Beautiful Bride: Katie "007" Bond from Thomas Nelson

Welcome my friend an publicist at Thomas Nelson, Katie Bond. She's sharing her love story with us today! 

Bryce and I may not have experienced love at first sight, but I’d call it something pretty darn close.  

We are your online meeting success story: two busy twenty-somethings who’d both dated sitcom-worthy casts of characters and had no more excuses.  

Why not trust relationship compatibility to a computer system claiming to have it all figured out?  We surely hadn’t had any better luck trusting our own judgment.

He recalls that I batted my eyes incessantly for two straight hours on that first date, September 2007.

I recall that he pretended to appreciate the latte I ordered him, though he’d never had a sip of coffee before and thought it particularly foul then. 

We are as alike as siblings at times, finishing each other’s goofy sentences, and as different as could be—the easy-going fourth generation cattle rancher from Colorado and the buttoned-down, bookish Georgia city chick who thinks cowboy boots are a fashion statement.

 

Just a month after our meeting, I moved from Colorado Springs to Nashville to accept a new job and our relationship became long-distance. 

February 14, 2008 was my first Valentine's Day with Bryce. It's never been my favorite holiday, and I've always downplayed it. Knowing that I'd be away from my sweetheart for the evening though, Lisa, one of my girlfriends from Thomas Nelson, asked me back in January if I'd be her date for a songwriters night. 

I was delighted and we made plans to dress up and make an evening of it, just us girls. I went home on time that night to fluff my taffeta skirt and freshen my makeup. My doorbell rang just before 7:30, and when I opened the door, Lisa—wearing jeans—snapped a picture of me.

"She's surprised," Bryce said. "And speechless, too. That's definitely a first."

Bryce, who was supposed to be 1200 miles away in Colorado Springs, sat there on my front porch, wearing a gaudy heart-shaped tinsel wreath on the front of his shirt. Surprised doesn't begin to describe it. "Hi," he said, as though he'd just come around the corner from Kroger, not from Denver.

Turns out they'd been working together on this Valentine's surprise for weeks.   Lisa snapped a few more pictures and left.

 Before we left for our dinner, Bryce asked if I wanted to open my gift. The card on the outside read: "I'm so proud of you and you deserve the bling that goes with the position!"

I knew immediately what it was. I'd mentioned months before, when I took the new position at Thomas Nelson, that I'd always wanted a pretty silver business card case to carry. 

Sure enough, inside the tissue paper was just such a case, engraved with my monogram. I thanked him for the beautiful gift and he passed me a handwritten letter. The end read:

 "This case is only going to be good for a short time now. Never again will you use the initials your wonderful parents gave you... Open your case, girl! It's driving me crazy!"

When I flipped open the top, inside rested an exquisite vintage diamond ring—the exact one I'd fallen for online. 

I gasped and held it in my fist, and looked up at him. In his sweet, even-tempered way, he whispered, "Will you marry me?"  

We held hands and he prayed for our marriage and for each of us as we entered this covenant. Such a precious time! 

We called our parents, but got off the phone quickly to try to make our dinner reservations. As Bryce watched me pacing and fluttering about my house though, it was clear I was in no shape to make the trip or sit through a nice meal. 

I threw on some jeans and we drove around the corner to Sonic. Our wedding album contains the receipt for our first meal as an engaged couple, $8.71: a grilled chicken wrap and Diet Coke for me and a cheeseburger for him (hold all the veggies, add ketchup).

Our wedding day was a dream. I’d always wanted an autumn morning wedding, loving the symbolism of starting a crisp new day and new life together. 

For the venue, we chose a restored Tennessee walking horse farm about an hour south of the city.  It had the Southern charm I loved and a nod to the family ranch Bryce left behind in Colorado. 

My parents surprised me by renting a vintage pickup truck from a local collector to use for our photos.  My charming inlaws wore their Stetsons and ostrich boots—swoon!

After a ceremony in front of the fireplace and our brunch reception in the barn—complete with a grits and biscuit bar—Bryce presented me with my wedding gift: a silver monogrammed business card case, identical to the one he’d used to propose, but with my brand new monogram.

RH: I've heard parts of this story before but I LOVED reading it here! Thanks for sharing with us, Mrs. Bond!