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A 5K Run and An "I Do" For O'Keefe And McAvoy

Courant Connecticut article .pdf – By MaryEllen Fillo –  on February 1, 2011 7:58 AM

A 5K Run and An “I Do” For O’Keefe And McAvoy

Kate O’Keefe, a Ct General Assembly aide and daughter of Ct Superior Court Judge Thomas O’Keefe, has her own way of dealing with stress, including any unanticipated flutters that may come on her Feb. 12 wedding day.

She runs.

So before she says “I do” next weekend to fiancée, Kenny McAvoy, a partner in the well-known Hartford Restaurant Group, she plans to blow off some steam by running the Cupid’s Chase 5K in Hartford just hours before her scheduled ” I do.”

“I run a couple of time a weeks and it’s the way I deal with stress,” said O’Keefe, a legislative aide to the Senate Republic Caucus in Hartford. “When I got the email about the 5K, I figured it would be a good way to relax before the wedding.”

The run is hosted by Community Options, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for housing and job opportunities for the disabled.

O’Keefe and McAvoy will be married by the bride’s father in a small ceremony and reception at Noel Jones’ Polytechnic On20 in Hartford before heading over to Billy Carbone and Dan Keller’s DISH restaurant to meet friends for another wedding celebration.

“It just didn’t seem like the bar at Wood-n-Tap would be a good choice for the wedding,” laughed O’Keefe, referring to one of the restaurants that are part of McAvoy’s business. “And Noel is a good friend.”

Engaged since Feb. 13, 2009, O’Keefe says she is sure “Kenny is the one.”

“I’ll probably be more nervous about the race,” said O’Keefe. “Kenny and the wedding I’m not, he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me!”

But what about make-up, hair, getting dressed, the pictures, the flurry of last minute details that come on one’s wedding day?

“It’s not a big deal,” said a cool, calm and collected O’Keefe about her nuptials she describes as low-key and casual. “The race is at 10 a.m. and the wedding isn’t until 6 p.m.,” she said. “And I have short hair so I don’t even need to have a hair appointment.”