The daily Astorian., February 27, 2015, Image 36

Team togetherness
THE SARAH LACOSTE & MARCUS BROWN WEDDING
STORY BY MARILYN GILBAUGH • PHOTOS BY JESSICA STARR
arah Elizabeth
LaCoste lived
most of her
life in Sea-
side. Marcus
Steven Brown
lived most of his
in Astoria.
“We crossed paths
for the first time in the sixth grade,” said the
bride of her first Marcus sighting. But K-12
Seaside students pretty much stay in Sea-
side. The same is true for Astoria, though I
knew of Marcus through his sports. I
come from a huge sports-crazy fam-
ily,” Sarah said. Marcus was a wide re-
ceiver on the Astoria High School
Fishermen’s football team and played
third base on the baseball team. Sarah
played volleyball, basketball and golf
for the Seaside Gulls.
Fast forward 15 years. Long after that
initial sixth-grade sighting, Marcus and
Sarah connected on Facebook.
“Marcus messaged me about the
Beavers. We’re both avid fans, which is put-
ting it mildly. He also asked me if I had
plans for Valentine’s Day. I didn’t. T. Paul’s
Supper Club was our first date. It was per-
fect,” said Sarah adding emphasis with her
signature phrase, a happy “Yep!”
During their meal, befitting Valentine’s
Day, Cupid took aim. Bingo. They fell in
love and that was that.
“Our love and passion has been growing
ever since. A year and a half later, daughter
Maisyn Brown was born. She is the great
S
addition to our love story.” said Sarah.
“Valentine’s Day 2013, three years after
our first date, I woke up that morning to find
Marcus holding our daughter with one hand
and a ring in his other. Maisyn was wearing
a onesie, and on it Marcus had printed
‘Mommy, will you marry Daddy?’ He was
down on one knee; I accepted and burst into
tears. Before he proposed, Marcus had
called my parents asking for their blessing,
so they knew what was up at our house. My
dad told us that call was one of the proudest
days of his life,” Sarah said.
Long after their initial sixth-
grade sighting, Marcus and
Sarah connected on Facebook.
“Marcus is a pretty romantic, not gushy,
but a romantic and thoughtful guy,” added
Sarah’s mom, Sally.
Engaged for year and a half, Sarah grad-
uated from Oregon State University with a
degree in political science while Marcus is
working on a degree in OSU’s forestry pro-
gram. They chose a September wedding
date.
“We both have super large, involved
families,” Sarah said. Trying to include
everyone’s schedule proved no easy task,
but they made it work with much help from
relatives and friends.
The rehearsal dinner was held two nights
before the wedding on Thursday at Cannon
Beach’s Lumberyard Grill. It was one rol-
licking wedding weekend kickoff, DJ in-
cluded. Thursday rather than Friday due to
(what else but) a football game. Sarah’s
brother, Kevin, a senior at Seaside High
School, was the Gulls varsity quarterback
for four years and there was a Friday night
game. The Gulls won!
Wedding day excitement building,
Sarah’s Aunt Julie Payne arrived from Cal-
ifornia to do her magic with all of the flow-
ers.
“Our color scheme was pretty much au-
tumn tones. I told her to do whatever she
wanted to do. She did an awesome
job,” Sarah said.
Sept. 27, at 1 p.m., 400 or so guests
filled Seaside’s Our Lady of Victory
Catholic Church. As Sarah would say
“Yep, it was big!”
“I told Sarah, with your union we’re
going to be related to most of Clatsop
County,” her mom said.
Seven bridesmaids dressed in autumn
yellow and an equal number of groomsmen
in charcoal tuxedoes, plus three little flower
girls in flouncy finery; daughter Maisyn and
cousins Berkley Sturgell and Grace Brown,
took their places. Sarah’s middle school
teacher, Melissa Linder, struck up “Here
Comes the Bride,” and the bride’s father,
Kevin, proudly brought his daughter down
the aisle to meet her groom, making just one
quick stop. Pausing ever so briefly at the
first pew, Sarah passed an “I love you more”
note of endearment meant for her maternal
grandma, Pat Payne, with whom she shares
a special bond.
Continued on page 18
16 | COASTAL WEDDINGS 2015
COASTAL WEDDINGS 2015 | 17