The Pointe at Lifespring
On the eve of Christmas, generations came together to give their 97-year-old great grandmother’s the desire to attend one more family wedding.
people.com
According to ‘Today,’ Juanita Courtney was delighted to assume the role of an honorary matron and sign the marriage license at the ceremony of her great grandmother Ashley Stewart.
Stewart told the NBC show, “She got a little choked up and said, ‘I thought I would never get to go to one of my family member’s weddings again.”
Luckily, Courtney did not have to travel far for the wedding, originally scheduled to be held at Disney.
Steward said, “I got to thinking and talked to my grandmother and said, ‘I hate that Nanny can’t go, so what if we just did a marriage license ceremony with her.”
‘Today’ reported, Stewart and Josh, her husband, planned a wedding ceremony at the Pointe at Lifespring, Courtney’s senior living facility at Knoxville, Tennessee.
The marriage would not have been complete without “something old” according to tradition.
Pointe’s staff not only recreated Courtney’s bouquet of flowers from his 1947 marriage to her late husband Paul, but they also set to use the couple’s cake topper.
Steward had planned a grand wedding next year, but she wanted to surprise her great grandmother with 34 family members attending the marriage ceremony. It was the first time the family met after Christmas Eve in 2005 when Courtney was unhappy continuing the tradition after Paul’s death.
Stewart told Today, “All this made Courtney emotional. She just wept and was excited.”
The newlywed felt a deep appreciation for her family on her and Josh’s special day.
thenewzealandtimes.com
Steward told Today, “The fact that we have five generations alive who are active in each other’s lives is just unheard. It is a blessing to get to have that. Nanny and Papaw, they set such great example for us in the family and have always been active participants in our lives.”