Welcome
Thank you for visiting our site. We are extremelyexcited to share this life-changing experience withall of our family and friends. We hope you canjoin us for our special day.
How We Met
In January 2005, Mark and Christie met for thefirst time at Kappa Sigma fraternity at PurdueUniversity. Upon first meeting, Mark was shy andsomewhat quiet. Both Mark’s friends andChristie’s friends went back to Lambda Chi Alpha(Mark’s fraternity) to smoke the infamous hookahin room 301. At the end of the night, the twogroups of friends parted ways.
Mark and Christie saw each other here and therethroughout the spring semester 2005, but didn’treally personally connect until Fall Semester 2006when they had a psychology class together. It wasa large 400-person class, but somehow Markflagged Christie down to sit together.
How We Met
They began to get to know each other, and startedto have “Coffee” after the class three days a week.
They never actually drank coffee because neitherprefers it, but would go back to Christie’s sorority,Delta Gamma, and chat over hot chocolate or tea.
Eventually, they began to do everything together.Whether it was getting a “Den Pop” or going toBoiler Market, if Mark was invited, peopleassumed Christie would come as well.
In October 2007, Mark and Christie began dating“officially.” Things progressed quickly and Marklavaliered Christie (gave her his fraternity letters)at Lafayette City Grille for Christmas 2007.
They continued to date over the next 5 years asChristie moved to Chicago, Cleveland, andeventually to Michigan where Mark lived.
Mark proposed on June 4th, 2012 at Christie’sfamily reunion in Mississippi.
How We Met
Proposal
On June 4th, 2012, after months of saving andstaring at THE ring, Mark decided to pop the bigquestion while the couple was at Christie’s familyreunion in Biloxi, Mississippi. While Christie wastalking with her Pops, Mark approached the twoand interrupted to ask Christie to go on a walk.After telling Mark he was rude to interrupt,Christie’s Pops encouraged her to take a walk.
It was a full moon, and the two took a walk on apath behind the rental house. Mark then gotdown on one knee and asked “Will you marryme?” to which Christie replied “Are you serious?”
Proposal
After an awkward moment, Christie realized shedidn’t say yes, yet, and got her wits together toexcitedly say, “YES! Of course!”
The two spent a few minutes talking while sittingon the path, Christie wanted to soak in themoment knowing they were the only two in theworld that knew they were engaged.
Upon return, the whole family was waiting with achampagne toast.
Later, Christie learned that Mark had asked talkedto and gotten permission from everyone,including Mimi, her Mother, grandparents, uncles,brothers, and sister.
Bridal Party
Andi Fine
Andrew Dillon
Sam Fine
Jill Maloney
Aubrey Walton
BrookeVan Lente
Select a pictureto view more
Maid of Honor
Bride’s Maids
Man of Honor
Bridal Party
Sam Fine
Jill Maloney
Aubrey Walton
BrookeVan Lente
Andi is Christie’s only sister, wholives in Los Angeles, California,working in the movie and filmindustry. Growing up together,Christie and Andi weathered thestorms of high school, boys, anddealing with all of their brothers.Andi enjoys film, art, comics, andhanging out with her boyfriend,Mike.
Bride’s Maids
Andi Fine
Andrew Dillon
Maid of Honor
Man of Honor
Bridal Party
Sam Fine
Jill Maloney
Aubrey Walton
BrookeVan Lente
Andrew is Christie’s secondyoungest brother, who currentlyresides in San Francisco, Californiawith boyfriend, Nick. Andrew (orDewy as Christie refers to him),has been a close confidante andfriend. Both share a love of wine,good food, and discussingbusiness and marketing. Andrewworks in digital marketing and isinterested in politics, big city life,and theatre.
Andrew is on the left in thedisplayed photo.
Bride’s Maids
Andi Fine
Andrew Dillon
Maid of Honor
Man of Honor
Bridal Party
Sam Fine
Jill Maloney
Aubrey Walton
BrookeVan Lente
Cousin of the Bride, Samantha(Sam), actually shares the samebirthday as Christie. Sam lives inLafayette, Louisiana withboyfriend, Peyton. Sam brings agood time to every event and isknown for her sassy Southernpersonality. Sam loves reading,sports, and dogs.
Bride’s Maids
Andi Fine
Andrew Dillon
Maid of Honor
Man of Honor
Bridal Party
Sam Fine
Jill Maloney
Aubrey Walton
BrookeVan Lente
A long-time friend from Purdue,Jill has been buddies with bothbride and groom for almost aslong as they’ve known each other.Jill currently resides in Chicago, IL.Originally from Jacksonville,Florida, Jill loves boating, theTwilight series, and Mark’scooking.
Bride’s Maids
Andi Fine
Andrew Dillon
Maid of Honor
Man of Honor
Bridal Party
Sam Fine
Jill Maloney
Aubrey Walton
BrookeVan Lente
Aubrey and Christie werefreshman year roommates atPurdue University. Despite going“potluck” the two became closeand ended up as excellent“roomies.” Aubrey comes fromSycamore, OH and currentlyresides in Los Angeles, Californiaworking for a sports marketingagency. Aubrey loves running,Skittles, and is literally, alwayssmiling.
Bride’s Maids
Andi Fine
Andrew Dillon
Maid of Honor
Man of Honor
Bridal Party
Sam Fine
Jill Maloney
Aubrey Walton
BrookeVan Lente
Brooke and Christie became closeas Christie they both returned toschool for Nursing at MichiganState. Brooke is married (also to aMark), and has a beautiful littlegirl named Tenley. Brooke livesnear Grand Rapids, MI and loveswakeboarding, boating, andsnowboarding.
Bride’s Maids
Andi Fine
Andrew Dillon
Maid of Honor
Man of Honor
AndyChristenson
Groom’s Party
Jim Stallings
John Stallings
Best Men
Matt Schmidt
Mike Walsh
Nick Larsen
Groomsmen
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AndyChristenson
Groom’s Party
Jim Stallings
John Stallings
Best Men
Matt Schmidt
Mike Walsh
Nick Larsen
Groomsmen
Jim is Mark’s younger brother andhe and Mark have been very closefor a long time. He plays thesaxophone and is currentlyattending culinary school atSchoolcraft which is one of themost prestigious programs in thecountry.
AndyChristenson
Groom’s Party
Jim Stallings
John Stallings
Best Men
Matt Schmidt
Mike Walsh
Nick Larsen
Groomsmen
John is Mark’s youngest brotherand currently attends Notre DameUniversity. John and Mark spentsome time together in Russiawhere John was Mark’s guidebecause he is studying Russianand spent a summer in Yoshkar-Ola, Russia. He plays the pianoand started the racquetball teamat Notre Dame.
AndyChristenson
Groom’s Party
Jim Stallings
John Stallings
Best Men
Matt Schmidt
Mike Walsh
Nick Larsen
Groomsmen
Matt has been friends with Marksince grade school when theyused to ride their bikes to eachother's house. He is a federalagent and currently lives inLaredo, Texas. He is competitivein the sport of body-building andhas set several world records inbench-press and squat and haswon a number of competitions inMichigan, Los Angeles and LasVegas.
AndyChristenson
Groom’s Party
Jim Stallings
John Stallings
Best Men
Matt Schmidt
Mike Walsh
Nick Larsen
Groomsmen
Andy and Mark have been friendssince high school. He and Markplayed lacrosse together. Andy iscurrently a park ranger near LakeMichigan and recently purchaseda house close to the big lake. Fairwarning: When he gets togetherwith Matt Schmidt, they are notable to be trusted.
AndyChristenson
Groom’s Party
Jim Stallings
John Stallings
Best Men
Matt Schmidt
Mike Walsh
Nick Larsen
Groomsmen
Mark first got to know Mike(Walsh) his freshman year atPurdue. He went to school notknowing anyone and lucked outbecoming good friends with hisrandomly-matched dormroommate. Walsh is currentlystarting his own company calledCariloop which helps match thosein need of senior care to theappropriate provider.
AndyChristenson
Groom’s Party
Jim Stallings
John Stallings
Best Men
Matt Schmidt
Mike Walsh
Nick Larsen
Groomsmen
Nick and Mark became friendsfreshman year at Purdue andspent the next 3 years asroommates at their fraternity,Lambda Chi Alpha. He is currentlya yoga instructor in Chicago and isplanning a 5 month bike triparound the U.S. with his girlfriendAndrea.
Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties
We will be celebrating onWednesday, August 28 andall are welcome!
It will be held in Royal Oakand our town never knowwhat hit it.
We have plenty of sleepingspace and are walkingdistance to Main Street.
Rehearsal Dinner
To those joining us for our rehearsal, it is currentlyscheduled from 12-2pm (but will most likely change)
The dinner afterward will be held at Pizza Papalis in
Greek Town at 7pm.
Ceremony
Ceremony located at Anna Scripps WhitcombConservatory located on Belle Isle in Detroit, MI
on August 31, 2013
Ceremony
Ceremony will take place outside on thegrounds of the Conservatory
Reception
Reception will be located at the Detroit YachtClub located on Belle Isle in Detroit, MI
on August 31, 2013
Reception - Details
Menu
Cocktail Hour (6pm – 7pm)
•Open bar including local microbrews
•Sausage puff-pastry
•Caprese skewers
Dinner (7pm) – Duo Plate
•Garden salad with choice of dressing
•Braised Beef Short Rib - with a merlot reduction
•Chicken Princess – lightly dusted chicken breast witha white wine Boursin cream sauce
•Mashed potatoes
•Asparagus bundled with red and yellow peppers
Day-After Reunion
We would like to invite all of our guests to aLabor Day BBQ located at the Stallings’ housethe day after the wedding on
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Day-After Reunion - Menu
Main Dishes
•Hotdogs
•Brats
•Hamburgers
•Mark’s pulled-pork and homemade BBQ sauce
Sides
•Salad
•Shrimp rice salad
•Mother of the groom’s famous meatballs
•Cheesy potatoes
•Coleslaw
•Potato salad
•Brie bruschetta
Drinks
•Beer
•Wine
•Pop
Accommodations
Wedding Blocks have been reserved at both theMarriott at the Renaissance Center and theDoubleTree Suites by Hilton. Please reserveusing the links below:
The DoubleTree Suites Downtown Detroit is an allsuite property with king rooms sleeping up to 4with sleeper sofa, and doubles sleeping up to 6 withsleeper sofa. Rooms are $125/night Reserve by July30th. Parking $12 with in and out privileges,complimentary Internet.
The Marriott at the Renaissance Center is an iconichotel and one of the largest parts of the Detroitskyline. Rooms are $139/night Reserve by August9th. Parking across the street at the Beaubien Garageis $9 (does not include in and out privileges), Internetis available for $1.
How to Get Around
We will be providing transportation from the hotels we have booked tothe ceremony, from the ceremony to the reception and back again.
Pick up from hotels begins at 4:30pm and
departure from reception begins at 10pm.
The People Mover is an inexpensive option for getting around the city.
How to Get Around
The People Mover, alsoChristie's favorite themepark ride, is Detroit'sonly exclusive monorailrunning 2.9 milesthrough the downtownarea in a circular fashion.
The majority of downtown and the riverfront canbe seen from the People Mover, thus a great wayto see downtown Detroit. All stops in Greektown,at major stadiums, and hotels are close to gloriousPeople Mover stations. It is $0.75 to ride. Hoursare Friday 6:30am-12am, Saturday 9 am-2am, andSunday Noon- Midnight
Detroit Metro Airport (DTW)
For all of our guests who will be traveling by air,we recommend flying into Detroit Metro Airport.
The airport is about a 25-30 minute drive todowntown Detroit.
Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Indians
The Detroit Tigers play theCleveland Indians at ComericaPark in Detroit:
Friday, August 30, 2013 @7:05pm
Saturday, August 31, 2013 @7:05pm
Sunday, September 1, 2013 @1:05pm
Windsor Canada
Windsor is a short drive across the AmbassadorBridge or through the tunnel under the DetroitRiver and has a great night-life that is legal foreveryone 19 and up.
