How They Met

Amanda and Colton’s story begins in summer 2013 with a tweet about their Bichon Frise dogs, Chipper and Lacee, who they now call their “matchmakers.” The couple hit it off while bonding over their dogs over Twitter, and then Colton asked Amanda to a movie the following evening; however, things did not turn out as planned. Amanda had decided to go outside and swing on her old swing set; the half-rotten swing set broke, so Amanda “bailed out” – and broke her humerus completely in two. Since Colton had to return to the University of South Alabama for baseball, and Amanda was in the emergency room,  they decided to call off the date. Amanda found out three years into dating that Colton thought she had lied about the accident and used a fake x-ray to get out of going on a date with him. The two stayed in touch during her senior year in high school and her first semester at the University of Alabama. During Christmas 2014, they finally made it to their first date.

Amanda’s Mawmaw passed away that January. Colton knew how upset she was, so he stayed on the phone with her for four hours then drove six hours from Mobile to Hartselle to attend the visitation. He met every single member of Amanda’s family at the visitation, including her parents and brothers, as her “friend” because they were not officially dating at the time – an awkward situation. Later they began dating and have been together since then.

The Proposal

A few years later, Colton transferred to UAH to continue pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. Dec. 16, 2017, Colton and Amanda’s families attended her graduation from the University of Alabama – but she had no idea Colton had much more planned for the day besides the graduation ceremony. Afterward, both of their families headed to Denny Chimes for pictures. As Amanda turned around on the steps of Denny Chimes to face the camera, Colton was on one knee in front of her with a beautiful ring. She of course said yes! 

Favorite Wedding Detail

Amanda’s favorite detail about the wedding is how many amazing people helped make it so special. Everything was gorgeous. Amanda’s mom pulled out all the stops to make sure their wedding day was amazing and, together with their wedding team, came up with so many little details to make everything extra special. A couple of Amanda’s favorite details were her handkerchiefs and flowers. Her “something old” was two handkerchiefs that belonged to her MawMaw and Auntie, who were two very special ladies in her life. 

Favorite Moments

The couple’s favorite part of the wedding ceremony was lighting the unity candle. During the rehearsal, they took extra care to place the stand where they would have no problems getting behind it, and it wasn’t until they were walking toward it during the ceremony that they realized it had been moved – and there was only about a foot of space to work with. Amanda and Colton were terrified they were going to knock the stand over and catch the church on fire. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, but they had to hold back laughter after they finished because they were so relieved. 

Their favorite parts of the reception were the toasts, the dances and Colton’s spectacular fall. Getting to hear their closest friends and family at both the rehearsal and the reception was great, and their first dances with their loved ones were so fun and sweet. The funniest moment of the night was right before they left. Everyone was dancing to “Shout,” and Colton accidentally slipped on Amanda’s train and sprained his ankle. Everyone, including Colton, laughed so hard – but though they did have to go to Walmart at 6 a.m. the next morning to get a brace. 

Meet the Team

Ceremony Venue: West Hartselle Baptist Church

Reception: Burningtree Country Club

Director: Amy and Ellen Robinson

Wedding and reception decorations: Karissa Lang, Candice McCaghren, Shindigs & Such

Flowers: Karissa Lang

Bride and groom cakes: Sweet and Sassy Cakes, Nicole Windham

Photographer: Heather Graves, Heather Graves Studios

Videographer: Brandon Starnes, Starnes Media

DJ: Krank E Eric, 256 Pro Entertainment 

Wedding dress/tuxes/attendants’ apparel: The Something Blue Shoppe

Alterations: Christy Urban

Hair and make-up: Ashlie Thomson and Siverstone Spa and Salon

Music: piano, Deanna Anderson, and violin, Jacob Frank

Outdoor wedding pictures: Home of Mr. and Mrs. Carlton Guyse of Hartselle

Programs: Grace McClendon

Honeymoon: Negril, Jamaica