More on De's Wedding

by sarahmfry, April 15, 2007
A lot of you were at the wedding, but some of you probably don't even know my sister. So here's the scoop.

About Deanna: She is my older sister. She is a happy, brilliant and energetic person. Her name means "bubbling over." (Those of you who know her are probably smiling.) She has a BA in Elementary Ed from GBS and a MA in Violin Performance from Miami University, Oxford. She is my Dad's right hand man in the GBS music division. She is an amazing teacher, sister and friend.

About Mark: He is British. His immediate family lives in Northern Ireland. His grandmother lives in Oxford, England. He is incredibly intense, just like Deanna. (We think their kids will be born with their hair standing on end, reading Tolstoy.) He is also very intelligent, and is finishing his master's degree in Church History from Cincinnati Christian University. He graduates in a few weeks. He was a professional auctioneer back in Europe before he moved to the states to get a couple more degrees and a wife. He is also a preacher and has traveled several years in Public Relations for GBS.

The Wedding: The music was incredible. All of the prelude and ceremony music was classical or sacred. Some of Deanna's previous violin students provided some wonderful solo and string quartet music with Rachelle. Our aunt Nancy sang beautifully. Martha Miller - our teacher, mentor and dear friend - completely outdid herself on the music. Phillip Bishop played the organ like a master. The Craters sang beautifully. It was exquisite. Larry Smith (our cousin), Dr. Alan Brown, and Mark's father officiated the wedding. A group of friends and family flew in from Europe to celebrate the day. We shared many happy memories with them, exchanging customs and trying to figure out what in the world they were saying under those accents. The dresses were black, the roses red. Very fitting for De and Mark's love for art and culture. But Deanna's color is blue. Everyone who knows her knows that. So there were navy accents at the wedding and reception. They left the wedding surrounded by happy bubbles and had a picture of the couple and the guests around the "fish pond" - now a fountain - in the center of GBS.

The Reception: It was classic, with white table cloths, silver tiered candleabras on each table and red roses arranged in blue glass vases. (From De's collection of blue glass.) The cake was amazing. Marianne Brown (Dr. Phil Brown's wife) made the cake. It was chocolate and white layered with raspberry filling. There were 4 square tiers, surrounded by blue ribbon and exquisite edible pearls. On the top was Deanna's pride and joy - a Hummel cake topper from Grandma and Grandpa Parsons (antique dealers). There was lots of fun music at the reception, including my Uncle John (a veterinarian and blues pianist) and my dad singing some of his classic Irish tunes. "Archie" - a hilarious Irishman with a very thick accent - was the emcee for the wedding. He told great stories. Our dad also gave a tear-jerker speach among others. Our mom catered the wedding - with cheesecakes and a chocolate fountain gracing the cake table, an all-white h'ourdourves table, another with marinated cheese and white punch. The dinner included a fresh-fruit table, roast and ham and all the trimmings. It beautiful and delicious. Linda Alexander led a team of helpers who carried it all out. Mom also catered the rehearsal dinner, held at their new home in Colerain.

The Car: It is a Parsons-family tradition. We have to trash the new couple's car. At my parents' wedding, they put a board in the accellerator & giant bullfrogs in the car. At my Aunt Lisa's, they kidnapped them and drove them around Kansas City in the back of a pickup truck. At mine, they completely wrapped our car in plastic wrap and purchased white rats (correction, mice...MOM!) for the inside. At Garen's, they had a filled swimming pool in the back of his truck with dozens of goldfish swimming away. Mark and De tried to trick their way out of it, but we got them anyway. Raw eggs mixed with flour and peanut butter adorned the top of the car, mixed with plenty of blue Easter Grass. The door handles were smeared with who knows what, and the car was platered with cheezy Irish sayings. Mark handled it well. He paced around and around the car in the freezing weather for awhile, trying to figure out what to do. But even when they did get into the car, there was a bigger prob lem. The car was completely jacked up on platforms!! My brother finally got his hydraulic jack out and rescued them right around the time my Aunt Lisa came for a visit dressed like the Easter Bunny. After all that is over, we jump into our cars and chase after the couple for miles, honking our horns and surrounding their hideous car. Don't try to understand why this is fun. It's just us. Our cousin Gabe was in heaven watching, or he would have been in the thick of it.

Honeymoon, Etc.: They went out west on their honeymoon last week. It was probably the first time either one of them sat down for more than 5 minutes in months. Next week they hit the ground running with IHC, grad school classes, and their regular hectic schedule. After Mark graduates and school finishes at GBS, they will be moving back to Northern Ireland. They will be pastoring, traveling, and they both are interested in pursuing doctoral work (as time and money allows).

Visit Mark and Deanna's Website GO>>

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