Second Chances
Rebecca and Curtis' journey to one another
We at Clarice’s bridal believe in the power of love and the beauty of having a life partner. We are in the bridal industry because we are passionate about helping brides feel their most beautiful as they commit to their partners. Whether a bride comes to us young and in love or returns for their second chance at marriage, we want every bride to have her dream wedding! Rebecca and Curtis found their perfect “second chance” together.
It is astonishing that Rebecca and Curtis did not meet in the years leading up to their relationship, as their lives followed incredibly similar paths. Both were raising boys from previous marriages, with Curtis having three and Rebecca having one. Curtis works as a high school teacher and coaches various high school sports, including wrestling. Rebecca’s son is a wrestler, and he has spent countless hours attending wrestling activities. At one point, she even managed a little league wrestling team in her free time outside of her job as a parole officer. She said, “We are complementary because we have had some of the same experiences. Wrestling is probably our biggest connection. My son wrestles in high school, and Curtis is a coach. It was pretty crazy we had never crossed paths. . . We are both big on sports and on family, so we spend a lot of time seeing the boys play in their [activities].” For date nights, the couple likes to roller skate. They are both athletic and enjoy the exercise as a fun activity together. “We haven’t been able to do much at the skating rink [during the pandemic], so Curtis turned the basement into a skating rink one night as a date night,” Rebecca explained, “and we’ve gone down there a few times since to practice!”
If they never crossed paths through athletics, how did Rebecca and Curtis meet? It seems fate set them up for success! The pair met on dating app Tinder on January 1, 2019, and almost missed each other. Rebecca recalled, “Curtis had been on Tinder for some months, and he kind of had a deadline. Like ‘if I don’t meet anyone, I’m going to get off the app.’ I had been through some breakups and gave myself a deadline to get on [the app], and the day I gave myself to get on was the day he was planning on getting off. We both chose New Year’s as that deadline.” She continued, “It’s been very natural since then. We both deleted our accounts pretty soon after meeting. . . He’s been divorced, and I’ve been divorced, and we each have our kids so we both knew we wanted something long term. We were looking for a husband and wife.”
In September of that year, Curtis proposed. In an untraditional proposal, Curtis played a practical joke on his soon-to-be-fiancée! She explained that Curtis probably had an extravagant plan but couldn’t wait once he had gotten the ring. Curtis and his children came to Rebecca’s house for a casual family meal, and she found that everyone was acting strange. “It still makes me mad to think about. . . It was during the week and kind of random. I was just cooking dinner for us, and I looked crazy,” Rebecca said. “He came over to me and was like, ‘I’m sorry. I’m going to make you really upset today.’ And I thought, ‘I’m about to be single again.’ I thought he was trying to bail out!” Curtis and the boys had a secret conversation, during which Rebecca went to the restroom worried and confused. Through the door, she heard Curtis yell in an angry voice, “I can’t do this anymore! I am going to leave!” She flung the door open to find Curtis on one knee and their kids looking very excited! “I was just standing there like, ‘I can’t believe you would do this.’ And of course I said yes!”
With an official engagement, wedding planning began. The pair visited Las Vegas to choose a venue, as they wanted a fun-filled destination wedding. They booked a ceremony venue and a reception space for the date of July 4th so they could celebrate on holiday and see fireworks every year. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic made such a wedding impossible. Rebecca recalled, “[The venues] called and told us that Vegas wouldn’t be opening back up until July 7th. . . It was pretty devastating at first, but then we just went into ‘plan mode.’” The couple wanted to keep the July 4th date and certainly did not want to postpone their marriage by an entire year, so they came up with a nontraditional solution. “It was more about the marriage than the ceremony for us. We wanted to be married. . . The only thing we knew couldn’t get cancelled was a wedding at our house.” Curtis and Rebecca used the budget for the Vegas wedding to fix up the recently purchased property. “It was so much work,” Rebecca said. “We both work from home, so it was work, and then throw on construction outfits to rehab the house.” Rebecca not only dealt with the stress of changed wedding plans and home improvements but also the physical strain of undiagnosed Lupus. The autoimmune disease flared from the stress and resulted in significant body aches and fatigue. “I had been battling it for years and had no idea. I thought I was just getting old!” Rebecca chuckled. “It was kind of a blessing though because the stress brought those [symptoms]. If I hadn’t had those flares from the stress and heat, we probably wouldn’t know I have Lupus. We got married on July 4th, [2020], and I got my diagnosis on August 8th.”
Another aspect of wedding planning that was affected by these chaotic changes was Rebecca’s wedding gown. Having come to Clarice’s looking for a gown fit for Vegas, there was some concern the dress would not fit the updated backyard theme. “The experience was definitely different because we were planning to go to Vegas, so I was thinking I need something very sparkly but not heavy. . . I had good experiences at other places, but it just felt so much more natural at Clarice’s. . . I don’t regret the dress one bit, [even with the change in venue]. Clearly, being outside [on the] 4th of July, it was hot, so I didn’t need anything too heavy.” Rebecca explained. “We are going to have a reception next year. . . and we are going to go to Vegas to take pictures, so I’ll definitely be wearing it a few more times!”
Rebecca’s gown ended up working perfectly in their backyard wedding. The ceremony was intimate, with the couple surrounded just by immediate family and a handful of friends. When asked about special moments that stood out to her, Rebecca responded, “To walk about and see our vision. It wasn’t something a venue set up. It was something we did and something we will enjoy for however long we live [at that house].” Making the ceremony even more unique was the officiant. Curtis’ eldest son officiated the marriage! “We didn’t have a wedding party. My son walked me down the aisle, and Curtis’ sons were his groomsmen. His oldest was our officiant,” Rebecca said in regards to the small group. The day was a celebration of their relationship with those close to the couple, and one cannot help but believe in the power of love when they see these two. “Marriage was not ‘doomsday’ for us. Yeah, those past marriages didn’t work, but this one will. Even though I had the dream wedding already, I had the dream wedding this time because it was for us!” Rebecca exclaimed. She continued, “Don’t give up on love! Go into a marriage with an open heart, [and don’t] focus on past hurts or failures. . . Go into it to being optimistic about love and staring over again. Love truly exists. No matter what age or time period, you can still find love, and it can be everlasting.” Congratulations on an everlasting love to Rebecca and Curtis!
Photographer: Joseph Richardson at JLR Photography & Designs
Videographer: Latrelle Yancey at 2LYVE Media LLC
Hair: Tanisha Gilliam at Bleu Luxe Glam Bar
Makeup: Tara Lowery at Blush on the Blvd Salon
Nails: Kimberly Brown at Sista Love