Uribe-Short nuptials exchanged

San Agustin Cathedral was the setting for the recent wedding of María Cristina Uribe and Stephen Travis Short. The Rev. Amador Garza of Río Grande City officiated at the double-ring ceremony and nuptial mass.

María Cristina is the daughter of María Luisa G. and Omar David Uribe of Zapata and the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Derly Uribe of Laredo and the late Mr. and Mrs. Lazaro Garza García of Río Grande City.

Stephen Travis is the son of Nancy Nell Short and Stephen P. Short of San Antonio and the grandson of the late James C. Short and Mrs. Maxine T. Short of Kerrville and the late Mr. and Mrs. Clarence W. Mask of Lytle.

The bride, who was radiant in a white silk satin Maggie Sottero Enchanted gown, was given in marriage by her parents and escorted by her father. The two-piece off the shoulder gown featured a full skirt and a cathedral train. The gown's center, cathedral train, and corset bodice were fully covered with embroidery and Swarovski crystals, and embellished with bugle beads, mirror backed crystals, and delicate seed beads around Italian threads. She wore both a cathedral and shoulder length veil, which consisted of a sheer two-tiered blusher and a cathedral layer that followed the length of the train. They were held in place by a tiara of Swarovski crystals, beads, crystals, and pearls. She wore white roses in her hair.

Her bouquet consisted of beautiful fresh red roses and stargazer lilies wrapped around a satin ribbon laced with buttons from her the wedding dress of her paternal grandmother, Laurentina Martinez de Uribe.

The bride wore a gold locket that had belonged to her late maternal grandmother, Guadalupe O. Garza, a gift from her grandfather to his wife on their 50 th wedding anniversary. She also wore a set of stud pearl earrings surrounded by diamonds belonging to her aunt, Carmen H. Uribe.

Serving the bride as maid of honor was her sister, Maria Teresa Uribe of McAllen .

The groom's cousin, Raymond James St. Germain of Dallas , served as best man.

Bridesmaids were Angela Irene R. Benitez, Cristina Belinda Flores, Kimberly Dawn Goodrum, Heather Rae Osborne, and Jennifer Marie Watson. They wore empire gowns of red satin accented by lace shawls and bouquets of deep red roses.

Flower girls were Alyssa Raquel Uribe and Gabriela Irene Benitez. Their gowns featured a short-sleeved satin and tulle ivory dress with red petals in the tulle and a red rose on the side of the waist. Each wore a crown of small red roses and baby's breath and carried a basket full of red rose petals.

Groomsmen were Leonel Benitez, Jr., Brian L. Sandera, Phillip Blake Goodrum, Christopher Mark Osborne, and Igal Askeroglu. Jose Alberto Hinojosa served as trainbearer while his brother, Jaime Eduardo Hinojosa, served as ring bearer.

Ushers included Ivan Miller, Edgardo Aaron Perez, Juan Carlos Uribe, Eduardo Felipe Uribe, and Carlos Benjamin Uribe, all of San Antonio .

Lectors were Cynthia Hinojosa of Río Grande City and Alfonso Federico Uribe of McAllen .

Dr. Gilberto Soto, professor of music at Texas A&M International University, provided the solo guitar music for the nuptial mass, performing “Canon in D” by J. Pachalbel, “Bridal Chorus” by Wagner, “Panis Angelicus” by Franck, “Ave Maria” by Franz Peter Schubert, “Largo in D” by Vivaldi, and “Wedding March” by Mendelssohn. Vocalist was Esther Fatima Garza. Amanda, Marisa, and Patricia Montalvo of Edinburg distributed Mass programs. At the end of the wedding ceremony, silver bells and bottles of bubbles inside red organza favor bags were distributed as the bride and groom left the cathedral in a vintage Corvette.

Primeros padrinos were Mr. and Mrs. Israel de la Cruz; padrinos de arras were Mr. and Mrs. Joel C. Uribe; Mr. and Mrs. Luis Angel Uribe, padrinos de lazo ; Mr. and Mrs. Encarnacion Lopez, padrinos de cojines ; Mr. and Mrs. Jorge A. Uribe, padrinos de libro y rosario ; Mr. And Mrs. Roy R. Ramirez, padrinos de Biblia; Alma U. Perez, madrina de album ; Mr. and Mrs. Miguel Munoa, padrinos de pala y cuchillo ; and Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Vela-Cuellar, padrinos de copas .

Mr. & Mrs. Rene Uribe of San Antonio presented the gifts at the offertory of the wedding Mass.

Following the wedding ceremony, guests enjoyed a reception at the Laredo Country Club. A black and white portrait of the bride, taken by David Bates of Houston , was displayed at the entrance. Minnie Ramirez, aunt of the bride, created the beautiful centerpieces at each table. The guest book arrangement and table centerpieces included a glass vase with a dozen red roses and greenery. They were placed atop a beveled mirror surrounded by votive candles. All tables were adorned with various gifts for guests, including almonds in silver organza favor bags; two-sided miniature photo frames that included a photo of the couple; disposable cameras; silver candles wrapped in silver tulle; milk chocolates with personalized wrappers; and bookmarks.

The wedding and groom's cake were a creation by Elena Holloway, of Holloway's Bakery. The four-tiered bride's cake was flanked by two auxiliary cakes, each of which sat on silver cake plates. The ivory and white buttercream iced cakes were accented by bands of red spray and sweetheart roses between the tiers. A silver bowl held more roses in the top tier.

The whimsical groom's cake, a design by the groom, was a three-tiered chocolate cake with chocolate icing surrounded by cinnamon sticks to resemble the Texas A&M University Aggie Bonfire.

After the dinner, the newlyweds danced to the song “And I Love Her” by the Beatles. The guests were entertained with music by Grupo Evolucion from Nuevo Laredo and Mariachi Los Arrieros.

María Teresa Uribe, maid of honor, and Raymond St. Germain provided very touching toasts to the newlyweds.

Guests from Houston , Dallas , Austin , San Antonio , Kerrville , Lytle, Corpus Christi , McAllen , Mission , Rio Grande City , Roma, San Ygnacio, Waco , Zapata, Sugar Land , San Diego , California , Reynosa and Matamoros , Tamps , Mexico helped celebrate the beautiful occasion.

After a honeymoon trip to Bora Bora, Tahiti, the newlyweds returned to Houston , where they currently reside. Both María Christina and Stephen Travis are graduates of Texas A&M University in College Station . She is a consultant for Van Kampen Investments, and he is a systems engineer with Amerada Hess Corporation.