Kevin and Allison had planned their wedding day down to the smallest detail. The guest lists were finalized a year before the big day, and hundreds of dresses were modeled before they found the right one. Florists, menus, and venues were tested and sampled. And the photographers were chosen to capture every happy moment. The cameras flashed and bright faces were smiling. The day couldn’t get any better, and then Allison’s sister walked through the clearing outside. That was when Allison’s jaw dropped.
Kevin Kruger and Allison Gerding met in Norman, Oklahoma. They worked in different fields, and their paths never crossed in their childhood days. But one day they finally met. Their first meeting focused on education, their family, and interests, but eventually the topic turned to animals. They hit it off immediately. Neither one of them could have imagined that the love of animals could turn into something so amazing.
Allison was a Digital Account Executive who worked for Heritage Publications. She managed projects and digital campaigns for clients, but she also assisted with clients. She was definitely a people person. Kevin coached college basketball for Northern Arizona University. Their schedules never coincided. They were both working their dream jobs and very passionate about it, but that didn’t help their relationship.
Kevin spent a lot of his free time playing basketball with Torry Johnson, a talented player who has hopes to make it to the NBA. Like plenty before Torry, Kevin spent an endless amount of time training athletes every day of the week. Kevin’s eyes were on the prize, assisting NBA hopefuls with his dad, Lon, the ex-coach of the Rebels. He wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps, which is why he was a standpoint guard for the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. He never expected a distraction.
Kevin never thought he’d fall in love so fast. In the early days, Allison had mentioned that she loved four-legged fluff balls, but he wondered if she meant dogs or cats. His worries disappeared on his second date. Allison was beautiful. A brunette with passion, ambition, and full of kindness. Kevin had finally found the person he could picture a future with, but were the feelings mutual?
Allison had worries. Her field was dominated by males, and she was in fear of being forgotten or overshadowed. She needed to be smarter and better than any of the men. Relationships led to marriage, which meant children. And children meant time off. And time off was an inconvenience that would lead to fewer opportunities. Allison had to sacrifice a lot to get to where she was. She was in a bit of a predicament.
It didn’t take long for Kevin to propose. He clamped down onto the ring, in fear of it slipping from his sweaty hands. His voice shook as he asked the biggest question of his life. He looked at Ali. Even though they hadn’t been together long, he knew she was it. He had never been so sure in his life. He had no idea how things would turn out, but he knew he’d work hard to make it work. He would help her do everything she wanted to do, but would that be enough?
Allison could hear the beat of her heart. Her body felt like it was on fire. Her mouth felt like it was full of sand. She had always wanted a family, but she didn’t want it to ruin her dreams. They weren’t even dating for that long. Her mind was hazy. Before she even realized it, the word escaped from her mouth: “Yes.” But was it the right answer?
The more time the couple spent together, the more Allison knew she made the right decision. There’s no need to worry about the future when you’re living in the present. She was excited for the future, but they needed to plan the wedding first. It required months of hard work, laughter, and tears, but finally the big day arrived. Kevin and Allison thought they planned everything perfectly, but then they got a surprise.
Allison’s sister, Liz Jones, worked behind the scenes every day to make sure that Allison’s wedding was something she would remember forever. It’s not easy to plan a wedding, but with your best friend and sister by your side, things were much easier. Allison gave each of her bridesmaids personalized Nike shoes to celebrate the occasion, but Liz had ten surprises of her own.
Everything was going perfectly on the big day. The sun was shining bright. The family was ecstatic. Kevin and Allison couldn’t stop tearing up. They had promised each other to make it work no matter what happened. They posed and smiled for the pictures. Then, through the trees came each of her bridesmaids, holding a little puppy. What was happening?
Tears filled Allison’s eyes as she turned to Kevin and asked, “Did you know about this?” He just laughed and denied having anything to do with it. Liz organized a photobomb adventure for the wedding pictures with some of their favorite creatures. She remembered calling Alli after their initial date and explaining their love of animals.
Brown, black, grey, white, long-haired, short-haired, soft, fluffy – Allison was flustered. They had carefully planned this day to avoid surprises, but this surprise just made everything better. The attention was stolen by the pups in the pictures. The happy couple smiled through teary eyes. Could things really get better than this?
Kevin and Allison had a difficult time letting go of the pups after the photoshoot. Liz was finally able to pry them out of Allison’s hands once she explained she might ruin her white dress before the night was finished. Reluctantly, Allison made sure all of the puppies returned to their basket so they could go home to their owners. But they had their own Golden Labrador waiting for them at home, but their story wasn’t finished there.
Kevin and Allison shared the video of the way they reacted when the women walked through with the puppies. Their story has gone viral ever since. Their mutual love for puppies has broken hearts all over the world. Ever since the wedding, they’ve even talked about getting a dog-friend for their Golden Labrador. They obviously have a bright future full of animals, and lots of love.