Bridal Profile : Michelle Johnson Sparks

This love story started in middle school when Michelle developed - developed as in "worked at it", < grin > - a crush on Randy Sparks, who was a boy 4 and half years her senior (he still is for those of you bad at math). They grew up on neighboring farms and despite the fact that both sets of parents tried to arrange situations where they might meet, they didn't until they were adults. ​Michelle: "Randy has a strong faith and believes that everything happens for a reason. and at the exact right time, and said that we were not supposed to meet until later in life, when we did."

They went on a first date and chatted about how they shared farm life, both loved riding 4-wheelers, went to the same hairdresser and how both have a strong faith in God. Michelle said they both sort of knew. She's a funny girl and cracked him up and now will for life. Pretty sweet, huh?

Michelle and Randy got married in October of this year at Cody Creek in Dobson, NC. 

"Our wedding ceremony was outside at 4:30 in the afternoon with approximately 200 guests.  We choose the venue because it was right near our first date and the adjacent banquet hall included a waterfall and a wonderful archway for our backdrop.

​We did have a couple of goofs as the preacher tried to give my husband his ring to give to me and then I tried to take the preacher's ring from his hand to give to my husband. We had some good laughs throughout the ceremony including some tears in the beginning from my husband and my mom.  We finished off with another good laugh when I almost tripped over my dress walking out of the ceremony but luckily my husband caught me."         

"We thoroughly enjoyed the entire wedding weekend experience.  Everything required a lot of hard work but in the end the decorations and venue turned out amazing and we could not have asked for better weather as the sun came out right at the end of our ceremony.  This made for some awesome pictures.  It was great seeing two families become one and everyone working together to ensure that our wedding day was the greatest day of our lives."

Michelle came to Bridal Traditions knowing that she didn't want anything that was covered in lace, but she did want a gown that had a sense of the romantic and wanted a sort of Cinderella flair at the bottom. She ended up with a slightly different version, but the design sense was the same: allow her to feel like a princess. 

The time of year also played a part in their wedding day because they both love pumpkins, autumn, cool temps, mums, hay bales, etc., so the combination of farm, fall and the great outdoors were all included in the wedding color palate. The orange wraps on the bridesmaids were a genius touch with their deep blue dresses. The day of the wedding, it was 75 degrees, so Michelle was grateful for the cap sleeves and that she didn't need the white shawl she's chosen just in case.  

Michelle was drawn to the gown she chose because of those sleeves, the sequins at the top and the overall style. She went with an off-white color so that it could be more fall-like. "The sequins all over at the top gave it a great sparkle and I thought that was perfect for the greatest day of my life! And my favorite accessory was my garter, made from the excess fabric from my gown."​

"BT played a major part in the selection; they helped me order the gown in the off-white color that was not in stock.  Kelly was awesome to work with and made an effort to get to know me and others in my bridal party personally throughout the whole process."

At BT, we want this experience of buying and for the day itself for every bride who chooses gowns, dresses, and accessories from us. It's always so gratifying when we hear that the day was what our bride envisioned. We sort of celebrate along with them.

Thanks to other vendors!
Whitney Goddard with Purple Moon Cakes for the wedding cake and cupcakes. 
Jeremy and Debbie Deal with LunahZon Photography "did an excellent job capturing all the major and minor moments of our wedding day for us and we want to give a special shout-out to Misty and Ryan Case of Pixels On Paper as they started the journey with us very early on but due to special circumstances (birth of their son!) were not able to be with us on our wedding day. 
Michelle also wanted to thank Laurie Horton for doing an amazing job on all the girl’s hair on our wedding day.

​Michelle and Randy: we wish you nothing but joy and those crack ups, walks along the farm, and harmony for the rest of your lives!​​