A beautiful sunset, the Gulf of Mexico, and a rainbow provided the backdrop as Joanna Leigh Howard became the bride of Prentiss Cortez McLaurin III at 7 p.m. on Aug. 21, 2010, in Pensacola Beach, Fla.
The early evening wedding, officiated by the Reverend Zach Turner of Pensacola, was held on the beach. A reception and dinner buffet followed in a nearby Gulf-front beach house on Pensacola Beach.
The bride is the daughter of Ms. Lynette Jordan of Lexingtoni. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. Patricia Jordan of Greenwood, and Lexington and the late Judge William Lynn Jordan.
The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss C. McLaurin, Jr. of Starkville.
His grandparents are the late Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss C. McLaurin of Greenwood, Mississippi, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Allen Glenn Perry of Philadelphia, Miss.
Given in marriage by her mother, the bride wore an ivory chiffon A-line gown that featured a one-shouldered empire bodice accented with soft three-dimensional flowers. Triple spaghetti straps and a sweep train adorned the back. She wore a fingertip illusion veil and custom pearl-drop earrings.
The bridal bouquet consisted of hand-tied burnt orange calla lilies, wrapped with a gold chain holding lockets that belonged to the bride’s grandmother and great-grandmother.
Serving as Maids of Honor were Lauren Rosen Breazeale of Oxford, and Mollie Rosen of Hattiesburg, sisters of the bride. Bridesmaids were Jennifer Civello, Colleen Collins, and Mallory Roberts of Starkville and Sterling Starnes of Lexington.
The attendants wore knee-length turquoise satin dresses and two-tone coral necklaces, a gift from the bride. They carried single long-stem calla lilies. Anna Claire Rosen of Hattiesburg, niece of the bride, served as flower girl.
Serving as best man was P.C. “Mac” McLaurin Jr., father of the groom. Groomsmen were Jamie Buehler of Cordova, Tenn., and Adam Cooper, Patrick Quinn, Cory Roberts, and Joe Underwood, all of Starkville.
The Pensacola String Quartet provided classical wedding music. The musical ensemble included Julianna Gasa, cousin of the groom, on first violin.
The bride and groom exchanged vows under a wedding arbor covered with tropical lilies, anthuriums, ferns, palms and orchids. During the double-ring wedding ceremony, the bride presented the groom with the wedding band worn by his maternal grandfather.
As part of the wedding, the traditional sand unity ceremony and sea shell ceremony were held at sundown.
The post-ceremony reception and dinner buffet was hosted by the bride’s mother and grandmother, assisted by Jamie Moore Price of Lexington.
Also helping with the reception was Laurette Shira of Starkville.
Sea shells, floating candles and floral arrangements of roses, lilies, hydrangeas and variegated pittosporum embellished the food tables. The three-tier white wedding cake was decorated with turquoise ribbon fondant edged with pearls of butter cream frosting.
The layers were garnished with white sugar calla lilies.
The two-tier square groom’s cake was layers of butter cream and chocolate pound cake with chocolate butter cream frosting and fudge icing decorations.
The night before the wedding, the groom’s parents hosted a rehearsal dinner in honor of the bride and groom at The Fish House on Pensacola Bay. As the wedding party and out-of-town guests enjoyed the meal, a videotape of the bride and groom in their early years was shown.
A number of pre-nuptial parties were held for the couple including a tea shower given by friends of the bride in Lexington, a kitchen shower hosted by Colleen Collins and an office surprise party hosted by the bride’s co-workers. A bachelorette weekend in New Orleans and a lingerie shower were given in honor of the bride by her bridesmaids, and the groomsmen hosted a bachelor weekend in Memphis.
On the morning of the wedding, the bride’s grandmother hosted a bridesmaid brunch at Hemingway’s Island Grill on Pensacola Beach.
The bride and groom honeymooned in Montego Bay,, Jamaica, where the groom’s parents spent their honeymoon on the same weekend 40 years before.
The groom’s paternal grandparents were also married the same weekend 75 years ago.
After the couple returned from their honeymoon, the groom’s parents hosted an open house at their home in Starkville to announce and celebrate the marriage of their children.
The couple is now at home in Starkville, where the bride is the accounts payable clerk for the City of Starkville. The groom is an information technology specialist for MetroCast Communications.
