Van Devender Stansell.

Laura Frances Van Devender and Thomas Andrew Stansell were married at 3 p.m. on September 23, 2006, at The Federated Church on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Edgartown, Massachusetts. The wedding was officiated by Rev. Jerry Fritz of Martha's Vineyard and Rev. Stanley Prescott Buckley of First Baptist Church in Jackson, where the bride and her family are members.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Jarvis Van Devender of Jackson. She is the granddaughter of Mr. Archie Leonard Magee and the late Frances Brown Magee and Mrs. Joy Stennis Van Devender and the late Mr. Virgil Clinton Van Devender, all of Jackson. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Ivy Stansell Jr. of Dallas, Texas. He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles Allen Bowen of Dallas and Mr. James Ivy Stansell of Austin, Texas, and Mrs. Doranne Beson of Clifton, Texas.

The early 19th-century church doors were adorned with lovely wreaths of white dendrobium orchids. The interior of the church was filled with white. Siberia lilies and hydrangea lined the windowsills and soft green garland rimmed the balcony. Calla lilies served as the main chancel flower. These flowers were given in celebration of the lives of Frances Brown Magee, Virgil Clinton Van Devender, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Allen Bowen, deceased grandparents of the couple. Guests were given handmade programs created by family friend Jennifer Jackson of Vicksburg.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore her mother's gown of ivory Alencon vintage lace. The long-sleeved, high-neck heirloom was graced with gathered hand-sewn pearls and a chapel-length train. The veil, also her mother's, featured an elbow blusher and cathedral underlay with matching lace and pearls.

She carried a bouquet of white lisianthus, white calla lilies, white hydrangea, and white orchids. The bride wore special earrings given to her by her parents on her wedding day.

Maid of honor was Anne Magee Van Devender, sister of the bride, of Jackson. Mary Lucia Smith, also of Jackson, served as matron of honor. Bridesmaids were Katherine Joy Burkhalter of Atlanta, Georgia; Kristi Stansell Berlin and Megan McCarty Adams, both of Dallas; Melissa Lowther Boyd of Jackson; and Rachel Catherine Roberts of Austin. Honorary bridesmaids were Leslie Townsend Decker of Jackson and Kitty McCarty Bryant of Nashville, Tennessee. Both delivered appropriate Bible readings during the ceremony.

The attendants wore tea-length gowns of taupe and sliver brocade tied at the waist with silk periwinkle ribbon sashes. They carried English nosegays of blue delphinium and white hydrangea enhanced with satin ribbon. Princess Mia Stansell, the couple's year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, wore a bridesmaid's dress tailored to match at the reception.

The groom's father served as best man. Groomsmen were William Jarvis Van Devender Jr. and Clinton Stennis Van Devender, both of Jackson, and Jeffery Paul Begert, Justin Clay Bright, Charles Llewellyn Sutton and Mason Blackwell Bishop, all of Dallas.

Ushers were William Edward Doramus of New York, New York; Stephen Harold Brooks and Eric Paul Berlin, both of Dallas; and Mark Madison Connally Jr. and Benjamin Allen Bailey, both of Austin.

The bride's mother wore a butter silk organza designer gown with matching shawl. The groom's mother chose a silk aubergine sheath with an embellished matching jacket. Both mothers carried antique lace handkerchiefs given to them by the bride.

Soloist Natalie Brown Stephens, cousin of the bride, was accompanied by the Boston Brass Quartet Ensemble, providing music for the ceremony.

To start the wedding weekend, the bride's parents hosted a clambake at Blue Heron Farm, their island home. Guests were served clams, lobsters, and oysters in traditional New England style on the lawn overlooking the Tisbury Great Pond.

On their wedding day, the couple was honored with a brunch in the true nautical style at the Yacht Club on the harbor in Ed gartown by several close family friends.

Following the ceremony, the bride's parents hosted a reception at their home. A pathway from the cocktail tent to the dinner tent was lined with white dendrobium orchids, white orchids, and white hydrangea. Tall clear glass cylinders filled with blue handpainted wooden eggs were topped with bursts of orchids. Each guest's napkin held a light blue delphinium flower.

Guests then moved to a 19th-century Pennsylvania barn on the property for dessert and dancing with the Jerry Bennett band. Seasonal sunflowers and soft candlelight appropriately decorated the burlap-clad tabletops.

The bride's three-tier, iced carrot cake was embellished with the couple's initials and topped with fragrant white gardenia.

The groom's chocolate ganache-frosted cake was adorned with a fishing motif, reflecting his love of the sport and a hobby the couple have enjoyed together.

The couple was honored by the groom's parents with a rehearsal dinner at the Vineyard Golf Club in Edgartown.

The bride's aunts, Lynda Cockrell, Jamie Roberts, Angela Stephens, and Sallie Van Devender, along with friend, Jennifer Jackson, hosted the bridesmaids' luncheon on the lawn at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown.

After a wedding trip to Costa Rica, the couple will make their home in Dallas. The bride is marketing director for a local entrepreneurial company, and the groom is associated with Stonehill--PRM Realty in Dallas.