Mary Havens Cooper and Mark Douglas Willis were married on Saturday, October 6, 2012, at half after five in the afternoon at First Presbyterian Church in Washington. The Rev. Dr. Jerry Dirk Bron, a former minister, officiated, with music provided by organist Michael Wade Morgan and soloists Elizabeth Hornthal Worley and Martha Lane Hornthal, cousins of the bride. A reception followed at the Washington Civic Center. On the eve of the wedding, the bride’s family hosted a rehearsal dinner at The Meeting Place in Washington.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Derris Ray Bradshaw of Washington and the late John Campbell Cooper Sr., also of Washington. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. E. Knox Britt and the late Mr. Britt and the late Mr. and Mrs. Robert Nash Cooper, all of Washington.
The groom is the son of Mrs. William Sherrill Willis of Greenville and the late Lt. Col. Willis. He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. William Thomas Messer of Erwin and the late Mr. and Mrs. John Manly Willis of Coats.
The matron of honor was Cindy Woolard Apple of Washington, and Sarah Thorp Willis of Raleigh, daughter of the groom, served as her father’s attendant.
Honorary bridesmaids were Rita Jean Hunter and Katherine Occhipinti of Raleigh and Stacy Rowe Brooks of Washington.
Ushers were Knox Hatton Cooper and John Campbell Cooper, Jr. of Washington, brothers of the bride, and William Sherrill Willis, Jr. and Barry Michael Willis of Greenville, brothers of the groom.
Lindsay Denning Worley and Michael Louis Worley of Raleigh, cousins of the bride, were program attendants. Lindsay Worley also served as reader. The guest register was attended by Eleanor Alice Rollins of Washington. Guests were greeted by Alice Howard McClure and Ellen Twitty McCotter of Washington. Carolyn Osborne Bryan, also of Washington, directed the wedding.
For her wedding, the bride wore her maternal great-grandmother’s blue Venetian glass necklace and earrings. The gown she wore is an original design of ivory silk satin with a silk organza overlay and Venice lace trim on the neck and sleeves and an empire waist. She carried a bouquet of thistle, rosemary, green hydrangeas, and native greenery.
The attendants wore floor length forest green satin gowns and carried bouquets of thistle, white and blue hydrangeas, lisianthus, and hypericum berries.
On May 19, 2012, an engagement party was hosted by family and friends of the bride at the summer retreat of Mr. and Mrs. J. Shields Harvey. Guests enjoyed a picnic overlooking the Pamlico River at Bayview.
On August 25, 2012, the groom’s mother, Doris Messer Willis, hosted a party for the bridal couple’s families in Greenville at the home of Barry Michael Willis, a brother of the groom.
The bride is a sonographer at Duke Children’s Hospital in Durham, and the groom is a senior account executive at S.A.S. in Cary.
Following a honeymoon trip to Hawaii, the newlyweds are residing in Raleigh.