Wedding: Julie Nelson ~ Richard Murphy, Jr.

Julie Ann Nelson, daughter of Dean and Sandy Nelson, was married to Richard Anthony Murphy, Jr. (Rex) on April 12 in Antigua, Guatemala.

Julie, a scholar athlete and avid high school softball and volleyball player, was born and raised in La Cañada. She graduated from La Cañada High School in 1992 and UCLA in 1997 with a degree in international economics.

Rex, also a scholar athlete with a passion for golf and surfing, grew up in Pasadena and graduated from Loyola High School in 1986 and from UCSB with a degree in Latin American studies in 1991.

They met through mutual La Cañada friends (the Gmelich family) many years ago and renewed their acquaintance in 2006 at Kiera Gmelich’s wedding in New York City.

Julie’s bridesmaids were Michelle Ward, Melissa LeBeouf, and Allison (Russell) Regan from La Cañada and Janine Goldberg from the Bay Area. Her matron of honor was Juliana Popko, also from the Bay Area.

The groomsmen were family or friends from Loyola and Santa Barbara and included Chris Johnson, Ken Welter, William Burns and Rich Mueller. The best man was Rex’s brother, Jim Murphy.

Julie and Rex start their new life together in Antigua, Guatemala where Rex has been involved in real estate development for the past 12 years and furniture manufacturing and distribution for the past five years.