The Bride
Sarah Kay Novak was born on March 28, 1982, in Media, Pennsylvania, to Melvin Edward and Bernadette Mae Novak. She is the third child of five: Cassandra, Naomi, Sarah, Melvin, and Bernard.
She graduated with honors from Avon Grove High School in Pennsylvania and headed to Utah State University, in Logan, where she would meet Ricardo during her first week of school (more details here).
One of Sarah's childhood dreams was to visit the Aztec ruins in Central America and that led her to consider majoring in archeology. She would later change it to Business Management with a minor in Portuguese. Meanwhile, she was initiated into the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority where she held the position of song leader and through the school's exchange program she attended a Spanish intensive summer course in Costa Rica.
Currently she is back in Pennsylvania and, while continuing her studies through on-line courses, is an employee of the National Penn Bank. She has also started her own financial services business called Brandywine Financial Care.
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The Groom
Ricardo da Silva Costa was born to Raimundo Gomes and Josinete da Silva Costa in Macapa, Brazil, on September 20, 1977. He is the oldest of four boys: Ricardo, Raimundo Jr., Jonatham, and Renato.
He came to the U.S. in 1994 as an exchange student in his Junior year in high school. He tranferred from Lynch High School in Nebraska to Valley High School in Hazelton, Idaho, in his Senior year.
Later he attended the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls where he majored in computer engineering his freshmen year. He was elected to the Student Senate and changed his major to marketing a year and a half later.
In 1998 he won first place in the international marketing plan partnership category at Delta Epsilon Chi's National College Conference in Denver, Colorado.
He tranferred to Utah State in 1999 and joined the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity where he served as vice-president, pledge educator, and public relations chair. He was also a member of the Aggie Leadership Academy and a supervisor at USU's cafeteria.
In 2003 he moved back to Brazil and worked as a marketing supervisor and English teacher at the Centro Cultural Anglo-Americano in Macapa.
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