The happy, smiling couple are shown in the top photo, just after their wedding ceremony was over.

When 2005 Blue Earth Area graduate Bethany Dorfner thought about a possible wedding sometime in her future, she probably did not think about it being an international affair.

But, that is what it turned out to be.

“We had people at the wedding from Brazil, Portugal, England, New Zealand and lots of different states,” says Bethany, whose last name is now Campos. “And it was a wonderful, beautiful wedding.”

Bethany (Dorfner) Campos married Brazilian native Marcel Campos in Albert Lea last Sept. 1. But how that wedding ever happened is an interesting story in itself.

The happy couple met in Midland, Texas, where they both were living at the time and where they are continuing to live still.

Marcel and Bethany with their two-year-old daughter, Lucy, who is all smiles just like her mom and dad.

How did a girl from Minnesota and a boy from Sao Paulo, Brazil, come to be living in Texas?

After graduating from BEA, then from Minnesota State University, Mankato, Bethany ended up moving to Midland, Texas, just because her older brother lived there and she thought it would be interesting and a good place to find a job.

Marcel had moved to Midland to play basketball at Midland College.

“We actually met at a gym,” Bethany says. “That is good, because we both like to keep fit.”

They dated for a while, lived together, and even had a daughter together Lucy, who is now two.

Last summer they were at Bethany’s brother’s house in Midland for a barbecue on the Fourth of July.

“We were celebrating the Fourth of July, and also my mother’s birthday,” Bethany says. “My parents (Matthew and Lynette Dorfner of Blue Earth) were there visiting us. Their three grandchildren all live in Midland.”

Then to her surprise, Marcel showed a video he had made, all about his life and family in Brazil and how he had then come to the U.S. and met Bethany and their life together now.

“I thought it was a little strange he would do this when we were basically celebrating my mom’s birthday,” Bethany says. “But it was a very nice video. He had done a great job with it.”

After it was over, he took Bethany’s father aside and asked for his blessing to marry Bethany, then in front of the whole family, Marcel dropped to a knee and proposed.

“We all cried, of course,” she says. “Even Lucy, who was crying just because we were all crying.”

After that, there was a whole lot of wedding planning to be done, in about two months time.

“Luckily my mom is a florist and took care of a lot of the decorating,” Bethany says. “And our long-time family friend, Jean Goodmundson, is a wedding planner.”

It was Jean Goodmundson’s husband, Jerry, who performed the ceremony.

The venue for the Sept. 1 wedding was the Wedgewood Cove Golf Club in Albert Lea.

“The ceremony was outside, and it was perfect weather the sun was out, about 73 degrees, light breeze,” Bethany says. “Right down by the lake. Then the reception and dance was inside the club house.”

Bethany had selected eight bridesmaids, and Marcel had nine groomsmen. They included Bethany’s two brothers, Aaron and Micah, and their wives, Sara and Megan, as well as Marcel’s sister, Isadora, who lives in New Zealand. Two of the groomsmen were from Brazil and England.

Bethany’s college friend, Lindsey Baumann was maid of honor, while Marcel’s boss and business partner from Midland, Craig Campbell, was best man.

The couple’s daughter Lucy and Marcel’s sister Isadora’s daughter were the flower girls.

Marcel’s father, Luiz Campos, lives in New York now, and his mother, Marlene Nascimento, lives in Christ Church, New Zealand. They were both in attendance at the wedding, of course.

Besides having guests from around the world at the wedding, there were other international touches as well.

“We said some of our vows in English and some in Portuguese,” Bethany says. “Our wedding cake was a special Brazilian carrot cake, very different from our kind of carrot cake. We also had Brazilian candy at each table.”

There was another Brazilian wedding tradition they followed. The best man cut Marcel’s tie into small pieces and they were auctioned off.

They also had Brazilian music at the dance, sung in Portuguese. And the bridal couple’s first dance was a kind of Brazilian salsa.

“But we had other music as well, including a lot of Texas country music, which we both now like, and other favorites as well,” Bethany explains. “I guess you could say we had a wide variety of music from all across the board.”

The couple is back home in Midland, where Bethany says she is blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom.

“I do some work in the health club and some gymnastics coaching,” she says. “I plan on some day going to work in community health, which is what my degree is in.”

Marcel is a financial wealth manager with Campbell Securities in Midland. He is a vice president as well as being a part owner of the firm.

“There is a lot of wealth in Texas, oil money and all, so it is a good area to be working in,” Bethany says. “And Marcel works with people he really likes. Craig (Campbell, the best man) is the person who brought him into the company and was his friend when Marcel first came to Midland.”

Now that the wedding is over and life has gotten back to normal, what about the honeymoon?

“We did not go on a honeymoon right after the wedding,” Bethany says. “We had a lot of company from all other the world, so we wanted to stay and be with all of them. But, we still plan on taking an ‘exotic trip’ honeymoon, maybe in March.”

They have not decided where that might be yet. But, with this international couple, it could definitely be anywhere in the world.