Deanna and Jimmy grew up a half mile apart and even went to the same high school, but it wasn’t until college that the sparks started to fly. Deanna gave Jimmy her phone number but he thought she was just being nice and never called! Eventually he figured out that Deanna was interested and they started dating. A year and a half later they were engaged, and the rest is history! Ten years later, Deanna and Jimmy now have two sweet children, Mason and Katelyn, and couldn’t be happier.
We are so excited to celebrate Deanna and Jimmy as they renew their vows at The Big Fake Wedding Nashville, sponsored by Shane Co., tomorrow night at The Cannery Ballroom. We hope to see you there!
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FROM HER:
We grew up a half mile apart, went to the same high school, but didn’t really notice each other until my fourth semester at the University of TN Knoxville. I gave him my phone number at his part-time job (he never called because he thought I was just being nice), gave him a ride back to Knoxville after Easter break, and finally invited myself over to his apartment to get to know him better. Eventually he figured out I was interested and we dated for 18 months, got engaged in August of 2004, and married in January 2005 in front of 615 of our families’ closest friends in Tullahoma, TN. We now have two amazing children, Mason, 8, and Katelyn, 6. It has been a roller-coaster 10 years of marriage, but worth every minute.
What was the absolute best memory from your wedding day?
I wanted a white limo for our exit from the reception. I knew he’d tried like crazy and couldn’t find one in the area, but somehow he pulled it off and I was surprised by a beautiful white limo as we exited our reception.
What is the best date you have ever had?
Dinner, shopping and the Grand Ole Opry to see our personal friend Dustin Lynch’s first performance at the Opry on my 30th Birthday.
What is “your song” and why?
“I will be here.” No matter what comes our way, we will be together, through thick and thin, good times and bad. I recorded it a a studio in Nashville and it played during the candle lighting of our wedding.
FROM HIM:
She pursued me hard. I am younger and naive. I assumed she was just being nice to me the first few times we talked. She was the popular, cheerleader in high school and at UT (she was on the dance team). Once I finally realized she was interested in me, I fell head over heels and we were inseparable from that point forward. We were engaged on 8/6/04, married on 1/8/05 during a “personal” 600+ guest EVENT in our hometown of Tullahoma. The wedding was big, but the party was bigger. We had an incredibly fun reception, with a great band, “Four on the Floor,” and lots of dancing and socializing. I literally had to drag Deanna out of the reception at almost midnight because the limo had been waiting for an hour to take us to our wedding night stay at the Opryland Hotel. We are back living in Tullahoma now, while raising our two incredible kids, Mason and Katelyn.
What was the most unique part of your engagement story?
I designed her ring and refused to show it to her until she agreed to marry me. She was ready for me to propose, but I completely threw her off just before the proposal by asking seemingly obvious questions about asking her father for permission and planning future trips to shop for rings. She had no idea I was already prepared and would propose as soon as we arrived.
What is “your song” and why?
“I will be here” is our official song. She recorded it and it was played during our wedding. She has a beautiful voice. I would say our #2 and 3 songs are Chris Cagle’s “What a Beautiful Day” because it closely matches our relationship, especially in the beginning, and Brad Paisley’s “I Thought I Loved You Then” because our love tends to hit growth spurts and expands at different points in our relationship.
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The Big Fake Wedding Nashville is completely SOLD OUT! If you missed out, we invite you to join us at another one of our events – check out the rest of our 2015 schedule here.
marriage goals 
“we didn’t reali
guys! We’ve been on a summer sabbatical.
