The wedding of Susan Combs and Sean O’Rourke

We celebrated the wedding of two friends that may have taken place in New York, but had the heartfelt feeling of Missouri.

I met Susan a couple of years ago when I started volunteering of the board of Mizzou alumni here in New York; Susan is the athletics director and puts together all of the sports leagues for our alumni group. (If you look closely at the wedding cake, you’ll see that the bride has jumped on her groom’s back to catch a football.) We’ve met Sean at several events over the last few years and were flattered to be included in their special day.

The wedding was held in Madison Square Park and, while the setting was beautiful, it was no match for the simplicity of their vows. In a beautiful and heartfelt ceremony, Susan pledged to support “Notre Dame, the Phillies and the San Francisco Forty-Niners during their respective seasons,” and Sean agreed that, following a fight, chocolates and diamonds from Susan’s favorite shops were always acceptable as a form of apology.

A quick walk from the park to Blue Smoke led us to one of the best wedding feasts we’ve ever enjoyed. The buffet of ribs, mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus was absolutely incredible. We also had the pleasure of catching up with old friends from college like Teresa Tenorio Walsh, who was a sorority sister a few years below me (and who had known Susan from her hometown), and meeting new friends like Misty Jackson, who pals around with several of my friends from college who live in St. Louis. The intimate atmosphere combined with heartfelt wishes, good friends, great food and fun music to create a truly memorable wedding that we’ll always remember fondly.

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