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Our Story 2 |
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Curtis & Carolyn: The
Wedding Rehearsal & Cake Cutting |
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Carolyn and I had originally hoped to be married at Greenway
Baptist Church in Boone - the church we attended during our
senior year at Appalachian State University (1974 - 1975) - but
they had a policy that only church member could use the church
for weddings, so we decided to get married at Mathis Chapel
Baptist Church in Catawba, NC - my family church. |
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Carolyn and I ask Bobby Taylor, a close family friend, to
officiate at our wedding. Carolyn's mother and brother had
said they would not come to the wedding, so Carolyn asked John
Wessell to give her away and Bettie Wessell to sit in the place
of her mother. The Wessell family had been our "adopted
family" for the last two years we were at ASU. Betty took
Carolyn under her wing while she was still at ASU and provided
the mothering she needed. She took Carolyn shopping and
bought her three nightgowns for the honeymoon, as well as a
Betty Crocker Cookbook (which we still have). |
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The wedding rehearsal was on Friday, June 6th, at Mathis Chapel
Baptist Church in Catawba, NC. |
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John Wessell and Carolyn walk down the aisle during the
rehearsal |
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Steve and Janie Harwell hosted the cake'cutting at their home.
Steve & Janie attended Mathis Chapel and had been close friends
for years. The girls in the wedding party actually stayed
at Steve & Janie's house the night before the wedding, while the
guys stayed at Curtis' house - actually the empty building that
had once housed Loftin's Tire Service, Loftin's Clothing Outlet,
and The Lighthouse Youth Ministry. |
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Mrs. Flora Edwards Stewart made the wedding cake for Curtis &
Carolyn. Mrs. Stewart had kept Curtis as a baby and he had
always considered her a second "Mama". Curtis'
sister-in-law, Diane Loftin, helped serve food. |
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The Wedding Cake |
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Diane Loftin & Mrs. Flora Edwards Stewart |
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I have created a "Tribute" page for Mrs.
Stewart on the website and there are some additional photos
CLICK HERE to check them
out |
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Curtis & Carolyn pose for a few photos |
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Getting ready to cut the cake |
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We
froze the top layer and saved it for our one-year anniversary |
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Sam had been sick for several years prior to the wedding.
When we couldn't get Greenway Baptist as the church for our
wedding, one of the reasons we chose Mathis Chapel was because
Sam wasn't able to travel. The wedding was in 1975.
Sam died in 1979 at the age of 61. |
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Sam & Willie Loftin - Curtis' Parents |
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Carolyn asked Anita Wheeler Tyner, her best friend from high
school, to be her matron of honor. |
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Tony & Anita Wheeler Tyner |
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Curtis & Carolyn: The
Wedding |
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Carolyn & I got married on Saturday, 07 Jun 1975, 3:00 p.m., at
Mathis Chapel Baptist Church. The Rev. Bobby Lee Taylor
officiated. |
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There was very little money to help with the wedding - none from
Carolyn's family, and very little from mine. Carolyn
purchased the satin fabric that was to become her wedding dress
and actually made it herself. In an effort not to ruin the
fabric, she first made the dress using a old sheet. One
was had long-sleeved and the other was short. She settled
on the short sleeve and began to cut the fabric and sew the
dress. |
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The "practice' dress |
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The day of the wedding, Tony Sanford teased me unmercifully.
He'd tell me, "You have three hours till you get married".
"Two hours and thirty minutes". "Two hours". "One hour and
thirty minutes". "One hour and 15 minutes". "One hour".
... and so on until it was "Thirty minutes", "Fifteen minutes",
and "Ten minutes". Tony was really enjoying himself. |
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There was no money for flowers to decorate the church, so the
morning of the wedding, Tony and I went out into a field beside
of our house and picked wild flowers, Queen Anne's Lace, Daisys,
and so on. The only flowers purchased were the three
long-stemmed yellow roses that she carried. |
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Curtis & Carolynn kneeling before Rev. Bobby Taylor |
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Carolyn presented a yellow rose to my mother, Willie,
and one to Bettie Wessell, who was sitting in place of her
mother |
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Mr. & Mrs. Curtis Loftin |
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Curtis & Carolyn with Paula Schronce, flower girl (and Curtis'
1st cousin's daughter),
and Nathan Harwell, ring bearer |
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BRIDESMAIDS
Ann Hamilton, Beverly
Loftin, Carolyn, Paula Schronce, Anita Wheeler Tyner and Angela
Taylor
Anita Wheeler Tyner was Matron of Honor |
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Anita was Carolyn's best friend from high
school, Angela was Curtis' "adopted" little sister from the
church, Beverly was Curtis' niece (daughter of his brother Billy
Ray), Ann was Curtis & Carolyn's closest female friend from ASU,
and Paula was the daughter of Curtis' first cousin Brenda
Isenhour Schronce. |
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GROOMSMEN |
Bill Mitchell, Dan Wessell, Curtis, Nathan Harwell, Billy Ray
Loftin and Bill Shearin
Billy Ray Loftin as Best Man |
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Bill Shearin & Bill Mitchell were college
friends of Curtis & Carolyn, Dan had originally been a student
of Carolyn's from Wataugh High School but them we "adopted" him
and his entire family, Nathan Harwell was the son of Steve and
Janie Richardson Harwell, and Billy Ray (William Ray) Loftin was
Curtis' older brother. |
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Billy Ray, Curtis & Carolyn greet guest as they exit the church |
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Bill MItchell, Dan Wessell and Bill Shearin (David Shearin &
John Wessell in the background) |
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RECEPTION |
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Following the wedding, everyone went back over
to Curtis' parents house for a small reception. |
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Ann sits on Sam's lap; Carolyn |
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(Left) Kathy King and Charlie Ross, (Right) Diane & Billy Loftin |
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Kathy sang at the wedding
and Charlie Ross played the piano.
Charlie actually played the piano for the gospel singing group
the Imperials for a short season. |
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Tony & Anita Wheeler Tyner |
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(Left) Dale Shearin and Beverly Loftin, (Right) John Wessell -
Carolyn and WIllie Loftin in the background |
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Tony Sanford and Ann Hamilton with Eric & Crystal Loftin
(Curtis' niece and nephew) |
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The Observer-News-Enterprise Newspaper |
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Curtis & Carolyn:
Our Wedding |
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On our honeymoon, where did we go? Back to Boone. We
spent the weekend at one of the mountain overlook hotels.
The place would eventually be converted to condominiums years
down the road. |
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If you have additional photos or information
contact me at |
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