June 26, 2010
Ceremony: First United Methodist Church Birmingham
Reception: The Summit Club
Photography by Gretchen B Photography
Stop in the name of love”¦ It’s a line from an old song but on a summer day five years ago, while Trey Cotney waited patiently at a stop sign for a ride home from his Freshman orientation day at Birmingham Southern College, love unexpectedly stopped him in his tracks when he met Kristen Kerr. And five years to the very day of that fateful meeting, Trey and Kristen tied the knot. Here’s their story:
Trey was waiting at a stop sign for a ride home after freshman orientation at Birmingham Southern College. Kristen had also attended orientation. She was from Andalusia, he was from Birmingham. As they waited together, they struck up a conversation. “It was pretty neat” as he tells it. “It’s like we were the same person in boy/girl form. We even share the same birthday.” In a few minutes time, they discovered that they had a lot more than a birthday in common. They began to talk almost daily and by the time school started in the fall of that year, they were a couple. They dated through four years of college and both knew that marriage was the next step after graduation.
Trey wanted to do something special and unique when he asked Kristen to marry him. He knew she wanted an emerald cut ring with an antique feel. After selecting the perfect ring from Bromberg’s, Trey planned his proposal. Telling Kristen that he needed to stop by the Birmingham Southern campus for something he needed, she seemed unaware as they parked by the stop sign where they first met and headed toward the campus center. As they passed the stop sign, Trey took Kristen’s hand, dropped to one knee and asked her to be his wife. That was in September of 2009 and the couple immediately got down to the task of planning their June 2010 wedding.
The couple wanted everything to be easy for their families and out of town guests so they planned the ceremony and reception sites within walking distance of each other. They enlisted Kristen’s mother to help with the wedding plans since they were both very busy with school. Kristen is in medical school at UAB and Trey is in law school at Samford’s Cumberland School of Law. It was important to keep all of the details and elements of the wedding very traditional. The ceremony was of particular importance to the couple; they included a hymn and had both of their childhood pastors at the altar during the ceremony. Kristen wore a strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline and tiny buttons all the way down the back along with a cathedral length veil from Bridal Bliss. Trey said it was exactly what he envisioned she would be wearing and the moment he saw her in it is one he will never forget. The couple shared time together before the ceremony began and had their photos taken with photographer Gretchen B. Trey says it was his favorite moment of the whole day. Purple callas and roses centered the floral design. Kristen’s bridal bouquet also incorporated white calla lilies. The bridesmaids wore eggplant-colored gowns and the men wore traditional black tuxedos from Mr. Burch Formal Wear. The three tiered wedding cake was Kristen’s favorite, red velvet cake, adorned with purple roses and petals. The couple and their guests danced throughout the night until they departed the reception in a sea of rose petals and good wishes.
Congratulations, Kristen and Trey! Our very best wishes to you for a long and happy life together!