To Have and To Hold

Sharon Parten Gaskill and Mark Wakefield Fowler (shown in their Engaged State, above) were wed at St. George's Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas, at 4 PM Sunday, June 4, 2000, as attested by the invitation below:

It was a warm day, with a fair amount of rain during the ceremony, but pleasant withal. My father was unable to attend, but Mr. Slaughter, Sharon's grandfather, was able to give the bride away. Father Ray Cole presided, assisted by Acolyte Aurora Wood; David Williams served as Reader, and music was provided by organist Jake Hill and vocal soloists Anya Gaskill, Meredith Dunckel and Katy Polanco.

The Wedding Party consisted of Maid of Honor Anya Gaskill, Best Man Jonathan Mark, Bridesmaids Karen Villarreal and Linda Kerr Hardy, Groomsmen Hol Gaskill and Paul Parten, ably assisted by ushers Paul Foerster and Mark Gross. And here is the Wedding Party itself, en ensemble:

From left to right, Linda Kerr Hardy, Karen Villarreal, Anya Gaskill, Sharon and Mark Fowler, Jon Mark, Paul Parten, and Hol Gaskill. As you might imagine, this was certainly a family affair for Sharon, as I have neither siblings nor children.

My most excellent in-laws: Paul Parten of Atlanta and Karen Parten Villarreal of Fort Worth.

Sharon and Karen are twin sisters, you see.

And quite nearly the whole clan - the late Mr. John Henry Slaughter of Madisonville, Texas is surrounded by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Hol Gaskill is to his right, and behind him are Ginny and Paul Parten, Anya Gaskill, Sharon Fowler, Karen Villarreal and her daughters Claire and Rebecca; Karen's son Sol was somehow left out of the photograph, alas; Ginny and Paul's children - Davis, Tal and Mattie - were back in Atlanta.

It was, of course, a matter of costuming: Anya Gaskill is seen attaching her mother's veil.

And Mr. Harold Vincent Gaskill IV approved most emphatically.

And what a lovely dress!

The food at the reception, held at the Parish Hall, was quite excellent, as everybody told us; not that were able to eat any of it, of course, our job being to circulate, circulate, circulate. We did manage a sip of champagne and a bite of cake apiece, of course.

And Jon was able to display the sort of versatility one looks for in a Best Man, going beyond ordinary toast-proposing and the like.

And while most of the guests were, strictly speaking, on the Bride's Side, my Houston contingent made the journey: from left, Jay Schroeder, Kenneth Brymer, fronted by Ardith, Us, Brian Carusella and Deborah Taylor; Jay, Kenneth and Brian constituted the Half Price Books Squad.

And now we are One.

We invite you to check out some pictures of our first honeymoon!

We further invite you to view an account of our second, and more substantial Honeymoon in Great Britain!

And here we are in the early fall of 2004, quite happy to be here.

December 23 , 2004.

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