Wedding: Alison Ekdale and Chad Hawker Wedding: Alison Ekdale and Chad Hawker (November 27, 2002)

Alison Ekdale and Chad Hawker were married September 8 at First United Methodist Church in Pacific Grove. A reception at Rancho Canada Golf Club in Carmel followed the ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Dr. Robert and Rosalie Ekdale of Menlo Park. A graduate of Menlo-Atherton High School and California State University at Hayward, she is a program manager for global sales operations at Veritas Software in Mountain View.

The bridegroom is the son of the Reverend Albert and Phyllis Hawker of Seaside. He attended Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo and is a professional triathelete, ranked in the top 50 worldwide.

The bridegroom proposed by having a pilot fly the couple over Seaside State Beach, where friends had written in the sand: "Ally, will you marry me?" The Reverend Hawker performed the wedding ceremony.

The bride's sisters, Mary Neubauer and Elizabeth Ekdale, were her matrons of honor. Bethany and Hannah Hawker were flower girls, and Alexander Neubauer was the ring bearer. The bridegroom's brothers, Curtis and Tony Hawker, served as best men.

Following a wedding trip to Bali and Singapore, the couple is living in Seaside.