Jessica Joleen Merritt and Jack Timothy Slider were engaged at 30 feet underwater while scuba diving off Casino Point on March 30, 2012.
They will be married on Saturday May 18, 2013, on the beach at Hamilton Cove in Avalon by Jessica’s Godfather, Larry Everingham. A reception at the Catalina Country Club will follow the ceremony.
Jessica Joleen Merritt and Jack Timothy Slider were engaged at 30 feet underwater while scuba diving off Casino Point on March 30, 2012.
They will be married on Saturday May 18, 2013, on the beach at Hamilton Cove in Avalon by Jessica’s Godfather, Larry Everingham. A reception at the Catalina Country Club will follow the ceremony.
The couple has more than 100 guests joining them from the mainland, coming from throughout California, and as far away as Oregon, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, and New York to help celebrate this weekend. Elizabeth Wenger, of Catalina Island Wedding Designs, is the couple’s wedding coordinator, and the couple claims that she has been worth her weight in gold.
When the couple became engaged, Jack had arranged seven of the couple’s closest friends from the mainland to arrive on the island for a surprise engagement party that started at The Lobster Trap. The group had such a wonderful time on the island that the party that was originally intended for one day continued for the next four days.
Jessica began coming to Catalina as a child with her mother, scuba diving for the first time here in 1992 and then became Open Water certified through Catalina Diver’s Supply in 1993 at the age of 14. Though she has since been diving all over the world, and has been a scuba diving instructor for the past 10 years, Catalina remains Jessica’s favorite place to dive. Jack earned his scuba diving certification in 2010 and recently obtained his Advanced Open Water certification through Catalina Scuba Luv, where he will complete his Rescue course in June.
Jack and Jessica have been friends for almost 30 years, growing up performing in local theatre in Bakersfield, California. When they first started dating, 4-and-a-half years ago, Jessica introduced Jack to Catalina.
It has since become the only place they want to go when they can get away, and the couple plans to move to the island in the future. Jack jokes that he would move to the island solely to be able to eat at Original Jack’s Country Kitchen every morning.
While on the island, the couple love scuba diving off Casino Point, golfing at the Catalina Country Club, eating at all their favorite restaurants, and being on “island time.” They will be having their rehearsal dinner this Friday night at Mi Casita, one of their favorite restaurants here.
Parents of the couple are JoAnn Merritt of Fort Collins, Colorado and the late Lee Merritt of Denver, Colorado, Jack Slider of Bakersfield, California and Carolyn VanWagoner of Port Hueneme, California.
The bride is a graduate of Garces Memorial High School in Bakersfield, New York University, and University of LaVerne. Jessica worked as an elementary school teacher for almost a decade before deciding to change.
