Hosting a couples shower T
BY EMILY JONES | PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAURA DANIELS
rey Templeton thinks he met his bride-to-be by accident. He probably knows by now that the “chance meeting” had been in the works for a while. Trey, a sixth generation native son of Starkville, married Dr. Laura Marler, of Pineville, Louisiana, on May 19 at the First Presbyterian Church. The relationship had a little help getting off the ground, but when it did, it grew like wildfire. Cecelia Cook, one of Laura’s colleagues in the Mississippi State University School of Business, had taken the new marketing professor under her wing when she moved to Starkville four years ago. “I really wasn’t trying to pair them up,” insisted Cook. “I just wanted to introduce Laura to some young people her own age. Ironically, Trey came walking through the restaurant where Laura and I were eating dinner one night. I introduced them and the rest is history.” Trey is a 1998 graduate of Starkville High School and a 2002 graduate of Mississippi State University. He is the son of Connie and Chip Templeton. Laura is the daughter of Bobby and Pam Marler of Pineville. She received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Louisiana College in Pineville, a master’s degree in business administration and a doctorate in management from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La. Fifteen couples who had watched Trey grow from a toddler to a young man recently staged an engagement party at the home of George and Jenny Sherman. Trey has worked for George Sherman Clothiers for 12 years – since he was a sophoLaura Marler and more at MSU. Trey Templeton “They (the Shermans) have been so good to Trey,” said Connie, the mother of the groom. “I credit George with advising Joining the Cooks and the Shermans, other couples hosting the and mentoring Trey over the years. I kid him that he is Trey's event included Ann and Harry Bell, Jennifer and Richard Blackthird parent!” bourn, Amy and Scottie Crawford, Kathryn and Fred Davis, Susan and Rockie Felker, Susan and Bill Gamel, Fancy and Ernie George, Susan and Eddie Keith, Barbara and John Norman, Michelle and Perry Rackley, Deb and Gary Shafer, Evelyn and Bill Simmons, and Judy and Joe Webb. The Shermans were so enthusiastic about hosting the party that they decided to update the interior of their home on South Montgomery. “George and I have never really tried to do much since we built the house,” said Jenny. “That’s not really our thing.” With time running short, she hired Robin O’Nan of Redesigns by Robin to come in and work her magic. It only took a few days to get the home party-ready. “We are so happy with it now,” said Jenny. “It used to feel like a house, but now it feels like a home.’ O’Nan operates an interior design firm specializing in taking what her clients already have and presenting them in new ways to achieve a completely new look and feel. She encourages her clients to leave the premises for several hours and give her free reign to repurpose, rearrange and re-accessorize with items she often finds in the attic or storage room. While the Sherman home was being “redesigned,” the other hosts were busy preparing a spring menu for the engaged couple. All the Jenny Sherman and recipes were tried and true. The hosts generously agreed to share George Sherman some of the recipes, all old family favorites. townandgownmag.com
| june 2012
29