Jonathan and Brooke’s Wedding

It had been such a wonderful and relaxing weekend catching up with old friends and savoring every moment of the end of one journey and beginning of another. The girls and I booked rooms at the Battle House Hotel in downtown , Mobile to stay during the wedding weekend while the guys all stayed with Jonathan at his house. We had a fabulous time at our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, but as my eyes opened on this beautiful April morning, I knew the best was yet to come.

It was a slow and laid back morning as we all began getting ourselves ready to head to the Bragg Mitchell Mansion (our reception venue) where we would have our hair and makeup done before the wedding, and where Jonathan and I would see each other for the very first time during our first look pictures. Before we left the hotel, my bridesmaids had prepared a special surprise gift for me. They had each written a letter to me as well as collected letters from my parents and one from Jonathan and compiled them all in a scrapbook. It was so beautiful and filled with lots of memories and pictures, plus it was extra special to me because scrapbooking is something I love to do.

Jonathan and his groomsmen had all stayed the night at his house. One can only imagine what that many guys in one house would get into. LOL. Just kidding, God has blessed Jonathan and I with some of the most amazing family and friends. We are truly grateful for their friendships and everything they have done for us during this journey of our lives. The guys also had a very relaxing morning just enjoying the day at hand. Jonathan even had time to go have his car washed so it would be nice and ready for our departure.

The girls and I arrived at the Bragg around 12:00 noon and all began getting ready. It was important to me to be surrounded by some of the people I love most and be in an atmosphere of worship to the one who will Always be my first love, GOD! As Donna Moore began doing my hair, I remember feeling such a Peace rush over me. I sat back and took it all in, the sound of the some of my favorite worship songs playing, my bridesmaids laughing and sharing old memories, the sight of each of these women God had placed in my life over the years being here to celebrate this special day with me, and the thought of God’s goodness being poured out over my life. It was really wonderful to just sit and process all which was about to take place.

They guys all got dressed at Jonathan’s house and were to arrive at the Bragg in time for pictures. Jonathan’s Dad was also with the guys as he was also serving the role as best man. He and Jonathan have always has a special relationship and have been very close. Jonathan said one of his favorite memories during this time was when his dad helped fix his tie.

It was now time to put my dress on and get ready to see my beloved, Jonathan, for the first time on our wedding day. As my mom and sister helped me into my dress, I began to swell with emotions. I was really getting married today!! The wait was over! God was fulfilling a promise and my heart was so full of excitement.

Jonathan – Wow, my heart was racing so fast, I couldn’t believe I was standing there waiting for my bride, my soon to be WIFE, to step towards me. Brooke possess a gorgeous display of beauty inside and out that I could only imagine how breath-taking beautiful she would be clothed in her bridal gown.

Brooke – Jonathan and I had picked out the location for our First Look pictures when we came to do our final walk-through with our vendors a few weeks prior to our wedding day. As I walked out the doors, I caught a glimpse of Jonathan standing with his back towards me and my heart began racing with uttermost JOY.

Jonathan – ” I was speechless as I turned and saw my bride standing before me. Having waited that entire day anticipating this moment made this time even more special than I could have imagined. She truly was adorned in Christ-like beauty.”

Brooke – This moment was one of the most special memories for us, though we would have many before the day was over. After we spent a few minutes just talking, we made our way over to the bench where we would exchange gifts with each other. I wanted to go first in presenting my gift to him. When I was 15 years old, I started writing letters to my future husband. I would write prayers and thoughts down while I longed for the day when he would come. One day my dad and I made a wooden box and crafted it to hold my letters over the years. It was a special day for me and my parents to pray for the man who would receive this gift. For 10 years I have dreamed of the day I would stand before my husband and give it to him, and today was the day this dream would become a memory and no longer “just” a dream. Jonathan had no idea about the box as I had told everyone to keep it a secret. 🙂 It was such a surreal moment to give him the box of letters. All those years of praying for my future husband and now he was standing before me. It was a wonderful moment and it meant so much to him. Jonathan presented me with a beautiful scrapbook of all the memories we had in our relationship. He put so much time and thought into it, and it meant the world to me that he made it for me. It is really amazing that he has already taken notice of the things I enjoy and incorporates them into gifts for me.

Now, it was time for pictures with our absolutely amazing and awesome bridal party and family. It was nice to just have fun with each other and our bridal party and family.

After we finished up pictures at the mansion, we were able to get a few sneak peeks of our reception details coming into place. I was so excited to see all the details we had worked so hard on actually taking shape. We arrived at Moffett Road Baptist Church a little early to finish up pictures with more of our extended family. I am so glad we finished all our pictures before the ceremony because it made the rest of the night go smoothly, and we could just enjoy the reception. Once all pictures were finished, Jonathan and I parted ways one final time before we would met at the altar and become husband and wife. The excitement and emotions in that moment were indescribable. The bridesmaids and I went to the church choir loft to wait. There was so much anticipation and excitement as the musicians began playing and our guests began arriving. I was surrounded by my closest friends and literally moments away from saying “I DO”. Just before Kristel came to get us to all get lined up, my bridesmaids gathered around me and prayed a sweet prayer over me, over Jonathan, our ceremony, and new life together. Pastor Ryan also prayed over Jonathan, covering him and our marriage. We will forever cherish those moments with them and eternally grateful to God for each of their friendships.

Brooke – I can still feel the light breeze that rushed passed me as the doors of the back of the church were opened and my father and I began walking down the aisle of the church. This was it, this was our God appointed time. My heart could hardly handle the love and joy it felt. There he was. There was the man I had prayed for, waited for, and dreamed of!!!!

Jonathan – I remember standing there watching each of our parents and bridal party make their way into the sanctuary of the church and all I could think was when can I see my bride? When can I see the one designed for me? I know I had seen her shortly before, but this was different. This was really happening. God was fulfilling His promises in my life. He was honoring me and giving me such a priceless gift; I could hardly wait for those doors to open and see her walking along side of her dad. Then it happened. The doors of the church closed as the last bridal party members came through. It was time. As the music began playing, I caught a glimpse of the doors swinging open and everyone in the room stood to their feet. I was just moments, seconds away from seeing her, and as I finally made eye contact with her all I could do was fight back the tears. I had never seen anything so beautiful.

The ceremony was filled with so many wonderful memories.

Jonathan and I had decided to read letters to each other during the ceremony along with doing the traditional vows. I was so afraid I would get too emotional reading my letter so I practiced it a lot, and with God’s help I was able to read it clearly. It was such a special moment to read what we wanted to say to each other as a vow and a promise to one another in front of all our family and friends. We had chosen “Jesus we love you” by Hannah and Paul McClure to be played as we partook in communion together and had our pastor and mentor, Pastor Ryan Howard, pray a prayer of blessing over us. I loved having that time to go to the LORD together as husband and wife during our ceremony. I felt the presence of the LORD so strong. It was more special than I could have ever imagined. As Pastor Ryan closed out the ceremony, the long-awaited words were about to be spoken. “May I present to you for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs Jonathan Wallace.” I was a MRS. WALLACE!!

When we arrived at the Bragg Mitchell Mansion, the caterer, Creative Catering by Sean, had set a table upstairs for Jonathan and I to be able to grab a quick bite before joining our guests downstairs for the celebration. It was wonderful to have a few minutes to our self and let everything sink in; WE WERE MARRIED.

We were amazed at how beautiful everything turned out. The Bragg Mitchell Mansion is such a beautiful venue in itself but our vendors out did themselves helping make our dreams come true. The flowers from All A Bloom Florist were stunning, our cake made my the sweet and talented hands of Mrs. Judi from Cakes By Judi was perfect, and the food was great. The ladies at Mobile Popcorn had made picking out our rentals really fun and easy when we had met them for our consultation and to see everything we had picked out actually set in place was beyond perfect.

We had rented a tent for outside where we had planned to do our dancing and host our DJ, but the weather had a little different take on how that would play out. Jonathan and I were able to get our first dance in before it began pouring down rain, but our fabulous DJ, Justin Walker, just packed everything up and moved the party inside. I am not sure what we would have done without Kristel Bergman, our wedding coordinator. She was such a lifesaver and breath of PEACE throughout the course of our day.

I actually think the party ended up being better having moved the dancing inside as now everyone was able to be in one space and enjoy the food and dancing. As the celebration came to a close, my mom and sister went upstairs and helped me collect my belongings to be placed in Jonathan’s car. Just before Jonathan and I departed for our honeymoon, we had the opportunity to hug our parents and thank them for everything they have done for us over the years and especially during this journey of our life. I know I will always cherish that moment!

This was truly an amazing journey, weekend, and day. It was so special to us to see everyone who came to celebrate with us. The friends and family we had supporting us is truly a gift which we don’t take for granted. We had a blast dancing as I think you can see from the pictures, and an amazing DJ who kept everyone’s attention through the night. It was truly a celebration! I am so glad we chose to have the ceremony and reception at indoor locations so the weather wasn’t able to effect our day too much. I loved the way everything turned out. It was definitely more than we could have ever dreamed.