The Norman Transcript

Features

Discussion

June 5, 2009

Coming attraction

By Jocelyn Pedersen

The wedding started like most summer weddings, but it ended with a twist.

May 30 the groom, Bobby Bybee, stood with the Rev. Jim Helm at the front of the Ivory Gardens Wedding Chapel watching adoringly as his bride, Tami Potter, walked down the aisle on the arm of her brother, Sgt. David Micah Potter, dressed in full Marine uniform.

It was "an honor for me [to have my brother walk me down the aisle]," said Potter, whose father, Don Potter is deceased and whose stepfather, John David Hayes, was too ill to attend the wedding.

"We're very proud of him (the brother)," said the bride's mother, Margaret Hayes. "He's served in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The bride and groom exchanged vows and rings and then invited their families and guests to a reception at the chapel. When a limousine pulled up to escort the bride and groom away from the reception, they didn't go to the airport. The bride and groom waved goodbye to their families. Ready for some relaxation after a busy day, they emerged from the limo at the Warren Theater in Moore, still in their wedding attire, ready to watch a movie.

The groom's mother and father, Don and Shari Bybee, explained that the bride and groom are big movie buffs.

Margaret Hayes said that every date the couple went on was to the movies.

"They thought the best thing to do after they [got] married was to go to the movies," she said.

The groom agreed.

"Going to the movies is something that we do just about every Friday," he said.

"We're movie lovers. We like the Warren Theater. We're going to go to the balcony, have a few drinks and then wait for the show to start," said the bride. "We're going to see 'Terminator.' We didn't think 'Drag me to Hell' was appropriate."

The new owners of the Ivory Gardens Wedding Chapel, the Rev. Craig and Rebekah Gunsauley, weren't surprised by the limousine's destination.

"We had one wedding that was [comprised of] all Beatles music, and another where the theme was baseball," said Rebekah Gunsauley. "The bride and groom left the reception and went to a baseball game in their wedding clothes."

"We're open to most anything," said Craig Gunsauley who will marry couples at the chapel, if they choose. "We can provide anything from a few guests up to 175 guests."

The chapel provides wedding planning, decorations and receptions ranging from cake and punch up to complete sit-down dinners.

Text Only
Features
The Business Marquee
Facebook