Liza Chappell, Ross Marley marry

Elizabeth Grace “Liza” Chappell and Ross Sentel Marley, both of Mount Pleasant, were united in marriage Dec. 16 at Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Thomas C. Harrington of Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church and the Rev. John Cook of Shandon Presbyterian Church in Columbia officiated the 6 o’clock ceremony. A reception followed at Alhambra Hall of Mount Pleasant.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Dale Chappell of Columbia. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. James Hodge Saye Jr. and the late Mr. Saye of Rock Hill, the late Mrs. Ethel Grace Dodge Chappell of Rock Hill, and the late Mr. William Porter Chappell of Chester. She earned bachelor’s degrees in business administration and hospitality and tourism management from the College of Charleston, and she is employed with ENGAGE Talent as business development representative.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. David Sentel Marley of Mount Pleasant. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Billy Harold Marley of Spartanburg and Mr. James Faye Gilbert of Greenville and the late Mrs. Gilbert. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of South Carolina, and he is employed with South State Bank as financial services representative.

The bride was escorted by her father and given in marriage by her parents. Bagpiper Mr. Peter Armstrong of Charleston Pipe Band and organist Mr. Jason Pedeaux provided music.

Matron of honor was Mrs. Hollis Chappell Infanzon of Charleston. Bridesmaids were Mrs. Lane Hoover Chappell, Mrs. Maggie Raines Chappell, and Mrs. Katherine Gaulin Carter, all of Columbia; Miss Rebekah Jean Williams of Clemson; Miss Jordan Griffin Marley of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Miss Courtney Ann Alexander and Miss Sophie Lockwood Stokes Gotwald, both of Washington D.C.; and Miss Emily Ann Purcell and Miss Jennifer Elise Tuten, both of Mount Pleasant.

Best man was the groom’s father. Groomsmen were Mr. Mark Dale Chappell Jr., Mr. James Saye Chappell, and Mr. Joseph Alexander Sherard, all of Columbia; Mr. William Augustus Burgstiner IV of Jacksonville, Florida; Mr. Zachary Christopher Bennett of Florence; Mr. Austin Edgar Fabian, Mr. Michael Gavin Fletcher Jr., and Mr. William Heyward Bonner, all of Mount Pleasant; Mr. Franklin Harold Davis IV of Charleston; and Mr. William Marshall Talley, in absentia. Mr. Marion Shuford Myers of Mount Pleasant was ring bearer.

Miss Katherine Paget Joye of Charleston was reader. Mrs. Lindsey Cox Jones of Rock Hill and Miss Heather Louise Cox of Greenville were greeters. Mr. James Wade Infanzon, Mr. Louis Dawson Hassell, and Mr. Thomas Conley Bryan, all of Charleston; Mr. Anthony Bo Barrillo of Orlando, Florida; and Mr. Andrew James Demasi Jr. of Mount Pleasant served as ushers.

After their honeymoon in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the couple will reside in Mount Pleasant.

In her own words

Q: How did you meet?

A: We lived in the same neighborhood as children, were both members of the Hunting Creek Swim Team, and both went to Shandon Presbyterian Church preschool and Meadowfield Elementary School before his family moved to Mount Pleasant. We ran into each other randomly throughout the years growing up. Then we re-met later in life when I was at the College of Charleston, kept in touch until we both graduated and then began dating.

Q: When did you know your spouse was “the one”?

A: When I was about 3 years old, I told my mom that I was going to marry my brother’s friend Ross Marley.

But realistically, the fact that we kept showing up in each others lives, we knew that it was fate and we were meant to be together.

Q: Tell us about the proposal.

A: My whole family was down in Edisto for the Governer’s Cup Fishing Tournament. We went on a boat ride to watch all of the big sport fishers come in on the final day, and as we were weaving in and out of all these multimillion dollar boats, he tells me to grab the wheel. (And I thought, “This has to be a joke; the first time you have me drive the boat happens to be in the middle of all these nice boats. Cool.”)

He went into his boat box and got down on one knee. Of course, I was so caught off-guard and busy trying not to wreck the boat I didn’t answer right away, and the only thing I remember from the proposal was Ross saying, “So… we gonna do the damn thing or what?” (Super romantic, huh?) His sister was up in the tuna tower of a sport fishing boat taking pictures of the whole thing.

We got back to the house, and he had planned a surprise party with my whole family, his whole family and all of our friends. It was absolutely MAGICAL!

Q: What was your favorite part of the wedding day?

A: Having all of our friends and family around to celebrate with us! Ross and I mentioned multiple times throughout the day how lucky we were to have the incredible support system of all of our friends and family. They truly made the weekend incredibly special for us!

Q: How did you choose the venue where you were married?

A: I always wanted to get married at Mount Pleasant Pres with a reception at Alhambra Hall. I also always wanted a Christmas wedding. Charleston wedding venues are extremely difficult to get because of the demand. The day after we got engaged, I just started looking around for the heck of it. Alhambra happened to have one date available between the time I looked (July 2017) and October 2018 – and it happened to be Dec. 16, 2017. The church happened to be available for that date as well, so we figured it was fate, and we planned the wedding in five months!

Q: What was the significance of the music played during your ceremony?

A: We played Christmas hymns because I love Christmas!

Q: Did you have something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue? What were they?

A: Something old, grandmother’s mink coat and great-grandmother’s broach; something new, wedding dress; something borrowed, my sister’s veil and the wedding shoes that two of my sisters-in-law wore for their weddings; something blue, a special message from my mother stitched in blue writing in my wedding dress.

This story was originally published January 7, 2018 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Liza Chappell, Ross Marley marry."