Just a quick post to let everyone know that we are off to the ‘Cooner (Cancun for those of you residing west and north of Gaston County, NC). We will post MUCH more later, but we wanted to leave a quick note letting everyone know how much we appreciate your love and support. Its 6:30 AM and we are getting ready to catch a plane. Nonetheless, we did want to get a few shots of the Wedding online.

If you have photos you’d like to send us from YOUR personal collection, please send them to gaston.wilson@gmail.com, or snail mail us a disk (in the case of those who prefer not to send via email) to PO Box 472329, Charlotte, NC 28247. Upon our return to the States the week of May 13th, we will make them a part of the collection of wonderful memories shared by all………..

Thank you all so MUCH for your continued support and love. You have a very special place in my and Kelly’s heart………

Wow - what a fast 6 months. Our last real Blog entry was right after the engagement back in September. Here we are on May 3rd with only 48 hours to go before we leave for Shady Grove Baptist Church. It’s amazing how many people and resources are put into action to execute an event like this. Kelly and her mom have handled 98% of the details all by themselves, so my hat is off to them for a job well done.

One of the tasks on my to-do list was providing guests driving from out of town and the surrounding area with directions to the various destinations of the day. If you are leaving from the Charlotte and surrounding areas, we are encouraging everyone to leave for the Church on Saturday around 3:30 or shortly thereafter. While the trip is only about 50 miles, leaving a full hour and a half prior to the 5pm Ceremony kickoff provides some potentially needed cushion for traffic issues and your own personal “getting lost in Gaston County” story.

See you soon!

When I was about my son Trey’s age (11′ish), I had no idea where life was going to take me. Though even then, the novice romantic in me saw myself with an extraordinary partner living in a cute little house with the white picket fence and everything. My tastes in architecture have changed a little, and after 29 additional years of experience, I have learned that life has a way of kicking you in the butt at times. Nonetheless, another lesson I’ve learned is that Life does seem to give us what we wholeheartedly focus on in our deepest self and soul. Even after many walks down some broken paths, I always held on to that childhood dream.

I am absolutely certain that the young boy I once was would be proud — nay, deliriously ecstatic! – to know that the older, wiser me would one day announce my engagement to a truly beautiful and amazing woman, Kelly Lawrence. Through some very fortuitous twists of fate and what obviously has to be a case of temporary insanity on her part, Kelly has said “Yes” to my marriage proposal asked of her on September 26, 2006 (about 10:20pm). So there it is folks - I’m getting married. I officially asked, and she officially said yes!

Somehow I doubt my fiancée’s inner 11-year-old ever dreamed she’d see such a thing as a blog announcement for the world to see so soon after the event, but hey, her adult self is well aware of what she’s getting into. (And besides, I think she secretly digs it!) If she’s still speaking to me after she sees this, the 11-year-old IN me, AND the one I so proudly call my son, is looking forward to a long and happy life with her.

Stayed tuned for more exciting news and updates in the weeks and months to come. In the meanwhile, you can see what transpired during the proposal in this slide-show we put together here.

PS - No - that’s not the actual ring in the “mousetrap” photo; to see the Ring, Look up in the banner at the top of this page or click the mousetrap to see the slide-show.