Shannon Hokanson, Daniel Whitaker marry
Shannon Elisabeth Hokanson and Daniel Jeffry Whitaker, both of Mariemont, Ohio, were united in marriage Sept. 3 at Pawleys Island Community Church Chapel in Pawleys Island. Barbara Pinker officiated the 4:30 p.m. ceremony.
The bride is the daughter of Carl and Debra Hokanson of Columbia. She is the granddaughter of the late Bob and Hazel Simkins of Greenville and the late Carl and Ellen Hokanson of South Plainfield, New Jersey. She graduated summa cum laude in 2016 from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Arts in history, and she is employed as an investigator with the Kreller Group.
The groom is the son of Jim and Mary Ann Whitaker of Cincinnati. He is the grandson of the late Norbert and Dorothy Flick and the late Jack and Dottie Whitaker, all of Cincinnati. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati in 2013 with a degree in aviation technology. He is employed as a corporate pilot with Cin-Air.
The bride was escorted by her father and given in marriage by her parents.
Maid of honor was Megan Warner of Columbia. Bridesmaids were Anna Connair of Columbus, Ohio; Brittany Talwin, Harper Bryant and Gabriella Holland Giovannone, all of Lexington; Alli Whitaker of Chicago; Kelly Whitaker and Lucy Arnold, both of Cincinnati; and Dani Simkins of Buford, Georgia – escorted by her father, Michael Simkins. Junior bridesmaid was Penny Arnold of Cincinnati.
Best man was Mark Jones of Boise, Idaho. Groomsmen were Sean Braemer of Covington, Kentucky; Sean Connair of Columbus, Ohio; Chris Eiser and Pat Putnam, both of Cincinnati; and Robert Muirheid of Pensacola, Florida. Junior groomsman was Elijah Drake Giovannone of Lexington.
Readers were Debra Burgess of Terrace Park, Ohio, and Mary Pat Burke of West Chester, Ohio.
A reception followed at Hopsewee Plantation in Georgetown.
After their honeymoon in Colorado, the couple will reside in Mariemont, Ohio.
In her own words
Q: How did you meet?
A: I was a ballet dancer with the Columbia City Ballet, as was Dan’s sister Kelly. Kelly was in a car accident and Dan drove a new car for her down to Columbia from Cincinnati. Kelly organized a dinner for some of her coworkers to meet Dan. So, we met at Shoney’s, of all places!
Q: When did you know your fiance was “the one”?
A: I knew because we were able to stick it out through five years of long-distance dating while I worked as a ballet dancer in Pittsburgh and Louisville and then we were able to transition smoothly to being in the same city.
Q: Tell us about the proposal.
A: Dan loves Halloween, but it is often really cold on Halloween in Cincinnati. In 2014, we had really miserable weather, so instead of sitting outside our apartment to hand out candy, Dan started having the kids hold their bags open under our window, and he threw them candy from our second-floor apartment. The candy throwing was a big hit, so in 2015, Dan figured he needed to up the ante and build a candy delivery system from our apartment window. He built a candy chute out of PVC pipe so that kids could just put their bags at the bottom and the candy would just drop straight in. About a week before Halloween, on Oct. 25, to be exact, his parents came over to take us to dinner and to see the new candy chute invention. Dan had me go downstairs to demonstrate how the kids would receive candy, but instead of candy, he sent down a ring box! Then Dan had to race downstairs to officially ask me if I would trick-or-treat with him forever. I was shocked, and it was planned perfectly because his parents were there to get pictures.
Q: What was your favorite part of the wedding day? Or, what are you most looking forward to?
A: I am most looking forward to the moment when the church doors open and I see Dan and a church full of people that we love.
Q: How did you choose the venue where you will be married?
A: My family has vacationed in the Pawleys Island area since long before I was born, and I knew that was where I wanted to get married. The PICC Chapel is one of several churches we looked at. It fits our needs perfectly, and it is absolutely beautiful.
Q: What was the significance of the music played during your ceremony?
A: The seating of the mothers is to a song by Joshua Bell. I took my mom to a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concert for Mother’s Day in 2015, and Joshua Bell was the soloist. The procession of the bridesmaids is to an instrumental version of “I Won’t Give Up” by Jason Mraz. Dan and I took up ballroom after I retired from ballet, and we performed a Viennese waltz to “I Won’t Give Up.” The bridal procession is to Pachelbel’s Canon in D. It’s a classic and also the song my mom used. Our recessional is to “I Can Hear Music” by The Beach Boys. It’s just a great song!