thedrifter
07-20-08, 01:00 PM
Article published Jul 20, 2008
Between deployments, a wedding in York
YORK, Maine — Two Marines who married March 31 in Jacksonville, N.C., had a ceremony on the beach Saturday for friends and family before the new bride returns to Iraq again.
She is scheduled to deploy in less than a month.
Sgt. James Hart, who graduated from Spaulding High School in Rochester, N.H., in 2000, and Cpl. Katie Hart were all smiles and hardly took their eyes off one another during the ceremony. Friends and relatives, many barefoot in the sand, looked on.
James works in accounting, Katie as an interpreter.
The couple met in Fallujah, Iraq, in January. They said dating in Iraq was comparable to dating as if they were 12. Dates consisted of watching movies together on a laptop and sitting together for meals in a military dining hall.
But the two found they had a lot and common, and months later tied the knot.
They make their home in Sneads Ferry, N.C. Katie planned Saturday's ceremony from there, while she was working.
"Gatewaytomaine.com was my best friend," Katie said.
There were a few hitches Saturday — lightning struck the archway, and mid-ceremony, a fire truck passed nearby with sirens blaring — but James and Katie smiled throughout.
James' grandmother, June Beaulieu, lives directly across from where the ceremony was held, a place where James spent his summers growing up. A red Marine Corps flag hung from her balcony across the street.
Pat Anderson, Katie's mother, said her daughter's dream wedding was on a beach, and the dream came true.
"They went ahead and did it for a number of reasons," Anderson said.
Marrying in March let the couple spend as much time together as possible as newlyweds before Katie deploys again in about three weeks, James said.
"We are going to rough it," he said of his wife's upcoming 7-month deployment.
They will exchange emails and letters, and he plans to send his new wife care packages almost daily.
Katie says she can call whenever she wants while overseas.
James' father David was the best man, with three other Marines as the groomsmen, including Katie's brother, Cpl. James Anderson, who met his brother-in-law for the first time this week.
"It's great. As long as he makes my sister happy," said Anderson, who returned from Japan July 13.
He added jokingly that if James doesn't make his sister happy, "it would be easy to find him" because they're all in the Marines.
James' mother, Robin Culpepper of Atlanta, Ga., along with Katie's mother Pat both said they were moved by the ceremony, as did Beaulieu.
"It's just so special, additionally because all these kids were over in Iraq," Pat said.
Culpepper and Beaulieu echoed the sentiments.
"It's just a moving event. It brings you to tears. This whole beach thing was their idea," said Culpepper, who also commented on Katie having to leave so soon. "It's really hard, but we are keeping it together."
Beaulieu said seeing them was inspirational.
"They deserve a lot of credit for what they are doing for all of us," she said.
Ellie
Between deployments, a wedding in York
YORK, Maine — Two Marines who married March 31 in Jacksonville, N.C., had a ceremony on the beach Saturday for friends and family before the new bride returns to Iraq again.
She is scheduled to deploy in less than a month.
Sgt. James Hart, who graduated from Spaulding High School in Rochester, N.H., in 2000, and Cpl. Katie Hart were all smiles and hardly took their eyes off one another during the ceremony. Friends and relatives, many barefoot in the sand, looked on.
James works in accounting, Katie as an interpreter.
The couple met in Fallujah, Iraq, in January. They said dating in Iraq was comparable to dating as if they were 12. Dates consisted of watching movies together on a laptop and sitting together for meals in a military dining hall.
But the two found they had a lot and common, and months later tied the knot.
They make their home in Sneads Ferry, N.C. Katie planned Saturday's ceremony from there, while she was working.
"Gatewaytomaine.com was my best friend," Katie said.
There were a few hitches Saturday — lightning struck the archway, and mid-ceremony, a fire truck passed nearby with sirens blaring — but James and Katie smiled throughout.
James' grandmother, June Beaulieu, lives directly across from where the ceremony was held, a place where James spent his summers growing up. A red Marine Corps flag hung from her balcony across the street.
Pat Anderson, Katie's mother, said her daughter's dream wedding was on a beach, and the dream came true.
"They went ahead and did it for a number of reasons," Anderson said.
Marrying in March let the couple spend as much time together as possible as newlyweds before Katie deploys again in about three weeks, James said.
"We are going to rough it," he said of his wife's upcoming 7-month deployment.
They will exchange emails and letters, and he plans to send his new wife care packages almost daily.
Katie says she can call whenever she wants while overseas.
James' father David was the best man, with three other Marines as the groomsmen, including Katie's brother, Cpl. James Anderson, who met his brother-in-law for the first time this week.
"It's great. As long as he makes my sister happy," said Anderson, who returned from Japan July 13.
He added jokingly that if James doesn't make his sister happy, "it would be easy to find him" because they're all in the Marines.
James' mother, Robin Culpepper of Atlanta, Ga., along with Katie's mother Pat both said they were moved by the ceremony, as did Beaulieu.
"It's just so special, additionally because all these kids were over in Iraq," Pat said.
Culpepper and Beaulieu echoed the sentiments.
"It's just a moving event. It brings you to tears. This whole beach thing was their idea," said Culpepper, who also commented on Katie having to leave so soon. "It's really hard, but we are keeping it together."
Beaulieu said seeing them was inspirational.
"They deserve a lot of credit for what they are doing for all of us," she said.
Ellie