BEDFORD, Pa. — Mia Rosanne Perlozzo and Charles Kenneth Cross, Jr. were united in marriage on Nov. 15, 2008, at Heartland Hall in Bedford. The ceremony took place in the conference center’s main ballroom and was followed by a cocktail reception and a seated dinner. The bride and groom spent their wedding night at Bedford Springs Resort. Thanks to the Fairfield Inn and Suites Bedford and Bedford Springs Resort for hosting many of the wedding guests.
Mia is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Perlozzo of Tampa, Fla., and Ms. Marsha Perlozzo of Cumberland. JR is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles “Butch” Cross Sr., of Cumberland.
The bride was escorted by her father down the aisle and onto the stage, which was the setting for the ceremony and exchange of vows.
Attending the bride was matron of honor Cherlyn Hickle, sister of the groom, and serving as bridesmaids were, Amy Ternent and Jayme Stern, friends of the bride; and Lindsay O’Connor, cousin of the bride. Junior bridesmaid was Eden Twigg, niece of the groom.
Attending the groom was his best man, David Hickle, brother-in-law of the groom, followed by his groomsmen, Eric Perlozzo, brother of the bride; Ian Wright, friend of the groom; and Seth D’Atri, cousin of the groom. Junior groomsmen were Derek Hickle and Tyler Crosser, nephews of the groom.
The groom’s nieces, Chanel Porter, Cayla Crosser, Maggie Hickle and Skyler Porter, were flower girls. Each flower girl carried a bouquet of three yellow rose buds.
The bride was dressed in a J.Crew designer gown. The T-shirt-style dress was champagne colored and featured satin trimming around the neckline and sleeves. The back of the dress was styled with a two-button closure at the neck and a keyhole opening leading to just above the waist. Simple darts lead down the back of the dress from the waist to the modest train on the gown. The bride carried a large bouquet of yellow lilies and white roses. The bride’s longtime friend, Mary Schmitt, did her make-up for the ceremony and Kory Long of Absolutely U Salon styled the bride’s hair.
The bridesmaids all wore tea-length J.Crew dresses in sour lemon adorned with a satin sash at the waist. They carried bouquets of wild flowers.
Many thanks go out to Linda Whitfield, manager of the Loving Touch flower shop in Bedford, for transforming the wedding venue into a spectacular site as well as creating the bridal party’s bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres.
The officiant of the double ring ceremony was Ralph E. Wilson of Baltimore. Readings were performed by Peggy Kalia, friend of the bride, and Chay Crosser, sister of the groom.
Music during the wedding was provided by pianist Kathy Robinson. Brian Mo of Brian Mo Entertainment provided the music for the reception. The bride and groom danced their first dance to “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton, and the bride danced with her father to “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra. Carla Rice of Guided by Grace Images was the photographer for the event.
The cake-cutting ceremony took place immediately following the dinner, with a beautiful four-tier wedding cake created by the pastry chef at Snappy Chef Caterers in Altoona. The cake was adorned with the same wild flowers that the bridal party carried, as well as red, orange and yellow roses which were also the centerpieces on each guest table.
Thanks to William Mulligan, Drake Harden and Brandon Harden for driving the town cars that transported the bridal party from Cumberland to Bedford, as well as Bedford Transit for providing guests with transportation from their hotels to and from the ceremony and reception. Very special thanks go out to Sara-Beth James, longtime friend of the bride and groom, for her help in coordinating the ceremony. The wedding wouldn’t have been the same without her leadership and organizational skills.
The bride and groom offered their guests a special way to say thank you for sharing their wedding day with them. In lieu of a traditional wedding favor, they made a donation in each guests’ honor to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This gesture is especially meaningful to the couple now, as they recently lost their yellow Labrador retriever, Rudy, to cancer in April. Rudy was 6 years old.
The bride and groom would like to thank their parents, relatives and friends once again for sharing in their special day.
The groom’s parents hosted a rehearsal dinner at the Cumberland Country Club on the eve of the ceremony for the wedding party and immediate family.
The bride was treated to a shower at Oscar’s Restaurantin Cumberland hosted by the groom’s three sisters, Charyl Porter, Chay Crosser and Cherlyn Hickle. A second shower was held at Giuseppe’s in Frostburg and was hosted by her colleagues at the Allegany County Board of Education.
Mia and JR enjoyed a week-long honeymoon at Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
The couple currently resides in Cumberland, where Mia works as the public relations specialist for the Allegany County Board of Education and JR is journeyman in Local 489.
