Wedding vows were exchanged by Kristen Ashley Cruise and McKenzie Lyle Cooke, who goes by Mac, at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23, in Greene Chapel at Hendrix College in Conway. The Rev. Heath Bradley of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock officiated.
Parents of the bride are Lois and the late Bob Cruise of Texarkana. She is the granddaughter of Winona and the late George Loftin of Texarkana, Texas.
Laura and Doug Cooke of Greenwood are the parents of the groom. His grandparents are Joan and the late Milbourne McKenzie of Searcy, Ann and Stacy Lyle Cooke of Houston and the late Betty Carol Cooke.
Garden lanterns filled with wedding flowers and candles marked the chapel entrance. Handmade peonies of blush, white and coral Italian paper decorated the interior. Music was by violinist Joe Snell.
Given in marriage by her uncle, Troy Loftin, the bride wore a strapless trumpet-style gown of corded lace on point d’esprit fabric embellished with beading. At the Empire waist was a draped organza band decorated with handmade flowers and ribbon. She carried a bouquet of lilies, peonies, dahlias and tulips wrapped with a kerchief belonging to the bride’s grandfather and pinned with a cameo brooch belonging to the bride’s grandmother.
Matron of honor was Tiffany Womack of Sherman, Texas. Bridesmaids were Alexis Conaway of Texarkana; Morgan Loftin of Denton, Texas; and Loren Loftin of Texarkana, Texas, cousins of the bride; Tiffany Cooke of Fayetteville; and Sarah Cooke of Conway, sister of the groom.
They wore floor-length blush-colored gowns with pearl-accented collars and carried bouquets similar to the bride’s.
Dr. Marcus Cooke of Fayetteville served as his brother’s best man. Groomsmen were Adam McMahan of Baton Rouge and Tyler Green of Grand Junction, Colo., cousins of the groom; Dustin Morrison of San Francisco; Justin Cruise of Texarkana, brother of the bride; and Brian Dunaway of Conway.
A reception at Conway Country Club followed the ceremony. Garden lanterns were hung from the ceiling and tables were centered with arrangements of wedding flowers in milk glass vases and birch tree candles.
The bride has a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia and is a summa cum laude graduate of Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, with a master’s degree in library science and information systems. She is assistant manager of the Central Arkansas Library System’s Children’s Library and Learning Center in Little Rock.
The groom has a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, and is a sales manager at AT&T Advanced Mobility Solutions in Little Rock.
The couple will live in Conway after a Caribbean cruise.
High Profile, Pages 47 on 03/31/2013