Miss Amber Nicole Scroggins of Kansas City, Mo., and Mr. Alesandro Jese Melendez of Kansas City, Kan., were united in marriage on June 25, 2011. The double-ring ceremony took place at the Minnesota Avenue Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kansas City, Kan. The bilingual ceremony was officiated by Aaron Gallegos, representative of the Watch Tower, Bible and Tract Society.
The bride is the daughter of Kenneth and Kathleen Scroggins of St. Joseph, Mo. The groom is the son of Jose and Linda Melendez of Portland.
The bride was escorted by her father. She wore a princess style, ivory satin wedding gown with trumpet skirt and train, accented by a large, starburst organza bow at the front waist and self-covered buttons down the length of the dress back. The bride carried an over-the-arm bouquet of green goddess lilies, green orchids and berries. She wore satin pumps of bright Kelly green, her favorite color.
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Mr. and Mrs. Alesandro (Amber) Melendez
Attending the bride as maid of honor was Kali Hudspeth of Overland Park, Kan. Bridesmaids were Melissa Volner, of Rockford, Ill., Casey Rooker, of Patterson, N.Y., Kari Meints of Basehor, Kan., and Heather Martin of Overland Park. All of the bride's attendants wore celadon green dresses in the style of their choice and carried bouquets of ivory gerbera daisies with black centers.
Pedro Matorell of Kansas City, Kan., was the best man. Other groomsmen were Manolo Solis of Shawnee, Kan., Obed Morales of Rochester and Josiah Melendez of Jamestown, the groom's brother.
Music was provided by harpists Jackie Burciaga and Arleen Burciaga, friends of the couple. A reception for 150 guests followed the ceremony at the Sermon T. Center in Independence, Mo.
The bride is a 2004 graduate of Benton High School in St. Joseph. She is self-employed as a medical transcriptionist and a certified ESL educator using the TESOL method.
The groom is a 2004 graduate of Brocton Central School and received his associate degree in science and studio arts from Jamestown Community College. He is a 2010 graduate of the Watch Tower Ministerial Training School. He is employed as an elementary ESL teaching assistant for the Kansas City, Kan., public school system.
The newlyweds honeymooned in Jamaica. They currently reside in Kansas City, Kan., where they both serve as full-time ministers to the Spanish speaking community for the Poniente Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses.
