September 30th 2016
Tennessee
Amy and Bekah first met through a mutual friend. Says Bekah, “We’d been talking for about a month but our first official date was to a haunted house.” Once inside, explains Bekah, “Amy said, ‘I’m gonna be scared, so you’ll probably have to hold my hand.’”
The brides say that they’ve come a long way together in 8 years, making it into careers they both love—Amy works as a Physician Assistant for a local orthopedic clinic and Bekah works in marketing for a non-profit organization—and buying a home together. During a Caribbean cruise for Bekah’s 30th birthday she proposed to Amy on a secluded stretch of beach off the coast of Honduras.
The brides planned a lakeside ceremony and wedding that included the friends and family that “have helped us find our way in this world.”
Both brides were escorted by their fathers, and the brides say that the photographs of Amy crying as she watched Bekah walk down the aisle are some of their favorite from the wedding. Friends and loved ones acted as ushers and bridesmaids and even helped performed the ceremony. They also made the cake, catered the food and offered a lakeside home to host the wedding. “Of course our parents who raised us to become the women we are today helped us pull off this backyard dream wedding.”
Wedding Song: Erick Baker’s “My Two Left Feet”
Say the brides: “Music is very important to us, so choosing music was both fun and impossible!” Adds Bekah, “Erick Baker is a local musician who frequently sells out the Tennessee Theatre for concerts. At one of his shows he encouraged listeners to grab their significant other and dance in the aisles. Even though we were up in the balcony, Amy pulled me out in the aisle and danced with me like we were the only ones in the theater. It was one of the most romantic moments of our 8 years together, and so we settled on that song.”
Bekah’s Favorite Moment: “Our ‘First Look’ was unforgettable. Amy is always gorgeous, but we had not seen each other’s wedding dresses so I had no clue what to expect. That first moment of just the two of us, seeing each other before the wedding, she blew me away. That moment was perfection. Later I watched Amy cry happy tears as I walked down the aisle. I was overwhelmed with complete and utter love for the woman I was walking towards. Right after our ceremony we took a few pictures by the water and I watched the sun set over a gorgeous lake with my new wife. I was so in awe of God’s beauty and the nature around us.”
Amy’s Favorite Moment: “Seeing Bekah in her dress. She took my breath away and I don’t have words to describe the feeling. Then seeing her walking towards me down the aisle, I felt overwhelming happiness that I was about to marry the love of my life. My dance with my dad was pretty special to me. It meant a lot that he was there and participated even though he doesn’t fully understand or agree with me being gay. I felt like that was him stepping out of his comfort zone to show his support and happiness for me. Lastly, I’d say hearing my 88-year-old grandfather tell me it was the most beautiful wedding he has ever been to brought happiness to my heart.”
The brides also described a special moment during which one of the bridesmaids went to open a champagne bottle. “She was prepared for the cork to fly, but it just fell off the top of the bottle to the ground. It was hilarious and resulted in one of our favorite pictures of us with our bridal party.”
Bekah and Amy opted for a wine box ceremony. Along with a bottle of wine, they placed letters inside a box. Like a good wine, a great love will deepen and mature with age, but if they face hard times they can open the box, drink the wine together and read the letters that speak to their love for each other. “We know that thinking about hard times may not seem like the most romantic thing to do on a wedding day, but it was important to us that our promises to each other be realistic. We know that marriage is hard and that it is a lot of work, but we also know that we meant every word we said to one another on our wedding day.”
The brides wish the day hadn’t felt so rushed and wonder if a wedding coordinator would have helped with time management, but they know the day flew by because it was so amazing.
“You look so good when you’re dancing. Can I have this dance with you for the rest of my life?”