With extra help from grandparents, wedding on track

Kaitlyn McDonald with her grandmother, Maria “Lela” Buchanan.

“My grandmother is the epitome of a nana. She always feeds you. She always listens to you. She’s always there for you. She always wants the best for you. Now, for her and my grandfather to do this garage sale to help with my wedding, it’s just amazing.

“We’ve been really fortunate. The venue we wanted had a sale conveniently going on when we were looking, so we got a low price. The wedding dress I found went on sale the next day, so it was really cheap. I don’t know how, but everything is coming together. And it’s amazing to see how much family, friends and just life in general are kind of saying, here you go.

“I used to think about what it would be like to get married. But after my parents divorced when I was 16, I didn’t know if it would ever happen for me. I always hoped for it. But when you grow up with two great parents, then all of a sudden it kind of crumbles, you wonder if there’s such a thing out there for you. But with my grandparents, I always saw it. I still see it. So I know it’s there. They’ve been married almost 50 years. Now it’s kind of cool to have my own moment, where I know it’s real. We’re going to make it happen.”

— Kaitlyn McDonald