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Photo credits: Bob Klaus Photography
Karen Stolte & John Hohlen
May 27, 2000
HOW WE MET: At the Trainwreck Saloon at Westport on Halloween night in 1997,
he spotted her. She and eight of her girlfriends -- all dressed in ponytails and pink poodle skirts -- sashayed
across the room and stopped nearby him and his buddies trying out their best GQ. The two casually started to
talk because of a mutual friend. They exchanged a few laughs and flirty smiles. He left with his friends
to try out yet another Halloween party but not without thinking about her and she of him.
Who knew? The next evening at another Halloween party, the two met once again unexpectedly.
The night was filled with fun flirting and finally the first date was set. The rest, as they say, was history.
ABOUT THE BRIDE: Karen is 32 and currently works at Bank of America in Project Management. She is a 1986
graduate of Hazelwood East High School and a 1993 graduate of Lindenwood College. She graduated Summa Cum Laude
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration.
Karen, also known as "KK", enjoys her friends and family very much. They seem
to occupy most of her spare time. She loves to garden, but leaves the grass
cutting duties to her loving husband. They hope to begin their family in the next year or so.
ABOUT THE GROOM: John is 35. He is a 1983 graduate of Parkway South Senior. He has a B.S. in Computer
Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an M.B.A. from Washington University. He is currently employed
at Bridge Information Systems. The company provides stock market information and John very much enjoys
his work as a software engineer there. John's previous position was with Boeing/McDonnell Douglas for 10 years.
He has only been with Bridge for a little over a year, but is in the field he loves.
John enjoys playing basketball and tennis in his spare time. Oh yes, and he is quite the Internet surfer too!
He is a whiz in the yard, especially with his brand new lawnmower! Who says self-propelled is for sissies?
PLANNING: Since John knew Karen was a Project Manager, he assumed this task would go smoothly and
efficiently. Planning is her thing! Let's put it this way, the engagement happened on Friday - and the church
and reception were booked on Monday!
HOW WE PERSONALIZED THE EVENT: We chose all of our church readings and church music together with the
church music director. We chose our favorites and those that really meant something to us.
- We picked roses from our own garden to give to our mothers.
- We made our own programs for church. We included a section where we
dedicated the altar flowers to our deceased parents and grandparents.
- Karen's 12-year-old cousin sang the first song in church.
- Two of Karen's young cousins were altar servers for mass.
- We chose pictures of ourselves as babies through college to put in a
picture screen. The left side had Karen's pictures and the right side had
John's. The middle section was pictures of the two of us at special or fun
events. We brought the picture screen to the rehearsal dinner and to
the reception as well.
ATTIRE FOR THE BRIDE AND BRIDESMAIDS: Karen's gown was a pure white satin Demetrios
which was purchased at the Enchanted Bride on Olive Blvd. The gown was completely without
ornamentation, the only accent being white buttons that graced her back from
neck to lower back. The entire back was sheer white.
The bridesmaids were in full-length empire-waist dresses with small thin
straps. All were in a Spring lavender color. The tops of the dresses were
adorned with small rhinestones sprinkled throughout front and back; and all
the dresses were complemented with a sheer chiffon wrap, also in lavender.
All the girls wore silver covered-toe shoes with a silver bag to match.
Jewelry consisted of a rhinestone bangle bracelet with small rhinestone drop
earrings.
ATTIRE FOR THE GROOM AND GROOMSMEN: The groom decided not to go with tails for the event,
but rather the traditional suit-length black tuxedo. All tuxedos were four-button jackets with full back
paisley vests all in black (except for John's in white), black pants, white shirts, and bow ties.
THE CEREMONY: A full Catholic mass was celebrated at Ascension Catholic in Chesterfield, Missouri.
Mass began at 10:00 a.m. sharp, with pictures of the bridesmaids and groomsmen done separately beforehand.
Traditions performed during the ceremony included: lighting of the unity candle, giving roses to the mothers
and presenting roses to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
One of Karen's cousins, age 12, sung the first song "On this day, O Beautiful Mother" as the mothers were
being seated. A professional Catholic singer, Theresa Romer, sang the remaining songs with some accompaniment
from the church music director, Ralph Winn. The Ave Maria has always been Karen's favorite.
CONTINUED
If you have questions or comments for Karen & John, please e-mail them to
jhohlen@bridge.com.
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