WEDDING

WALKER-KAPLAN

Amanda Nicole Kaplan, 1996 Laguna Beach High School valedictorian, married John Read Walker on Aug. 5. The couple met while classmates in the Yale University class of 2000.

The bride is the daughter of Ken and Jan Kaplan of Laguna Beach. The groom is the son of Dan and Lyn Walker of Seattle and West Hartford, Conn..

Wedding guests were shuttled up to the villa of family friend Don Clurman for refreshments and live chamber music on the terraces and gardens overlooking the sea.

Then the wedding party descended a stone staircase to a floral encircled rock dais where the couple exchanged original vows each had prepared. Pablo Neruda’s “IX Cien Sonetas de Amor” was recited in English and Spanish by the groom’s sister, Sarah, and the bride’s A.F.S. sister, Carla Fiore.

The Yale Whiffenpoofs performed a musical selection a cappella. Ashley Englander was maid of honor and Benjamin Diamond was best man — childhood friends respectively of the bride and groom.

Following the ceremony, attendees celebrated with al fresco dining and poolside dancing to the music of Bruce Garnitz and his band. The groom and his friends serenaded the guests with solos and ensembles throughout the evening.

The following morning, the couple was honored at a brunch hosted by the bride’s aunt and uncle, Collette and Phillip Kaplan.

The couple then departed for a honeymoon in Belize.

The bride is a third-year law student at USC, where she is executive editor of the Law Review. The groom is a stand-up comedian, singer and screenwriter.