Dr. Pember Edwards and Matt Chapman were married on April 26 at the Presbyterian Church in East Hampton, the very church where they had met in a youth group in the 1990s. The ceremony, officiated by the Rev. Jon Rodriguez, was filled with thoughtful details of deep significance to the couple.
The bride’s love of herons inspired the theme, “Together From Heron Out.” She even hand-painted herons as decorations to adorn the tables at the reception, which was held at LTV Studios in Wainscott. During the ceremony at the church, the couple played a pre-recorded and personalized version of the song “Moments Like This” by Rosalee Peppard, with Dr. Edwards singing, Mr. Chapman playing the viola, and Harriet Edwards, the bride’s aunt, playing the piano.
The groom, a son of Fran (Mansir) Chapman and Ricky Chapman, is a cameraman at LTV as well as a customer service representative at Riverhead Building Supply. The bride, whose parents are Heddie (Bates) Edwards and the late Elbert T. Edwards, is a dentist at Wainscott Dental who also directs the Special Needs Dental Clinic at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine.
Dr. Edwards, wearing a ruffled white top, pale blue skirt, and shoes she herself designed and painted with a design of herons, carried a bouquet of her father’s favorite flowers, including roses, daylilies, daisies, and irises. An uncle, James L. Bates III of Yorktown, Va., escorted her to the altar during the ceremony. Brittany MacVittie of Wilmington, N.C., a cousin of the groom, gave a special scripture reading, I Corinthians 13.
Dr. Edwards was attended by Jaime Whynot of Nova Scotia, Canada, as her maid of honor, and by her bridesmaids, Mindy Haarmeyer of Buffalo and Kayla Soltis-Katella of Durham, N.C.; a third bridesmaid, Amanda Kennison of Pittsburgh, was recovering from surgery and unable to attend. Matt Chapman’s best man was Jason Nower of North Sea; the groomsmen were Bill Chapman of East Quogue, his brother, and two cousins, Derek Chapman and Adam Chapman, both of Springs. Zaria and Zane Ku Thatcher, the children of one of the bride’s cousins from San Rafael, Calif., were the ring bearers; Noelle and Rylie Kom, the children of one of the groom’s cousins from Wilmington, were the flower girls.
The couple, both of whom graduated from East Hampton High School, live in East Hampton Village and are planning a honeymoon in Ireland.