Photography by Ashley Walts
We were introduced by Todd Sharp, who thought we would be the perfect fit. We were engaged three days before Christmas. Gary kept taunting me with the presents under the tree because I kept begging 
him to just let me open one early. He finally gave in and I had to open a huge box followed by another and so on. I had an idea once the boxes kept getting smaller, and when I finally got down to the last box he was on his knee. Everything after that was kind of a blur! We celebrated by going to watch “The Christmas Carol” at Actors Theatre followed by The Exchange to have drinks with friends
I heard about Laurie Haag of Eventful 203 through a friend of mine and contacted her about helping me plan the wedding. Little did I know that she would be the backbone of the entire thing. I pretty much gave all control to her, which wasn’t hard for me to do since I was never really into the process of planning a wedding. She was so professional and literally helped me the entire step of the way. The wedding would absolutely not have been as magical without her.
It was very important to us to keep everything local (and I mean literally everything) and include the city of New Albany. It was also important to us to have a photograph of Gary’s parents on a stand by his side since they are no longer with us.
Our ceremony was awesome. I don’t think it was longer than 15 minutes but it felt like 45. Once I laid eyes on Gary, it was hard for me to hold back my tears, but I was just so, so happy that all I could do was smile. One of the most memorable moments was walking down the aisle and seeing my husband-to-be put his face in his hands to try and stop from crying.
And then, it was time to get the party started. We literally danced the night away. My dad and I had a surprise dance. We started out with our song, “My Girl,” and the broke into songs by Usher, Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars. It was a hit even though Dad forgot half of the moves. Gary and I both did a dollar dance, followed by the garter toss and bouquet toss. I also had all of my dancers and the University of Louisville Ladybirds out on the dance floor. I seriously don’t think we ever stopped dancing. It was truly the most amazing night of my life. It was everything I had ever hoped for and more. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. I am so thankful for everyone who helped make that day amazing and to Waffle House for letting me eat cheesy eggs and bacon in my dress at 3:30 a.m.
