The marriage ceremony of Miss Mary-Carson Brewer Saunders, daughter of Mrs. and Mrs. Whitney Godwin Saunders, of Suffolk, to Mr. Joshua David Stiff, son of Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Sampson Stiff, of Richmond, took place Oct. 5, 2013, at 4 p.m. in Suffolk at Main Street United Methodist Church, where the bride’s paternal grandparents and great-grandparents were also married. The Rev. Myrtle F. Hatcher, pastor of Main Street Church, and the Rev. Max W. Blalock, William & Mary Wesley Foundation, officiated.

The bride is a granddaughter of Dr. and Mrs. James Pennock Harrison Jr. of Rose Valley, Pa., and Mrs. Ritchie Curtis Saunders Jr., of Suffolk and the late Mr. Saunders. The groom is a grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Leonard Bean, formerly of Hallowell, Maine, and Mrs. Bernard George Edmund Stiff of Center Ossippee, N.H., and the late Mr. Stiff.

The bride was escorted by her father and given in marriage by her parents. She wore her paternal grandmother’s modified wedding gown of liberty blush satin featuring a bodice of re-embroidered Alencon lace and a conventional flowing train. She wore her mother’s full-length veil.

She carried a bouquet of cream and white garden roses and dahlias accented with wild flowers and greens.

Miss Grace Whitney Saunders was her sister’s maid of honor, and Mrs. Sarah D’Haem Thomas, of Baltimore, Md., was the matron of honor. Bridesmaids, long-time friends of the bride, were Miss Ashley Hart Butler, of Baltimore; Miss Tinsley Iselin, of Alexandria; Miss Helen Price Massey, of Norfolk; Miss Stephanie Pfeiffer, of Washington, D.C.; Miss Victoria Thomas, of San Francisco, Calif.; and Miss Kelly Wakeham, of Boston, Mass. They wore deep coral dresses of silk dupoini and carried bouquets of peach and coral garden roses with seasonal greens and berries.

Mr. Joel Webster Stiff, of Richmond, was his brother’s best man. Groomsmen were Mr. Jared Huntley Stiff, another brother of the groom, of Seattle, Wash.; long-time friends Mr. Matthew Barrett Allen and Mr. Frank Herman Akers III, of Washington, D.C.; Dr. Bryan Carlton Bunn, of Concord, N.C.; Mr. Tyler Gray Clevenger, of Atlanta, Ga.; Mr. Theodore Waldo Emerson, of Denver, Colo.; and brother of the bride Mr. Harrison Godwin Saunders, of Philadelphia, Pa. The groomsmen wore traditional tuxedos accented by boutonnieres of the Gray Ghost fishing fly created at the groom’s family camp in Rangeley, Maine.

Wedding music was performed by Ms. Christine B. Ward, organist. Readers were Miss Rachel Leigh Burgess, Mr. Philip Rawlings Gaskins and Dr. Kenzo James Hall Koike. Mistress of Ceremonies was Mrs. Thomas Gabriel Jones IV. Programs were distributed by Miss Rachel Lee Shonk and Miss Stevie Marie Fitzgerald. Greeting guests at the reception were Judge and Mrs. Joseph Price Massey, godparents of the bride, and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Harrison Saunders Jr., cousins of the bride. Cousins Kevin Harrison and Laura Harrison attended the gift table. Guests’ names were recorded on a wooden bench that was attended by cousins John Martin Saunders and Christina Marie Saunders.

A reception followed the ceremony at the Nansemond River Golf Club. Hosted by the parents of the groom, the rehearsal dinner was held Friday, Oct. 4 at Cedar Point Country Club.

Both the bride and groom are May 2013 graduates of the College of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law in Williamsburg. The bride is the Post-graduate Fellow for the Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, and the groom is an associate in the Norfolk law firm of Crowley, Liberatore, Ryan & Brogan. Following a honeymoon in Italy, they will reside in Norfolk.