the time he got through, there was only one slotleft for the date
we wanted … at 9 a.m. There were four weddings that day in the
Basilica.”What Andrew had to accomplish next was certainly no smallfeat either.
He had to ask Samantha’s father, LSU HeadBaseball Coach
Paul Mainieri, to grant permission to marry hisdaughter … just
six months after Andrew met Samantha whilethey were students
at Notre Dame.
Though both were involvedin athletics, the
two didn’t meet until Andrew’s senior yearand
Samantha’s junior year. After the tennis player
and cheerleaderkept running into each other on
campus, Andrew finally workedup the courage
to ask Samantha on a date. Justa few
months later, they were talking about
marriage.
“People thought we were so crazy, but
we knew,” Samanthasays.
The college baseball season had just
Andrew &
SamanthaRoth
outside of the
Basilica of the
Sacred Heart atthe University
of Notre Dame
A tradition for couples
whomarry at the Basilica
is to place a rose atBlessed Virgin statue in
The Lady Chapel. The
baroque altaris the only
one of its kind in North
Americaand one of nine
in the world.
Karen & PaulMainieri welcome
the newlyweds to the reception.
The red velvetwedding cake
included some 300 flowers
made of sugar thattook
three months to make. 21
InRegister • January 2010
