Mr. and Mrs. James Donald Litchfield of Meridian announce the engagement of their daughter, Melissa Morgan of Oxford, to Benjamin Gilbert Bryant of Jackson. Mr. Bryant is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Gerald M. Rankin and James Everett Bryant, all of Vicksburg.

Miss Litchfield is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. John William Jenkins and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Turner Litchfield, all of Meridian.

Mr. Bryant is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Martin Dean, the late Lydia Gilbert Bryant and Herman Kelly Bryant Sr., all of Vicksburg.

The bride-elect is a 1995 graduate of Meridian High School. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in educational psychology from Mississippi State University and a Master of Science degree in community counseling from MSU-Meridian. She was a member of Kappa Delta sorority.

Miss Litchfield is pursuing a Doctor of Philsophy degree in counselor education from the University of Mississippi and is employed at the University of Mississippi Counseling Center.

The prospective groom is a 1997 graduate of Vicksburg High School. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Mississippi, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in history. He received a Master of Science in journalism from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia.

He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at the University of Mississippi.

Mr. Bryant will begin work as a lawyer at the Mississippi Attorney General’s office in September.

The wedding will be at 2 p.m. Aug. 7, 2010, at the Meridian Museum of Art. A reception will follow.