Mr. and Mrs. Henry Thaddeus Holifield of Birmingham announce the engagement of their daughter, Martha Grace Holifield, to Matthew Shelton Gray, son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Shelton Gray II of Madison.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mrs. Earl Raymond Wilson and the late Mr. Wilson, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Henry Weber Holifield.

The prospective bridegroom is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Ford Barlow Higdon, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Albert Robert Gray of Brandon.

Miss Holifield was graduated with highest honors from Jackson Academy in 2003, and is a 2007 cum laude graduate of Samford University with a bachelor’s degree in art and psychology.

At Samford, she was a member of Chi Omega sorority and a Dean’s List Scholar. She served on the staffs of Samford’s Crimson newspaper and Sojourn literary magazine and was awarded the Samford University Faculty Art Award.

Miss Holifield is a member of the Debutante Club of Mississippi, and she is associated with Southern Progress Corporation as an art intern for Health magazine.

The prospective bridegroom was graduated from Jackson Preparatory School and received his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State.

He earned a master’s degree in finance from Mississippi State in 2007. At State, Gray served as rush chairman of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and was elected the fraternity’s Outstanding Graduate in 2006.

Gray is associated with the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance.

The wedding is planned for December 15 at Liberty Park Baptist Church in Birmingham.

Following the wedding, the couple will reside in Oxford where the bride will pursue a master’s in fine arts at Ole Miss.