Roseanne Covington and Ray Bruce had an intimate outdoor wedding in Sedona, Ariz. / Heart of Sedona Weddings
When Roseanne Covington signed her divorce papers in 2009, she was fine with the clause that prevented her from remarrying or selling her house until her youngest daughter graduated from high school. After all, she was focused on raising her three girls, anyway, without the complications of a new marriage.
She met Ray Bruce the following year through her good friend and his sister, Judy Bentley, and the two connected immediately. Ten years older than her, Ray is a retired Wilson County principal, and Roseanne is a teacher in the same school system.
"We started dating in 2010, and the relationship just flourished after that," she says.
But that clause, which expired May 1 of this year, was always on the table, putting a damper on things. So they decided to live in the moment and just enjoy what they had together at the time.
"I enjoyed spending the holidays with him and going to the different family functions," she says. "When I first saw that clause in my papers, 2012 seemed like a long time. But really and truly, it flew by fast."
Ray proposed to Roseanne outside their church, Woodmont Christian, one Sunday in June 2011. After a particularly appropriate sermon about relationships, Ray dropped to his knees beside a little flower garden and asked for her hand in marriage in front of her daughters. "I didn't expect it that day, and I did not expect it in front of my two girls that were there," she says. "I was just so shocked, and I turned to my two girls ... and said, 'What do you think mom should say?' and they said 'Yes.' "
The ring he gave her was even made from her mother's and grandmother's engagement rings.
"Not only is it my wedding ring, but I feel like I have a part of them with me every day, too, as I wear that."
When deciding when to get married, they couldn't think of a better date than May 2, the day after the clause expired. They decided to fly to Sedona, Ariz., for an intimate ceremony for just the two of them.
"It is all red rock and mountainous and really one of the most beautiful places I have ever been before," Roseanne says. "I have a place for it in my heart and we plan to go back there again for our one-year anniversary."
Now the couple is excited to move forward into life and a future of their own choosing, no clauses included.