Elizabeth’s Amazing Drive Up Wedding

(exactly 1 minute and 58 seconds)

When it comes to plus size wedding dresses and gowns, Kiyonna takes pride in helping brides say yes to the dress. We love to hear their stories and the journey it took to find the perfect dress.

We are extremely happy to share Elizabeth’s story in her own words. At a time when a pandemic seemed to get in the way of people’s weddings, she and her now husband found a creative way to still make their special day happen. Here is her story:

Where did you love birds meet?

Thomas and I have known each other for a number of years as friends, more than ten years. We have several mutual friends which means that we would chat on and off over the years, but we always seemed to be in two different places both physically and emotionally.

Seven years ago, this May, I forgot to invite Thomas to a mutual friend’s wedding. When I was on my way to the wedding, Thomas sent me a random meme text message saying it had reminded him of me. At that point in time, we texted only every once in a while. Remembering that I was supposed to invite him to the wedding I was on my way to, I last-minute invited him per request of the groom. He was out and about on his motorcycle and said he’d try to make it. I even gave him the wrong directions by accident.

Apparently, he still managed to make it just in time for the ceremony, and I was already seated and didn’t see him arrive. After the ceremony, I was one of the first people to go through the greeting line. At the time, I smoked and was standing over by the smoking section, when I spotted him in the line to greet about 10 yards away. I dropped my cigarette, ran across the lawn, and jumped into his arms. I immediately got back to my feet, saying, “oops I shouldn’t have done that!” due to a recent surgery he had. And that was all she wrote.

Thomas and I have always had some pretty intense feelings for each other, but the timing never seemed right until that exact moment. Something clicked and we knew it was finally our turn. We talked and danced during the reception. He left early to get home before dark. We spent the next day negotiating our relationship terms. At the beginning we agreed rule #1, we are not getting married. It became an inside joke when the other was not feeling well, we’d ask if they wanted to get married.

How did he ‘pop’ the question?

I didn’t believe Thomas when he proposed. I thought he was joking. We share a healthy amount of sarcasm in our relationship and it suits us. I had driven him into work the next morning and in the afternoon, on my way to pick him up, I noticed that the local jewelry store was having a huge sale. As he got in the car, I mentioned that he was in luck and said “it looks like my engagement ring might be a bargain.” He laughed and said, yeah, let’s pull in. Still not believing him I drove past the drive, while he yelled, “Hey! I said pull in!” so I turned the corner and pulled into the rear drive.

I had been spring cleaning all day and was a complete dirty mess, but he didn’t care. He told me to make whatever type of ring I wanted. I knew I didn’t want a big diamond. I did end up with a large London Blue Topaz in a beautiful setting, which had to be made so it would be a few days, but they would call when it was ready. We picked up the ring and he says I can try it on in-store to make sure it fits then it must go back in the box until we are home. Once home, he said some very sweet words and put the ring on my finger.

Wedding plans halted by the pandemic…

The original wedding plan was for June 6th, 2020. The Pandemic changed all of our plans entirely. Thomas is in the highest risk category with kidney failure and heart disease. This left us with no option but to cancel our original date. As per usual with us, on a whim the Tuesday before our now wedding date of April 5th, we wondered aloud if we could even get married right now. So a couple of phone calls to the county clerks office later and a quick drive up there, they did drive by service and allowed us to pick up the same day. I called our Pastor and she was able to marry us in front of our garage on Sunday.

Saying “yes” to the dress…

I knew that I did not want to wear my beautiful wedding gown for this quick, but official ceremony, it was just too much for the moment. Having purchased from Kiyonna before I knew that I should be able to find a lovely dress, but was not sure if I could get it here in time. I chose the Stars A-Line dress because it fit with the moment, even its name fits our situation. Being able to review the pictures, I knew that the cut should complement my 5’8″ tall, size 3x body, and I liked the style of the lace. I was able to purchase expedited shipping and I got my dress a day early, which was relieving.

The most memorable 1 minute and 58 seconds

Our friends and family gathered in their vehicles parked in our driveway to watch us get married. Our ceremony was one minute and 58 seconds long. I know this because I have the video 😉 The most memorable moment for me was when I was getting ready. I bawled for a few minutes, it was just overwhelming to not have anyone there with me. Some of my friends quickly jumped on a zoom call to help lift my spirits!

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At the end of the day, we are married and we will celebrate with friends and family when we can do so safely!

-Elizabeth