Anne Dozier Sanders and Richard Kirkland McRee III were united in marriage at The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on August 18, 2012 at half after six o’clock in the evening. The Rev. Monsignor G. Warren Wall officiated along with assistance by Father W. Bry Shields.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Judson Sanders. She is the granddaughter of Mr. Maynard Judson Sanders, the late LaVeral Donaghey Sanders, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Milton Sebastian Pullen, of Mobile, Ala.
The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kirkland McRee, Jr. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. William Wright Majure, of Jackson, Miss.; and the late Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kirkland McRee, of Holcomb, Miss.
Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore an ivory Vera Wang strapless fitted gown. Her cathedral-length veil was handmade in New Orleans. She wore an antique diamond pin from her late great-grandmother, Mrs. Marie Moog Donaghey. The bride’s bouquet, created by Ron Barrett, of Zimlich Brothers, was an arrangement of cream orchids and ivory stephanotis blooms accented with snow-white orchids.
The bride chose her childhood friend, Regan Ewing Kostmayer, as her Matron of Honor. Bridesmaids were Katherine Elizabeth Allen, Renee Nicole Barone, Margaret Miller Clement, Mary Bailey Crow, Frances Celeste Houston, Jean Damrich Hunt, Kara Elaine Massey, Leah Basham Pfeiffer, Lila Sharp Sanders, Laney Simar Sanders and Mary Virginia Terrell. The bridesmaids wore floor-length, orchid chiffon gowns by Amsale and carried bouquets made of orchids and roses in a spectrum of soft lavender shades.
The groom chose his father, Richard Kirkland McRee, Jr., as his best man. Groomsmen were Kevin John Batte, Jacob Peter Fisher IV, Conner Barnett Gunn, Lawrence Wilburn Long III, Mark Majure McRee, William Darden North, John Ewell Roberts, Maynard Judson Sanders II, Thomas Scott Sanders, Mark Harter Simpson and Tyler Patrick Stevens. Don Robinson Baker II and John Blaylock Holder served as ushers. The men wore traditional tuxedos with antique white dinner jackets and lavender cymbidium orchids for their boutonnieres.
Mary Neal Clark, James Judson Sanders II and Thomas Scott Sanders read during the service. The bride’s nephew, Heath Christopher Wolfing, was the ring bearer and her nieces, Shelby Elaine Sanders and Haley LaVeral Wolfing, were the flower girls. The program attendants were Julia McCloud Harvill and Virginia Ann Otts. Organist Paul Hanebuth, vocalist Erin Lilley Smith and trumpeter Peter Wood performed music during the ceremony.
Inside the cathedral, two large flower arrangements in shades of cream, ivory and white stood tall on the altar against the marble columns. The pews were aligned with orchids trailing to the floor.
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Following the ceremony, guests were invited to a reception at the Country Club of Mobile, where they danced to the Motown band, 4 Barrel Funk. The couple’s first dance was “Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever” by the Four Tops. The band then performed “My Girl” for the father-daughter dance, and the groom and his mother danced to “Build me up Buttercup.” All dancing was under a tent lit of the deepest shade of lavender on the Country Club patio.
The theme throughout the night, created by Ron Barrett, was lavender. At the entrance to the tent, tall trees with long vines and branches created a loose archway with illuminating lavender lights. Clear, glass bubble candles along with hydrangeas and orchids hung from trees throughout the tent. Each table inside the country club held large arrangements of roses, orchids and hydrangeas all in shades of lavender.
The wedding cake, created by Pollman’s Bake Shop, was five layers of classic, yellow wedding cake with buttercream icing, decorated with lavender flowers. The groom’s cake, created by The Little Cake Shop in Spanish Fort, was designed in honor of the groom’s love of Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Photographer Courtland William Richards and videographer Ron White, of Wedding Media Group, both captured the night starting with the wedding party prepping to the bride and groom exiting the reception under a canopy of sparklers.
The rehearsal dinner, hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Kirkland McRee, Jr, was held on Friday evening at the Athelstan Club for the wedding party, family and friends.
Centerpieces included large arrangements of white mountain lilies, cream roses and green cymbidium orchids alongside silver candelabras, silver flutes of greenery and pillar candles. The head table was constructed out of wood from the McRee family farm. Clear, twinkling lights and ivory lanterns hung from tall trees on the balcony all making the dinner a memorable night.
After traveling to Anguilla in the British West Indies for their honeymoon, the couple now resides in Mobile, Ala.
