Here Come The Brides

Stephanie at Angelic Accents is hosting her 2nd annual Wedding Blog Party.  Who doesn't love a wedding?  So, I just had to join!

I have decided to share two Valentine weddings.  The first one would be mine which happened on February 14, 1987.  The second one was twenty three years later on February 12, 2011, which was our youngest son's wedding.

Kenny and I dated for 1 1/2 years before we married. By the time we got engaged, we had seven months to plan our Valentine's Day wedding. We chose red, as it is both of our favorite color, and the traditional Valentine color.

This is one of my favorite wedding photos!  I'm sure you can tell by the hair and the ruffles that it was the 80's!  Wow!  Kenny's hair was so black then, and he was sporting a full beard, as well!

Here's my wedding gown, 24 years later.

Here's a pic of my train. It has all the ruffles that the neckline has. Gotta love those frilly frills!

This is a closeup of the waistline. Wow!  Was my waist really that tiny?!?  Sure wish I could wear that size today!  lol 

I opted for silk flowers...and 24 years later they still look beautiful!  Don't get me wrong; I LOVE real flowers, but I wanted this as a keepsake. The bouquet base has pearls and crystals. Can't you just see this on my 50th Anniversary table in the distant future!?

This is my ring pillow. My sweet little boy, Brandon (age 4 1/2 then, almost 29 now) carried this! So special!

Kenny and I both love the color red, and with it being Valentine's Day, it was perfect. As I said before, we got engaged 7 months before our wedding but I didn't get my ring until Christmas Day before the wedding. He came to my parents' home for Christmas morning and he put my ring in my breakfast drink. LOL Thank goodness I didn't swallow it! hee hee It was awesome! When Kenny told me he wanted to marry me, he told me he wanted to be Brandon's father too. I knew he was the one for sure!! Brandon's father has never been in the picture, so now he was getting a Daddy on this day, as well!  On our beautiful wedding day, we exchanged rings, and Brandon got a ring also. It was so cute! He was so proud. Of course Kenny adopted Brandon, and 9 months, 9 days later, our sweet little Blake (now 23) was born!

I have to say that I love this man more and more each day. He is always there for me, and takes care of us soooo well!

Now on to wedding number two.

~Blake and Carrie~

Blake and Carrie were introduced by friends about six years ago.  {O*M*G, they look like babies in that pic!} They were both seniors in high school. However, they lived hours apart.  Theirs started out as friends and evolved into dating a bit. 

Over the next several years, they talked and dated on and off.  Long distance relationships are hard...but can be done!  Blake went to our community college, while Carrie went to the University of Tennessee {go Vols!}  They maintained their friendship, talked, and tried the dating thing again.  They dated other people and didn't talk for a short time.  During this time Carrie became pregnant.  This was something that happened because someone took advantage of her.  Just about that time Blake said, "She is the one.  I'm going to Knoxville!"  At that point she had just found out and told him upon arrival.  {The father was out of state, and she had no contact with him.}  That didn't change Blake's mind.  He loved this girl!!!  Blake always told us that Carrie was the one.  He said God was telling him that she was it, and he knew he would marry her someday!

Carrie gave birth to Kennedy Grace in October of 2009, and Blake was there when she was born.  He loves that little girl as his own. 

Over the next year, Carrie finished college with a degree in advertising and a minor in business.  Blake went into Emergency Medical Service training..  Every weekend he made the 3 hour drive to be there for his girls on the weekends.

They began to "talk" wedding but no real plans or anything.  They planned a photo shoot of the three of them so they would have pictures for their "someday" home.

However, Carrie had no idea that Blake was about to pop the question.  It was perfect!!!  Carrie was totally surprised, and of course...

she said YES!

In October, they had their engagement pictures done.

Now, that's trust!  lol

These two lovely ladies are heading to the Rehearsal!

Practicing what to do and where to stand {this wasn't the preacher, she was just a stand-in}

Kennedy hung out with her new Daddy and new Uncle Brandon.

And on his wedding day, this little girl was the most precious little 16-month -old flower girl. 

 She came down the aisle and right into her Daddy's arms.

Blake was getting teary-eyed.

There wasn't a dry eye in the house...and when Carrie walked down the aisle to Blake who was holding her daughter, the tears only flowed even more.  Blake was a "waterworks" at this point.  PRECIOUS!

Carrie and Blake's first dance was so sweet...

but when Blake had the first dance with his daughter...

even the men were sobbing!  lol

It was like a fairytale, indeed!

Such a beautiful couple!

The open road is before them, the possibilities are endless!

Thank you for joining me for my wedding stories.  A great big thanks to Stephanie for inviting us all to take part in her beautiful event!  Be sure to head over to Angelic Accents for more wonderful wedding stories and photos!

Blessings to all,

Rebecca