Leflore Magazine Winter 2011

Greenwood, Mississippi

A River Country Journal / Winter 2011

table of contents people 5. Charles Brooks believes in the power of education

places 8. Dollar bills on walls of Flatland Grill tell many stories

9. Stately Smith House exudes Southern charm and comfort

wedding 14. Rebekah Flemming LaFoe says “Yes” to wearing her mother’s dress

16. Greenwood woman discovers new culture and finds love in Vietnam

18. Local accompanists share their journey to the altar

21. Women behind the wedding cake learn important lessons

22. Couples give their two cents on making marriage work

registry 24. Sixteen couples with Leflore County roots share their wedding announcements, and one couple announces their engagement

more

4. From the editor 48. Index to advertisers

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on the cover

Cassey Ann Rose gives her dog, Darly, a kiss on the nose before heading off to her wedding ceremony to Mark Cameron Hardin of Greenwood. The couple exchanged vows Aug. 14, 2010. Photo by Marianna Hydrick.

L

eflore

Illustrated

Editor and Publisher Tim Kalich

Managing Editor Charles Corder

Associate Editors Andrea Hall David Monroe

Contributing Writers

Bob Darden, Jo Alice Darden, Lee Ann Flemming, Ruth Jensen, Charlie Smith

Advertising Director Larry Alderman

Advertising Sales

Linda Bassie, Susan Montgomery, Jim Stallings, Kim Turner

Photography/Graphics Joseph Cotton, Johnny Jennings, Anne Miles

Production

Clifton Angel and Charles Brownlee

Circulation Director Shirley Cooper

Volume 6, No. 2 —————— Editorial and business offices: P.O. Box 8050 329 U.S. 82 West Greenwood, MS 38935-8050 662-453-5312 —————— Leflore Illustrated is published by Commonwealth Publishing, Inc.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 3

From the editor

PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS

Capping winter I

believe my wife would divorce me if I tried to move her up North.

Winter is Betty Gail’s most unfavorite season. She doesn’t like to be cold.

It’s about the only thing that can put her in a foul humor.

The Delta winters, though, are generally merciful.

Cold snaps don’t tend to last long, yet there is enough of a change on the thermometer to feel as though you’ve experienced all the seasons. I wouldn’t want to live where it’s temperate the year-round. It would get monotonous.

Every few years, the Delta lucks up on a snow that shuts the schools and most everyone else down. It doesn’t take much.

Just an inch or two. I don’t know that Southerners really have that much trouble driving on snow, but it gives them a good excuse to stay home and play.

The Delta is not at its prettiest in the winter, unless your color preference leans toward shades of gray and brown. Yet, the starkness of the landscape — the miles and miles of dormant earth, the rotting stubble left from the fall harvest, the barren trees — has a certain melancholic allure. It lends itself to introspection — a time to think about days gone by, decisions made and dreams deferred.

There’s a levee behind my house that borders the Tallahatchie River. I like to walk my dog along it this time of year.

There are not many distractions for either of us, other than in the early morning when huge flocks of blackbirds fly over the river in search of a daytime spot to roost.

I’m not a hunter, so I miss out on some of the best benefits of wintering in the Delta. It’s one of the greatest places to hunt deer, ducks and other game — or so I’m told.

I was once invited to a duck hunt. A friend from church thought, since I was an import, I needed to experience what it was like to be out sitting in a blind, waiting for 4 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

a flock to settle in. He gave me instructions for how to get to his hunting cabin north of Greenwood. I was supposed to drive out there after work on a Saturday night.

My host picked, however, one of the coldest weekends in years to invite me. As I recall, the temperature was in the teens and the wind chill below zero. I could picture myself the next morning getting frostbite.

Not wanting to back out, though, I kissed Betty Gail good night and headed out along a mostly deserted Money Road. I couldn’t find the cabin, though, even after trying several turnoffs from the main road.

This was — thankfully — in an age before cell phones, so I had no way to call my host to ask directions. My resolve wasn’t aided, either, by the bone-chilling cold I could sense outside my car.

Less than an hour after setting out, I was back home, slipping into a warm bed.

Betty Gail was happy to have me return, wimp and all.

Some people bring out the comfort foods during winter. I bring out comfort clothes.

It’s the only time I get to wear corduroy

slacks and wool sweaters.

My signature winter garment, though, is a black-and-green stocking cap my mother sent me more than 20 years ago.

My family has tried to get me to retire the cap, but nothing I’ve tried since warms me as well. It perfectly fits my head. Just enough fabric to cover my ears, but not so much to leave me with an awkward peak.

The cap is woven with great memories — ski trips and soccer games, long walks and quick jogs.

My son borrowed the cap a couple of times when he was younger and lost it. For weeks, I would be in a funk. I would try a few other stocking caps we had around the house, but they were poor substitutes.

Eventually, though, the missing cap would turn up in a friend’s pickup or in the lost and found at the health club. I would greet it like a wayward but beloved dog that had found its way home.

I’m not sure my wife and children have been as enthusiastic about the cap’s longevity. I hope they’ll adjust.

I just might ask to be buried in it. — Tim Kalich LI

Charles Brooks

Making difference at home STORY BY DAVID MONROE PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS

C

harles Brooks was raised in a family that valued education, and he has continued to set the bar high in his long career with the Greenwood Public Schools.

His mother, Susie Brooks, reared him and his four sisters while working as a maid in Greenwood for $15 a week. He and his siblings helped around the house when needed, and he worked a variety of jobs.

All that time, his mother made it clear that her children were expected to finish college.

“It was understood — you were going to school, and you were going to do good in school,” he said.

Each of those siblings earned at least a master’s degree and pursued a career in education.

Brooks has worked for the Greenwood district for 37 years and has overseen the special education programs since 1991.

Now 60, he says he has had several offers to go elsewhere but likes his hometown.

“I never really wanted to go anywhere else,” he said. “If I was going to make a difference, I wanted to do it here at home.”

He also works hard to ensure that the special-ed students receive the best education they

can, not just the minimum.

“I try to run a Cadillac organization, not a Volkswagen,” he said.

v v v Brooks was born in Greenwood. His father, Sidney Brooks, died when he was 3.

He remembers chopping and picking cotton, cutting yards, doing other handyman work and shining shoes to earn extra spending money. But he also remembers that he and his sisters never went hungry and never had ragged clothes.

One sister, Arance Williamson, said sometimes they didn’t understand why their mother was so adamant about going to church and staying away from certain people.

But they came to realize that she wanted them to be as independent as she was.

“Our mother always stressed for us to get an education, and she instilled in us that that was the only way we could succeed

Greenwood native Charles Brooks has worked for the Greenwood Public Schools for 37 years. “I never really wanted to go anywhere else,” he says.

in life,” she recalled.

She also told them to stick together, and Brooks has always looked out for his sisters, Williamson said: “He’s just somebody I really love and I just admire, and he’s worked hard for what he’s gotten.”

Brooks graduated from

Threadgill High School in 1968. Having played running back, wide receiver and defensive back on the football team, he was good enough to earn a football scholarship at Alcorn State University, as well as an academic scholarship.

After one year at Alcorn, he Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 5

6 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

transferred to Mississippi Valley State University, where he graduated in 1973 with a degree in social studies and special education. Later, he earned a master’s degree in special education and a specialist’s degree in administration from Delta State University.

He wasn’t always considering a career in education; in fact, as late as high school, he wanted to be a veterinarian. But he did some substitute teaching in college and decided he liked it.

“Once I got in it, I knew that’s where I wanted to be,” he said.

v v v After working as a Leflore County sheriff’s deputy for a year after graduation, he found a job at Threadgill. Initially he was hired to teach social studies, but he agreed to switch to special education because there was a greater need there.

He eventually became pupil service coordinator, a part-time

liaison between students, parents and administration. For a few years, he was principal of the Leflore County School for the Handicapped — known as Little Red Schoolhouse — and after that school burned, he returned to the pupil services job. He was promoted to special education director in 1991.

Special education has changed greatly over his career.

For one thing, “sped” students once were in one classroom with one teacher all day.

Since 1995, those not designated “severe/profound” have been included in regular classes with special-ed teachers.

There also are more disabilities to deal with today.

Brooks said he has a strong staff, which currently includes 26 teachers. He also has a big job keeping up with the relevant regulations. But he goes for training when he can, and he ensures that his staff is trained.

Sometimes there are problems with irate parents, but he

said they usually are able to find common ground based on what’s best for the student.

“A lot of parents don’t want to admit that their children have problems,” he said. “You have to know how to break it to them easy and show them where their options are.”

Sometimes he’ll see former students around Greenwood who have done well, or one of them will drop in from out of town. He also tries to place former students in jobs in the district when he can.

“I have some success stories where the students have gone out and really made good on good jobs,” he said.

v v v Brooks and his wife, Lashon, have been married 12 years.

They have two children at home: 9-year-old son Charles II and 8-year-old daughter Sydni. One grown son, Tennill Cannon, lives in Greenwood;

another son and daughter, Kerry and Paula, live in Memphis.

As his mother did with him, he has made sure that his children do well in school.

“What I admire about him most is that he’s a very good father,” Arance Williamson said. “I wish that everybody had a father like my brother.”

At one time, Brooks thought he would retire from the school district after 25 years. Now well past that, he still remains motivated —– and he said the leadership of Superintendent Margie Pulley and others has a lot to do with that.

“I think we’ve got a good team here, and everybody’s on the same page,” he said.

“We’ve got a goal, and that’s ‘Academics First,’ and we’re trying to make sure that all of our students, regular and ‘sped,’ reach the top of their potential. And to be honest with you, these last few years, that’s what kept me here.” LI

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 7

Flatland Grill

Patrons sit amid hundreds of $1 bills affixed to the walls at Flatland Grill’s bar. The tradition at the Greenwood restaurant began eight years ago as a lark after a manager won a bet with a bartender and triumphantly posted her winnings on a door frame.

A

s long as you’ve got a dollar on you, Flatland Grill is the place to go if you want to immortalize a special occasion.

One-dollar bills adorned with personalized messages cover the walls, hang down from the bar and span banisters.

They mark successful hunts, military deployments, 21st birthdays, visits from abroad, even marriages — beginning and ending.

Most are $1 bills, although some are larger. A $100 bill — laminated onto the bar — commemorates the 2008 night when “My wife kicked me out of ‘my’ house.”

Patrons of the Greenwood restaurant are given a stapler and can put their bills wherever they want as long as it’s in the bar area.

There’s no real policing of the messages; some are less than tasteful, but most keep it clean.

Manager Jo Bright said there was never any intent to start a tradition of hanging up bills.

It all started one fateful day in 2003 while Bright and bartender Ronny Joiner were watching a women’s college softball game on TV. Not a big fan of the sport, Bright decided to make it interesting by wagering 8 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Messages in money STORY BY CHARLIE SMITH PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS

$1 on the outcome with Joiner. She won and posted her winnings on a door frame bearing two words: “Ronny lost.”

From there, the practice grew on its own.

Employees have tried to count the cash value of the monetary decorations but always get lost.

Bright said she doesn’t read them often but remembers some.

A special dollar honoring Ben Green, a longtime friend of Bright’s who passed away, simply states his name and date of death followed by, “We love you.” It occupies a place by itself behind the bar.

A group of soldiers from Georgia about to be deployed to Iraq put up another memorable set during their final stateside fling.

“They had a good time their last day, I promise you,” Bright said.

Visitors from throughout the country have posted bills — New York, Kansas City, California. Foreign denominations are represented from places such as Mexico, Lebanon, Hong Kong and the West Indies.

A “Nick Buck” bears the image of SpongeBob SquarePants.

In all, the dollar display is a small slice of Greenwood lore whose essence is perhaps best captured by one of its own messages: “Mississippi ... so much to learn here as a white girl from the North!!” LI

The Smith House

Southern showplace

The Smiths replaced the mismatched windows on the lower level with five sets of screened French doors and added the deep, comfortable back porch. Their daughter’s wedding reception was held here in 1999.

STORY BY JO ALICE DARDEN PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS

V

enues of wedding receptions in Greenwood and Leflore County, regardless of how opulent or well-attended, do not typically make the pages of Southern Living magazine, so the venue that did in 1999 remains memorable to many local residents.

Howard and Barbara Smith opened their home and gardens to about 1,000 wedding guests on that day in May. The reception itself was smooth as silk, but preparations were a little bumpy.

It rained before the event; the Smiths had to re-sod part of the backyard and lay a dance floor. Some of the sod didn’t produce grass, so they had to spray-paint the bare spots green.

“What a mess!” Barbara said.

But the magazine was so captivated by the house and the renovations the Smiths had

done to it that the same author wrote about different areas of the house in later issues — the kitchen in the January 2001 issue (and on the cover) and the back porch in a spring 2003 special issue.

“Well, it helped that the writer (of the articles) was a friend of Caroline’s,” said Barbara Smith, referring to her daughter, the May 1999 bride.

She said she doubted the magazine would otherwise have featured the house in any issue.

She may be unduly modest.

The stately, neoclassical Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 9

10 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Remodeling choices the Smiths made in the living room encourage the sensation that the place was “born” like this in 1939.

The remodeled kitchen opens into the sitting room, where the warm colors are repeated for a unified look.

revival-style house on West Adams exudes Southern charm and comfort. Someone taking a stroll along the tree-lined streets in the pleasant neighborhood may get the sensation that time stopped for that house; it seems a pristine representation of its era.

But the Smiths have worked hard to make it that way.

“We think the house was built about 1939,” Howard Smith said. A trip to the Leflore County Courthouse to review tax records showed him the house appeared for the first time in the 1940 book.

The Smiths believe the house, which is much larger than those nearby, was built on property that was sold for development piece by piece through the years. The surrounding neighborhood reflects the building boom of the post-World War II generation.

The couple believes also that the original owners were named Tarver and that at some point, the writer Mildred Spurrier Topp (1897–1963) lived there.

The author of In the Pink and the autobiographical Smile, Please, Topp is credited with starting the organization that eventually became Greenwood’s Junior Auxiliary.

Howard suspects that some of the wood that built the house may have come from an old railroad depot that had been torn down. He also heard the house might have been constructed somewhere else — he’s heard Carrollton, McCarley and

Barbara had finished her medical residency at Tulane and was in practice in New Orleans in 1985 when she got a call from Dr. Mike Carter of Greenwood.

His wife, the photographer Mary Rose Carter, and Barbara had been roommates, and the couples were friends.

“Mike wanted to know if I knew of an anesthesiologist who might be interested in coming to Greenwood to practice,” Barbara said. “The hospital (Greenwood Leflore) needed one, and he was doing a search.”

She couldn’t think of anyone right away, she said; she’d let

Glendora — and later moved to its current site. The mysteries surrounding the house are part of the fun of living there.

By the time the Smiths bought the house, some of its original dazzle had faded, but the couple immediately set about restoring and enhancing it.

v v v Howard and Barbara Smith both grew up in Jackson, never meeting, and both moved to New Orleans, where they found each other later and married.

This graceful curved staircase was custom-built to replace the “blocky and awkward” original, and the wall behind it was opened by an archway into the dining room.

him know if she did. As she considered Carter’s request, though, she began to wonder — what about herself? She was at a point in her life when such a change might be a good one, and getting back to Mississippi held some attraction for Howard, as well. Greenwood Leflore Hospital hired the new anesthesiologist, and the Smiths made the move.

They were instantly attracted to the big house at the corner of West Adams Avenue and Walnut Street. It had the space they needed for their family — Barbara had three children from an earlier marriage, and the couple had a son together — and they both love antiques and old places. They could see tremendous potential in the house.

The Smiths bought the property from Nell and Charles Hony in 1985, moved in quickly and began working on it. They contracted with Vicksburg architect Skip Tuminello for the construction.

“We started on the outside,” said Howard, who owns Smith & Co. on Fulton Street in Greenwood. “There was a narrow walkway from the front porch to Walnut Street, and we took that out and added the circular drive. And we replaced the old square columns (on the front porch) with round, fluted ones, and we added central heat and air.”

As the work outside was progressing, Mr. Hony drove by one day, Howard said, and became upset with the changes.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 11

“He stopped and got out of his car and went up to the workers and started unplugging their saws and sending them home,” Howard said. When Howard was notified, he met Mr. Hony to see what the problem was.

“He told me if he had known we were going to make all these changes to the place, he wouldn’t have sold us the house,” Howard said.

Several years later, though, Barbara hosted a meeting of Matinee Musicale at her house, which Mrs. Hony attended –— she was a lifelong musician and longtime organist for the Episcopal Church of the Nativity.

“She seemed happy with the changes we made and complimented us on them,” Barbara said.

v v v Work continued with the major changes. Inside, the staircase, the rear wall of the house and the kitchen drew considerable attention, transforming the entire character of the interior.

“The staircase was really blocky and awkward,” Barbara said, “and it started going up only about four feet from the front door.” The old staircase was removed, and the new one, custom-built in Natchez, was installed on the opposite wall of the foyer, curving gracefully up to the open gallery on the second floor, defined by a balustrade. The foyer now invites guests to come in and relax.

At the time the staircase was replaced, the wall separating the foyer from the dining room in the back of the house was opened with an elegant arched doorway, improving traffic flow and providing uninterrupted access from the front door to the back of the house.

Throughout the renovation, Barbara said, replacing the staircase was the only change that made the family leave the house and spend the night elsewhere, as they had no access to 12 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Whirring fans, hanging plants and cheerful floral chintz invite long, relaxing visits on the back porch.

their upstairs living quarters.

The changes made to the rear wall of the house were also transformative. On the inside, looking out to the backyard, was a row of mismatched windows, Barbara said. “They were different shapes and sizes, so uncoordinated.”

The couple replaced the unattractive windows with a series of five screened French doors and leaded glass transoms that open the living room, dining room and sitting room to the back porch and backyard and let the house breathe.

“We just love to keep those doors open in good weather and feel the breezes,” Barbara said.

The kitchen redesign was a major undertaking; today the space bears no resemblance to the original, which Barbara said was small and dark.

“I like a lot of light and air,” Barbara said, and the new kitchen meets those requirements. A carved wood island with a marble top is the focal point of the L-shaped space. At one end of the kitchen are the sink and double oven; at the other are the range, refrigerator and small prep sink, all unified

by granite countertops and golden honey-colored custom cabinetry.

“When the kids were growing up, I loved to cook in here while they were doing their homework,” Barbara said. “I don’t cook much now that they’re all out of the house.”

Flowing from the kitchen is the sitting room, a comfortable space for watching TV or reading the paper or curling up with a cat and a good book. The warm honey and cranberry hues in the kitchen are repeated in the sitting room.

Architectural elements throughout the lower floor reflect the Smiths’ attention to period detail. Rosettes, customcarved by a Polish craftsman in New Orleans, adorn the woodwork surrounding doors and windows. Built-in bookcases frame the fireplace in the living room. Furnishings and color choices feel warm and periodtrue. Although the work is recent, the effect is organic, as if it has always looked exactly as it does.

The portrait hanging over the fireplace in the living room holds an interesting story.

Howard found it in an antiques store he happened to stop by in New Orleans. It caught his eye for a reason: It was the same oil painting that had hung in the room in which he and Barbara had honeymooned years earlier — the original painting. The hotel had closed and was selling its furnishings.

Upstairs, the Smiths updated all the baths, and some of the bedrooms have been reconfigured, so now there are three bedrooms instead of four, and the master suite has a home office at one end.

The other major change to the master suite was the remodeling of two small, shallow closets into an inviting fireplace framed by built-ins that house a TV and other amenities. With two comfortable chairs placed in front, it’s easy to see what Barbara means when she says, “We just live up here.”

v v v As impressive as the entire property is, the pièce de résistance is clearly the backyard.

The five sets of French doors open from the house onto a deep covered back porch the Smiths added that spans the width of the house.

In warmer weather, hanging plants, whirring ceiling fans and chintz-cushioned wicker furniture entice the Smiths and their guests to sit and enjoy icy lemonades or mint juleps in the cool shade. Ivy climbs the walls of the carriage house and the garden house and the fences that form the other boundaries of the property.

And if you sit on the chaise longue on the porch and look out onto the manicured backyard, you have no problem at all imagining — or remembering — a thousand guests in wedding finery eating and drinking and dancing and visiting and celebrating the newlyweds.

With or without Southern Living, what a perfect venue for a wedding reception. LI

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 13

Something Borrowed

Elaine Flemming in 1978 wearing the wedding dress her daughter, Rebekah Flemming LaFoe, was able to wear after almost 32 years in storage.

14 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Daughter walks down the aisle in mother’s dress

T

he choice of wedding dress is an important decision in a bride’s life.

And when she chooses to wear her mother’s wedding dress, that choice can present certain challenges.

Such was the case when Rebekah Flemming LaFoe of Johns Creek, Ga., wanted to wear the dress her mother, Elaine Humphrey Flemming, had worn.

“She had always told me that she wanted to wear my wedding dress,” the Cruger resident said. “When the time came and she got an engagement ring, I didn’t say anything. I thought she might have changed her mind. But no, she was adamant about wearing it, that she wanted to wear it.”

Rebekah said she had made up her mind when she was 15 years old after attending the wedding of her first cousin, Lana Barton Boyll, who wore her mother’s wedding dress.

When the time came, she said, there were some practical realities to deal with.

“Mom was very petite, but I got my dad’s height,” said Rebekah, referring to her father, David Flemming.

Rebekah, 26, who was married May 22, 2010, is a registered nurse. She lives with her husband, Greg, in a suburb of Atlanta.

Elaine is the chief financial officer for Malouf Furniture Co. “Back then I weighed maybe 95 pounds,” Elaine said. “Of course, Rebekah’s thin, but she’s a lot more

STORY BY BOB DARDEN

broad-shouldered than I am.”

The dress, which had been stored for almost 32 years, was found to have a yellow stain on it upon opening.

“We said, ‘Oh, no, ’” Elaine recalled.

Enter Sandra Ashford of Ridgeland, who has made a career out of making potential wedding disasters go away.

“She takes a lot of gowns and she’ll redesign them. The mother may have had long sleeves and the bride wants it strapless. She’ll totally redo a dress,” Elaine said.

“A majority of brides now want a strapless dress. This is more traditional with the long sleeves and the lace,” she said.

Rebekah insisted the dress had to remain exactly as her mother had worn it back on May 27, 1978. For Rebekah the dress harkens back to a different time.

“They just don’t make dresses like they did in the day. I just loved the lace and the pearls,” she said.

Rebekah said she had to be careful talking about the dress around her mother.

“I called it vintage. She didn’t like to hear that,” Rebekah said jokingly.

The process of fitting the dress took several sessions, Elaine recalled. Even after the fourth or fifth fitting, she said, Rebekah still couldn’t move her arms about freely.

“So Sandra would let it out some more,” Elaine said.

She recalled that in desperation, Rebekah said, “Mama, how did you dance at your wedding?”

“I said, ‘Baby, we had punch and cake.

We didn’t dance,’” Elaine said.

But Ashford was able to fix it to suit

Rebekah, who danced every dance at her wedding. Ashford removed the stain and made the necessary alterations for moving and breathing and “made it look brand new,” Rebekah said.

Rebekah’s wedding ensemble also included a double veil with a lot of history. The longer veil was used by her mother, and the shorter veil was used by her aunt, Carol Barton.

“I just basically double-stacked them,” she said.

Since the big day, the dress has carefully been sealed in case another generation has the same idea.

“We’ve got a long way to go until that day comes,” replies Rebekah.

Elaine was touched by her daughter’s interest in the dress.

“It was an honor for her to wear my dress, and it really did look beautiful on her, even if I’m a little bit biased,” she said.

Rebekah said the dress was exactly what she wanted on her special day. LI

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 15

.

Meets

EAST

West

Elizabeth Fisher Nguyen of Greenwood with her bridesmaids and her mother-in-law and dress designer, Mai Lam.

Elizabeth Fisher Nguyen with her mother, Margaret Fisher, and her husband, Bien Nguyen, and his mother, Mai Lam.

Mississippi woman marries in Vietnam and Greenwood

BY ANDREA HALL

M

ost young women dream about their one big day, but Elizabeth Fisher Nguyen got to have two to accommodate both her old and new cultures.

On Nov. 15, 2010, the former Greenwood resident married Bien Nguyen in a Vietnamese wedding in Ho Chi Minh City, and the couple repeated their nuptials on Dec. 18 in front of friends and family in Greenwood.

“I wanted to celebrate Bien’s culture, but I also didn’t want to lose my cultural way of doing things,” Elizabeth said. She moved to Vietnam after visiting her mother, who was living there for work at the time.

Because Bien’s family is Buddhist, when the couple got engaged, they decided to consult the family monk for guidance.

“When it came to getting married, we had the option of asking the monk what is 16 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

---------------------------------------------“I wanted to celebrate Bien’s culture, but I also didn’t want to lose my own cultural way of doing things. ’’ Elizabeth Fisher Nguyen -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

an auspicious day for us to get married,” she said. “If we wanted to do it that way, we had to do it all, or we could just choose our own day.”

The couple felt they could use as much luck in life as they could get, so they consulted the monk.

“He advised the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year,” said Bien. On the lunar calendar, which many Asian cultures use, that date was Nov. 15, 2010.

However, their anniversary will change each year. Bien jokes that that gives him an excuse to forget their anniversary.

“I could make up any day, and she wouldn’t really know,” said Bien, laughing.

With a date set, the couple began planning two weddings.

“We pretty much did everything for the wedding in Vietnam,” said Elizabeth.

“My mom, God bless her, really had to run with everything in Greenwood.”

Although two weddings sound like a lot, the couple had originally planned to do three and a half.

“We really cut it down,” said Bien.

Their first wedding was a modern Vietnamese wedding.

Unlike American — and particularly Southern — weddings, where brides and grooms pack the pews with family, friends and even co-workers, Elizabeth said traditional Vietnamese weddings are typically

small and include the bride’s and groom’s Elizabeth said. “He explained the cereOne similarity she points out was that parents, the bridal party and some close mony for people about the processes and just as in the Delta, by the end of the friends and family. about the tradition of bringing the two night people were up in the chairs.

“There is no church,” she said. “It is families together.”

“Definitely a good night,” she said. usually done at home.”

During the ceremony, there was a time However, the couple’s marriage wasn’t In a traditional ceremony, the man will of prayer, in which the couple kneeled documented until they came to the come to the woman’s house with a pig while the monk chanted good things for United States. and gifts. He knocks on the door and asks the bride and groom, introducing them to “We thought we would just (legalize) it the man of the house if he can marry the the higher beings. Also included was a tea in the U.S. since we are both foreigners in daughter. ceremony, in which Elizabeth and Bien Vietnam,” said Bien.

If the man of the house agrees, they all poured the tea for the parents. Keeping Elizabeth came back in April for a few go to the groom’s house to have a celebrawith Vietnamese tradition, the couple weeks to find the locations and caterers tion and pray to their ancestors and future passed out sticky rice packets to the and also to get a traditional white wedding family. The couple decided, however, to guests. dress. Bien’s groomsmen and one of have their wedding at the restaurant Bien “Normally it would take longer, but Elizabeth’s bridesmaids made the 25- to owns and where the couple first met. because we did a modern take on the 30-hour trip to Greenwood to celebrate “It represents our home in a way, and wedding and streamlined the whole thing, one more time. the monk said we should do it there,” said it took 10 to 15 minutes,” said Bien. “It “We live in a community with people Elizabeth, who now works at the restauwasn’t stick-straight tradition. It was us.” from all over, so anytime anything big rant.

Elizabeth was touched by her mom’s happens, we get to travel,” Elizabeth said, The couple wed at 10 a.m. on the 10th short speech during a time in the ceremonoting a friend recently got married at a day of the 10th month of the 10th year in ny when the parents gave advice and kind castle in Nice, France. a small ceremony. words.

Elizabeth and her mom planned a Elizabeth wore an ao dai designed by “It was so sweet,” Elizabeth said.

Delta experience for the visitors with a her mother-in-law, who is a fashion “When my mom stood up, she just said dinner at Lusco’s and some skeet shootdesigner. she is so glad she feels comfortable leaving.

“The ao dai is the traditional dress that ing me in Vietnam with such a beautiful The rehearsal dinner was held at the you wear in Vietnam, and you do more of family and friends surrounding me, and it B.B. King Museum and Delta an elaborate version for your wedding cer- makes her feel good to have me here.

Interpretive Center in Indianola, which emony,” said Elizabeth. “She did a fusion Now she has moved back, and I am still stayed open for guests to learn a little bit of mixing modern with the traditional here.” about the history of the Delta and the legwith our wedding attire.”

Following a lunch, a little break and an endary bluesman.

Joining Elizabeth were her mom, outfit change, the couple moved the celeThe couple married officially at the Margaret Fisher, and about 12 friends and bration upstairs in the restaurant for a Episcopal Church of the Nativity. family from the United States, including party with all their friends and family.

Before returning to Vietnam, they did one of her bridesmaids from Mississippi “I wore a little white cocktail dress,” not take a wedding trip because the couand a guest, Kathy Whicker of Elizabeth said. ple say, “Our life is a honeymoon.” LI Greenwood.

“It was so unique for them to see and be a part of something like that,” said Elizabeth. “My good girlfriends who came, who had never been there before, were just so happy to know that I was good and safe.”

Elizabeth smiles about some of the stereotypes of living in Asia, saying she was happy for her friends to learn she doesn’t live in poverty and that it’s a nice area with good people. Many of the couple’s friends in Vietnam are from around the world, including France, Italy, the United States and Australia, which is where Bien was born.

Since there were guests who had never been to a Vietnamese wedding before, there was an English translator.

The couple standing at the altar in Vietnam following their first ceremony.

“The monk did a beautiful job,” Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 17

Accompanists Paul Brown, left, and Ray Smithee are happy to fill a couple’s big day with music whether it is at the forefront of the ceremony or just in the background.

“I’ve had to go to a rehearsal for one wedding and then immediately go to another rehearsal for another wedding.”

Paul Brown

Music Men

The

BY DAVID MONROE

v PHOTO BY JOHNNY JENNINGS

With enough careful planning, most wedding musical performances go off without a hitch.

But every so often, a musician has to improvise a little.

Ray Smithee, director of music at First Presbyterian Church, usually plays for about 30 minutes before a service, and he brings more music in case there is a delay.

But at one wedding years ago in St. Louis, he played for 45 minutes before someone told him the zipper on a bridesmaid’s dress had broken and no replacement for it could be found.

“I wound up playing about an hour and a half,” he recalled. “I just wound up

playing everything I had a second time through.”

Eventually the problem was resolved.

Smithee said his fingers were hurting by the end, but in the moment he felt the need to keep going.

“I guess I felt like because people were sitting there waiting — the church was pretty full — I felt like they needed something going on,” he said with a laugh.

Paul Brown played his first wedding — a ceremony for a distant relative — when he was 15 or 16. He went on to accompany more services, mainly for friends of his mother’s. Now he receives requests from

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18 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

college friends, younger relatives and others.

Brown, who majored in music at the University of Mississippi, has played mainly piano for weddings, although he also has played flute and organ.

Generally he has at least one wedding a month and two or three per month in the summer.

“I’ve had to go to a rehearsal for one wedding and then immediately go to a rehearsal for another wedding and then that next day, on Saturday, play for two weddings, like an afternoon and evening wedding,” he said. “It gets a little crazy.”

At this point, he can almost predict what pieces people will select. In fact, he carries a pre-sorted stack of about 25 wedding tunes because the right one usually can be found there.

Sometimes people will know the tune of what they want but not the name.

Then they might have to discuss it over the phone, or he’ll meet them and play some selections.

Some of the old standbys include Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” — a popular choice for the seating of the mothers and grandmothers — and Pachelbel’s “Canon in D,” which often accompanies the entrance of the wedding attendants.

“It’s really funny because over the phone they’ll be humming a few bars of the song, and I’m like, OK, that’s ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’ or that’s Pachelbel’s ‘Canon,’” he said.

Brown said he doesn’t need to prepare much before the rehearsal unless there is a soloist or something else particular planned. In fact, he’s played “Canon in D” so much that he no longer needs the sheet music. But once in a while someone requests something unusual.

One bride wanted to enter to “Chapel of Love” by the Dixie Cups, so he found the music and played it. Another asked that “Blue Suede Shoes” be played because she planned to wear blue suede pumps as part of the “something borrowed, something blue” custom.

Accompanists also must consider the wedding venue. Some churches don’t allow secular music; others, such as Church of Christ locations, don’t include music in their worship services at all, which means a piano will have to be brought in. So it becomes a question of how much the bride wants certain things — although, in the end, “music tends to take a back seat to everything else,” Brown said.

If people have no idea what kind of music they want, Brown might ask for a category, such as hymns, classical music or love songs — or maybe a mix of those types. “I think that kind of an eclectic mix tends to turn out better,” he said. “I mean, most people tend to enjoy that.”

Smithee said he was 14 or 15 when he played his first wedding in his hometown of Poplar Bluff, Mo. He was one of the church’s three organists.

“I remember being very nervous about it because I wanted everything to go right and was afraid I’d miss a cue about when it was time for the next group to come in or that kind of thing,” he said. “But it went all right.”

Now he plays for three or four weddings

a year. Usually he knows about them eight months to a year in advance, and most of the time the bride and her mother will discuss the processional and recessional music with him six to eight weeks before the ceremony. He selects most of the preludes himself, and sometimes they’ll want some hymns mixed in.

“I usually will play through some examples of various things that would work for each of those parts of the ceremony, and they generally make a decision at that time, and we go from there,” he said.

Brown said he was a nervous wreck the first time he played for a wedding. He was accustomed to performing in recitals but not for a gathering that depended on him.

He’d never worked with a wedding coordinator or tried to time the events, either.

But when the big day arrived, it went off smoothly.

“The rehearsal is always ridiculous,” he said. “You’re like, ‘These people are never going to remember when to walk in, where they’re standing or anything’ — because it’s just chaos. And somehow, you walk in on the day of, and everything just goes.”

Brown, who is engaged, said he probably will be picky about the music for his ceremony. For one thing, he doesn’t plan to include Pachelbel’s “Canon.” But whatever is selected, it will be an important part of the service.

“Music will not take a back seat,” he said. “It’ll be front and center.” LI

Business Directory

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 19

Come See Us In Grenada!

20 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Creators Cake

STORY BY LEE ANN FLEMMING v PHOTOS BY JOHNNY JENNINGS

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Karyn Burrus, left, goes over wedding cake ideas with Shelby Cascio.

Candice Holloway draws out her vision for a cake before she even enters the kitchen.

Shonna McGehee loved baking cakes, so she decided to learn to decorate them, too. Now she does everything from birthday to wedding designs.

hat the bride is to the wedding ceremony, the wedding cake is to the reception — the center of attention.

But what about the person behind the wedding cake? Brides give direction and instructions to the decorator, but the final product rests on the shoulders of the cake designer. These women tell how they got into the business and deal with their clients and cake disasters.

Karyn Burrus of The Grapevine catering business has been producing wedding cakes for 22 years.

She was working in Jackson when her boss’s wife asked her to go to a cake decorating class. At the conclusion of the class, they were to prepare a wedding cake for a “final exam.”

They worked all night to prepare the perfect cake for their test. But after assembling the three-tiered cake, they realized their greatest challenge would be transporting it.

“We loaded it up in the back of a Jeep Cherokee, and I held on for dear life,” laughed Burrus.

The instructor had not bothered to mention that you don’t assemble the cake until you reach the place where the reception will be held. A valuable lesson was learned.

Burrus later accepted a job in New Orleans and told her boss that she would need the first Friday off to make her first wedding cake for her good friend, Darla Lubas.

It was the first of many wedding cakes for Burrus, including her own.

Burrus remembers icing and decorating her wedding cake the morning of the ceremony to her husband, Bill.

Although most brides have photos and ideas of what they want for their special cakes, sometimes the cake flavors and icing selections are not to

Burrus’ liking.

“If the flavor combinations are something I don’t think will work well together, I try to talk them into something else,” she said.

“I take a lot of pride in my work and won’t put my name on anything that I don’t think is going to look and taste good.”

When Yianni’s restaurant began hosting wedding receptions, Candice Holloway knew that it was inevitable that she would be making wedding cakes.

She had been putting it off for many reasons. The main one was the lack of time to learn while helping her husband, Ryan, run their restaurant. When her brother called and asked her to prepare the wedding cake for his upcoming reception, she knew the time had come.

“When it comes to making wedding cakes, I am a self-taught designer,” said Holloway.

After preparing cakes for about five years, Holloway said the most important part is that the cake be fresh, taste good and, of course, look beautiful — just as the bride had envisioned.

By day, Shonna McGehee is a deputy clerk at the Carroll County Courthouse.

After hours, she has been the owner of Shonna’s Cakes for seven years.

She started by making birthday cakes and eventually got into the business of wedding cakes after taking a class at Michael’s in Jackson.

“One of the first wedding cakes I made had a layer that fell apart,” recalled McGehee. “I quickly learned to take extra supplies with me and you can fix anything.”

Summer is the busiest time of the year for weddings. Shonna was booked with a wedding cake to prepare every weekend this past summer. LI Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 21

Words of Wisdom

Lifelong Love Couples share advice for staying together forever

“When things get tough, try to remember why you were attracted to each other in the first place — the love.”

- Donna and Matt Mumme, married 21 years

Roy and Shirley Garrett celebrate 50 years together.

“Don’t let the little things bother you. They can turn into big things.”

- Amanda and Bryan Neal, married 16 years

“Every day you learn something new.”

- Edshundra and Anthony Gary, married a little over one year

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A

BY RUTH JENSEN

ctor Jeff Bridges recently gave a simple secret for a long marriage: “Just don’t get divorced.”

Although that may be good advice in general, there are some more specific things that seem to help couples stay together happily.

Edshundra Gary of Greenwood, who has been married to Anthony Gary for just a year and three months, said, “It’s going great.”

The most surprising thing about mar-

riage for her is the continuing process of learning about the other person. “Every day you learn something new,” she said. “You think you know them when you get married.”

The two themes of her and Anthony’s marriage are friendship and communication, she said. “I’m the one that can go around saying nothing when I’m angry. He likes to talk it out. But then he thinks it’s over,” she said with a laugh.

The Garys welcomed a baby boy Aug. 30, and they say that addition just enhances their marriage.

Amanda Neal of Carrollton, who has been married to her husband, Bryan, for 16 years, said marriage is a lot of work. To her, teamwork is an important key. “We compromise. I cook; he washes dishes,” she said.

“It’s a give and take. If you want it to last, you have to compromise. It can’t be onesided.”

The Neals say their temperaments are similar, which also helps. “The only thing Bryan gets upset about is Ole Miss losing a game,” Amanda said.

Unlike most couples, the Neals say they have never had a big fight. “We disagree sometimes, but I usually win,” Amanda said.

Bryan agrees that they really don’t argue. “I compliment her often, and I would never say, ‘You look fat in that’ or anything negative,” he said. “I tell her she looks beautiful in anything.”

Overall, Bryan said his best advice is: “Don’t let the little things bother you.

They can turn into big things.”

The Neals have two sons, ages 10 and 13.

Matt and Donna Mumme of Holcomb have been married for 21 years and have seven children. Donna calls Matt her best friend.

Having the same values is important in their marriage, she said. One of their shared values is faith.

They hope they have imparted that to their children — two girls and five boys, ages 11 to 19.

The Mummes attend St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Grenada and try to always be in attendance at services.

“It gives them that foundation,” Donna said. “If they see it’s not important to you, they’re going to realize it doesn’t come first.”

Another important piece of advice from Donna is: “When things get tough, try to remember why you were attracted to each other in the first place — the love.”

When couples reach the 50-year mark, there is usually a celebration of some kind.

Shirley and Roy Garrett celebrated a renewal of their vows in front of the residents at Garden Park, where she works with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

“People asked me why I wanted to do it there,” she said. “It’s my life. I love the people there. They even helped plan it.

One suggested we should renew our vows and suggested someone to sing ‘Love Me Tender.’ We did both.”

During the vow renewal, Roy told the crowd that Shirley was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She added that “only God could love him more” than she does.

Besides getting “a really good man,” Shirley said the secret is giving all that is needed, regardless of who gives how much. “When we got married, I was 19 and Roy was 29,” she said. “He said, ‘If

you ever go home crying to Mama and Daddy, you can stay.’ I never did, although there were times when I wanted to.”

Roy has worked from home for many years, and so he was there to take care of their two boys. Shirley has always worked outside the home. “I’m the busy one,” she said. “It’s worked out well. When my mom came to live with us, he took care of her while I worked and did things he said he wouldn’t do.”

Her main advice: Bend a whole lot.

Like many couples, the Garretts can now enjoy the fruit of all their labors.

They will celebrate again by going on a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. LI

On their wedding day, Amanda and Bryan Neal said “I do” to loving each other. After 16 years, the couple says they have yet to have a big fight.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 23

Tiffany Hawkins

&

Nathan Mothershead May 22, 2010 Tiffany Hawkins and Nathan Mothershead, both of Brandon, were united in marriage at 3 p.m. May 22, 2010, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Greenwood.

Father Gregg Plata officiated at the double-ring ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mike and Cindy Hawkins of Greenwood. She is the granddaughter of the late Vennis Upchurch, Mr. and Mrs. James Dykes and Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Hawkins.

The groom is the son of Keith and Paula Mothershead of Sardis. He is the grandson of Valera Mothershead and the late Edward Mothershead, the late Edsel Gewin and Causey Houston and the late Eva Houston.

Mixed arrangements of mango parrot tulips, green hydrangeas, orchid blossoms, calla lilies and pink ranunculus adorned the church. Nuptial music was provided by Susan Gilbert, cousin of the bride.

The bride was given in marriage by her father.

Serving as maid of honor was Michelle Hawkins, sister of the bride.

Bridesmaids were Claudette Hawkins, sister-in-law; Janna Courtney; Elizabeth Miller and Julia Nipper. They wore mangocolored, knee-length Tiffany chiffon dresses.

Serving as best man was the groom’s brother, Marshall Mothershead.

The groomsmen were Wesley Cherry, Alan Fortenberry, Donnie Ouzts and Brad Hawkins, brother of the bride. They wore tan suits.

Serving as flower girl was Allison Wyatt, cousin of the bride.

Mason Rose, cousin of the groom, was the ringbearer.

Ushers were Peyton O’Dell and Brantley O’Dell, cousins of the bride.

Following the ceremony, the bride’s parents hosted a reception at their home, where guests were entertained by Party Planet of Memphis.

The event was held in a large outdoor tent decorated with green paper lanterns and palm trees. The reception colors were lime green and coral.

The event was catered and decorated by The Pantry in Greenville. Sybil Fulgham, aunt of the bride, directed and planned the wedding.

After returning from their honeymoon at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., the couple is at home in Brandon.

The bride is a graduate of Pillow Academy and Mississippi State University, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority and graduated cum laude with a degree in medical technology. The bride also did coursework in medical technology at 24 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Mothershead

Vanderbilt University. She is employed at University Medical Center.

The groom is a graduate of Magnolia Heights Academy and Mississippi State University, where he was a member of Delta Chi Fraternity and majored in mechanical engineering. He is employed by Siemens Industry Inc.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 25

Julia Andersen Bledsoe & Robert Hayes Harris May 29, 2010 Julia Andersen Bledsoe of Greenwood and Robert Hayes Harris of Hernando were united in marriage at 6 p.m. on May 29, 2010, at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Greenwood.

The ceremony was officiated by the Rev. Craig Richard Hunter Gates.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Herr Bledsoe of Greenwood. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. James Allan Shackelford of North Carrollton and the late Mr. Shackelford, and Mr. Ed Jones Bledsoe Sr. of Greenwood and the late Sybil Herr Bledsoe.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wayne Harris of Hernando. He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Malcom Davis Baxter Sr. and the late Mr. and Mrs. Winfred Iverson Harris Sr. The bride was given in marriage by her father.

Attending the bride as matron of honor was May Shackelford Trezevant, cousin of the bride, and the maid of honor was Virginia Arrington Walcott, also a cousin of the bride.

Bridesmaids were Jane Gray Bledsoe, sister-in-law of the bride; Libby Harris Crumpton and Martha Harris Maxey, sisters of the groom; Katharine Bledsoe Buford, cousin of the bride; Sarah Rose Buchanan; Kathryn Amelia Burkhalter; Callie Anease Calhoun; Meredith Leigh Coleman; Sloane Porter Fair;

26 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hayes Harris

Kathryn Anne Flanagan; Tante Falkner Moore; and Jennings Kathryn Whelan Luster.

Robert Wayne Harris served his son as best man.

Groomsmen were Ernest Allan Bledsoe, brother of the bride; Robert Bozeman Crumpton III and Charles Gregory Maxey II, both brothers-in-law of the groom; Edwin Woodfin Cole; John Kenneth Gresham III; Robert Hudson Lomenick Jr.; David Hatton Marbury V; Parker Lowery Moore; Scott Thomas Newell; John Gordon Peter Nunn; Patrick Guider Sadler; William Graham Smith; and Charles Walker Sudduth.

Flower girls were Elizabeth Kirkland Maxey and Mary Hayes Maxey, both nieces of the groom.

The ring bearer was Harris Bozeman Crumpton, nephew of the groom.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held in Shellmound at the home of the bride.

On the eve of the wedding, the groom's parents honored the couple with a rehearsal dinner at The Alluvian.

After returning from their honeymoon in Riviera Maya, Mexico, the couple is at home in Nashville, Tenn.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated /27

Crystal Lee Fleming & Charles Stribling Odom June 26, 2010 Crystal Lee Fleming and Charles Stribling Odom were united in marriage at 7 p.m. in a candle-lit ceremony on June 26, 2010, at First Baptist Church of Greenwood.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Ray Hemphill of Greenwood and Mr. Hays Edward Fleming of Greenwood.

The groom is the son of Susan Clements Chick of Memphis and Mr. Clifton Ellzey Odom of Jackson, Tenn.

The ceremony was officiated by the Rev. Luke Riley of Azle, Texas, the bride's youth minister. Mary Jo Givens, a lifelong friend of the bride, served as the wedding director.

Following the chiming of the hour, the bride was given in marriage by her father and her stepfather.

The bride entered the church to the bridal march played by her uncle, Dudley Pleasants, on the harmonica.

Nestled inside her bouquet was a picture of the bride and her stepmother, the late Cathy Shute Fleming. The bride had a pocket of an infant shirt belonging to her uncle, the late Lee Roberts, sewn into the hem of her dress, which served as her something blue.

Attending her sister as maid of honor was Jessica Morgan Hemphill. Matron of honor was Mary Parker Flanagan Tribble.

Bridesmaids were Sara Grace Hemphill and Mary-Holly

28 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stribling Odom

Fleming, both sisters of the bride; Casie Burt Thompson; Millie Powers; Melanie Wilson; Leigh Ables and Laurin Clark.

Clifton Ellzey Odom served as his son's best man.

Groomsmen were Andrew Odom and Clements Odom, both brothers of the groom. Other groomsmen were Ray Ratliff, Bill Saunders, Will Freeman, Matt Hodges, Scott Blaylock and Bubba McCabe.

The reception was held at the State Headquarters of the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, where the highlight of the evening was a surprise visit by Elvis — the bride's all-time favorite singer.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 29

Cassey Ann Rose & Mark Cameron Hardin August 14, 2010 Cassey Ann Rose and Mark Cameron Hardin were united in marriage at 6 p.m., Aug. 14, 2010, at First United Methodist Church in Indianola.

The ceremony was officiated by Dr. E. Allen Bailey and Dr. Rusty Douglas.

The bride is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Walter Samuel Rose and the granddaughter of Dr. and Mrs. Walter Henry Rose and Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Smith, all of Indianola.

The groom is the son of Dr. and Mrs. James Robert Hardin of Greenwood. He is the grandson of Mildred Montague of Kosciusko and the late William Burdette Montague, Mr. and Mrs. Donald James Hardin of Mitchell, Ind., and the late Helen Schaaf Hardin.

Serving as man of honor was Walter Samuel Rose II, brother of the bride. Rachael Gwin Ammons served the bride as maid of honor.

The bridesmaids were Julia McNeill England, Michelle Bolton Gilich, Sarah Allyn Hill, Margaret Ellzey Nichols, Joey Kim Sessums, Crystal Nichole Thomas, Carolyne Elizabeth Wood and Marion Mabrey Wood.

Flower girls were Morgan Rose Hobson and Taylor Rhodes Parker. Wynn Hamilton Hardin and William Wayne Hobson were the ring bearers.

Program girls were Elena Catherine Harmon and Faith Caldwell Bishop.

James Robert Hardin served the groom as best man.

Groomsmen were Jeffrey Hamilton Hardin, Brent Montague Hardin, Tucker Bryce Bullard, Heath Braswell Houston, Stephen Rowell Lee, Christopher Daniel Sherman, William Brady Smith and Nicholas Norwood Taylor.

The couple and guests celebrated at a tented reception at the B.B. King Museum in Indianola. The rehearsal dinner was held in the museum gin room.

After a honeymoon to the Mayan Riviera, the couple is residing in Indianola.

30 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mrs. Mark Cameron Hardin

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated /31

Lindsay Diane White & Matthew Taylor Killebrew September 25, 2010 Lindsay Diane White and Matthew Taylor Killebrew, both of Greenwood, were united in marriage at 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2010, in a private beach ceremony in Destin, Fla. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Frederick White of Greenwood and Mrs. Kenneth Buford Bidwell Jr. of Oxford, Ala. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. David Lee Killebrew of Greenwood.

During the double-ring ceremony, the couple exchanged vows they had written themselves.

Nuptial music was performed by violinist Dr. Larry Tyson of Navarre Beach, Fla. Given by her father, Norman “Buddy� White, the bride wore an ivory custom slim line Maggie Sottero designer gown with corset closure. The gown featured swirling embroidery with an array of beaded embellishments. An overlay of Tomen Chiffon flowed asymmetrically from the Romance satin band encircling the empire waist. She carried a hand-tied bouquet consisting of pink mini calla lilies, white hydrangeas and pale pink roses.

The groom wore a tan two-button notch lapel, double-besompocket Stephen Geoffrey tuxedo.

Attendants were Kathleen Augusta Cascio of Oxford, maid of honor, and Shelby Smith Cascio of Nashville, Tenn. The bridesmaids wore short strapless pleated dresses in pool blue crinkle chiffon and carried bouquets of hand-tied hot pink roses.

David Killebrew served his son as best man.

32 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Taylor Killebrew

Other special guests included Mr. Christopher Cascio of Madison and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cascio of Oxford, brothers of the bride; Katherine Blake Bidwell of Oxford, Ala., sister of the bride; and Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Ables and Dr. and Mrs. Robert White of Greenwood, uncles and aunts of the bride.

A reception, following the ceremony, was held at a private beachfront home decorated with pink oriental lilies, white hydrangeas and white American Beauty roses.

The three-tier wedding cake was displayed on an antique silver plateau and served with a family heirloom pearl-handled cake knife. The vanilla genoise cake was filled with layers of fresh strawberry puree and chocolate ganache and decorated with a scalloped pearl border accented with sugar coral and seashells.

The guests enjoyed an elegant seafood buffet with music and dancing on the ocean-front decks.

On the eve of the wedding, the groom hosted a rehearsal dinner at the Back Porch Fish House on the beach in Destin. The tables were adorned with cotton bolls and eucalyptus brought from Mississippi.

Following the wedding day, the couple flew to Negril Beach, Jamaica, for their honeymoon.

The bride is employed at Montgomery Southern Realty as a licensed commercial real estate agent. She has practiced real estate throughout the Southeast since 2007. The groom is selfemployed as the owner/operator of Killebrew Laundries in Greenwood.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 33

Amber Jean Hooks

&

Alexander Wasson Moak October 2, 2010 Amber Jean Hooks and Alexander Wasson Moak were united in marriage at 4 p.m. Oct. 2, 2010, at Immanuel Baptist Church in Greenwood. The Rev. James McElroy officiated at the doublering ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Sandra Marie Holliman of Greenwood and John William Hooks Jr. of Savannah, Ga. She is the granddaughter of Margaret Bell Holliman of Greenwood and the late Everett Varner Holliman and the late Mr. and Mrs. John William Hooks Sr., formerly of Savannah, Ga. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Parker Barrett of Cruger and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Edward Moak of Tulsa, Okla.

He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. David Edmund Wasson, formerly of Greenwood, and Ina Parker Barrett of Cruger and the late James Amandus Barrett, and Betty Alexander Moak of Indianola and the late Charles Edward Moak.

Nuptial music was provided by vocalists James Jackson, cousin of the bride, Elaine Lemley and Vicki Carlisle, and pianist Paul Brown, all of Greenwood.

Kristie Rushing Bowers, Lauren Rebecca Bright and Elise Mallette served as program attendants.

The bride was escorted to the altar by her father and given in marriage by her parents. She wore a designer strapless Allure Aline dress with a sweetheart neckline. The fitted bodice featured handbeading with embroidery accents and a ruched elongated waist that fell into a cascading taffeta skirt.

The bride wore a single strand of pearls and matching pearl ear-

34 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Wasson Moak

rings that were family heirlooms of the groom's mother and grandmother. The groom presented the jewelry as a gift to the bride to wear on the wedding day.

Attending the bride as maid of honor was Adrienne Bright of Greenwood. Bridesmaids were Toni Barnett of Greenwood; Amanda Barrett Fondren of Cruger, sister of the groom; Dara McCluskey of Greenwood, niece of the bride; Katie McCluskey of Senatobia, niece of the bride; Brandi McLaughlin Hodges of Greenwood; Laura Reno Taylor of Greenwood; Missy Jackson Walker of Warner Robbins, Ga., cousin of the bride; and Jenny Wilson of Baton Rouge, La. Carter Moak of Greenwood, son of the groom, served his father as best man. Groomsmen were Gene Barrett of Cruger, father of the groom; Parker Barrett of Boyle, brother of the groom; David Hooks of Houston, Texas, brother of the bride; Jeremy Lamb of Greenwood; Robin McCluskey of Carrollton, brother of the bride; Tony McCluskey of Greenwood, brother of the bride; and

Andrew Moak of Greenwood, brother of the groom.

Gracie Barrett, niece of the groom; Maggie Barrett, niece of the groom; Anna Holliman, cousin of the bride; and Gracie Holliman, cousin of the bride, served as flower girls.

Barrett Fondren, nephew of the groom, and Jackson Walker, cousin of the bride, served as ring bearers.

Serving as ushers were Harris Fondren, nephew of the groom; Luke Fondren, nephew of the groom; Matthew Freeland and Justin Lance.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the Greenwood Elks Lodge, where guests were entertained by live music from Acoustic Crossroads.

The reception area was decorated by Jo Harris of Jo's Personal Touch Catering with an elaborate floral display of exotic tropicals at each table and throughout the area.

The bride's cake was a traditional four-tiered ivory cake embellished with elegant scrollwork designs and bordered

with chocolate satin ribbon. It was adorned with fresh flowers cascading down each tier and featured the couple’s monogram.

The groom's table featured an assortment of cheesecakes with a variety of toppings, all prepared by the groom's mother.

Personalized chocolate kisses and monogrammed M&Ms served as favors for guests to enjoy. Chocolate candy bars featured an image of the Sears Tower Building in honor of where the couple was engaged during a family trip to Chicago on Dec. 29, 2009.

On the eve of the wedding, the groom's parents and grandmother hosted a rehearsal dinner in honor of the couple at Yianni's in Greenwood.

On the wedding day, a bridesmaids' luncheon was hosted by Melissa Barrett, mother of the groom, and Penny Reilly, aunt of the groom.

After returning from their honeymoon in the islands of Hawaii, the couple is at home in Greenwood.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 35

Karlee Ann Ellis

&

David Bruce Kelly Jr. October 23, 2010 Karlee Ann Ellis and David Bruce Kelly Jr. were united in marriage in an elegant candlelit ceremony at 6 p.m. on Oct. 23, 2010, at First Baptist Church of Itta Bena. The Rev. Roy Preston “Butch” Kelly Jr. officiated at the double-ring ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Malcom Ellis of Cruger. She is the granddaughter of Alma Harrison Turner of Greenwood and the late Mr. Paul Edward Turner and the late Mr. J.E. and Mrs. Annie B. Watkins Ellis.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. David Bruce Kelly Sr. of Itta Bena. He is the grandson of Mrs. Jean Dodd Kelly of Schlater and the late Mr. Preston Kelly and Mrs. Ophelia Tackett Gregg of Itta Bena and the late Mr. Wallace Gregg.

Nuptial music was provided by Kathy Kelly Wier, pianist, and Angela Nicole Joiner, vocalist, who was accompanied by Paul Brown, pianist. Program attendants were Brittany Michelle Jaynes and Melissa Kathleen Nason.

The church was resplendent with the glow of candlelight and the scent of flowers. At the altar, a huge urn containing a massive arrangement of fall-colored daylilies, roses, daisies, sunflowers, fuji mums, gladioli, bells of Ireland and greenery captured the eye and was flanked by beautifully detailed black wrought-iron candelabras displaying large pillar candles and two more arrangements.

The ceremony began with the seating of the honored guest; the grandparents; the honorary bridesmaid, Lacy Kelly Baker, and her son, the ring bearer, Braden Hayes Baker; and the groom's sister and nephew, to the music of “There Is Love.”

The bride’s and groom's parents lit the family candles as “The Parent's Prayer” was sung. The wedding party was presented as “Canon in D” was played. As the processional ended and guests waited for the entrance of the bride, “Surely the Presence” was played.

The bride entered to “The Bridal Chorus.” Escorted to the altar by her father and given in marriage by her parents, the bride was radiant in a strapless designer gown by Pronovias, which featured a scalloped fitted bodice neckline. The trumpet-style gown was overlaid with dotted Swiss tulle netting with Alencon French lace, which was hand-beaded and richly embellished with crystals, sequins and bugle beads and featured scalloped lace edging around the hem and extended to a semi-cathedral-length train, which was also enhanced by the scalloped lace edge. The back of the bride's gown was accented with satin-covered buttons. She wore a fingertip, two-tier veil of illusion and-carried a hand-tied bouquet of mixed fall-colored flowers, including mini calla lilies, roses, fuji mums, orchids and monkey tails. Tied to her bouquet was a locket with a picture of her late maternal grandfather with 36 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. David Bruce Kelly Jr.

her grandmother’s wedding rings attached. A dragonfly stick pin was attached that belonged to her late paternal grandmother.

Attending the bride as her maid of honor was Angela Nicole Joiner.

Bridesmaids were Rosemary Dickard; Erin Lee Ellis, sister-inlaw of the bride; Randi Rae Henderson Gnemi; Margaret McClure Nobles and Mary Elizabeth Phillips. They wore strapless floor-length cocoa gowns with a ruched fitted bodice with an attached-at-the-waist side sash that extended to the floor. They carried bouquets similar to the bride's. The flower girl was Madaline Grace Kelly, daughter of Larry and Brandi Carver Kelly, the groom's cousin and his wife. The bride's proxy was Brittany Michelle Jaynes.

The groom's father attended his son as best man. Groomsmen were Robert Zackery Ellis and Troy Benjiman Ellis, brothers of the bride; Roy Preston “Trey” Kelly III; Jonathan Lake Lindsey and Hugh Douglas Muse Jr. Ushers were Joseph Robert Acosta Jr., Jeffrey Allen Edge, Richard Brice Fulgham and Michael Lance Norwood.

The bride was given in marriage, and Angela Nicole Joiner, the bride's maid of honor, beautifully performed “Heavenly Day” for the couple. After exchanging of the vows and rings, the couple lit the unity candle as “That's the Way,” a song performed at the wedding of the groom's parents 32 years earlier, was sung. The single candles remained lit symbolizing that while the bride and groom are now one in the Holy Spirit, each will maintain his or her own personality and talents. The newly-wed couple and their wedding party started the recessional as “The Wedding March”

by Mendelssohn was played by the pianist.

After the ceremony, guests were treated to a beautiful reception at the Greenwood Elks Lodge. Lanterns adorned and lit the driveway. The entrance to the lodge was flanked by tall urns holding wire trees covered with clear lights. The entire lodge was transformed into a breathtaking scene. As guests entered the foyer, they were met with an oblong table topped with three huge multi-height, fall-colored floral arrangements set atop round glass toppers placed on glass blocks lit with clear lights. An easel displayed a portrait of the bride in her wedding gown.

The focal point of the foyer was the bride's table, which held a traditional white five-tiered wedding cake topped with fresh fall-colored flowers. The cake featured alternating round and square layers decorated differently with buttercream amaretto icing. Behind the bride's table was a backdrop of white panels with clear lights sparkling behind them. The bride and groom used the wedding cake knife used at the bride's parents’ wedding 35 years earlier to cut the cake.

In the ballroom of the lodge, round tables were set up using brown cloths with crushed burnt orange-colored toppers. In the center of each table, square glass blocks lit with clear lights were placed and topped with round glass displaying fall-colored floral arrangements featuring tall poles topped with lit votive candles.

The L-shaped food tables were also set up in the ballroom and featured large fall-colored floral arrangements around three fourfoot-tall pedestal stands with round floral displays at the top of each. The walls behind the food tables were draped with white cloth panels, which had clear lights sparkling behind them.

Guests enjoyed pork tenderloin, bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp, chicken wings, meatballs, open-faced tomato and cucumber sandwiches and a variety of dips, salads, sauces and rolls. The beverage bar held large urns containing spiced tea.

The bar area of the lodge was used to display the groom's cake, which was chocolate with a strawberry filling and topped with fresh chocolate-covered strawberries decorated as tuxedos placed on a deer antler stand. His table, covered with brown cloths, was topped with khaki diamond-cut burlap with a huge “K” at the end. The table held a massive dried grasses floral arrangement with deer antlers mingled throughout with a large picture of the groom beside it. Sitting around the floral arrangement, several “tree stump” stands were placed, each topped with a Peter's Pottery deer, duck, rabbit or squirrel. Strawberry punch served

from a McCarty punch bowl was also placed on the groom's table.

Tables with fall-colored floral arrangements and chairs for seating and bar-height tables covered with brown cloths with beige circles filled the room. This theme continued to the patio, where a huge water fountain was displayed with fresh fruits and various cheese balls, cheese molds, dips and crackers.

The couple danced their first dance to “Heaven.” The bride danced with her father to “Butterfly Kisses.” The wedding party and guests enjoyed the evening dancing the night away to the sounds of the Billy “Rick” Smiley Band.

The church and lodge decorations were designed and arranged by Brenda Dean, cousin of the bride, and her friend Meg Howarth, both of Cleveland. They were assisted by designer Tarlei Hitchcock of Tarlei's Interiors and Jo Harris of Jo's Personal Touch and Catering, both of Leland. The reception was also catered by Jo Harris. The wedding was directed by Jennifer Sartain Dean of Water Valley, cousin of the bride. SteenTompkins Photography of Vicksburg captured the spirit of the evening.

The couple honeymooned in Montego Bay, Jamaica, at the Sandals Resort. They now reside in Itta Bena. Karlee is a registered nurse, and Dave is a water resource specialist.

On the eve of the wedding, the groom's parents hosted a rehearsal dinner. Guests enjoyed a video of the couple's childhood and dating years. Prior to the wedding, the couple was honored by friends and family with numerous showers and parties.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 37

Frances Claire Bowen & Kristopher Shane Smith December 11, 2010 Frances Claire Bowen and Kristopher Shane Smith were united in marriage at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 11, 2010, at First Presbyterian Church in Greenwood.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Moore Bowen III of Carrollton. She is the granddaughter of Anne Bole Smith, the late Mr. Marvin Dale Smith and the late Mr. and Mrs. James Moore Bowen Jr. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Houston Smith Jr. of Greenwood. He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. James Howard Lewis and the late Mr. and Mrs. George Houston Smith.

The candlelight ceremony was officiated by Dr. Rusty Douglas and directed by Cheryl Ewing. Nuptial music was provided by Bill Butner, harpist. Vocalist was Connie Black, accompanied by the Rev. Ray Smithee, organist. Program attendants were Kennedy Avant, Samantha Finney and Zoe Finney, all cousins of the groom.

The bride, escorted by her father, wore a Sottero and Midgley ivory slim A-line gown with sweetheart neckline and corset closure. Demir stretch satin provided a sleek luster to this slender silhouette. Ruching enveloped the bodice and asymmetrically plummeted below the waist, while the train poured into a gorgeous balloon hem.

She carried a hand-tied bouquet of large clusters of ivory and sand roses nestled with white ranunculus and freesia. The stems of the bouquet were banded with handkerchiefs from each of the bride's grandmothers and one from the groom's grandmother.

The bride's best friend, Meagan Webb, served as maid of honor, and the groom's sister, Kristin Mattox, served as matron of honor. Bridesmaids were Renee Beckum, Strider Bowen, Hannah Gwin, Gail Hester, Anna Makamson, Maggie Makamson, Melissa Pigott, Mauri Smith, Lauren Ware and Amanda Wiltshire.

Honorary bridesmaids were Meagan Bole, Mariclaire Fancher, Dorothy Jean Hicks, and Sarah Leard. Kate Harding Mattox and Emma Lewis Mattox, nieces of the groom, served as flower girls.

The bride proxy was Miranda Moon.

The attendants wore olive floor-length strapless dresses with sweetheart necklines. They carried globe clusters containing quicksand roses, ivory spray roses, green cymbidium blossoms, and green hypericum berries, backed with winter foliage.

George Smith served his son as best man. Groomsmen included Jim Bowen, brother of the bride, Troy Ellis, Allen Flowers, 38 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Kristopher Shane Smith

Tyler Gilliland, David Hargett, Michael Jennings, Matthew Killebrew, Sam Pigott, Daniel Smith, Larry Smith and Clifton Thach. Ushers included Cannon Burgess, Will Jefcoat, Chad Mattox, Hobbs Mize, Fraiser Smith and Marshall Vaught. Taylor Bole and Tripp Smith served as ring bearers.

Following the ceremony, the bride's parents hosted a reception at the Greenwood Country Club decorated by The Pantry of Greenville. The Krackerjacks served as entertainment throughout the night.

A labyrinth of burnished gold organza entwined with tiny white lights artfully swagged the ballroom ceiling. The round tables were topped with Manzanita branch “trees� anchored in gold planters topped with sheet moss. The trees were studded with stems of white dendrobium orchids, which were flown in from Thailand the day before the wedding. The country club catered the reception in a buffet style.

The five-layered bride's cake that welcomed guests into the ballroom, and the groom's cheesecakes with a selection of toppings were catered by The Grapevine of Greenwood.

As the bride and groom left the reception, guests threw handfuls of biodegradable snow to put a winter touch to this December wedding.

On the eve of the wedding, the groom's parents hosted an elegant dinner in honor of the couple at The Elks Lodge catered by The Crystal Grill.

Following a honeymoon in Jamaica, the couple is at home in Greenwood.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 39

Mary Kathryn Mallette & Benjamin Rodgers Russell December 12, 2009 Mary Kathryn Mallette and Benjamin Rodgers Russell were united in marriage at 5 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2009, at North Greenwood Baptist Church.

Dr. Jim Phillips officiated at the double-ring ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Lynn Mallette of Greenwood.

She is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Wood Jr. of Jackson and Mrs. M. L. Mallette of Greenwood and the late Mr. Mallette.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Wilburn Russell Jr. of Madison.

He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Otto Buckner of Madison and the late Mr. and Mrs. Joe Wilburn Russell of Clarksdale.

Nuptial music was provided by The Wedding Festival String Quartet of Oxford, pianist Paul Brown of Greenwood and vocalists Cissye Gallagher of Greenwood and Elizabeth Cobb of Madison. Scripture was read by Mary Alden Brett of Nashville, Tenn.

Program attendants were Amanda Paige Thompson and Krista LeShelle Hicks, both of Brandon. Stephanie Lynn Palmer of Brandon served as bride’s proxy.

Escorted by her father, the bride wore a gown of ivory silk organza with an Alençon lace overlay by designer Jim Hjelm. The fitted strapless b o d i c e , accented with an ivory ribbon, flowed into a mermaid skirt with chapel train.

She wore a two-tier veil of silk illusion trimmed in satin. She selected diamond and pearl earrings 40 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Rodgers Russell

and bracelet, gifts from the groom, as her jewelry. She carried a hand-tied bouquet of white, cream and pink-tinged roses.

Mallory Nichole Jackson of Brandon served as maid of honor.

Bridesmaids were Mary Hunter Russell Hancock of Paducah, Ky., and Margaret Hopkins Russell of Madison, sisters of the groom, Rachel Wood Allen of Jackson, cousin of the bride, Callie Pittman Collins of Brandon, Meagan Goss Counts of Greenwood, Rachel Elizabeth Ford of Louisville, Ky., and Meagan Rae Mitchell of Nashville, Tenn. The attendants wore black tissue taffeta formal gowns and triple-strand pearl necklaces, a gift from the bride. They carried hand-tied bouquets of white and cream roses.

Joe Wilburn Russell Jr. served his son as best man.

Groomsmen were Rowland Blann Hancock, brother-in-law of the groom, of Paducah, Ky., Walter Carl Cummins Jr. of Canton, Kendol Patrick Collins, Robert Tyler Garth, Michael Cody Hicks and Jason Lee Thomas, all of Brandon, Stephen Carby Everett of Madison and William Grant Hutcheson of Jackson.

After the ceremony, the bride’s parents hosted a reception at the Elks Lodge of Greenwood with entertainment provided by Blue Silk of Memphis, Tenn.

A bridesmaids’ brunch was given by the bride’s aunt, Deborah Allen of Madison, on the morning of the wedding at Delta Bistro.

The groom’s parents hosted an elegant dinner for family and friends honoring the couple at Giardina’s on the eve of the wedding.

Following a wedding trip to St. Lucia, the couple is at home in Flowood, where the bride is a special education teacher in Pelahatchie, and the groom is an electrician with B & B Electrical Contractors of Brandon.

Mary Katherine Sims & Joshua Patrick Whelan April 10, 2010 Mary Katherine Sims and Joshua Patrick Whelan were united in marriage on April 10, 2010, at Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson. Dr. Rev. Charles Eugene Poole officiated at the ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kirkland Sims of Jackson. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Dale Stockstill of Picayune and Peggy Kirkland Sims and the late Mr. Pat Sims.

The bridegroom is the son of Dr. and Mrs. William Michael Whelan of Greenwood. He is the grandson of the late Rev. and Mrs. John Pennington Ragsdale and the late Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Albert Whelan.

Escorted by her father, the bride wore a designer gown of ivory silk fashioned with a molded strapless neckline. The princessseamed waistline was encircled with a belt of satin, handmade silk flowers and crystals, and a mermaid skirt that drifted into a chapel-length train. With her gown she wore an Alencon laceedged veil worn by her mother on her wedding day in 1981. Her bouquet consisted of white hydrangeas, Vendela and avalanche roses, ranunculuse and lisianthus wrapped in an heirloom handkerchief of the bride’s great-great-grandmother.

Attending the bride as maid of honor was her sister, Claire Sims. Bridesmaids were Susan Hall Anderson, Maggie Bullock, Katie Farris, Sara Tyson Husband, Katie Korb, Jenny Kate Luster, Trudy Massey, Lauren Pickering, Meg Sheridan, Caroline Sims and Kathleen Taylor. Honor attendants were Katherine Allen, Stephanie Henson, KC Hutchinson, Sarah Knight, Emily Stacy, and Sheley Taras. Flower girl was Sarah Beth Greener, and ring bearer was Adams Kennedy.

The bridegroom’s father served as best man. Groomsmen were Sy Easterling, Scott Goldberg, Frank Gusmus Jr., Brent Hardin, Taylor Howell, Paul Kosko, Sparky Luster, Jonathan Nichols, Ronnie Wade Robertson, Kirk Sims, Jacob Whelan and Marshall Wood. Ushers were Jason Archer, Chris Champion, James Hargrove, Jay Jones, Hunter McRight and Clifton Mosteller.

After the ceremony, guests were entertained at a reception at the Mississippi Museum of Art in downtown Jackson, where they danced to the music of the Craig Duncan Orchestra of Nashville, Tenn.

On the eve of the wedding, the groom’s parents hosted an elegant dinner at The Capital Club of Jackson.

Following a honeymoon trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the couple resides in Oxford.

Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Patrick Whelan

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 41

Rachael Aline White & Daniel Wayne Faught April 10, 2010 Rachael Aline White and Daniel Wayne Faught were united in marriage on the evening of April 10, 2010, at The Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Greenwood. The Rev. Annie Cumberland officiated at the double-ring ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Allison Randle White Jr. of Greenwood. She is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Havis Webb and the late Mr. and Mrs. Allison Randle White Sr. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Lee Bryant of Greensboro, Ala., and the late Wayne Leith Faught. He is the grandson of George Eugene Kuhn, the late Bobbie Edmondson Kuhn and the late Mr. and Mrs. Marlin Ellis Faught Sr. Nuptial music was provided by the Rev. Ray Smithee, organist.

Emily Maples served as vocalist.

Escorted by her father, the bride wore a strapless A-line silhouette gown with corset closure and chapel-length train. The tulle gown featured beaded lace accenting the sweetheart neckline, cascading from the waist, and encircling the hem. With her dress the bride wore a cathedral-length tulle train. The bride's jewelry included Swarovski crystal earrings, her mother's diamond tennis bracelet and her grandmother's diamond engagement ring. She carried a bouquet of assorted white roses accompanied by an heirloom handkerchief belonging to her grandmother.

Attending the bride as matron of honor was Tracy Leigh Shearin.

Bridesmaids were Tara Walker Boyd; Deborah Michelle Faught, sister of the groom; Kristin Kuntz Gorney; Katherine Walker Horne; Mary Taylor Killebrew; Megan Sabol Martinez; and Valerie Michele Wright. The attendants each wore a buttercup chiffon gown featuring asymmetrical draping overlays of the strapless bodice and a band of crystal beading at the peaked empire. Each carried a hand-tied bouquet of pink roses.

Katherine Lindsey Thompson served as the bride's proxy.

Elizabeth Blair McKown and Tiffany Brewer Long served as program attendants. The bride's sisters, Allison White Bridges and Ashley White Pittman, served as Scripture readers.

Serving as best man was Zachary Alan Parisa. Groomsmen were Julian Tutwiler Blalock Jr.; Gregory Lee Bryant, stepfather of the groom; Laramie John Cook; Jason Thomas Downey; Wayne Leith Faught, father of the groom; Mason Davis Terry; and Jonathan Thomas Wright. Ushers were Wood Whittington Dale, William Crenshaw Rice Freeman and Morgan Wade Tackett.

Following the ceremony, the bride's parents hosted a reception at the Greenwood Country Club. Guests were entertained by The Compozitionz. On the eve of the wedding, a rehearsal dinner was 42 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Wayne Faught

hosted at Tallahatchie Flats.

After returning from a honeymoon in St. Lucia, the couple is at home in Jackson. The bride is employed at University of Mississippi Medical Center as a resident in internal medicine. The groom is employed as an officer for the Madison Police Department.

Natalie Hope Kemp

&

Joshua Davis Duckworth May 22, 2010 Natalie Hope Kemp and Joshua Davis Duckworth were united in marriage May 22, 2010, at First Baptist Church of Magee.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Anthony Adams of Greenwood and Mr. and Mrs. David Patterson Kemp of Frederick, Md. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Graves, Mrs. Nell Adams and the late Mr. and Mrs. Chester Kemp.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Duckworth Jr. of Magee. He is the grandson of Theresa Duckworth and the late Mr. Herman Duckworth Sr. and Louise Townsend and the late Mr. Claude Townsend.

Given in marriage by her parents, the bride wore a strapless designer gown of point d'espirit appliquĂŠd with Alencon lace detailed with pearls and crystals. The A-line skirt swept into a chapel-length train edged in Alencon lace. The bride wore an ivory fingertip-length veil. Carried with her bouquet was her great-grandmother's embroidered handkerchief. She wore her mother's pearl and diamond bracelet.

Brandy Nicole Kemp, sister of the bride, served as maid of honor. Meghan Davis, Dana Teale and Jamie Pace served as bridesmaids. Mary McGee Kemp, niece of the bride, served as flower girl.

Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Davis Duckworth

The groom's father, Herman Duckworth Jr., served as best man. Justin Duckworth, Jeremy Duckworth, Jonathan Craft, Jeremy Wilson and Cole Blanche all served as groomsmen. Reid Kemp, nephew of the bride, served as ring bearer.

Serving as program attendants were Karen Brown, Martha Cook, Stephanie Long, Alison Murphy and Crystal Reeves.

Following their honeymoon to the Bahamas, the couple is at home in Magee.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 43

Tiffany Shantell King & Herbert Lee Fry July 17, 2010 Tiffany Shantell King and Herbert Lee Fry were united in marriage at 3 p.m. July 17, 2010, at New Green Grove Church of Faith.

Bishop Milton Glass performed the double-ring ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Alfred and Lizzier King of Greenwood.

The groom is the son of Herbert and Linda Fry of Yazoo City.

Presented in marriage by her father, the bride wore a sculptured strapless diamond white gown encrusted with hand-painted beading and silver threading and a chapel-length train. The bride's bouquet was designed with purple and white roses and greenery and tied with satin ribbon.

The bride was attended by her matron of honor, LaQuacia Thomas, and her maids of honor, Marquice Johnson and Zabrina King, the bride’s sister.

Bridesmaids were Alexis Sanders, Nikki Prayer, Pamela Washington, Shulundia Drake and Raven Polk.

Serving as the best men were Alfred King Jr. and Yarri Fry. Groomsmen were Ronald Williams, Jonathan Fleming, Marvin Lewis, Sylvester Stewart Jr. and Amir Davis. Nevaeh King was the junior bride, and Darion Fry was junior groomsman.

Ring bearers were Dillan and Daniel Fry. Also serving was Jakayla Ledbetter, flower girl, and Camryn Fry, Bible carrier.

Accompanying musician Olander Emmons were vocalists Arteasha Journey, Jan Rias, Jerry Carter and Marvin Russell.

Guests also enjoyed the music of saxophonist Dr. Alphonso

44 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Lee Fry

Sanders.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the Confederate Memorial Building, where decor and floral designs of roses and calla lilies were provided by Tarlei's Flowers and Gifts of Leland. A traditional four-tier cake was made by Shannon McGehee of Black Hawk.

Photography was provided by Dewayne Sullivan Photography of Atlanta.

Lindsay Ruth Thomas & Scott Lane Wynne August 21, 2010 Lindsay Ruth Thomas and Scott Lane Wynne were united in marriage on Aug. 21, 2010, at the First United Methodist Church in Batesville.

The Rev. Pat Waterfield Ludlam officiated at the double-ring ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lent Ervin “Tripp�Thomas III of Batesville.

She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Harold Polk and Mr. and Mrs. Lent Ervin Thomas Jr., all of Batesville.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Danny Kaye Wynne of Greenwood.

He is the grandson of Mr. George Hilton Holley and the late Mrs. Mary Ellen Holley of Lexington and Mrs. Frances Wynne of Lexington and the late Mr. Oscar Toombs Wynne.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a strapless gown in ivory featuring a sweetheart neckline. The fitted taffeta bodice was adorned with metallic embroidery and detailed with crystals, seed pearls, and sequins. An overlay of embroidered tulle covered the A-line skirt, which extended into a chapel-length train. The bride carried a traditional hand-tied bouquet in shades of white.

Attending the bride as her matron of honor was her sister, Holly Thomas Young.

Bridesmaids were Anna Carey Aldridge, cousin of the bride; Caroline Chisolm Cannada; Stribling Whites Hargett; Jessica Catherine Kornegay; Magan Lawrence Shipp; and Kelli Lott

Mr. and Mrs. Scott Lane Wynne

Stainback. The bridesmaids wore satin yoryu one-shoulder gowns with twist-knot detail in sugar violet.

Adickes Grace Thomas, Leighton Lea Thomas and Ruth Elizabeth Thomas, all nieces of the bride, were the flower girls.

The honorary bridesmaids were Taylor Lott Capwell, Madison Kilgore Drake, Kristen Claire Marriam and Alexandra Burch Waldrup. The bride's proxy was Katie Tatum Turner.

Danny Kaye Wynne Sr. served his son as best man.

The groomsmen were Danny Kaye Wynne Jr., brother of the groom; Lent Ervin Thomas IV, brother of the bride; William Polk Thomas, brother of the bride; Charles Julian Allen; James Yeager Dale; Benjamin Holmes Hargett; Noland David Howard; Walter Davis Makamson; Andrew Chassaniol Stainback; Donald Robert Toomey III and Robert Christopher Walker.

Ushers were William Lee Leflore III, Justin Scott Nix, Fraiser McLeod Smith, Dodd Hammett Turner and David Ticer Young, brother-in-law of the bride.

Jackson Alexander Thomas, nephew of the bride, served as the ring bearer.

Program attendants were Ellen Catherine Holley, cousin of the groom; Stephanie Marie Howie; and Marci Kathleen Robins. Melanie McKenzie Thomas and Rebecca Garrott Thomas, sisters-in-law of the bride, directed the wedding.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the Panola Country Club with music by Casey Lipe and Band.

After honeymooning in Negril, Jamaica, the couple makes their home in Greenwood.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 45

Tiffany Lynn Shaw

&

Ian D. Garrott September 18, 2010 On Sept. 18, 2010, Tiffany Lynn Shaw and Ian D. Garrott, both of Memphis, were united in marriage, following a six-month engagement.

The ceremony began at 5 p.m. in the hometown of the bride, on the winding staircase inside the foyer of the State Headquarters of the Garden Clubs of Mississippi in Greenwood.

The Rev. Jerry McNeer officiated.

Tiffany’s parents are Ben and Birteen Shaw of Carrolllton. Her grandparents are the late Yancey DeLapp and Birteen DeLapp of McCarley and the late Ben Shaw of Carrollton and Virginia Kendrick of Winona.

Ian’s parents are the late James and Mary Garrott of Memphis.

His grandparents are the late Vito and Arlean Grosso of Memphis.

The groom is the father of Ian Asher Garrott.

Ian’s lighting of the candle, representing the family’s love and allegiance, was completed by Mildred McGowen of Southaven, aunt of the groom. She stood in honor of her late sister. Tiffany’s lighting of the candle was completed by her mother. They carried mini nosegays with varied colors of alstromeria, spider lilies, mini carnations and roses with green kermits and belles of Ireland.

Tiffany was given in marriage and escorted to the reverend for the exchanging of vows by her father. She wore a formal ivory strapless satin bridal gown, draped and pleated, creating a sculpted look. The ruched ivory satin bodice was shaped via a peek-aboo neckline, appliqued with 3-D floral designs with crystal beading overlapping delicate silk lace, enhanced by a dropped waist leading to a side-draped skirt. The skirt featured pick-up details, both front and back, with a bustling, cascading chapel-length train. Her silver rhinestone headband, with 3D crystal floral side motif, held a chapel-length silk tulle veil embellished with scattered crystal beaded motifs. Peek-a-boo royal blue leather pumps held a sixpence for good luck.

She wore genuine estate diamond-encircled opal earrings. Her necklace was double-stranded cultured pearls given by Ian. Tiffany’s right wrist carried a cultured pearl bracelet from her grandmother. A 1901 antique diamond Hamilton watch from a late friend was worn on her left wrist. A hand-cut smoky and canary quartz, chocolate diamond, LeVian ring given by Ian adorned her right hand. She carried a nosegay of ivory and purple mini calla lilies, bound with amethyst satin ribbon.

The wedding party was directed by Vicki Evans, Tiffany’s cousin.

At dusk, the foyer had candlelight ambiance, decorated with crystal candlesticks, silver candelabra, Jackson vine, votives in surrounding windows and atop tables with scattered floral arrangements.

46 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

Mr. and Mrs. Ian D. Garrott

Matrons of honor were Crystal Pernell of Grenada, Tiffany’s sister, and Christine Stout of Southaven, Ian’s cousin-in-law.

They wore apple and fern strapless charmeuse dresses with sweetheart necklines and ruching at the waistlines.

Bridesmaids were Julia Beckwith, Tiffany’s cousin, and Allison Carpenter, both of Carrollton; Kim Cockerel of Oxford; Kelly Dodd and Jenny Schmitz, Tiffany’s cousins, both of Greenwood; Melanie McClain of Grenada; Candace McCowan of Memphis and Bina Naran of Pensacola Beach, Fla. They wore strapless Watters and Watters concord satin gowns with banded waistlines, alternated with strapless A-line eggplant cotton sateen gowns.

They carried bouquets of 12 red roses.

Honorary bridesmaids were Tiffany Hodges of Winona and Tracy Kiker of Greenwood and Shelley Shaw of Carrollton, both Tiffany’s cousins. Hollis Beckwith, flower girl and Tiffany’s cousin, carried an ivory satin basket trimmed with purple, apple and fern ribbons. James Pernell, Tiffany's nephew, attended as ring bearer. He carried an ivory satin pillow with ruched lilac satin bands.

The best man was Asher Garrott.

Groomsmen were Curtis Farris and Niles Grosvenor, both of Memphis; and Charles Stout of Horn Lake and Shane Stout of Southaven, Ian’s cousins. All wore red rose boutonieres. Program attendants were Colin Hoye, Dustin Stout and Hunter Stout, Ian’s cousins. Bird seed boy was Trace Schmitz, Tiffany’s cousin.

Floral designs were created by Gabrielle Lott of Oxford and her mother. Videography was provided by JoAnn McIlwain, aunt of Tiffany, and Yancey DeLapp II, her uncle.

On the eve of the ceremony, the wedding party and family were honored with a rehearsal dinner at Webster’s hosted by the groom. Following the ceremony, guests were entertained by Under the Gun. The couple’s getaway car was a 1957 red Ford Skyliner with retractable hard top owned and driven by Carl Clark of Greenwood. The happy couple honeymooned for five days in the groom’s birthplace of San Diego, Calif.

They now reside in Memphis. Ian practices law for The Garrott Law Firm of Memphis. Tiffany is a speech-language pathologist for Aegis Therapies.

Marcella Deen Braswell & Craig Mitchell Rozier October 30, 2010 Marcella Deen Braswell and Craig Mitchell Rozier were united in marriage on Oct. 30, 2010, at First Presbyterian Church in Greenwood.

The Rev. Josh Martin officiated at the double-ring ceremony, assisted by Dr. Rusty Douglas.

The bride's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Mike Braswell of Lexington. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie Braswell of Greenwood and Mr. Bernard B. Jones and the late Margie Phelps Jones of Yazoo City.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Terry McKibbon of Greenwood and Mr. and Mrs. Mike Rozier of McCarley. He is the grandson of Elinor Rozier and the late Roy Rozier of Carrollton, and the late Mr. and Mrs. William A. Hammons of Greenwood.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a strapless dress with a sweetheart bodice that was embellished with soft tulle flowers and Alençon lace appliqués with a ruched taffeta band that defined the waist. The dress had a full ballgown skirt featuring the same three-dimensional details as the bodice. She wore a diamond white mantilla cathedral-length veil of Alençon lace and a hairpiece comb covered with tulle flowers accented with crystals and pearls flanked with feathers and netting. The bride's shoes were royal blue satin pointy-toe crystal-laden pumps. She carried a hand-tied bouquet of white polar star roses and double freesia blossoms nestled with lime green cymbidium orchids and green hypericum berries, all collared with white ostrich feathers. The stems of the bouquet were banded with ivory satin ribbon studded with teardrop pearls and nestled in a handkerchief embroidered with the wedding date in hot pink.

The bride wore a pearl necklace that belonged to her late grandmother and a pearl bracelet and earrings that were gifts from the groom.

Attending the bride as her matron of honor was her sister, Beth Braswell Hooks of Brandon.

Serving as bridesmaids were Eleanor Guenther Braswell, sister-in-law of the bride; Nicole Payne of Olive Branch; Megan Gardner Bell of Crystal Springs; Jennifer Gilder Berryhill of Olive Branch; Elisabeth Ashworth of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; JoBeth Kendall King of Carrollton; and Sarah Grace Rozier of Hattiesburg, niece of the groom.

The bridesmaids wore strapless full-length chocolate gowns of flowing chiffon. The bodice consisted of vertical pleats accented by a band of horizontal pleats creating the empire waist. They carried bright pink, orange and lime bouquets of mini callas, roses, vanda orchids, ranunculus, green hydrangeas and hypericum

Mr. and Mrs. Craig Mitchell Rozier

berries bound with hot pink double-faced ribbon.

The bride's niece, Ann Phelps Hooks of Brandon, was the flower girl, and Amy Jones Rozier of Hattiesburg, the groom's sister-in-law, served as the bride's proxy.

Honorary bridesmaids were Paige Herring Hunt, Swayze Fisher Hicks and Sarah Biggs Ortner, all of Greenwood.

Serving as best man was the groom's father, Mike Rozier of McCarley. Groomsmen were Michael Rozier of Hattiesburg, the groom's brother; Justin Braswell of Greenwood; the bride's brother; Elliot Fancher of Duck Hill; Josh Fair, Michael Galey and Matthew Galey, all of Greenwood; and Mitch King of Carrollton.

Ushers were Rhyne Hooks of Brandon, the bride's brother-in-law; and Matthew Serio, Curt Lindsey and Christopher Logan, all of Greenwood. Alex Rozier of Hattiesburg, the groom's nephew, served as ring bearer.

Sloane Porter Fair and Lee Lee Daves Logan of Greenwood served as program attendants, and Mandy Worsham of Jackson was the guest book attendant.

Nuptial music was provided by the Rev. Ray Smithee, organist; Emily Riser, violinist; Beth Rowe, flutist, and Dorothy Gates, soloist, all of Greenwood.

The wedding coordinator was Gail O'Neal of Greenwood, and the wedding planner was Amanda Cottingham, The Pantry Inc., of Greenville.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the Greenwood Country Club, where family and friends of the couple were entertained with music by Lisa and the E-llusions.

On the eve of the wedding, the bridegroom's parents honored the couple with a rehearsal dinner in the Delta Room at The Alluvian.

After a wedding trip to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the couple make their home in McCarley.

Winter 2011 Leflore Illustrated / 47

Cailin Beall & Tony Bennett May 21, 2011 Habib and Amanda Banisaaid of Morgan City, La., announce the engagement and upcoming wedding of their daughter, Cailin Beall of Ridgeland, to Tony Bennett of Greenwood.

Mr. Bennett is the son of Steve Bennett and Dana Clark, both of Greenwood. He is the grandson of Jack and Shirley Deal of Greenwood.

Miss Beall is the granddaughter of Armando and Rosa Rosado of Morgan City, La. The bride-elect is a 2001 graduate of Brandon High School. She

attends Mississippi Delta Community College.

Miss Beall is employed by Continue Care Home Health and Hospice.

The prospective bridegroom is a 2000 graduate of Cruger-Tchula Academy and Mississippi Delta Community College.

He is employed by Central Delta Insurers.

The couple will exchange vows at 3 p.m. May 21, 2011, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church.

Father Gregory Plata will officiate at the ceremony.

Tony Bennett and Cailin Beall

WINTER 2011

The index of advertisers

Ad page

Ad page GIFTS

ART GALLERY

Gallery Point Leflore

19

ATTORNEYS Upshaw, Williams, Biggers & Beckham, L.L.P.

AUTO

Kirk Auto

6 Back Cover

BEER DISTRIBUTOR Delta Distributing

BOOKS

Turnrow Book Company

23 3

CLOTHING Phil’s Squire Shoppe 10 Puddleducks 19 Rachael’s Inside Front Cover, 19 Smith & Co. 1, 19

COUNTRY CLUB

Greenwood Country Club

6

Fincher’s, Inc. Gift Box,The Mississippi Gift Co., The

Greenwood Leflore Hospital Inside Back Cover Northwest Regional Hospital 13 Alluvian, The

10

JEWELRY

Jewelry, Etc. 20 Russell’s Antiques & Fine Jewelry 6

LIMOUSINE SERVICE

Performance Limo Service

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MANUFACTURING Viking Range Corp.

3

MAGAZINE Leflore Illustrated

48 / Leflore Illustrated Winter 2011

OFFICE EQUIPMENT 15 20 19

HEALTH CARE

HOTEL

Ad page

6

MidSouth Copier Systems, Inc.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jennings Photography

REAL ESTATE

Bowie Realty, Inc. DuBard Realty

RESTAURANTS Carmella’s Mai Little China

19 15 10 6 20 10

TOURISM Greenwood Convention & Visitors Bureau

7

VETERINARIANS Greenwood Animal Hospital

VISION

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19 20