We were married at Pea Ridge United Methodist Church at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 14th, 2001, with Reverend Gary Stackpole officiating.
Doug was a nervous wreck until he was standing at the altar. I had been through this before, so I was calm, cool, and collected UNTIL I got to the altar.
It was a rainy, gray, overcast day, but around 55 degrees. Nobody could decorate the car for the rain. Doug's uncle, Bill Sommerville, threw a streamer on the back. The only reason it stuck was because of the rain water that had collected on the trunk.
I wanted a tiara and for my hair to be down. Doug wanted me to have a veil and for my hair to be up. These were the only two things he requested, so I obliged.
I had originally planned on carrying a lit candle down the aisle, but my candle holder broke, so I decided I wasn't going to carry anything. A friend of mine couldn't stand the thought of me walking down the aisle with no flowers, so she went to Michael's and selected six red roses, and that's the only reason I had a bouquet.
It was a very small wedding. Five people sat on the bride's side, and only two were my relatives, where as forty people were on the groom's side. Most of them, aside from Doug's family, were choir members. They had choir practice after the wedding. Doug and I were choir members, but were exempt from practice that night.
My gloves were covering a very large bruise on my left forearm. I was in the hospital a few days prior to the wedding, and sustained the bruise from the IV. The gloves were a last minute decision, but if you looked close enough, the purple bruise did show through the matte material.
Our wedding ceremony was entire forty minutes long. I walked in to "My Heart Will Go On," instead of the traditional wedding march. A lady in the choir sang the theme from Romeo and Juliet. She also sang the Lord's Prayer. Doug's father was his best man, and my brother's girlfriend of almost eight years was my maid of honor. They wed on June 9th, that same year.
Doug and I paid for everything except for the photographer, the tuxedo rentals, the bouquet, and Doug's mother's dress. In 2001, a small wedding cost a total of $16,000.00 and we did everything, including the dress, the cake, the food, the decorations, for $2,000.00. We didn't buy everything at once. We shopped over the course of three months. Doug's dad bought the red heart shaped cookies, and Doug opted a red velvet groom's cake. (He takes being a southerner seriously.) We garnished the tables with cinnamon hearts wrapped in tulle and bubbles, and there was a large heart shaped candle, alternating red or pink on each table. We also had lace doilies and used Doug's paternal grandmother's china to serve food from at the reception. Someone asked if they were supposed to throw the red candy hearts at us.
I threatened to get the marriage annulled if Doug smashed the cake in my face. Doug didn't find that as funny as I did. *lol*
Doug was true to his word and didn't smash the cake in my face. (On a side note, I look like my mother here. The older I get, the more my father's DNA is kicking my mother's DNA in the face.) We toasted with Welch's sparkling red grape juice. We ran out of punch before we did food, which according to the bible was the worst thing that could happen at a wedding.
It had stopped raining, but was still damp out. We had guests blow bubbles instead of throwing rice. I still have that dress, and it still fits. Guests from left to right are Nancy Harmon, Betty Jo Kimble (who lost her husband, George, recently), and my mnl, Ruth Ann Townsend.
Doug insisted we have a dance. I can't dance, no seriously. Several guests stayed and helped with the clean up, Doug and I even stayed and helped until his parents insisted we leave. I can't seem to leave a mess behind...
That's pretty much it. Thanks for attending!
