VIDEO: Twenty Ft. Benning Couples Tie-the-knot

By Maria Jones, re-printed from www.wltz.com

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The men and women of Ft. Benning continue to surpass all expectations in serving our country at home and abroad. And Now a few companies and organizations have worked together to make a few of the soldiers and their loved ones dreams come true. NBC 38’s Maria Jones explains. Making the dreams of twenty Ft. Benning couples come true all began with a lot of help from an international designer. An Alfred Angelo employee started the efforts in Florida, giving the leading wedding dresses maker the okay to donate hundreds of gowns in Georgia. “She has a fondness for the Armed Services and she was looking for a place where we could actually donate some of our gowns that we use for some of our sales purposes after we were finished with them. And she located Operation Home Front,” said Amanda Sheronas/Alfred Angelo Public Relations Director. And to date more than 400 gowns have been donated across the state. And hundreds of gowns have been donated across the country. Operation Home Front plays a big role in reaching out to Military Servicemen and women and the families while they serve. And they made the connection, reaching to the brides. Operation Home Front Georgia Chapter President, Kim Scofi added, “And found after talking with some of the brides they had very genuine stories, they were married at the justice of the peace or because of deployments, finances or what have you, they weren’t able to enjoy that dream wedding that every little girl wishes for. And we came up with this idea to have this wedding.” The twenty couples shared a ceremony in natural beauty here at the Botanical Gardens. A location considered to be one of Columbus’ top wedding spots. All the services for the ceremony were donated by national and local businesses and all the work and effort was donated by volunteers. Botanical Gardens Manager, Nicole Sanchez explained, “It’s just a great opportunity for us to really provide something special for them. And were happy to be able to provide through a generous donation all of the flowers for the event, and were doing that through the help of a great group of volunteers.” After talking with a few brides, before the ceremony they shared different stories but one thing was the same, their joy and excitement for the big day. Bride, Kristian Abney renewed her vows with her husband. She told News 38, “We get to be a princess that we always talked about you know when we was in middle school. We get to be a princess for a day.” Another Bride, Keri Messerich stated, “And we had always kept in the back of our minds that around our ten year we were going to renew our vows and this opportunity came at such a great time.” For many of the couples this ceremony is special for different reasons but mostly an upcoming deployment. Two couples were married in a separate ceremony and 18 others renewed their vows. A total of 150 guests attended the ceremony along with Brigadier General Patrick Donahue and Colonel Pete Jones stationed at Ft. Benning.