How We Became the Rogans

It all began on May 5, 1995. We were set up on a blind date by Mike's friend, Sean O'Donnell. Mike & Sean attended high school together and Stacey lived near Sean. The plan was for Stacey to be Mike's prom date so a night at the movies was planned a few weeks prior. The movie was "While You Were Sleeping" and the date overall was a success, leading to many more.

On August 13, 1996, Mike proposed in the rain at Island Beach State Park in New Jersey. Mike buried Stacey's feet in the sand so she wouldn't wander off (as she had several other times that week), got down on one soggy knee, and proposed.

The wedding took place on August 8, 1998. Here are the basics:

Maid of Honor: Melissa Walrath
Bridesmaids: Julie Pettapiece & Christine Totoritis
Best Man: Matthew Huffman
Groomsmen: Sean O'Donnell & Andy Klee

The Ceremony: The ceremony began 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 at 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.

Our Wedding

Special Thanks: to our families, Stacey's gramma, our attendants, Sean & Brenda for coming in from Florida for the big day, the ladies from the church that helped with food, Nancy for the cake and flowers, Uncle Andy for helping out at the reception site, the O'Donnells for a ton of support and fun and so much more, and the many other people that were part of our big day.