June 2, 2015

From “She Said Yes” to a Muddy “I Do”

Post by Alex Brown
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A shirtless man wearing a black bow tie and a lovely woman in a knee-length white dress arrived at Savage Race Maryland, ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime – literally.

Her white dress and delicate white veil didn’t stay white for very long.

By the time Duane Janney and Mandie Christ took the stage to say “I do” in front of their wedding party of 18 and an audience full of Maryland Savages, Mandie’s dress had been through miles of mud and obstacles.

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But that didn’t matter to her. “Duane and I aren’t traditional people. We wanted to do things a different way. We wanted to do things our way,” she says.

Their Savage Race Maryland wedding on May 2, 2015 took place just one year after Duane proposed to Mandie at the finish line of the 2014 Savage Race.

“The Savage Race will always be special to us,” says Duane. “While covered in mud and all scraped up, Mandy said ‘yes’ in 2014 and we said ‘I do’ in 2015 on the same piece of land.”

Mandie is a nursing student and was working as a trainer at her local YMCA when she met Duane. His proposal came as a complete surprise to Mandie. She had no idea that she would leave Savage Race engaged to the man of her dreams, and that just one year later they would get married while caked in mud and memories.

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Pastor Harold Phillips said it was the most unusual wedding ceremony he has ever performed. Their friends and family, including Duane’s two children, Hunter and Faith, loved the wedding and the entire day. Duane shares, “We just wanted everyone to have a good time. Deep down, most people hate going to weddings. We just wanted to make it fun.”

What’s next for the Janney couple? Nursing school finals for Mandie, then a honeymoon in the Caribbean.

When we asked Duane what his favorite part of the wedding was, his simple (and very sweet) reply said it all:

“My gorgeous, muddy bride. She’s all in. I love her.”

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