Jennifer Karen Ware and Andre' Wallace Phillips were married at five p.m. in a small waterside ceremony Saturday, May 19, 2018, at Fox Trails, a private property of Robert J. Armstrong, cousin of the bride. This place held significant family meaning as it had once been a part of the homestead of the bride's maternal ancestors.
The evening prior to the wedding the bridal party met for a short rehearsal at the home of the bride's parents before heading to Keg and Barrel in Hattiesburg to share the evening with family and friends from the Columbia area as well as a number of guests from Boston and New York.
The bride, escorted by her parents, wore a slim fit and flare designer gown fashioned from re-embroidered lace. The dress featured a V-neckline and fine spaghetti straps and its low plunging back with fine scalloped edges fell into a short sweeping train which was also highlighted with finely scalloped lace edges. Her fingertip veil was draped from each side and held in place by an elegant seed pearl headpiece. The bouquet featured varying shades of spring flowers.
The bride's attendants wore dresses of bright yellow and carried small bouquets of wild native flowers. Serving as maid of honor was the bride's sister, Ariel Ware of Columbia. Other attendants were Somer Stampley of New York City, formerly of Columbia, and Irene Bratsis of New York City.
Best man for the groom was Patrick St. Pierre of San Diego, formerly of Boston. Other wedding attendants were Charles "Chuck" Vuolo of Boston and Bryan Margaca of New York. Ushering the bride's grandmother was Nate Herring of Columbia, fiancé of the bride's sister.
Music for the ceremony was provided by violinist Manuelo Isabel Romero.
Officiating at the ceremony was a close friend of the couple, Eric Mandelbaum, of New York. The couple exchanged rings and hers was a ring with special meaning. It was the ring originally given to her grandmother, Ronelda Thornhill, by her grandfather, Walter Thornhill, in 1951. A gift to the bride's mother in 2004, she was honored to pass the ring down to her daughter for her wedding.
Kaitlin Keenan of New York helped with the festivities and acted as wedding coordinator during the service.
As evening turned to dark the guests were directed to an open canopy on a small hill overlooking the water. Twinkle lights were scattered throughout the nearby woods and around the circumference of the water. There was a table with crawfish for the guests to snack on while the wedding party was delayed for photos. Watermelon was served as an alternative to the spicy appetizers.
Food for the event was delivered by Broad Street Restaurant of Columbia, owned and operated by Brian and Jennifer Hasselvander. Guests were offered a buffet of fried catfish and fried chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, green beans, local boutique beers, and wine. Toasts were presented by the bride and groom, the best man and maid of honor, and other friends. Recorded music was played as the guests ate, visited and danced.
The wedding cake was from Jody's Bakery of Hattiesburg and featured two large layers of sheet cake topped by the same wedding topper of glass swans her parents had used for their wedding.
Following the evening with family and friends, the couple spent their first night as man and wife at the Fox Trails camp house which directly overlooked the water. They are postponing a honeymoon until later in 2019 as
both bride and groom immediately returned to Boston for work.
