Jeremy Bedolla and Cressida Widger were given a free wedding Saturday in Parker.
PARKER -
Jeremy Bedolla and Cressida Widger were married Saturday in Parker at a ceremony in which no fewer than nine local vendors teamed up to stage the entire affair at no cost to the young couple.
The Independence Day give-away was the second-annual Marry the Military promotion staged by Villa Parker, the venue that served as principal sponsor of the event. Bedolla is a specialist in the U.S. Army, based at Fort Carson, in Colorado Springs. He completed a 15-month tour in Iraq, serving in Baghdad, in February.
He will complete his military service in October, at which time he will be discharged, and the couple will then honeymoon in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
"Independence Day in general, is very, very dear to me," said Bedolla. "It's a special day, and now it's going to be even more special in my heart, now that I get to share that day with her."
"We met on the Fourth of July originally, so, that's pretty neat for us," said Widger, who lives in Colorado Springs.
As for having the cost of a venue, a cake, a dress, and the rest, picked up by local businesses, she said, "It's just wonderful that they feel that they want to honor their soldiers. I' ve told them many times, I can't even express how grateful I am, that they're taking this kind of cost off our backs."
Villa Parker selected Bedolla and Widger after interviewing a number of brides and grooms-to-be in the military. Starting next year, they may expand the event to make it a multiple-wedding affair, perhaps incluidng one member from each of the nation's armed services.
Widger, less than an hour before their ceremony, said any nerves she was feeling were nothing when compared to what she went through when her fiancee was in Iraq.
"I'm absolutely glad to have him back in one piece, after his service," she said. "I was pulling my hair out everyday, wondering whether or not he was going to make it through the day. So, I don't have to worry about that any more."
The Independence Day give-away was the second-annual Marry the Military promotion staged by Villa Parker, the venue that served as principal sponsor of the event. Bedolla is a specialist in the U.S. Army, based at Fort Carson, in Colorado Springs. He completed a 15-month tour in Iraq, serving in Baghdad, in February.
He will complete his military service in October, at which time he will be discharged, and the couple will then honeymoon in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
"Independence Day in general, is very, very dear to me," said Bedolla. "It's a special day, and now it's going to be even more special in my heart, now that I get to share that day with her."
"We met on the Fourth of July originally, so, that's pretty neat for us," said Widger, who lives in Colorado Springs.
As for having the cost of a venue, a cake, a dress, and the rest, picked up by local businesses, she said, "It's just wonderful that they feel that they want to honor their soldiers. I' ve told them many times, I can't even express how grateful I am, that they're taking this kind of cost off our backs."
Villa Parker selected Bedolla and Widger after interviewing a number of brides and grooms-to-be in the military. Starting next year, they may expand the event to make it a multiple-wedding affair, perhaps incluidng one member from each of the nation's armed services.
Widger, less than an hour before their ceremony, said any nerves she was feeling were nothing when compared to what she went through when her fiancee was in Iraq.
"I'm absolutely glad to have him back in one piece, after his service," she said. "I was pulling my hair out everyday, wondering whether or not he was going to make it through the day. So, I don't have to worry about that any more."
