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Sarah Dickens spent nine summers at the N.C. Baptist Assembly at Fort Caswell,
the last three of them on the staff. Two of those years, she worked in the dining hall
with a young man named Jayson Swain.
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After graduating from N.C. State University, Jayson took a boat building course at Wilmington’s Cape Fear Community College. The wooden boat he built had a place of honor at the reception.
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Fort Caswell was first built in the early 1800s but was modernized and strengthened
during every war up to World War II. The sloping fortifications now offer peaceful
views over the Cape Fear River.
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Maid of honor Mallory Dickens leads the bridesmaids
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3 p.m. Sunday, March 31, 2007
Fort Caswell, Caswell Beach, NC
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Sarah and Jayson
exchanged their vows before Rev. Glen Warren, pastor of Jayson’s home church in
Fuqua-Varina, NC.
Her father, Jeff Dickens, escorted her down an aisle lined with
flowers suspended on iron shepherd’s crooks, by Wendy Wright of A Beautiful Event.
The ceremony took place on the fortifications that once guarded
the harbor entrance, with a view of Bald Head Island across the Cape Fear River.
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Fort Caswell is on the point where the Cape Fear River meets the Atlantic Ocean.
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Jayson dances with his sister Alex Swain, who was one of Sarah’s bridesmaids.
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The two started dating in 2004, Sarah’s final summer at the Assembly. As the
relationship got serious, she was thinking ahead.
“I knew if I married someone I met at Caswell, I’d want to get married
at Caswell.” That wish was fulfilled on March 31, 2007, with a ceremony and reception
at the old seaside fortress.
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The bridal party intend to get plenty of use out of their outfits. The groom
and his attendants wore matching suits and ties from a menswear store in Washington,
N.C., Sarah’s hometown. The bridesmaid dresses came off the rack at a women’s clothing
chain. “More bang for the buck!” Sarah commented.
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Sarah’s maid of honor was her sister, Mallory Dickens, who celebrated her 19th birthday on the
wedding day. The ‘gift-wrapped’ package on the silver platter is a birthday cake that Sarah
presented to Mallory during the reception.
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Instead of putting on a big feed, Sarah chose an all-dessert buffet, “Something different
in the middle of the afternoon.”
Although the presentation was artful and up-to-date, the basics were totally
traditional. “It was just a Southern culture thing with the banana pudding,” Sarah said.
Her bridal portraits,
on the seashore at Caswell Beach, were a tribute to
Jayson. “He loves surfing, and I wanted to make it personal for him,” said Sarah, who’s trying
to develop her skills so she can share the waves with him.
Sarah prepared a framed collage of the surfboard pictures to present to Jayson
on their wedding night. “It was definitely ‘us’ and unique to our personalities.”
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