Joy Jamess Wedding Twin Lakes Golf Swim Club Oakland Michigan

Venue: Twin Lakes Golf & Swim Club, Oakland, Michigan

James: We met at church. We had been going to the same church since we were 12. We were friends for a long time before we started dating. I would always talk to her on instant messenger and try and get her to come to Taco Bell with me in the middle of the night, but she would never come.

Joy: I had always thought the James was cute; however I’m a very shy person so at first I didn’t want to approach him because he was such an outgoing person that it was a little intimidating. Before we started dating I always thought that James was a big flirt with all the ladies, but once we went out I saw that he was really sweet, a hard worker, and goofy. I’m really goofy, too, and he was the only person that really got me.

James: Before we started dating I was friends with Joy’s brother, and when we would hang out I would always ask about her. I was really interested in her but she was quiet and shy so I wasn’t exactly sure what her personality was like. But once we started dating, I realized how funny and sweet she truly was.

James: The proposal. I asked Joy to come over and help me work on my car. I play guitar, and had it set up so that the guitar was in the trunk of the car and also I filled my tool box with rose petals and a sign that said “I love you”. We were working on the car and I asked Joy to get me a screwdriver. While she did that, I hurried up to the back and put on my guitar. She turned around and looked at me with a confused look on her face.

Joy: At first I didn’t know that he was proposing to me because he always does random nice things. When I opened the tool box and saw the flower petals and the note I just thought, “Oh! That’s sweet!”

James: Then I began singing the song from the end of wedding singer “Grow Old With You”, and got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. Oh, and I also had my best friend hiding in the garage the entire time, filming the whole proposal.

Joy: I didn’t realize what was going on until James got down on one knee. I was just so shocked. I really thought I was just going to work on the car with him.

James: We were married at Twin Lakes Golf Course. We had the ceremony outside at a gazebo. It was a short service, only 15 minutes. My favorite part of the wedding was when I saw Joy walk down the aisle. While I was standing there waiting for Joy I was so nervous, my palms were sweating and my knees were shaking. She had to walk down a big flight of stairs to me and I just thought she looked absolutely beautiful walking towards me.

Joy: Going down the aisle I wasn’t nervous. I was just up in the sky, I felt like I wasn’t really there, like it was an out of body experience.

I loved my dress. I didn’t think that we were going to be able to afford it, but James surprised me by buying it for me as a Christmas gift.

James: At the reception the throwing of the garter became quite an ordeal. I had to throw it three times because every time I turned around to see who had caught it, there were people all over the floor. We didn’t have a ton of single people there but the guys that were there really, really wanted that garter.

James: To unwind after the wedding we went to Puerto Vallarta for two weeks. It was nice to just relax after all the chaos of the wedding planning. Being newlyweds has been great. We have always been really open with one another, so there were no major surprises when we moved in together.

Joy: It’s so nice not to have to drive to see him all the time. The whole time we were dating we never lived closer than a half hour apart, and the travel time certainly adds up after a couple of years. Now, waking up with him every day is the best part.