Posted: Sunday, January 11, 2009 12:00 am
CASPER - Lila Swamidoss McConigley and Paul James Martin were married July 26, 2008, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, with Fr. John Smylie, Fr. Royce Brown and Deacon Leigh Earle officiating.
The bride is the daughter of Nimi and Patrick McConigley of Casper and was given in marriage by her father.
The groom is the son of Valerie and Peter Martin of Sutton Coldfield, England.
Maid of honor was Nina McConigley, sister of the bride, of Casper. Bridesmaids were Zehra Naqvi, Davina Perera, Anna Vibeke Eilert and Pippa Aston, all of London, England. Junior bridesmaid was Fay Sharif.
The best man was Simon Martin, brother of the groom, of Birmingham, England. Groomsmen were David Ryder, Nick and Paul Bland and Paul Tolman, friends of the groom from England.
Emily and Louisa Taylor, Eirene Crook and Stella Pandian-Molenstra, all cousins of the bride from England, were flower girls.
Ring bearers were Ptolemy and Nikitas Crook, the bride's cousins; and Ben and Edward Martin, nephews of the groom, all of England.
Nick Bland, an organist from London provided the music for the ceremony. Jem Sharples and Scott Ciscon of Tenors UnLimited were soloists and Anna Vibeke Eilert and Ingela Haaland sang a duet.
After the church service, a cocktail hour was held on the lawn of City Park, where 200 guests posed for a photo with the bride and groom. A dinner reception followed at the Casper Elks Lodge, where a blessing was given by Msgr. James O'Neill, who has known the bride since her first grade at St. Anthony's School.
The bride and groom surprised their guests by donning cowboy hats and boots to break into a choreographed western dance. The bride and bridesmaids, cast members in the West End musical, "Bombay Dreams," entertained the guests with a song and dance number from the show.
The wedding cake was made by long-time family friend Anne Watson, 85.
In keeping with the bride's mother's traditions from India, the rehearsal dinner, hosted by Betsy and Joe Vigneri, was an Indian feast with many of the women guests wearing wedding saris from India.
The highlight of the festivities was the presence of more than 75 guests from overseas, including Australia, England, Ireland and India, who enjoyed more than a week's organized activities in Casper.
The bride graduated from St. Anthony's School, Natrona County High School, St. Olaf College in Minnesota and the Royal Academy of Music in London and is a professional actress and singer in London.
The groom graduated from Bishop Vesey's Grammar School and Birmingham Conservatoire and is a member of Tenors UnLimited, a three-man opera group based in London.
After a honeymoon on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico, they are at home in London.