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| Me and my wife, Kathryn, buying food and stuff for our fur-babies at home. |
It began back on November 25, 2014. On that Tuesday afternoon I went by the Tire Store in Flowery Branch, convinced that I had a tire going slack. As the guys checked it out, I watched as another small car pulled up and a beautiful woman got out and went in the office. I knew her name was Kathryn, but only because I had seen her a year or earlier and had asked her uncle what her name was. He told me, but that was as far as it went.
So, when I saw her at the Tire Store I thought it was just a chance coincidence. But the more I've thought about it, I realize that with God there is no such thing as coincidence. He saw fit to put me and Kathryn in the same place at the same time for a reason. To this day I'm not sure how it happened, but I ended up inside the office stammering away about how I knew her parents. Actually, I think I said "I know your parents, but you don't know me."
She looked at me like I was crazy, which is probably what I came off as. I realized just how silly I was sounding, and tried to make my escape. Mike, who works at the Tire Store, stopped me and said, "Dude, at least tell her your name?" I did that, and figured that would be the end of it. After all, when you make as big a mess as I made you have to guess that you'll never hear from that person again.
But Kathryn and I soon became friends on Facebook. I invited her to join me and some friends at a Buford burger joint for Trivia night. This was our first date...and I barely talked to her. She even told me later that she couldn't really decide if she liked me, simply because I hadn't talked enough. But she agreed to go on another date with me. Over the course of the next couple dates, we began to get to know each other a lot better. I was rapidly beginning to realize that I didn't just like her; I loved her.
She would come over and hang out with me at my house, or I would go over to her townhouse and hang out with her and her sister...and her sister's dog Milly...and Kathryn's cat Louie, who often hid upstairs. One night, as we hung out at my house eating French Toast Crunch and watching movies on Netflix, I asked her if I could start introducing her as my girlfriend. She smiled and said yes, since she was already calling me her boyfriend.
We got closer and closer over the next few months and I came to know something at the very core of my being: she was the one for me. For years I had doubted if there even was someone for me. Every time I would try to get into the dating scene it just simply wouldn't work out for me. And now I understand that the reason it never worked out is so I would be in the right place at the right time to meet the right one.
I went to see her father around the middle of May. We sat down and talked for a bit, and I told him that I intended to ask Kathryn to be wife, but I really wanted his approval and blessing. He gave his blessing, and was glad to see that we had such love and respect for each other. On Memorial Day, six months to the day after we had met, I knelt down and asked Kathryn to marry me. She said yes, and the planning began.
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| Proposing |
We originally set a date of November 2016, which was immediately called out by both sets of parents, saying we would never wait that long. They were right. We wanted to be together, and we decided that December 2015 would work much better.
We found a venue that we both immediately fell in love with in Aska Farms of Blue Ridge. We set up plans with a caterer and found a photographer and videographer. Everything was falling into place. Except for people's opinion of our choice of date.
"You're getting married in Blue Ridge? In December? Outdoors? It's going to be so cold."
"Aren't you afraid it might snow?"
The weather didn't concern us. We hoped it would be nice, but even if it had been cold and snowing we were still getting married. And it's December in Georgia...it could be 30° and snowing or it could be sunny and nearly 70°. You never know...
The weekend of the ceremony finally rolled around. Kathryn and I rode together up to Blue Ridge, where our families were already gathered preparing for the Rehearsal Dinner. We got to Blue Ridge and found the weather was fantastic. The day of the wedding was shaping up to be sunny and temps near 60. The Rehearsal Dinner went very well, with lots of family and close friends there to celebrate the occasion with us. But the night had to end and I had to, for the last time, say goodbye to my bride-to-be until the ceremony the next day.
As we shared a kiss and held each other close, she said "You better show up tomorrow." I hugged her tighter and said "You better, too." I drove off as she got in the car with her sister to go to a different hotel. It took me a while to go to sleep, as I lay there for a while watching TV and thinking about how much I had been looking forward to the next day.
When I awoke the following morning, the day that I once thought would never happen, I looked out the window and saw a frost so think it looked like snow. The world was blanketed in fog. The rising sun revealed a world that was white and blindingly shiny. I didn't know it, but Kathryn and her bridesmaids had gotten back to the venue already and one of them had taken one of the most stunning pictures I saw from the weekend.
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| A cloud-bow formed above the ceremony site at Aska Farms of Blue Ridge. |
While Kathryn and the bridesmaids were getting their hair and makeup done, I was facing a miniature crisis of my own. The groomsmen were all wearing white shirts, black pants, black suspenders and red ties. I was wearing a light blue tie. I brought a pair of black suspenders that I had bought for the occasion, but when I put them on that morning, they refused to clasp the waistband of my pants. Thankfully, my great-uncle had a spare pair that I was able to borrow, so crisis averted.
At the venue, I headed downstairs to the Man Cave, thinking I would be among the first to arrive, but instead I was greeted by all but two of my groomsmen. The others arrived shortly after I did, and we spent hours hanging out, shooting pool, throwing darts, and generally cutting up.
The videographer and photographer came and got us for pictures, and we proceeded to walk all over the grounds of Aska Farm, taking what felt like hundreds of pictures. This was not nearly as tormenting as I thought it would be. I had never been a fan of having my picture taken, but I suppose my excitement at getting married overrode my dislike of pictures.
As we walked back toward the house from the barn, our coordinator came up and said we needed to be getting into place. I was hustled to a spot along the fence, just downhill from the ceremony site. I could hear the music playing at the site, and I knew that the parents were being escorted to their seats. Then another song began playing and I knew it was time for me to take my last walk as an unmarried man. And I was glad to take those steps.
As our officiant and I stood at the altar, with the groomsmen and bridesmaids filing in around us, I looked up the aisle at the hand-crafted wooden doors we had made for the ceremony, and I waited. Then her entrance song (jump to the :56 mark) began to play, and I knew I was about to see my bride for the first time. Then the doors opened, and I began to cry. She was so beautiful. The closer she got the weaker my knees began to feel. Her Dad escorted her to the altar and placed her hand in mine, and I felt just like I did the first time I kissed her. I knew beyond any doubt that I was marrying the only woman I could marry.
As the ceremony drew to an end I was finally given the opportunity to kiss my wife.
We were presented to our guests as Mr. and Mrs. Blake Duncan for the first time, we began to walk up the aisle.
Kathryn handed her bouquet to me, and I was shocked at how heavy it was. We finally got past the last row of seats and we still had quite a ways to walk (seeing as we had to get out of the way of people leaving the ceremony for the reception, and we still had pictures to take), and Kathryn and I looked at each other and almost at the same time said "We're married!"
Our wedding party gathered around us and hugs and handshakes were exchanged. We took dozens, if not hundreds, of pictures. Our guests had mostly made their way down to the reception site, and so we were led around the house to enter from the other side. The wedding party was introduced, and then it was our turn.
We went into the reception to a stirring round of applause. Our DJ began to play "Sing Loud" by Alpha Rev, and we had our first dance. She then had her customary dance with her Dad, and I danced with my Mom. As night fell it began to get much colder. We ate a little, danced a little, talked with people, hugged people, danced some more, talked with more people, took more pictures, and danced again. Our photographer grabbed us and wanted to get some nighttime shots. After we took those pictures, we went back to the house and, being utterly exhausted, Kathryn and I took the opportunity to hide away for a moment. We crept into the bridal suite and sat down for a moment, taking the chance to collect ourselves and just be alone for a bit.
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| Our fur-babies, Midnight Louie (left) and Maisie (aka Maisie-Daisy, aka Maise-kadiddle, right) |
The day had been a blur, but we were married, and that was all that mattered. Yeah, some folks might think that's selfish, but it was our day. More importantly to me, it was Kathryn's day. She looked beautiful, and she still does. She becomes more and more beautiful to me everyday. I love her more and more everyday. We had a beautiful wedding, an amazing honeymoon, and our first month together has been nothing short of wonderful. I'm so excited that I get to spend the rest of my life with this beautiful woman.
I love you, Kathryn. I will love you til the end of my days. You are one of the greatest blessings God ever sent into my life. I am so excited to experience life with you, Louie, and Maisie. I love my little family.
