Weddings

A series of well-orchestrated surprises on a chilly March night led to Emma Shannon and Jason Sorley’s engagement after three years of dating.

The couple, who live in Norwalk, Connecticut, and met in their marketing jobs at TracyLocke, had planned a nice dinner in Greenwich one evening. As they prepared to leave, Emma went downstairs to find friends waiting for her in a limo and wishing her a happy birthday – even though it was a month away. It was only the beginning of what Jason had in store for Emma. As she sipped champagne in the car, they left Greenwich and headed into Manhattan. When they arrived at The Odeon on West Broadway, Emma found more friends waiting for her at the table. After the meal, they headed to a friend’s apartment, and Emma was touched to find it full of even more friends wishing her well. As the party of their nearest and dearest wound down, Jason, leading her to believe that the surprises had come to an end, asked her what her favorite part of the night had been. Unable to decide, she turned the tables and asked him the same question. His response: “I think my favorite part of the surprise was when I asked your father for your hand in marriage, and he said you’d told him that I was your soul mate.” And with that, he slipped a diamond ring on her finger.

Their nearest and dearest gathered again recently as Jason and Emma wed in an interfaith ceremony at Saugatuck Congregational Church in Westport, Connecticut, which was followed by a reception at Shenorock Shore Club in Rye, New York. In attendance were the bride’s parents, CHM’s Dan and Ellen Shannon of Chapel Hill and Michael and Alice Tomashefsky of Westport, and the groom’s parents, Ralph and Stephanie Sorley of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (winter), and South Orleans, Massachusetts. The maid of honor was the bride’s sister, Becca Shannon, CHHS class of 2008, and the best man was the groom’s brother, Ryan Sorley. CHM