It was January 8, 2003, when Jeff Aylor asked me to marry him. Jeff proposed while we were dining in one of our favorite restaurants, Salvi's. He had given me a card when we sat down for dinner, and inside were the words, "Will you marry me?" As I was reading it, he got down on one knee and pulled out my engagement ring! Talk about romantic!
Getting married is a big commitment, regardless of age and
circumstances. But in our case, marriage was an even larger event. You
see, we have 3 children to think about, and it mattered to us how our
marriage would impact their lives. When we told them we were going to
be married, the 3 of them beamed from ear to ear! They were so excited
that they were going to be in the same family! Which is why our wedding
day took on the theme of a 'new beginning for a new family'.
Our bridal party consisted of our children. Anna Booth, my daughter, was my Maid of Honor and Flower Girl. Jeff's sons, Michael and Josh Aylor, were his Best Men. As we stood in front of our family and friends, with our children standing beside us as witnesses, we truly felt blessed by God as we united our 5 lives together forever.
The wedding was held at the Columbus Zoo at their outdoor trellis. The
trellis area overlooks a large pond that is surrounded by trees,
beautiful landscaping and_..animals! (No animals were harmed during the
official proceedings of our marriage.) We had a horse-drawn wagon carry
me, my Dad and Anna to the wedding site before the ceremony. There were
still many zoo visitors there when we took our ride around that
beautiful pond - Anna and I felt like princesses as people waved to us.
The day couldn't have been more beautiful!
Arriving at the wedding site we saw our family and friends waiting for us. The groomsmen looked so nice in their tuxedos! Our ushers, my brother Greg Rizzuto and Jeff's brother Mitch Aylor, looked just dashing as they stood, awaiting our arrival. As Dad and I walked down the aisle, I saw Jeff for the first time that day. I couldn't help myself when I got up to him - I had to hug him!! Pastor Jeff Hawkins did an incredible job of describing our relationship, how we'd started our as friends, how our love was based on that friendship, how our children were very important to us, and how our marriage was truly a new beginning for a new family.
After the ceremony, Jeff and I had our first ride together as newlyweds in the horse-drawn wagon. (Don't tell the zoo, but we smuggled in some of my Uncle John's homemade wine for our wagon ride! It was good!) One loop around the pond, and then we picked up Anna, Michael and Josh to ride with us.
The reception was a great deal of fun. The horse-drawn wagon was
available for rides to all of our guests. In addition, we had a clown,
"Hula Girl Zippy", to entertain the kids. Zippy did everything from
face painting to kids' games to creating an extra-large wedding card to
us from the kids! Jeff and I had also created a "Kids Book" that
contained activities for our younger guests. We created the Kids Book
in honor of our own 3 kids and what they mean to us. Each child that
attended the wedding received their very own "Kids Book"!
There was one disappointment of the night. We had asked my Uncle John Rizzuto to make some of his special homemade wine for our wedding. Although the zoo had been told about this months beforehand and had agreed to serve Uncle John's wine, about two weeks before the wedding they decided that they would not allow his wine. Needless to say we were devastated! Uncle John had worked hard on his wine, and had printed up very special wine labels. We were not able to serve the wine during our toast, but we did ask everyone to come back to the hotel to try some of his incredible wine!
Speaking of toast, a very good friend of ours, Dave Hooper, gave us a tremendous toast! Thank you, Dave, for your words of encouragement! Afterward, I said a few words concerning my Uncle's wine and the effort he put forth. Everyone at the reception applauded his efforts, and I know that many people felt our hurt and anger with this situation. I then surprised my new husband with a toast of my own - to him!
We had two great DJ's, Chuck and Melissa Steel! They kept things rolling. Everyone had a great time on the dance floor! Line dancing, slow dancing, chicken dancing - everything was going on! We even had a budding romance happening between two of our younger guests - look for the picture of Danny Aylor and Arianna Moulton!
Our photographer, Bill Cost, was a true professional as he tried to keep us in one place long enough to take our pictures. The proofs are awesome, and I can't wait to see the Wedding Album once it is complete! The owner of the horse-drawn wagon, Shad the horse guy (as we called him), was fantastic! His horse-drawn wagon rides will be talked about for a long time! "Hula Girl Zippy" did an incredible job entertaining the kids!
As an extra special gift to our guests, we created a unique CD that contains songs from our wedding, as well as some songs that are special to us. Jeff did an outstanding job burning those CDs, printing the labels and assembling the final product!!
Our goal with our wedding and reception was to create an environment
where adults and kids alike could have a good time. We planned
activities for the kids so that parents could enjoy themselves, talk
with their friends, and perhaps dance a little - without having to worry
about their kids. We wanted each and every person there to know that we
were truly honored and blessed that they took part in our 'new
beginnings'.
Jeff and I have been blessed by God. We have each other to share life with, to lean upon when times get rough, and to celebrate when times are good. We have the incredible opportunity to raise our 3 children, to help them know how much they are loved by us, regardless of whose house they happen to be sleeping in that night. God has blessed us by opening our eyes, our hearts and our minds to each other, so that we can build a relationship that can weather all the storms that life can bring upon it. We pray that, with God's help, we can continue to build that relationship into something that He can be proud!