When some couples decide on a destination wedding, they are planning on inviting guests to a romantic island or exotic vacation spot. However, when devout Catholics Christa Davis and Olivier Bathany were married on April 21, the majority of their guests — in fact the bride and groom themselves — traveled from far-away places to take part in the nuptial Mass at St. Joseph Church on Springfield's north end.

Christa was born in California and spent part of her childhood living in Germany, before returning to Springfield to attend Ursuline Academy. After high school graduation she obtained her bachelor's degree from Dominican University in River Forest and her master's degree from the University of Arizona at Tucson. She worked in Chicago for a while but returned to Munich, Germany in 2000, where she is employed by Oliver Wyman Consulting.

Olivier was born and raised in France but moved to Germany after he completed college. He works for think project!, a Germany-based company.

The couple met last May at a coffee house in Munich and were married within 11 months. "I think we are unique because we are in our 40s and neither of us has been married before and we've never had children," Christa says.

Although the couple could have exchanged vows in a Catholic church in any number of places, Christa wanted to have her wedding at St. Joseph Church to honor her grandfather, Wayne Davenport. Davenport was the contractor who built the "new" St. Joseph Church in 1967.

"I really didn't live in Springfield myself for many years, but my mother's family is from here so when I come 'home' for the holidays or some special event, I come to Springfield," Christa says. "My grandfather was able to attend the wedding and he loved the whole weekend."

Their wedding was small, with only 48 in attendance. In respect to the families of both the bride and the groom, the liturgy was celebrated in both English and French.

Planning such a long-distance wedding was complicated, but worth the effort, Christa says. For example, Christa and Olivier completed their Pre-Cana conferences in Germany with Father Cletus Colaco, SVD, from the English Foreign Catholic Mission. Various legal documents had to be completed as well. "We started the paperwork back in December," she says.

At the same time they were discussing wedding plans with Christa's family and Msgr. Thomas Holinga, pastor of St. Joseph Parish. The couple told Msgr. Holinga, that Olivier's family from France wouldn't be able to understand the ceremony if it was all in English. So, Msgr. Holinga asked a fellow priest, Father Arnaud Devillers, FSSP, to help out.

Father Devillers is chaplain for the Latin Mass Community at St. Rose of Lima in Quincy, but also comes to Springfield every Saturday morning to celebrate 8 a.m. Latin Mass, or extraordinary form, at Blessed Sacrament Church. Msgr. Holinga knew that Father Devillers speaks several languages, including French, so he requested that Father Devillers stay in Springfield that day to concelebrate the 10:30 a.m. wedding Mass.

"The wedding program was in both languages," says Christa. "The first reading was read in French and the second reading was in English, the homily was in both languages. We took our wedding vows in English but the nuptial blessing was in French. We alternated back and forth for the Prayers of the Faithful. Four were read in English and four were read in French."

Christa says that being an "older bride" of 43, she has been to many weddings, some that were "way over the top." She says she and Olivier, 44, much preferred a small gathering, and says that only eight of the guests were from the Springfield area.

"We had five people here from France, two people from Germany, people from Canada. We also had guests from Alaska, Colorado, Boston, California, St. Louis and New York. These people practiced Christianity, Judaism and Muslim religions.

"Our wedding was emotional, very emotional," she says. "We wanted to be able to spend time with our guests. I think you lose out if there are too many people. We had the opportunity to sit at every table at the reception, to talk to people and to laugh and to tell jokes."

"The greatest gift you can give someone is your presence at their celebration," says Olivier. "At the end of the day a wedding is not only about the couple, it is about family."

Patrick Groth, president and owner of Incredibly Delicious in Springfield, made the couple's wedding and groom cakes. The wedding cake was a traditional French wedding cake called a pièce montée. The groom's cake was made in the shape of Germany but featured, among other things, the Eiffel Tower, a bottle of wine, a representation of Abraham Lincoln and an ear of corn.

"Patrick studied baking in France, so he spoke to Olivier in French," says Christa, adding that the reception had a "European feel." "We splurged on the wine and champagne. We had wine from Germany and champagne from France."

While in Springfield, the couple and their guests toured the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. "We were very impressed with the museum," says Olivier. They also made a visit to Christa's grandmother Ada Davenport's grave where they left some flowers from the wedding.

"You know, as a French man, getting married in the Midwest isn't bad at all," says Olivier, holding the hand of his new bride and smiling. "Now we'll go back to Germany and continue our life as a one unified couple. We'll take whatever God allows."