NORTH AND SOUTH COME TOGETHER
Coming from opposite ends of the state, Shannon Rogers and Jon Koehler Bibb met in college at Mississippi State University in January 2006. He grew up farming cotton in Tunica, and she grew up in Biloxi sailing the Gulf. Whether it was studying for class, attending greek parties or shopping the local Walmart, they found any excuse they could to spend time together.

After dating almost five years, Bibb finally popped the question. The plan was to propose to Rogers in Orange Beach at the Jimmy Buffet concert during the song “Biloxi” since that is Shannon’s hometown. Bibb purchased the tickets and reserved the condo. The couple arrived in Orange Beach the Thursday before the concert. However, things did not go as planned. While getting ready to go to dinner Friday night, Bibb asked her to be his wife. He just couldn’t wait any longer and was worried she would end up finding the ring before the concert, as she had been caught (unsuccessfully) looking for a ring once before on a family vacation.

The couple were married on June 11, 2011. A very special “something old” was presented to Rogers for the big day. Her father, Michael Rogers, gave her mother a beautiful pair of pearl earrings the day that she was brought home from the hospital. Over the years, one of the earrings was lost. Just before the wedding, her mother had the remaining earring turned into a beautiful drop necklace to wear as her “something old.”

The couple honeymooned at Walt Disney World in Orlando. They currently reside in Tunica, Miss., where she teaches second grade at Robinsonville Elementary in Tunica County and he is a fourth-generation cotton farmer and active partner in The Bibb Co. farming operation.

Resources
Date | June 11, 2011
Ceremony | Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Biloxi
Reception | Sacred Heart Center, Biloxi
Reception entertainment | Smiley & the Young Guns, Greenville, Miss.
Photographer | Studio Milly Jean Weakleg, Amelia Patterson, Jackson
Dress designer | Alfred Angelo from Gatlin’s, Gulfport
Hair | Christina Carrington, Chuck Kelly Salon & Spa
Makeup | Consultant from MAC make-up, Biloxi
Flowers | The Flower Basket, Biloxi
Caterer | Grate Grills & More, Gulfport
Rentals | Apex Rentals, Gulfport
Invitations | RSVP Stationers, Memphis

RIVALS BROUGHT TOGETHER BY LOVE
by MICHELLE MATTHEWS | Special to beachblvd

Jennifer Gentile met Byron Walker in 2006 while they were both working with FEMA after Hurricane Katrina. She was immediately attracted to his spirit. “He’s always happy. He lights up the room,” she says. She and her friends dubbed the information technology specialist “McTechy” after “McDreamy” from the then-popular TV show “Grey’s Anatomy.” Gentile and Walker became friends and started dating after a year of their friendship.

Gentile grew up in Biloxi. Walker was born in Gulfport but moved around a lot as a “military brat.” Eventually, he returned to the Coast during his sophomore year of high school. “We’re rivals,” she jokes. He played football at Gulfport High School, and she cheered at Biloxi High.

One night in November 2010, they were at his condo preparing to watch a movie. Wearing no makeup, she held a bowl of popcorn in her lap when suddenly Walker dropped to one knee and pulled out a beautiful engagement ring. Later, he told her that he’d made an elaborate plan to propose to her at Bellingrath Gardens, but their day together had been so perfect that he was inspired to pop the question on the spot.

After the fact, she also learned that Walker had gone to speak to her parents about marrying her. He’d made the mistake of wearing an Ole Miss T-shirt even though he knew her father had played football for Mississippi State. The faux pas didn’t disqualify Walker from marrying her, obviously, but the story has become a popular one among family and friends.

Gentile, who maintains close friendships with a large group from high school, was one of the last to marry. Therefore, having attended dozens of weddings, she knew exactly what she wanted, and over the course of a year, she planned the wedding of her dreams — but she encountered a few obstacles on the way.

One thing Gentile insisted on was hiring the gospel choir from St. Rose de Lima Church in Bay St. Louis to perform at the wedding ceremony at Nativity B.V.M. Cathedral in Biloxi. “When they started singing, I thought the roof was going to come off the church,” she says. Even the elderly Monsignor Farrell, officiating with the Rev. Paddy, enjoyed himself, urging the couple to dance when they were kneeling solemnly at the altar. Gentile says no one followed the wedding party out of the sanctuary when the wedding was over; everyone wanted to stay and listen to the singers singing “Oh Happy Day.”

The bride’s 10-year-old daughter, Hope, served as maid of honor, and the groom’s sons, 11-year-old Brandon and 4-year-old Kaden, were best man and ring bearer, respectively. Gentile’s sister, Allison Watts, who was seven months pregnant at the time, was matron of honor, while her daughter Lila Grace, then 2, was the flower girl.

Gentile had pennies from the years she and Walker were born in each of her shoes — as well as a bandage over a night-before-the-wedding injury on which a bridesmaid had scrawled “I do.” Her grandmother’s Rosary was tucked into her bouquet, and the baby bonnet she wore when she was baptized was wrapped around the base.

For the reception, Gentile and her dad planned a “shocker dance,” unknown to anyone but themselves and a couple of trusted conspirators. The idea came from a popular video on YouTube, but Gentile worried that her father wouldn’t be able to pull it off. Just months before the wedding, he had been diagnosed with a liver condition that required him to be on medications that made him tire easily.

At the reception, the Scott Ernest Band from New Orleans was playing a slow song for the traditional father-daughter dance, when suddenly the crowd heard a scratching sound and the hip-hop beat of Ludacris and Usher — and she and her dad had moves to match. It was a moment she knows will always be one of her fondest memories of him.

After a weeklong honeymoon in Maui, the couple settled in to their new life together with their three children. “Byron is such a wonderful father, such a loving, positive person,” her says, despite what her dad thinks of his taste in college football teams.

Resources
Date | Nov. 9, 2011
Ceremony | Nativity B.V.M. Cathedral, Biloxi
Reception | Biloxi Civic Center
Photographer | Ella J. Reese Photography
Ceremony music | St. Rose de Lima Gospel Choir, Bay St. Louis
Reception entertainment | Scott Ernest Band, New Orleans, La.
Dress designer | Allure from I Do Bridal in Mobile, Ala.
Hair | Cristina Switzer, Salon Bleu
Makeup | Jessica Jones, Jessica Jones Salon
Wedding party attire | I Do Bridal, Mobile, Ala.
Travel agent | Travel Affiliates, Gulfport
Caterer | Broome’s, Ocean Springs
Florist | The Flower Basket, Biloxi