Wedding Party
Andrew Pace
Groom
Andrew Pace was born and raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. His favorite hobbies are reading, sharing the Gospel, and spending time with his bride to be, Marissa. He graduated from Oak Grove High school and attended William Carey University, where he received his Bachelor's in Biblical Studies. He will attend New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in the Fall on 2021 to get his master's degree and start his training to become a pastor.
Marissa Bledsoe
Bride
Marissa Joy Bledsoe was born in Memphis Tennessee. She moved to Belo Horizonte, Brazil at the age of two when her parents accepted the call to missions in 1998. She spent all her life in Brazil until she graduated from The American School of Belo Horizonte in 2015. She moved back to the United States to attend college at William Carey University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Gerontology. She is currently working on her Master's of Mental Health Counseling and her favorite hobbies are cooking, singing, crafting, listening to music, and spending time with her friends and fiancee, Andrew.
Jared Best
Best Man
Jared Best is one of the closest friends of both the bride and groom. He was born in Rosewood Michigan, but grew up on the mission field in the countries of Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. He attended the same university as Marissa and Andrew, which is where they met and became friends. He met Marissa first; in the cafeteria, where they bonded over their multi-cultural experiences and he adopted her as his "little sister". When Marissa and Andrew started dating, Jared began to include Andrew in his friend circle and the two of them discovered they had a strong, brotherly bond that Andrew had with no one else. In addition to them enjoying football and video games, Jared was also very encouraging in Andrew's faith, relationship with Marissa, and life in general.
Rebecca Best
Matron of Honor
Rebecca was born and raised in Petal Mississippi. She is the wife of Jared, a fourth grade social studies teacher, and close friend to Marissa. Rebecca met Marissa at a Halloween party in 2015 through mutual friends. Although they were not relatively as close when they first met, they frequently hung out together in groups. In 2017, Rebecca and Marissa became roommates at William Carey, which brought them closer than they expected. They became best friends and bonded over movies, tv shows, fashion, personal life experiences, and their relationships with Andrew and Jared. Rebecca encouraged Marissa in her walk with God and was like the older sister she never had. Marissa had the honor of being a part of Rebecca's engagement to Jared and cannot imagine her not being a part of her wedding.
Priscila Renard
Bridesmaid
Priscila is Marissa's closest childhood friend. She was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where her parents were currently serving on the mission field. They met at the age of two at Mission Meeting, an annual get- together for missionaries to meet, catch up, and receive further training. They only saw each other once an year, but were always in the same Mission Meeting class, and enjoyed hanging out on the playground and swimming together. When they got older, they were still just as close. Marissa flew to Rio to attend Priscila's 15 Anos and they traveled to Ecuador and Costa Rica for M.K. Camps together. They attended the same university in 2015 and were roommates for two years.
Emily Edwards
Bridesmaid
Emily Edwards is Marissa's "Rainbow". She was born in Tennessee, but was raised on the mission field in Gaza, Costa Rica, Paraguay, and eventually, Brazil. She met Marissa while sitting on a swing set at an MK camp. Awkwardly, they introduced themselves and had a brief conversation about their favorite colors, which were Purple and Rainbow (a combination of all colors). When Marissa got up to leave, Emily asked, "your name is Purple right?", which became Marissa's new nickname and a life-long friendship was started. Emily and Marissa have stayed close over the years and lived next door to each other in college. Emily was also a mentor to Marissa her freshman year and helped her stay close to God during a dark period in her life. Till this day, Marissa is still her "Purple".
Autumn Trout
Bridesmaid
Autumn was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but was raised on the mission field in the Philippines. She and Marissa met in college through mutual friends, but did not become friends with each other till attending a Toby Mac concert together in January of 2017. They became closer as Autumn's husband, John, became friends with Andrew and the four of them started to hang out exclusively. In the summer of 2018, Marissa and Autumn took summer classes together and she and John counseled Andrew and Marissa through a rough patch in their relationship. Autumn has always been an encouraging friend to Marissa and has helped her trust in the Lord even when it seemed as though she could not. Marissa was honored to be a bridesmaid in Autumn's wedding and is very excited to have her in hers.
Gracelyn Cockrell
Bridesmaid
Gracelyn was born and raised in Louisville, Mississippi. She was a percussionist in the William Carey band and a close friend to both Marissa and Andrew. She met Marissa while eating dinner in the cafeteria with Jared's friend circle, where over time, she and Marissa grew very close. Gracelyn and Marissa talked and hung out together frequently, where they mostly shared their feelings and life experiences. They helped each other get through some of the darkest times in each other lives. Their senior year of college, they became roommates where they often laughed and cried together. Gracelyn played a major role in helping Andrew and Marissa decide whether or not they should get married and has been a very supportive friend in both of their walks with Christ.
Brent Pace
Groomsman
Brent is Andrew's older brother. He graduated from Southern Miss in 2019 with a degree in business. He is the management consultant for Pearson Consulting in Nashville, TN. Throughout Brent and Andrew's lives, they have always had the typical sibling relationship. They fought and bickered, but still loved each other. As they have gotten older, their relationship has changed and they have gotten closer. Even though Brent lives in Nashville, the two still remain close. Andrew cannot imagine getting married without his brother standing next to him as he declares his undying love and commitment to Marissa.
Lane Burnett
Groomsman
Lane is another one of Andrew's closest childhood friends. He was born and raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Andrew met Lane in fourth grade through his friend Dalton Stanford. Dalton and Lane grew up together, so whenever Andrew and Dalton began to hang out with each other Lane was included. Andrew discovered over time that both he and Lane shard the same family history because both of their grandfathers were leaders of the Wesley Foundation at USM. Andrew and Dalton have always been right by Lane's side and the three friends remain as close as ever till this day.
Michael Beckwith
Groomsman
Michael is Andrew's mentor, accountability partner, and fishing buddy. He is from Lake, Mississippi and he loves to fish. Andrew met Michael through attending Main Street Baptist Church. However, it was not until Andrew attended William Carey University that both of them began to grow very close. Michael has helped Andrew through his walk with Christ and preparation for ministry. He has also helped both Andrew and Marissa prepare for marriage. Michael and Andrew go fishing often to spread the gospel and enjoy some good old-fashioned salt water fishing. Andrew and Michael's friendship continues to grow every day and will continue to grow til the end of time.
John Trout
Groomsman
John Trout is Autumn's husband and one of Andrew 's best friends. He is also a missionary kid, having grown up in Indonesia. He graduated from William Carey with a degree in Psychology. John met Andrew his Freshman year of college in a General Psychology class. When Andrew met Marissa, he and John began to grow closer. John has been an important individual in Marissa and Andrew's lives, helping them get through various hard times. Andrew and John have continued to be close friends and still hang out on occasion. John was so thrilled when Andrew asked him to be a groomsmen in his wedding. Andrew is also honored to have John witness and stand by his side as he declares his unconditional love for the love of his life.