Mark Thiel was born on July 10, 1950 in Milwaukee, and raised in West Allis, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he earned a B.S. (1972) in sociology and anthropology, and an M.A.T. (1981) in history. Patricia Poskie was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin on April 8, 1943, and grew up in Rhinelander and Minocqua. She studied at Holy Cross High School in Merrill, Alverno College in Milwaukee, and the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas. The couple met in Wisconsin Dells, where Mark was employed as a city recreation supervisor and Patricia was director of Religious Education at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church. They were married on June 10, 1979 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in West Allis. Since 1978, Patricia has been director of Religious Education at St. Bernard's Church in Madison, while Mark has been an archivist at Marquette University since 1982.
The Thiels decided upon a wedding inspired by their Polish heritage as a means of bringing together their own two families through planning and participation in a unique ceremony. They spent six months prior to the wedding researching costumes for members of the wedding party at the Polish Museum of America in Chicago, and by examining outfits worn by Milwaukee area dance troupes and in the Polish journal Panorama Polska. As it was impossible to rent the costumes needed, the mother of the bride, Helen Pecore Poskie, sewed both men's and women's outfits. Following the ceremony, a reception which further emphasized Polish traditions and heritage was held at the Tanner Paul American Legion Post, with an exhibition by the Mazur Polish Dancers and dancing to the Jolly Harmony 7, a Stevens Point band.
