AN ENGRAVED INVITATION
When Elizabeth met Steve, she knew there was omething special about him. Actually, a lot of things. The newlywed explains how Steve
“is hardworking, funny, outgoing, and handsome and can
always make me laugh.” These are the things
that made Elizabeth Sanders vonDoerseten,
the daughter of Mrs. Charles Byrne vonDoer-
sten fall for Stephen Dale Bredbenner, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Lee Roderique. Luck-
ily, Steve was just as enamored and proposed
to the bride three days before Christmas by
giving her an ornament that had the words
“Will you marry me?” engraved on it. Im-
mediately following the proposal, the newly
engaged couple headed to Algonquin Golf
Club, where the bride’s family was waiting
to celebrate the occasion. Including family
in the wedding was important to the young
couple, and took on even more significance
with the passing of the bride’s father shortly
before her wedding. The loss added meaning to many ele-
ments of the special day, which as the mother of the bride
explains, they wanted it to be, “a happy time, a happy day,
but one that also honored Chip,” the bride’s father. The
bride’s dress was one such element. The dress was the first
one she tried on, and although the bride tried others, she
kept coming back to it. She recalls how, “I tried on 20 other
dresses and finally had my dad come up to Saks and see me
in it.” At the time she didn’t know how much this would
mean to her, but now she explains the dress’
significance saying, “Although my dad didn’t
get to walk me down the aisle, he got to see
me in my wedding dress and tell me how
beautiful I looked. That is a memory I will
always cherish and keep close to my heart.”
With a very special dress, the bride’s planning
continued with the help of wedding planner
Barbara Hoover, who the mother of the bride
says she “couldn’t have done it without!” Be-
fore they knew it, the wedding day was upon
them. Following the couple’s nuptials at Saint
Joseph’s Church, the newlyweds celebrated at
The Saint Louis Club. Here the guests dined
on tables with gorgeous arrangements by Ken
Miesner, toasted and danced all night amidst
white boas and confetti. Especially memorable for the new
bride was a toast her husband gave that, “paid tribute to my
dad,” and that as she says, “had everyone laughing and cry-
ing.” The day was one that was full of heart, and celebrated
both the past and the happy future of the newlyweds.
