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Wedding date: June 21, 2013
Her story: Jessica "Jess" Krady, 28, grew up in Lancaster, Pa. She is a human resources generalist for Arthur Bell Certified Public Accountants and a graduate student at Towson University. Her mother, Deb Krady, is a data verifier and her father, Kyle Krady, is a senior research scientist.
His story: Phillip "Phil" Kraska, 26, grew up in Severn. He is a special-education teacher at Mount Saint Joseph High School. He and Jess currently live in Sparks. His mother, Sherri Kraska, is a performance measures coordinator and his father, Ed Kraska, is a manager for the Department of Defense.
Their story: Jess and Phil met at a house party in Locust Point during Memorial Day weekend in 2010. Phil had asked a co-worker, who was also Jessica's sorority sister, to set him up with one of her single friends.
Toward the end of the party, Phil asked for Jess' number, called the next day and they set up a first date for later that week at RA Sushi in Harbor East.
The proposal: Phil proposed on June 20, 2012, during a two-week trip to Europe. He had originally planned to propose in the dome of the Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart) Basilica in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris, but the dome was closed that day.
"We were walking around Montmartre waiting for it to get dark, and when it finally did, we happened to be walking down a side street as the Eiffel Tower was lighting up," says Phil. "She jumped up on a curb to take some pictures, and when she turned around, I was down on one knee."
He'd selected a custom-made princess-cut halo style diamond engagement ring with diamonds along the band from Hunt Valley Jewelers.
The venue: About 115 guests attended the traditional Catholic Mass and ceremony at St. Joseph's Monastery Parish, and the reception was held at the American Visionary Art Museum, both in Baltimore.
"Our vision for the wedding was 'urban chic.' I really wanted it to be modern and simple, but still classy," says Jess. "The AVAM is already such a beautiful, one-of-a-kind venue, I didn't want over-the-top decorations to take away from the room's exposed brick walls and unique art work."
Her dress: The bride wore a satin, strapless trumpet-style gown with a semi-sweetheart neckline and a lace-up back from In White bridal boutique in Lancaster. She also wore a cathedral-length veil, navy blue heels and the bracelet Phil gave her for their first Valentine's Day.
Bridesmaids' dresses: The bridesmaids wore knee-length navy blue satin Alfred Sung dresses from In White, and each girl had a different neckline and nude heels.
Men's apparel: The groom and groomsmen wore gray suits and ties from Jos. A. Bank.
Decor: Perkins Productions in Baltimore coordinated the lighting and flowers, using white and pale pink garden roses, hydrangeas and peonies for the bouquets.
"Most of our decorations were DIY projects," says Jess. "One of my bridesmaids made the invitations, programs, seating chart and all the signs for our gift table. Phil and I made our table numbers, guest book and the faux mercury glass centerpieces."
Weekend Watch
Music: DJ Gavin of Absolute Entertainment in Baltimore entertained the guests. Jess and Phil's first dance was to "Then" by Brad Paisley. The couple also played a special anniversary song for both sets of maternal grandparents, who were celebrating their 55th anniversaries on Jessica and Phil's wedding day.
Dessert: Rouge Fine Catering in Hunt Valley provided the food, including desserts such as grilled fruit skewers and mini fruit tarts. Baltimore Cakery designed the wedding cake using the "Little Italy" flavor, which consisted of cinnamon cake with cannoli cream and cream cheese icing.
Favors: The couple gave their guests stemless wine glasses with an "eat, drink and be married" logo.
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