Throughout most of high school, Mark Decker was the guy that Mary Anstoetter could depend on to go with her to school dances if she didn’t have a boyfriend. The arrangement worked well for Mark, too.

But in 2001, when he was a senior and she a junior, he asked her to the winter dance-as his date.

“I was really nervous about it, and was collecting my thoughts, when a friend of ours found me and told me that Mary really liked me,” Mark said, remembering back to that fateful moment. “After that, I felt confident to ask her out.”

“I said 'yes,' because, secretly, I had fallen for him a long time ago,” Mary said.

From then on, Mark and Mary were a couple. He went to the University of Missouri-St. Louis and she went to Saint Louis University. They dated throughout college. By June 2007, the pair had begun talking about marriage.

Mary didn’t realize that Mark planed to pop the question when he arranged a special day together that included paddle boats in Forest Park and lunch on The Hill. He suggested Favazza’s - their favorite - but she balked.

“I said, ‘Let’s save Favazza’s for a special occasion,’” Mary said, recalling her conversation with Mark. “Little did I know it was a special occasion.”

That night, after cooking a romantic dinner, Mark proposed, knowing that Mary would be more comfortable having this intimate event take place only between the two of them.

“As soon as he got down on one knee, my mind went completely blank,” Mary said. “Then we drove straight to my parents to share the good news.”

On June 21, 2008, Mary and Mark tied the knot at St. Gabriel in South City. Accidentally adding some levity to the ceremony, Mary’s sister dropped Mark’s wedding band.

“As soon as we got up to the altar, I heard the cling, cling, cling of Mark’s ring on the floor, but nobody noticed but me and her,” Mary said.

One of Mark’s favorite memories is when he and Mary were the Eucharistic Ministers. “It was great to see everyone as they came up to Communion right after the nuptials,” he said.

During the wedding, a thunderstorm raged, but the weather completely cleared as they left the church.

“We had the good luck of having rain on your wedding day without the inconvenience of having your pictures rained on,” Mary said.

In a nod to Mark’s heritage, an Irish musical duet played at their reception at Fox Run Golf Course. As the wedding party entered the room, they did a jig for the guests.

Now the couple, both of whom are teachers, are getting settled in their Richmond Heights apartment and anticipating their future.

“We’re really enjoying married life right now,” Mary said. “It’s just the two of us for a while - with kids eventually.”

Looking forward to many years ahead with Mary’s name the only one on his dance card, Mark recalled their first date: “Lucky for me it wasn't the last dance we went to together.”