This will probably be my favorite post of the year.... hands down. Mainly because these two people are so special to me. Their love is like no other. Growing up and to this day I hear people say "Your parents are like teenagers in love" Well, 50 years ago, they were! And honestly, they still are. Their love is so true. They are caring, respectful and genuine. I can honestly say I have never heard my parents fight. Now, don't get me wrong, I know they have disagreed and argued but they have a way to figure things out that is just different.
They are the best parents I could have ever asked for. They have always been supportive of my brother and I. We were taught many lessons along the way but all the while knowing they would ALWAYS be there for us. ALWAYS. They treated us as equally as humanly possible. We didn't always get along but now I consider them my best friends!
They are fantastic grandparents. They have always been super involved in my boys' lives. They almost never miss an event of theirs, they love to play/build/talk/enjoy just about everything with them and would do anything in the world for my two little men. My kids kinda think they are pretty special too!
They are amazing friends. They are selfless. They live by the golden rule and don't ask for anything in return. They have always been the first ones to offer help no matter how it impacted them, that didn't matter. They are loyal and true friends.
So what do you do when two people who are so special are about to celebrate a very monumental annivesary?!? You get everyone together to celebrate!
Their anniversary is in December. We decided to do the party in November to avoid the holiday season. SOOOO, we started planning in April. Yep, April. How in creation were we to pull off a 50th Anniversary surprise for these two if we didn't start early?!?!? I asked the hubs for a budget, recruited a few family/friends to help, hopped on Pinterest and started making notes like a mad woman.
After THREE rounds with the printer (Seriously, I received them back 3 times and you couldn't read the printing. What the heck?!?!) and a frantic call to a good friend (Thanks again, Deuce!) the invites were beautiful and on their way to so many friends and family!
I combed through all my pictures and slyly took from my parents for months and months.
I found some really good gems. This one is on my feed often, not because it is hidden gem, just because it is them. This was a random night a few years back. My brother and Lisa were in town so we decided to head down to First Friday in Bentonville. This is what I saw when walking to dinner. This is them. Always holding hands, always walking in sync. Oh and mom being a good grandma and carrying Chaz's bag.
And look how adorable they were back then?!?! My mom has always had the best hair!
This is from their 40th anniversary. I remember being so in awe of them that night. FORTY years!!
This is probably my favorite picture ever. My aunt sent this to me. It is from a trip they took to Cancun. I had never seen it before and I just love everything about it.
And this is us. The only thing that could have made this night more special is if my brother and Lisa would have been able to come in town from Florida but we just were not able to make that happen. We missed them so much!!!
Fast forward seven months-- I have no clue how the cat did not get out of the bag, but it didn't!! These are a few pictures from the venue. A few weeks before I found a bunch of actual wedding pictures at my parents house, many I had never seen before. I didn't even know they existed as they had a flood a bazillion years ago and lost a LOT of pictures. My mother's wedding portrait was even damaged.
We even had their wedding cake recreated.
This was an awesome find too! This is the original newspaper clipping from their wedding. Yes, my Meme saves EVERYTHING! Thank goodness because it brought many to tears!
I did a pallet display with lights and black and white pictures of my parents throughout the years.
Dad always buys mom red roses so we had these special gold tipped ones on display. Other than the ones on the cake table, which were already supplied by the venue, these were purposely the only flowers in the room.
With Dad working for Walmart a large portion of their marriage, they moved a LOT! I mean a LOT!! We thought it would be cool to show this in display. I think this shows strength in their marriage. Mom said early on Dad would come home, sometimes after only being in a house for a very short time, and tell her they were moving, again. Mom said it was just part of it. She trusted him and knew this is what our family needed to do.
My dad has mom's wedding portrait recreated many years back so it was on display at the front door. This statue of Mother Mary was on the table when they got married. I stole it from my parents house just days before the surprise. Every time mom would call me, I was certain she was on to me. Nope, no clue!
A little bit of a sidebar story but it wouldn't be right if I didn't tell it.
In the planning stages we decided we wanted to have my mom's wedding gown on display. It is beautiful and we thought it would be an incredible add.
So in July, while we were on vacation with my parents, I enlisted Teddy, my Aunt Sandra and my Meme to go to my parents house and search. The only thing I knew is that it was there, in a box, in a closet. I remember my mom bringing it out when I was little and letting me put it on, haven't seen it since. Sometime during the week I get a cryptic message from Teddy telling me the "package was secure" YIPPEE! This will be amazing! Teddy even secured a dress form for us to properly display.
Fast forward to the week of the event... Teddy calls and says "Hey, this thing is sealed. Are you sure you want me to unseal it??" I told him yes. Why not?! It will be beautiful and we can always have it resealed. I did think in my head "Why would she have sealed it after she showed me it, so long after they got married. But I didn't say it out loud" I then get a text saying how incredibly tiny my mom is and how it won't fit on the size xs form. Uh oh. "Well, send me a picture and let's see if we can make it work." I really wanted this dress there. I knew it would just blow my mom away.
Teddy sent the pictures immediately... in comes one, two, three... I look at it thinking "Hmm, something doesn't look right. That just doesn't look like the dress I remember" Zoooooom. "Oh Lord, that is MY dress!" Call of the dogs, this show is not going to happen!
Although it was a great idea and I was super sad we didn't pull it off. We have laughed about it since that day! My mom thought it was hilarious too. Now we just need to find her dress and reseal mine!
Now, back to the party.
Mom and Dad don't need or ask for anything but cards have always been very special to our family so we made sure they were welcome. They also do Angel Flights which is a non profit organization so we asked, if people wanted to give, they give to that.
And then it happened. With some MAJOR help of that pretty lady in the back, my awesome Aunt Cheryl, they were totally duped. They planned a regular dinner night out and my uncle made up some story of needing to run into this place and get a friend to sign some papers, blah blah blah. Dad and mom know said friend so my uncle, dad's brother, coaxed them into coming in to say hello. And magic!!!
This is their shock and awe face. They were so confused.
And they both thought the other was in on it. At this point, I am still not sure they understood it was for their anniversary. The event was actually closer to their birthdays and my daddy had just turned 70. More of our tomfoolery there!
I love these faces!
Sweetness!
We couldn't wait to get to them for our hugs!!
So much love and happiness... but yes mom is crying. I think she was a wee bit overwhelmed!
My momma and her momma. Nothing sweeter.
This picture is so precious to me.
Some people came from far away. This is my mom's cousin Wanda. So special to have her and her husband there.
And this. This is solid. This is my mom's best friend. They have been best friends since they were teenagers in west Texas. Henri Ann flew in from Washington to be here for this party. Besides the actual party, this was probably the biggest secret of the party. We worked very hard to get her here and keep it totally under wraps. Thank goodness she has her son (in the background) and grandchildren who live in Joplin. She was able to stay there a few days leading up to the event and mom was none the wiser.
Our wonderful family friend Bettye. Her son, Teddy, was one of my BIG helpers in pulling this off. I am not sure we could have done it without him.
Still with the tears. I think we did it!
This sweet man. I know he was overwhelmed but he only showed his happiness.
Love them so much!!
This was when I was stumbling over myself, trying not to cry, as I gave my speech explaning what these two mean to us. Not an easy task.
Notice that green dot beside me, Chaz wanted to come up to me because he knew I was struggling to keep it together.
Love this! Notice my little Dane nugget trying to get in on our hug.
And then it was time to dance! I was so plesently surprised at how quickly everyone wanted to dance! YAY for fun people!
I love that our photographer mingled around in efforts to get pictures of all the partygoers.
I said it was a party! Of course you can have a soda, son!
Love these ladies!
Dane and his cousin Sidney playing on Snapchat. You know, it is what you do at a party!
My sweet Meme was having a ball! I mean, she always has a ball but this one was special!
Her
90th birthday was earlier in the year and a friend brought this to her. I love it!
More sweet friends!
I love this picture. LOVE!
Meme and Kelsey. Precious!
Michelle and Meme.
Teenagers I say!
And then it was time to eat. Do you notice they are both eating a hot dog? Well, that was fun to explain to a caterer but it was a MUST! Every year on their anniversary, they eat a hot dog. Not a big fancy meal, a hot dog. Why? Because when they got married, it was all they could afford. It has become a humble tradition of theirs ever since, which I love!
And everyone ate and enjoyed a video we put together for them.
Click here to watch.
I love this. Dane's face. My dad's face. My mom's face. Every bit of it!
And what is a party like this without a group picture! All these people are so special to all of us! We had many missing but you could certainly feel the love in the room. We were so happy to shower them with our love!!
Goofy people!!
Perfection!!
And the first dance.
I can't even with these two!
You know when you read all the Hollywood nonsense and all they say is "ooooh, look how Keith looks at Nicole, how Justin looks at Jessica, how Rita looks at Tom... " Nope, look at how these two look at each other. True admiration and love.
After the first dance, everyone else hit the dance floor and I scooped up my little peanut for some mommy/baby time.
There was a lot of love and sweetness in the room! Ian and Alexis. Mike and Fran.
I love this one. My little nugget.
And then my big boy had to cut in. He is getting so big and grown up. I love him to pieces and I need time to stand still!
These two are almost as adorable as my parents! Love them!
Daddy/daughter dances are the sweetest.
And great nephew/Aunt dances are pretty sweet too!
Grandpa/granddaughter dances are super sweet. I love that the youngers wanted and searched out to dance with the olders. It really shows a lot about our family and friends.
LOVE this!!
New love, old love. It is all so special.
And everyone wants to dance with Meme. Duh.
My sweet cousin and her hubs.
And my hubs and I. We
really could NOT have pulled it off without this guy. He was so helpful, whether it was calling places, negotiating deals, hauling stuff from here to there, putting up with my crazy, handling my stress and meltdowns, etc. He was a rock and knew how important it was for us to pull this off for my parents! I seriously cannot think him enough!
I think he knows I am sweet on him!
I love this! I have no clue what happened to the actual picture he took because I swear that is my phone. But, unfortunately, it is nowhere to be found :(
My crazy little crew!!
And this. Could my heart melt? He loves her. I mean, how can you not?
So much love!
And now we dance some more. It was SUCH an awesome night!
So precious!!
Of course I got to dance with my daddy! I wouldn't have let this moment pass.
He is my hero.
And he makes me giggle.
Sid and her Papi.
Sweet friends Bill and Linda.
Still dancing with him! I don't think I have danced with my daddy since my wedding. I am not sure why not. We should do this more often!
I will treasure this one forever.
Did I mention everyone wanted to dance with Meme? Well, everyone just really wanted to dance but Meme is always an added bonus! And to see one of your best friends for almost 20 years break it down with your grandma is awesome!!
Haha! I love them!
And then it was time for some line dances. So much fun!
Momma and her BFF had a blast!!
One of my favs!
But this is a winner!! Just goes to show how much fun they are having! We always have a blast with Henri Ann around!!
Get it girls!
You gotta get low?!? Ok.
Will they get back up?!?
Success!!
And my precious daddy requested the DJ to play a John Legend song to dance with his bride.
So fun! He is so fun!!
I love every single thing about this picture!!
Sweetness.
And this lady! Life.of.the.party.
A few group shots with people so near and dear to our hearts!
Ryan's aunt, who is also just so special to us, joined us and gave my parents so much love!
Our little extended family! My boys weren't cooperating so we just did the picture without them. Picking your battles is key to successful parenthood and really, who wants to see my kids meltdown at a time like this!
With Henri Ann's family and Meme.
Sweet friends!!
And when your in-laws also come, it makes life that much better! To have both sets of parents still married and married for so long is something not to be taken lightly. They are all just so awesome!!
My peeps. Excuse, we are all tired and sweaty from all the dancing. Check Dane's hair :)
Momma and my Aunt. Thanks for helping us pull this thing off, sweet lady!!!
Daddy and his little brother!
with Linda and Bill.
Me and my sweet cousin. She is like a sister to me!
And with her folks.
My sweet nephew Evan was sacked out. I am pretty sure he slept the majority of the party. HAHA! Kids are awesome!
Crazy pants. All of them are nutty and so much fun!!
I hope I am this much fun when I am older. Who am I kidding, I will totally be this much fun! HA!
Dad thought it was the silly picture!
Oh Miss Delores, you crack me up!!
Two of my favorite people! Sweet friends of my parents!
Well, I have obviously gushed over these two a lot in this post but I really do look up to them, their love for each other and their love for others, it is truly unmatched. These are major relationship goals, people!
And with that, I thank everyone for coming and loving on my parents! They are so special and this shows how much they mean to everyone around them. For those who couldn't make it, we certainly missed you! To the wonderful people who helped me and kept this secret, THANK YOU!! This really took an army of little elves. And to anyone else who is reading this, set your relationship goals high. Set them as high as they can be and don't walk away from it. Mom always told me it takes work, it takes communication, it takes love. And this, my friends, is all because two people fell in love.
Venue: Avondale Chapel and Gardens, Bentonville
Photographer: Stephanie Henderson (Absolutely AMAZING for any photo needs!!)
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