Jeremy and Justice Stamper met in Sunday school when they were just ten and eleven years old. They were on-again, off-again friends for several years, and began a romance in high school.
Then, last August 1st, the 21-year-olds tied the knot in a small ceremony before family and friends in their native Tennessee. “It was a country sunflower theme,” Jeremy said, of the event. “It was absolutely perfect.”
Not three weeks later, on August 20th, Jeremy got a call from Justice, who was “crying her eyes out.” She had been in a major car accident–and, just two days later, the couple were to move into their first home together.
“I don’t remember anything after [the call],” said Jeremy. “I got in my truck and flew over as fast as I could to see if she was OK.”
Justice was OK physically–she was released from the hospital after one day–but the mental effects of the accident lingered. According to Jeremy, doctors diagnosed Justice with a concussion, and a therapist diagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Justice began a long period of recovery, and Jeremy tried to help her by reminding her of all the good things they had shared. But Justice seemed unusually recitent on the topic of their wedding. Before long, Justice admitted that her memory was somewhat patchy, and that one of the things she had lost was all memory of the couple’s wedding day.
“She looked at the pictures,” said Stamper, “and she saw the video, but she said it drew a blank. It would only upset her….Signing our lease, renting our apartment, the planning, all that stuff she has no recollection of.”
Jeremy was initially saddened by the news, but he quickly decided that the best solution was to simply give his wife another wedding ceremony. So he promised her that on August 1, 2015, they would get married again. He set up The Stamper Wedding, Round Two, a GoFundMe page that went viral. Within a month, the Stampers had reached their $5,000 goal.
“He never cries,” Justice said of Jeremy, “but since the accident he’s become so sensitive. He’s just a big, old, gentle giant.”
Justice added that she’s “absolutely looking forward to seeing his face when I come down the aisle. That is the moment I want to see.”
The only differences between last year’s ceremony and this year’s second wedding are that Justice will wear a different gown; the guest list has more than doubled–the Stampers expect 150 people to attend–and, this time, they get to take a honeymoon. The photography company they hired teamed up with a local radio station to donate six nights in Myrtle Beach for the pair.
After that, the Stampers say it’s baby time: “One kid and then I want to adopt a bunch of babies,” says Justice.
Added Jeremy, “We want to take in those memories that most people take for granted. They go through it, but don’t cherish them like they should. Hold onto them as if they’re the last things on earth because if they go away, it’s terrible.”
(Photo credits: Jeremy Stamper via Facebook)
