Listener Brooke is trying to have the wedding of her dreams, without bearing the financial burden (I respect that!).
Will you spend 30 seconds and vote for her, so she can win?
Some info about the happy couple:
Brooke & Kevin
Kevin- US Coast Guard, Entered August 2009, Active duty
I remember the first time I saw her. My brother and I were driving down some old dirt road along Lake Superior, looking for a campsite while headed into town. There were two girls hanging around a tent and a pretty little picnic tablecloth that said they weren’t from around here. The spot next to theirs was empty and my brother said we’d be back. I had flown in from Alaska the night before, taking leave from the Coast Guard to walk the shores and spend time with my brother. We set up camp and I found myself drifting off to sleep in the hammock. I awoke to the sounds of the birds, and I often wonder if they knew this day would be different for me. A calm “good morning” came from her side of the trees, offering me another glimpse of who she was, and before long, we were headed our separate ways. As I walked the beaches that day, I’d catch myself thinking of her. Later that evening, back at the campground, I heard a “hey neighbor, do you have an axe?” I split her some logs, which later turned into a walk on the beach as the sun set. The night ended with a bonfire in the sand and both of us ignoring the rest of the world as we talked of poetry and Jesus. A brief exchange of numbers the following morning sent us on our ways, but we planned dinner the following night. On the first date, I knew I was in trouble as Brooke brought me back to my childhood looking for Monarchs and catching toads. We spent every day for the next two weeks together before I headed back to reality. We talked religiously and soon enough, I came home again. I took her to my cabin in the U.P. and told her I loved her under a blanket of stars as we laid in the sand listening to the waves break and the wind sing. I knew I’d found the one. We planned her trip to Alaska this past December where I took her to the Arctic Circle and proposed under a sky of green as the Northern Lights danced with the shooting stars, nodding their approval. She said yes. Of course winning would relieve some of the financial burdens trying to give your love the wedding most girls grow up dreaming about, while still trying to be conscientious of the home you want to create with her, but Castle Farms also has some sentimentality for my family as well. I remember passing through the stone arch on the outskirts of the property as a kid, driving past the old baseball fields on my way to my grandparents house on Lake Charlevoix. My grandpa used to tell me he’d play catch with me there once his Lou Gehrig’s Disease got better, but it never did. Although that time has passed, a wedding photo there would be really special.
