Candlelight Wedding: Lauren Phifer and William Collins

Special to The Canton News

Lauren Michelle Phifer and William Randolph Collins were united in marriage on the evening of December 10, 2022, at The Robinshaw in Rossville, Tennessee. The ceremony was officiated by the groom’s pastor, Dr. Judson William Hurt of Columbus, Mississippi.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Houston Ellis Phifer, Jr. of Collierville, Tennessee. She is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Sims of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Houston Ellis Phifer, Sr. of Gulfport, Mississippi. 

The bridegroom is the son of Jan Coulter Collins and the late William Robert Collins, III of Madison, Mississippi. He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Roger A. Coulter of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and the late William Robert Collins, Jr. of Simsboro, Louisiana, and the late Mavis Purvis Collins of Brandon, Mississippi. 

The Matrons of Honor were Ashley Thomas Taylor of Macon, Mississippi, and Katie Earheart-Brown of Memphis, Tennessee. The bridesmaids were Brandy Howell of Columbia, South Carolina, Peyton Presley of Memphis, Tennessee, Anna Solomon of Madison, Mississippi, Jessica Laws of Birmingham, Alabama, and Amelia Phifer of Suffolk, Virginia. 

The bridegroom’s best man was Richard Stockton McGee of Madison, Mississippi. Groomsmen were Holt Irving of Nashville, Tennessee, Michael Taylor of Macon, Mississippi, Reid Lauderdale of Madison, Mississippi, Brooks Noble of Gluckstadt, Mississippi, Matt Bird of Bentonville, Arkansas, and brother of the bride Aaron Phifer of Suffolk, Virginia. The Ring Bearers were the groom’s godson Porter McGee of Madison, Mississippi, and the bride’s nephew, Caden Phifer of Suffolk, Virginia. 

The flower girls were Addie Solomon, daughter of bridesmaid Anna Solomon and her husband, Steve Solomon of Flowood, Mississippi, Adriana Phifer, daughter of the bride’s brother Aaron Phifer and his wife Amelia Phifer. The groom’s godson, Porter McGee of Madison, Mississippi, served as ringbearer.

On the evening before the wedding, the bridegroom’s mother hosted a rehearsal dinner for the wedding party, families of the bride and groom, and friends, at the rooftop Crescent Club in Memphis, Tennessee. Wendy Putt with Fresh Cut Catering and Floral of Flowood, Mississippi, provided the decorations. During the reception and dinner, Memphis jazz musicians Alvie Givhan and Breeze Cayolle entertained the guests.

The bridegroom’s aunt, Phyllis Hill of Ft. Worth, Texas, and cousin, Jenny Hill of Bridgeport, Texas, hosted a groomsmen brunch on the day of the wedding at Café Piazza in Collierville, Tennessee. 

After a honeymoon to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the couple currently resides in Madison, Mississippi, where the bride is a physical therapist with Performance Therapy in Canton, Mississippi, and the groom is a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Mississippi Attorney General’s office in Jackson, Mississippi.