Hello,

My fiancé and I have entered into a contest to win a wedding from a historic estate in Stephenson, VA. Ryan and I have lived in PA the last two years while I attend graduate school and he works at L. R. Kimball and Associates, but we both graduated from Virginia Tech in 2007.

Ryan and I have been trying to tell others about our story, just because we are unique. Both of us are 1^st generation college students and worked very hard to get where we are.  We both paid for our college education. Ryan spent 8 years of service in the Marines and worked 2 jobs to put himself through school. I lost my father when I was 2 and was raised by a single mother until she remarried when I was in high school. One other neat thing about us is we have never been married before and we have saved ourselves before marriage. We have been together for 4 years in June and have been engaged for over a year.  We have been through a lot and are just so excited about this opportunity.

To tell you a little more about the contest, the owners of the Historic Jordan Springs are giving away a wedding worth $85,000. The contest is similar to the format of the TODAY Show weddings, where the lucky couple does not get a say in any of the details of the wedding; however, the public gets to vote on each item. So, we want to see if we could get from local residents.

The estate has an amazing history including being a hotel, a hospital during the Civil War, a  Catholic monastery, a rehabilitation center, and is now an event and cultural centre. They host a lot of events including cooking classes and paranormal investigations. We do encourage anyone who might visit the area to check it out. It is a beautiful estate that deserves recognition.

Back in July of 2008, we submitted a 15 minute video answering three questions: 1. Why do you want to have your wedding at Historic Jordan Springs? 2. What would make it special by having your wedding at Historic Jordan Springs? 3. Why do you think you deserve to win?

On January 17, 2009 we were informed that we made the top ten group of semi-finalist based on our entry video. Then, on January 29^th, 2009 we were announced as one of the final four couples. Again, these were based on the entry videos. The final couples will now be chosen based on two things online voting and 4 bridal show competitions.

The announcement of the winner will take place on May 21^st, 2009. In addition, each of the aspects of the wedding is chosen by the public. This includes everything from my dress to the color of the decorations. The most influence we have is asking people to vote for what we like best. We have had a lot of fun so far and the people at Historic Jordan Springs are wonderful to work with.

We would like to share this information with as many people as we can, as we feel this has been such a positive thing right now for all to enjoy. We think that people might enjoy hearing about it.

You can vote for ryan and susan on the website:

http://www.historicjordanspringsdreamweddinggiveaway.com

They are the top left couple. thank you in advance.

Thank you & God Bless,

Susan Faber and Ryan Smith