Couple puts wedding plans up for vote

Their relationship, at least some of the more important moments, has been a bit eccentric.

When they met after a friend's wedding, Michael Casey of St. Louis told Cape Girardeau's Dianne Johnson she should date his best friend. She wouldn't want to date him, he told her, because he came with too much baggage.

As far as Johnson was concerned, it was the perfect pickup line.

When Casey proposed to his sweetheart on Halloween, he dressed up as Prince Charming. In front of many of Johnson's co-workers, he dropped to a knee and popped the question.

So perhaps it should surprise no one that the couple might be married in a Friday the 13th wedding put on by a radio station.

Johnson, who shoots commercials for KFVS-TV, and Casey, who works in a research lab at Washington University, are one of six couples chosen as finalists in a Y98-FM contest to receive a free wedding and honeymoon.

The St. Louis radio station is sponsoring a Mega Wedding contest, which includes a ceremony at Sheldon Concert Hall on Feb. 13, a wedding dress, a pair of rings, catering, a reception with live music, limousine service, flowers, photos and video.

Fans of the station will get to vote on the winner of the big prize. They'll also decide the dress, tuxedo, rings and honeymoon destination. All told, it's a package worth $15,000 to $20,000, said Brandi Rowe, marketing director for the radio station.

The couple plans to get married on May 22 if they don't win the contest.

Casey said the reason for entering the contest was more about having fun than it was about getting a free wedding.

"It was just to try something goofy," he said. "It'll be nice to have all the stuff for free, all the way up to the honeymoon for free. But in the final stages of it, it's just a wild ride for two weeks."

Casey and Johnson's essay was one of six chosen among a large stack of contest entries. Casey gives the credit to his fiancee, whose essay asked "why" four times and used the number 98 seven times in an obvious attempt to butter up the judges.

"That's all her idea, she's much more creative than I am," Prince Charming said.

Casey and Johnson have some tough competition, including one couple that wants to have the wedding soon while the bride's cancer-stricken mother is still healthy enough to attend.

On Saturday, Casey and Johnson will go to the St. Louis Rams game and try to solicit votes. Johnson will dress in an ugly wedding dress and hand out flyers, asking people to log on to Y98's Web site and vote.

The contest will end Jan. 18.

"We're very excited," Johnson said. "And we need all the votes we can get from Cape."

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635