August 8, 1998: Somehow we picked the hottest day of the year for our wedding. This went over especially well since neither the church or the reception hall were air-conditioned. We also managed to interfere with NASCAR's Bud at the Glen, as was pointed out by several of our guests.

The Ceremony: The ceremony began promptly at 2pm at the Bentley Creek Wesleyan Church. Pastor Harry Barrigar officiated. The unity candles were lit by Stacey's mother and Mike's Aunt Brenda. Jennie Peters played Jim Brickman's "Angel Eyes" for the processional. Stacey's father walked her down the aisle. The ceremony went smoothly and included scripture readings by Best Man Matt Huffman (Genesis 2:18-24) and Mike's Aunt Brenda (I Corinthians 13), as well as songs by Maid of Honor Melissa Walrath (Because You Loved Me) and Stacey's father (Theme from Ice Castles).

After the Ceremony: We took the traditional pictures at the church of the bridal party and our families. Since the church was so hot, we didn't stick around there for long before heading out to the O'Donnell's house on Ridgebury Lake for the rest of the bridal party pictures. The breeze and shade were a welcome reprieve from the heat in the church.

The Reception: Our reception was held at the Elmira Clubhouse. Don Moss was the dj and did an excellent job. Stacey's mother and some ladies from the church put together the buffet, after which we had the traditional dances. Nancy Morley made our beautiful wedding cake, which tasted as good as it looked. Bridesmaid Julie Pettapiece caught the bridal bouquet. By 7pm the reception was pretty well finished so we opened presents and then drove back to Gramma's in our newly decorated car. By the time we unloaded our gifts, changed, and made a couple quick stops, it was after midnight before we left town for our trip to the Thousand Islands.

Honeymoon: We took a 3 day trip to the Thousand Islands and stayed in a bed and breakfast there. We took a tour on the St. Lawrence River that included a stop at Hart Castle. After returning from our trip, we loaded up a U-Haul and moved to our new apartment in Lewiston, NY, but that's a whole different set of stories.