going to be together again, that it had better be for good. There wasn't really a proposal or anything. It was more like a few ultimatums that drove us towards the desired end. He said if we got back together that we had to move in together. I said, fine, but I wanted a ring. So, that's how we got engaged.

I moved in on Superbowl Sunday and we had a huge party. It was cool. We went ring shopping and I picked out a small ring that I instantly fell in love with. Not three months after I got the ring, the stupid thing broke on me. We took it back and got it fixed. Then it broke again. So, we got it exchanged. And believe it or not, the new one broke too. We decided that maybe I needed a bit more sturdy ring and got a good deal on a bigger and better ring, an engagement set this time.

The band Gwar came to a local bar, and since both of us are Gwar fans, we just had to go. The sound was terrible and you couldn't even hear Odorus's voice. That's when he pulled out the little maroon box and tossed it at me, saying "Here." And I now had my real engagement ring. Romantic, huh?"

Right beside you is where I belong...
The bride discusses their 'big day': "The ceremony was short, sweet, and beautiful. I almost didn't make it up the stairs to the alter because I was literally walking up my dress on the stairs. Every step I took, I was walking on more of my dress. I got half way up and started wondering how I was going to get the rest of the way. It all worked out, though, and either people didn't notice or they are being nice and shielding me from the truth. I just gave a few tugs and made it to the top without falling. Then, when we were getting ready to exchange rings, I realized that I still had the engagement part to the ring set on my finger and had to take it off so Casey could put the set together. I'm sure he thought it was something similar to a jigsaw puzzle, but he got it together in time to put it on my finger.

A friend of ours taped the wedding for us and she set up behind me. So the entire time we were saying our vows, Casey was making faces at the camera. He made such a silly face when I was saying the "for richer or poorer" part of the vows that I laughed as I said them.

The wedding was co-officiated by the Methodist Pastor at my church and a Racers for Christ Pastor, both of whom are very light-hearted and warm people. Having them both officiate the ceremony was an extreme privilege and made the whole event mean that much more."

From this moment on...
Tricia describes the reception: "After we got everyone out of the church and all the pictures taken, we hopped in the horse drawn carriage and began the long trek to the community building. It took forever to get to the reception, but about half way there, we had a "drive by beering". Some friends sped up in a truck, going the wrong way down Main Street, and handed beers out the window into the carriage. Boy was my mom thrilled about that one when we all showed up at the reception with beers! Normally, I wouldn't have been too thrilled about it either, but since meeting Casey, I am used to interesting things happening.

I made the favors for the tables at the reception. They were little satin roses with a Hershey's Hug and Kiss in each rose. We made tags that said, "Hugs and Kisses from the Mr. and Mrs." and our names and wedding date. We decorated the rest of the reception hall ourselves, too, with balloons, streamers, confetti, and white lights. And I designed my own wedding invitations, response cards, and the little map."

From this moment as long as I live...
The bride describes their wedding attire: "I almost didn't try on my dress, but once I had it on, I knew it was the ONE. My dress is made by Mori Lee, Inc. and the color is called pearl. It has a small, attached train that is see-through with embroidery and glass bead embellishments. The bodice is embroidered and also has tons of glass beads everywhere making the dress sparkle every time I moved. The long bishop sleeves are my favorite thing and what I wanted most on my dress. The whole dress is soft and elegant, as well as Victorian. To top off the Victorian theme that materialized along the way, the bridesmaid dresses were cut very similar to mine. They were wine and had the same bishop sleeves as my dress did. I had the Matron of Honor, my sister-in-law Janice, keep some extra material at the back of her dress to make a small train, which distinguished her from the other two bridesmaids. The tuxes were black and had longer than normal jackets. Everyone one wore a black shirt and maroon vest and tie, except for the groom who had a black vest."

I will love you, I promise you this...
When asked if there was anything she would do differently, Tricia replied: "I would hug my dad after he gave me away. Both of us had planned to hug, but when the moment came, our minds went blank and we didn't end up hugging. We also forgot to give our mothers their roses after we lit the unity candle. I had picked a song for the harpist to play that I really, really loved and didn't get to hear very much of it at all because I spaced out and forgot to do the flower thing. My mom even reminded me of it before the ceremony started and told me that the flowers were by the unity candle. I couldn't believe afterwards that I had totally missed my cue on that one. The last thing is that I wouldn't have ripped the hem of my dress as I stepped up into the carriage. The rip caused all kinds of problems, including me almost falling flat on my face later because my foot got caught in the ripped hem. "

When asked what she would do the same: "I don't think that I would change much of anything. We had a family friend play the harp during the ceremony, which was beautiful. My mother and I arranged all of the flowers ourselves. My sister-in-law and I made the headpieces for the flower girls, too. "

There is nothing I wouldn't give...From this moment on...
To sum up their wedding day the bride answered: "Some of the wedding photographs were taken were in the chapel. The alter and pictures in the chapel came from my very first church, the one where my parents got married. It meant a lot to me to have those things included in the pictures. Tradition means a lot to me as does my family."

For more information about Tricia and Casey's wedding visit their their site.
And check out the May 2003 "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" with Erika and Jason.

Want to submit your own website for its Fifteen Minutes of Fame? Just click here.

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