Stephanie & Patrick in Greenwich, CT

Both home visiting family for the holidays, Stephanie and Patrick met at a Christmas Eve midnight mass. Following the service, Patrick asked Stephanie out to dinner for the day after Christmas, and the connection was instant. The couple dated for eight months before Patrick took Stephanie to Charleston, SC, to show her The Citadel, where he studied. The Bride Stephanie Wright, 24, a photographer The Groom Patrick Foehl, 26, a Marine Corps officer The Date June 27 Patrick proposed on the trip but knew he would be deployed to Iraq the following summer. Before he left, the couple eloped in an intimate beach ceremony in La Jolla, California, and while he was overseas, Stephanie planned a vow renewal for friends and family in Connecticut upon his return. During the ceremony, the couple had a special military reading about the trials of separation and deployment, leaving no dry eyes among the guests. However, a brunch reception, a DIY photo booth, and an ice cream bar certainly lightened the mood for a fun, summer celebration.