Military Contest – Let the Voting Begin!

Thank you all so much for your support! I was truly amazed by how many retweets, Facebook “shares,” and e-mails you all used to share this giveaway with the ones you know! There were several submissions that came in, but unfortunately, I was already booked for many of them. However, I am so excited that there are four final contestants who have the chance of an all-inclusive wedding photography package!

You will just love them for their huge hearts & sweet stories, I know I do!

Names: Ellen & Benjamin

Location: Fremont/Clyde, Ohio

Ellen & Benjamin have been together since they were fourteen & met at church. They’ve been best friends for the past five years & plan to get married this summer. He will be leaving for his basic training with the Marines very soon after that.

In her own words: “I’m with the man of my dreams and I don’t think God could have picked a better person for me. The Marines will have its up and down’s I’m sure, but this will be one adventure I wouldn’t spend with anyone else.”

Names: Anna & Chris

Location: Bar Harbor Maine

Anna met Chris her senior year of high school when he came home from the Air Force. They dated long distance while they attended college. He asked her to marry him in Bar Harbor during leave from Afghanistan this past July, a special place for them, so it is only fitting they will be getting married there! He just returned home from Afghanistan this December!

In her own words: “While Chris was deployed he befriended stray dogs in Afghanistan, two of which had saved over 50 soldiers lives by alerting the troops of a suicide bomber entering the barracks causing the bomber to detonate too early never making it into the living quarters.  One of the dogs named Target was pregnant and had puppies a few days later after surviving the attack.  Chris fell in love with one of the puppies named Bear, and contacted me seeing if there was any way I could help him get Bear, Target and Rufus home.  It was then that I started a group called Puppy Rescue Mission on Facebook.  To make a long story short, since April I have raised over $110,000 to help soldiers bring their animals home from Afghanistan.  The bond between a soldier and his dog is just incredible, and there is no better therapy out there for these men than a battle buddy.  Puppy Rescue Mission just recently became a non-profit and Chris and I continue our work helping soldiers in Afghanistan bring their animals home.  We get requests almost daily and have brought over 32 dogs home for soldiers nationwide.”

Names: Liz & Chris

Location: Bethalto, Illinois

Liz & Chris met only two weeks before he started his basic training for the Army. She really believed he would be “just a friend,” because long distance relationships did not seem real to her.

In her own words: “Every day passed throughout those two weeks and our feelings grew more and more for one another. He is the most respectful and loyal person I have ever met in my life. Two days before he left home we made it official that we were going to see where this relationship will take us. February on until May that year we learned about each others lives and fell crazy in love through hand written letters. We wrote to each other everyday it seemed. Finally that summer came and I made multiple ten hour car rides to see him. To this day it is still the hardest thing in the world to say goodbye and I am sure every girl in my position knows that pain. Our entire relationship has been long distance. We just hit our two year anniversary on January 19! The last day I saw him in April 2010 before he left for his first tour in Afghanistan he said this to me; “I’m not asking you, I am telling you that we are getting married when I get home next Spring!” and we are! I could not be more thrilled to finally start my life with my best friend. He has decided to make the Army a career and I am prepared to handle anything after these last two years! This is the life I have always pictured having!”

Names: Kim & Josh

Location: Hamburg, NY

Kim & Josh met at Rite Aid, where she was a pharmacy technician & he was the store security guard. They had plans to marry, but the birth of their daughter & the course of military duty pushed back their dream wedding. They eloped before he left, but since he has been deployed for a year, the wedding they are planning will be extra special!

In her own words: “What made him intriguing to me was that he was in the Army National Guard , I always loved the idea of being with someone in uniform. We eloped at town hall so I would have insurance coverage to have the baby. So after our daughter was born we had started to make plans for a 2010 wedding when he was activated for deployment to Afghanistan for a year. So now I have my dress sitting in my closet… He returns in Winter 2011 and we plan on have a “real” wedding in 2011 at the Avanti Mansion in Hamburg,NY. The opportunity you are giving a lucky couple of your services is more than gracious but just to have my husband home is more than I would ever want over a wedding anytime.“

Thank you for reading these lovely stories!

Here’s how the voting works:

• I will post all the submissions on my Facebook Page in an album titled “ 2011 Military Wedding Submissions.”

• In order to be eligible to vote, please visit my Facebook Page & “Like” it. Then you may vote for your favorite couples by “Liking” your favorite contestants’ photograph. Photo comments are awesome, but will not count as part of the official vote tally. You may vote for more than one couple, but each one only once.
  

Voting will begin Tuesday February 1st
Voting will close Sunday February 13th

The winning couple will be announced on February 14th!

I’m glad that I don’t have to pick one, because all of these couples are so sweet & deserving… thank you for sharing your stories & embracing military life so openly!
The men you love are better because of the strong women who stand behind them ♥