Laura Denning James knew of Lee Jeffrey Kelly while both were students at New Canaan High School, but she didn’t meet him until almost two years after graduation. The two were introduced at a New Year’s Eve party in the Hamptons, where they were ushering in 2001 with mutual friends. “When it came time to ring in the New Year,” she recalls, “Jeff and I kissed, and we knew there was a connection.”
She was right. Five years later, during a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner, Jeff preordered a surprise dessert for Laura with “Will you marry me?” written in chocolate syrup on the plate. The couple celebrated their marriage in a ceremony and reception held at Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York. The service was officiated by Reverend Doctor Edwin Jones of the United Methodist Church of New Canaan.
The bride is the daughter of Robert C. and Donna B. James of New Canaan and is a 1999 graduate of New Canaan High School. She received a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from Widener University in Philadelphia and is director of membership and catering at the Cobblestone Creek Country Club in Rochester, New York, where the couple resides.
The groom, known as Jeff, is the son of J. Timothy and Joan L. Kelly of New Canaan and is a 2000 graduate of NCHS. He received a bachelor’s degree from Rochester Institute of Technology in mechanical engineering and is a sales engineer for MiniTec Framing Systems.
The couple spent their honeymoon on the island of Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles.
San Francisco worked its charm as a city known for romantic beginnings when Leslie Ann McDermott met Richard Allen Phillips at a dinner party in the Bay Area. During the following six months they became good friends, and along the way, they fell in love.
The couple was married by the Reverend Paul Carling at St. Luke’s Church in Darien. A black-tie 1950s-themed reception followed at Woodway Country Club, complete with a jazz band and a crooner singing Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett hits. The couple chose June 2 as their wedding date in honor of the bride’s grandparents, John and Agnes McDermott, who were married in Norwalk on June 2, 1931.
The bride is a graduate of the King & Low-Heywood Thomas School. She received a degree in English and Japanese from Hamilton College, graduated from Fordham Law School and earned a master of law degree in taxation from New York University School of Law. She is an international tax attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions with Deloitte Tax in San Francisco. She has practiced in Sydney, Amsterdam, London, New York and San Francisco. Her parents are John and Jane McDermott of Rowayton, formerly of New Canaan.
The groom graduated from Central Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in finance and in economics. He went on to earn his master’s in business administration in finance from Santa Clara University. He is a manager of financial operations at Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California. His parents are Vickey and Richard A. Phillips II of Olympia, Washington.
After a honeymoon trip to Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles, the couple returned home to Campbell, California.
Marla Leamon met Charles Nedder when he came to her home to give her a price option. “It was love at first sight,” recalls the bride. “We went to dinner that evening and had an amazing time — and the rest is history.”
Charlie proposed on Valentine’s Day, while making Marla a romantic dinner of homemade risotto.
The couple was married at St. John’s Church in Darien by the groom’s cousin, Father Iain MacLellan of Saint Anselm Abbey in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Father Ian Cron of Greenwich’s Trinity Church. A reception followed at Riverside Yacht Club.
The bride is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, Storrs, with a bachelor’s degree in communications/marketing. She is a personal assistant to a family residing in Rye, New York, and a Realtor with Weichert Realtors in Stamford. Her parents are Rita and Jerry Leamon of Cos Cob.
The groom is a graduate of Fairfield Prep and Boston University, with a bachelor’s degree in business management. He is a Realtor with Weichert Realtors in Stamford and an instructor at the Real Estate Academy in Stamford. His parents are Catherine and Charles Nedder of Darien.
After a honeymoon trip to the west coast of Barbados, the couple returned home to Riverside. |
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