By Staff
Amanda Michelle Watson and John Eric Bell were married Saturday, May 31, 2003 at 2 p.m. at the Church of God in East Brewton with Brother Scott Adams officiating.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Danny Watson and Mr. and Mrs. Hal Whitman, all of Brewton. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Elton Cardwell of Castleberry and Evie M. Watson, Mr. and Mrs. Lovelace Parker and Gwen Clayton, all of East Brewton. Her great-grandmother is Annette Maddox of East Brewton.
The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Tommy Bell of Milton, Fla. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Bell of East Brewton and Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Braswell of Apalachicola, Fla.
The church was decorated with an arch candelabra, two nine-tree candelabras, ferns, palm trees, an aisle runner and row markers of yellow roses and greenery.
The bride, given in marriage by her father, wore a white strapless ball gown with pearl details on the bodice. She carried a cascading bouquet of coral and white roses, light blue delphinium, yellow freesia, greenery and babies breath.
Cassie A. Whitman, sister of the bride, was the maid of honor and Kris Lowery served as bridesmaid. The attendants wore coral colored, a-line dresses with matching shoes. They carried bouquets of three long-stem yellow roses, greenery, babies breath and cream ribbons.
The father of the groom served as best man and Steven Gray, the groom's cousin of Port St. Joe, Fla. was the groomsman. Ushers were Timothy E. Cardwell, the bride's uncle and Daniel C. Cardwell, cousin of the bride.
Music was provided by pianist, Ann Florie and vocalist, Misty Joyner. The wedding party came down the aisle accompanied by the tape, "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait. Other music included Canon in D, Great is Thy Faithfulness, Romance, Somewhere in Time, The Hallowed Hour, A Time for Us from Romeo and Juliet, Shepherd of Love, Surely the Presence of the Lord is in This Place and Love Solo.
The bride's mother wore a floor length mauve dress with beads and sequins while the groom's mother chose a yellow two-piece outfit with a matching floral scarf.
A reception was held in the fellowship hall of the church. Decorations consisted of fresh cut flowers in a silver bowl on a mirror pedestal for the food table and Ficus trees behind the bride and groom cakes. The bride's cake was a four tier white cake with fresh yellow rose and babies breath surrounded with greenery and miniature yellow roses. The groom's cake was a chocolate sheet cake topped with grapes and strawberries. Also featured was a fruit table adorned with fresh fruit along with a lighted self-serving punch bowl. A lattice wall adorned with photographs of the bride and groom was a showplace of interest. Round tables for guests sprinkled with yellow rose petals had centerpieces of yellow roses on mirrored plates. Greenery was used throughout the hall for decoration.
Guests were served a variety of dips, sandwiches, crackers, nuts and salads catered by Michael and Ginny Tyler. The couple toasted each other from monogrammed crystal goblets.
The bride left the church in her wedding dress and the couple left for a honeymoon at points from Navarre Beach, Fla. to Deland, Fla. where they now reside.
An after-rehearsal barbecue party was given by the groom's parents which was catered and served by Hog Heaven.