Melanie Matic and Peter D. SwansonPhotograph Contributed by Fred and Laurie Swanson
Peter D. Swanson, son of Fred and Laurie Swanson of Dhahran, married Melanie Matic on September 14, 2002 at the Unitarian Church in Morristown, New Jersey. The bride is the daughter of Hosea and Rosalinda Matic of South Orange, New Jersey.
September 14th dawned warm and sunny as the final preparations for the wedding of Peter and Melanie were made. Melanie’s ivory strapless dress was stunning against her flawless burnished skin. She carried a bouquet of burgundy roses that contrasted strikingly with the late summer setting. The service and reception took place in the gardens at the Unitarian Church in Morristown, New Jersey. It is a lovely old brick mansion that has been turned into a church lending itself nicely to the setting for a wedding. The colors, burgundy and white, were woven throughout.
Melanie MaticPhotograph Contributed by Fred and Laurie Swanson
During the service, a classical guitar and flute serenaded the congregation of families and friends. Arm in arm with her mother and father, Melanie lit up the day as she made her way across the lawn toward the alter of branches laced with burgundy roses gracefully arranged to celebrate the joy of the occasion. Melanie’s nieces, Josephine Matic and Julie Matic, attended her. As Peter and Melanie took their vows, Kristin Shearon, wife of Kevin Shearon formerly of Dhahran, read On Marriage by Kahlil Gibran; Tory Swanson, wife of Eric Swanson, read Shakespeare Sonnet 116. At the conclusion of the service, Karen and Kenneth Meyer, aunt and uncle of the groom, advised the bride and groom on The Art of Marriage by Wilfred Peterson.
Peter was attended by his brother Eric Swanson (1984 graduate of the Dhahran Junior High) and Kevin Shearon (1986 graduate of DJH). Also attending the wedding were Shawn Stuckey and John Powell, who, along with Kevin Shearon, grew up here in Dhahran. Parents of both Shawn and John are residents of Dhahran.
The reception was enjoyed by all the well-wishers with a medley of food, conversation, music and dancing. Once the wedding party was introduced to the honored guests, Peter and Melanie delighted the crowd with their first dance as husband and wife—a foxtrot to Harry Connick, Jr.’s version of an old favorite, It Had to Be You. Throughout the celebration the guests were indulged with a cornucopia of Middle Eastern, Filipino and Italian cuisine arranged on a backdrop on silks and weavings from around the world. Melanie and Peter’s lives were illustrated in a shower of family pictures arranged in the library of the stately old home.
Peter D. SwansonPhotograph Contributed by Fred and Laurie Swanson
After the wedding, Peter and Melanie honeymooned for two weeks in Mexico and are now living in South Orange, New Jersey. They can be contacted at peterswan@yahoo.com.