Cara Mangine, Bill Stokes to wed

Mr. and Mrs. William Alvo Stokes Jr. of Columbia are pleased to announce the engagement of their son, Dr. William Alvo Stokes III, to Cara Maria Mangine, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Anthony Mangine of Columbia, New Jersey.

The bride-elect, a resident of Morgantown, West Virginia, is the granddaughter of Mr. John Sears and the late Mrs. Carolyn Sears of Bozeman, Montana, and the late Mr. Joseph Anthony Mangine and Mrs. Mary Mangine of Hamilton, New Jersey. She graduated from North Warren Regional High School in Blairstown, New Jersey, and Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey, with a bachelor’s degree in public health. She also earned a master’s degree in public health from Montclair State. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in epidemiology at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The bridegroom-elect, a resident of Morgantown, West Virginia, is the grandson of the late Mr. Dean Poucher and Mrs. Elrae Poucher and the late Mr. and Mrs. William Alvo Stokes Sr., all of Columbia, South Carolina. He graduated from Hammond School and from the Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. He also earned his Doctor of Medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He is employed with the West Virginia University of Medicine as an otolaryngology resident.

The couple plans a May 2017 wedding in Columbia, New Jersey.

In their own words

Q: How did you meet?

A: Mutual friends set us up.

Q: Tell us about the proposal.

A: On Christmas morning, Bill asked Cara to join him in another room after opening presents. There, he had the engagement ring wrapped within a larger wrapped box and proposed to her when she opened it. She was totally surprised!

This story was originally published November 27, 2016 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Cara Mangine, Bill Stokes to wed."