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Miss Rainey and Ray exchange vows

Miss Rainey and Ray exchange vows

Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 8:01 pm

Brandy Leigh Durham Rainey of Obion and Dustin Clay Ray of Union City were recently united in marriage in a ceremony held at Mount Zion United Methodist Church in the Cloverdale community near Obion.
Dr. Vann Kissell of Troy presided over the ceremony.
The bride is the daughter of Brian and Cynthia Rainey of Cloverdale. She is the granddaughter of Jimmy and Carolyn Durham of Tiptonville and Jimmy and Lynn Rainey of Cloverdale.
The groom is the son of Darren and Karen Ray of Union City. His grandparents are Bill and Sue Ray and the late Judy Ray, all of Union City, and Clyde and Joan Rudd and David Matheny, all of Hornbeak.
The church was decorated with flowing white toile, clover green ribbons and bows and subtle greenery with a combination of the bride’s flower of choice, yellow tulips. The overall effect was of Southern hospitality with simplistic elegance that would put one in the mindset of Anne of Green Gables.
Kelsey Dial of Cloverdale and Megan Haskins of Troy presided at the registry table. The registry table was decorated with a white crochet table covering. The registry book and pen stand were in the same clover green shade as  the other decorations.
Daniel Evans and Tyler Sherwood, both of Union City, Walker Miller of Troy and Garrett Rainey of Cloverdale served as ushers. They were attired in white dress shirts with tan khakis embellished with a coordinating clover green silk tie.
The musical selections of “Come Away With Me” by Nora Jones, “I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes” by Deirks Bentley, “She’s Everything” by Kenny Chesney, “Everything I Do, I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams and “Little Moments Like That” by Brad Paisley played as guests were seated.
“Then” by Brad Paisley was played as the grandmothers were seated and “My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw was played as the mothers were escorted to their rightful places.
The bridal party proceeded down the aisle to “This Kind of Love” by Sister Hazel.
Serving as matron of honor was Lindsey Ray, sister of the bride, of Wichita, Kan. Bridesmaids were Katelyn Ray, sister of the groom, of Union City and Chelsea Southerland, cousin of the bride, of Hornbeak.
They wore knee-length, strapless, form-fitting,  clover green dresses. They were also presented with, and wore, sterling silver beaded bracelets with a charm of their initials.
Serving as junior bridesmaid was Kaitlynn Southerland, cousin of the bride, of Hornbeak. She wore a tea-length cream dress with beaded embellishment on the bodice.
Nora Kendall and Madeline Reed, both of Union City, served as flower girls. They were dressed in white dresses with beaded embellishments on the bodice.
The father of the groom served as best man. Groomsmen were Zach Miller and Tommy Gossett, both of Union City, and Ryan Matheny of Memphis. Coen Clark of Nashville served as ring bearer. All the male attendants wore white tuxedos with clover vests and clover green ties, with the exception of the groom, whose tie was clover green and striped.
The bride was escorted down the aisle to her groom by her father.
Her gown was elegant and simplistic, as was the recurring theme of the wedding’s decorations and overall atmosphere. The dress was floor-length, strapless and low-cut in the back with a short train, including a clover green sash which encircled the waist, ending in an oriental-style bow in the back of the dress.
The bridal bouquet was a display of yellow tulips intermixed with greenery and lemon grass, hand-tied with a white satin ribbon.
The bride chose as her “something old” a pair of gold and diamond antique earrings, left to her by her great-grandmother, the late Gertrude King of Tiptonville.
Her “something new” was a pearl necklace presented to the bride by the groom on the eve of their wedding at the rehearsal dinner as a wedding gift. As her “something borrowed,” she chose a white gold and diamond engagement ring of the groom’s grandmother, Sue Ray of Union City, and her “something blue” was a powder blue ribbon pinned underneath the skirt of her gown.
The newlyweds left the church to the music of Jason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor.”

RECEPTION
A reception was held on the front lawn of the home of the bride’s parents.
The bridal party was swept away to the reception on a hay ride pulled by an antique John Deere™ tractor restored and driven by the bride’s grandfather, Jimmy Rainey.
The hay bales on the hay ride were covered with the family’s heirloom patchwork quilts.
A large white tent was set up with tables and chairs arranged underneath the shade of tall oak trees, amidst the lush green of the fescue lawn.
The tables were covered with yellow tablecloths overlaid with large squares cut from burlap. The centerpieces were composed of blue Mason jars filled with yellow tulip bouquets.
Judy Rainey of Cloverdale, aunt of the bride, served as wedding coordinator.
The bridal couple danced their first dance as husband and wife to Corey Smith’s “First Dance.” The groom and his mother danced to “That’s What Momma’s Do” by Jason Matthews, while the bride and her father danced to “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle.
The banquet-style food table was arranged with tan Longaberger™ baskets lined with yellow gingham cloths to present the various finger foods. These ranged from chicken salad pastries to chocolate-dipped strawberries.
The punch was a matching clover green color and was served from large galvanized steel basins. Serving at the reception were Teresa Sadler of Troy and Kim Dial of Cloverdale.
The bride’s cake was comprised of three square tiers of vanilla cake with clover green icing detailed with white polka dots.
The cake was embellished with a white bow on top made of fondant.
The table was decorated with a green tablecloth detailed with white flowing toile and burlap bows.
The groom’s cake was presented as an MMA (mixed martial arts) style fighting glove. The cake was chocolate with black icing, including the logo of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).
The table was covered in a black tablecloth and featured other MMA memorabilia, including a pair of white MMA gloves which belong to the groom.
Serving the cake was Dana Johnson of Rives.
Catching the bridal bouquet was Amanda Haynes of Union City, with Joseph Sumara of Tiptonville having the honor of catching the garter.
After the reception, the bridal couple ran through ta double line of wedding guests on their way to their car as wheat was tossed into the air.
The couple left that evening for Memphis. They honeymooned at the Memphis Peabody near the riverfront.
They are now residing in Hornbeak near Reelfoot Lake.
Published in The Messenger 6.30.10