Joseph Akers.

Brandy Nicole Joseph and Christopher Ryan Akers were united in marriage in a noon ceremony on July 16, 2006, at the Walt Disney World Wedding Pavilion at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Joseph of Canton, Georgia. The bride's grandparents are the late Mr. and Mrs. Max Miller of Lancaster, Ohio, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Phil Joseph of Zanesville, Ohio.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Danny Akers of Holden Beach, North Carolina, and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Baar of Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. The groom's grandparents are Mr. William Akers and the late Mrs. June Akers of Martinsville, Virginia; Mr. Forest Powell and Mrs. Betty Cardwell of Martinsville, Virginia; and Mr. and Mrs. W.T. Coleman of Starkville.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a formal Casablanca gown of white silky satin. Her strapless bodice was beaded along the hemline and the dropped waistline and featured elegant hand-embroidered swirl and flower motifs of silver thread, accent beads, and crystals. Her A-line skirt had a multi-pleat back and flowed into a semi-cathedral train. Her waist-length veil was edged with rhinestones and was accented by a pearl and rhinestone comb tiara. The bride carried a round French bouquet of Black Magic roses misted with pixie dust with the stems wrapped in white satin and embellished with Red Lady chiffon ribbon.

Attending the bride as the maid of honor was Elizabeth Fishburn of Asheville, North Carolina. Bridesmaids were Fran Akers, sister of the groom, of Holden Beach, North Carolina; Janet Davis of Cumming, Georgia; Anna Evans of Charleston, South Carolina; and Courtney Wigren of Savannah, Georgia. Attendants wore identical cocktail-length dresses of claret chiffon featuring halter necklines. The Alfred Angelo gowns were complemented by sweetheart necklines with beaded accents at the natural waistlines. They carried round French bouquets of solid white roses misted with pixie dust with the stems wrapped in Sherry satin ribbon and embellished with silver firefly ribbon.

The groom's father, Danny Akers of Holden Beach, North Carolina, served as best man. Groomsmen were Eric Bishop of Birmingham, Alabama; John C. Cox of Cleveland; Michael Pennington of Athens, Georgia; and Donnie Brooks of Athens, Georgia. Sam Pennington of Athens, Georgia, served as the ring bearer.

The double-ring ceremony was officiated by Rev. Jack Day and coordinated by Marion Stewart. Jamie Gurcay provided organ music for the ceremony. Ushers were Kade Cullefer of Columbus, Georgia; Joe Dennis of Athens, Georgia; Chris Hobson of Marietta, Georgia; Dan Mackie of Columbus, Georgia; and Charlie Mathies of Athens, Georgia.

Following the ceremony, a pre-reception was held on the second floor of Walt Disney World's Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney's Boardwalk Resort for all wedding guests. The wedding reception followed with the arrival of the bride and groom. With music provided by JR Silva, guests danced to a variety of today's music with a taste of yesterday's Motown and other classics. Dinner was served followed by more dancing and traditional wedding rituals. The newlyweds bid farewell to their wedding guests as they departed the reception in the 1930s-style mahogany speedboat Breathless. The following day, the couple said farewell again, this time to family and members of the wedding party, at a farewell breakfast at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort.

On the eve of the wedding, family of the bride and groom honored the couple with a rehearsal dinner in the Napa Room of Disney's Contemporary Resort's California Grill, overlooking the Magic Kingdom. After the rehearsal dinner, all members of the wedding party were escorted to a private viewing area on the French Island at Epcot for a dessert party and a private viewing of Epcot's nightly fireworks show, "Illuminations."

On the Thursday prior to the wedding, the bride and groom were accompanied by immediate family members to the Cirque Du Soleil show "La Nouba," at Downtown Disney, followed by a special dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe. On Friday, the bride and groom hosted all immediate family members, members of the wedding party, and their families at Pioneer Hall at Disney s Fort Wilderness Resort for Disney s dinner show, "Hoop Dee Doo Revue." Following the dinner show, the couple and their guests boarded pontoon boats at the Fort Wilderness Marina and watched the Magic Kingdom's nightly fireworks show, "Wishes," from the Seven Seas Lagoon.

Several bridal showers were hosted leading up to the wedding. In January, members of the Grady College of Journalism at the University of Georgia hosted a bridal lunch at Depalma's in downtown Athens, Georgia. In May, Elizabeth Fishburn hosted a traditional bridal shower at the Fishburn home in Conyers, Georgia, and in July, the employees of Cadence Bank also hosted a bridal shower at their main branch in Starkville.

Following a honeymoon at Walt Disney World, the couple is at home in Starkville, where the bride is a consumer banker at Cadence Bank and the groom is a MAFES research associate and instructor in the School of Human Sciences at Mississippi State University.