Amber Smith Walker - Bridal Profile

Amber and Brandon were married in November of 2018 in front of nearly 200 of their nearest and dearest. It was a celebration, for sure.​ Theirs was a traditional wedding at the Deep Creek Friends Meeting, where bride Amber has been an going since childhood and where her parents were also married. The only thing that wasn't traditional about the ceremony was that they had "a first look", and spent time before the ceremony with friends and family who'd come a long way for the big day. 

Note to brides-to-be: This decision to see people before the ceremony was, for them, a perfect choice. It relaxed everyone; no one felt rushed, and Amber shared that once she and Brandon saw each other, they were certain that it was going to be a great day. 

"I think the most memorable part of the day was our "first look." It was such an incredible moment that just the two of use shared. At the end of the day, we were really glad we decided to do our day this way, because we were able to enjoy time with our guests and they didn’t have to wait forever on us to do our pictures."

These two met at a fundraiser where they flirted with each other when they got bored. That sort of silly fun appears to have followed them into their marriage. During the exchanging of rings, Brandon kept curling his finger so that Amber couldn't get it completely on, cracking her and everyone else up for a full minute.

"Brandon and I decided to do the pouring of the sand instead of the unity candle. So when it came time to pour the sand, we walked over to the vase and started pouring. However, the vase we used had a TINY opening, so I poured more sand out of the vase than inside it. It was the funniest thing, neither of us could stop laughing, and the preacher was laughing right along with us."

The Dress

"When I found out that Bridal Traditions had dresses that were around $1000 - more or less - I just knew I had to go there and look, and I am SO glad I did. My parents knew that I wasn't going to want an outrageously expensive dress. When looking for my dress I wasn’t sure what I wanted exactly, I just thought I wanted something with lace and sleeves. At the end of that first
day, though, I realized that I hated the way sleeves looked on me and I hated how they felt. I just wanted to try on different styles to see what I liked." 

As many brides will tell you, finding the right gown is usually not a one shopping trip situation. This was certainly true for Amber. Once she realized that what she thought she wanted was in fact NOT what she wanted, she got a little discouraged. 

"Kelly suggested to call it a day and come back. A few days later Kelly sent me a picture of a dress she thought I might like. I thought, 'Man oh man it's beautiful,' and I couldn’t wait for it to arrive at Bridal Traditions so that I could try it on. When I finally did try it on, it was beyond perfect. It honestly looked like it was made for me. Once I stepped into that dress and it was zipped up, I looked at my mom and she was already crying. We then opened the curtain
and I saw myself in the mirror, and I knew right then I had found the one. I finally
had the bridal moment. Everyone in the store was in tears."

"Bridal Traditions was beyond amazing. From the moment I walked in, Kelly treated me like family, and that’s something I’ll never forget. Kelly made me feel beautiful and confident and she was so reassuring when I was doubtful about something. Kelly went above and beyond to help me find my gown. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without her. I’m telling y’all, she was a Godsend. She was so kind and beyond helpful, she bent over backwards helping me find my perfect dress. There really aren’t enough “thank yous” and words to describe how phenomenal Kelly and Bridal Traditions are."

"It was honestly the best day of my life and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Everything - and I mean everything - fell into place just like it was supposed to."

Photo Cred: Kathy Casstevens, Terry Vestal, and Hunter Welborn