I (Scottie) remember going over to Katy & Shaun’s house after their engagement session a few months ago. Shaun was so excited to tell us some big news . . . they were having their Grooms Dinner on the U.S.S Missouri.
THE U.S.S MISSOURI!!
This battleship is an amazing piece of American history. It was the last US battleship ever built, it fought in 3 wars and it was the sight of Japan’s surrender and the end of WWII. The day started out amazing as we were allowed to board the ship a couple hours early to get some shots of the ship empty and to scout it out. The best part was when Shaun’s dad gave me a personal tour of the ship. This was amazing because Shaun’s dad is Rear Admiral Tucker and during his Naval career was the Commanding Officer of the Battleship U.S.S New Jersey which is basically a twin to the Missouri. It really was an amazing honor to follow him around and hear the stories.
The navy is a huge part of Shaun’s family history (he was in the Navy himself) so there could not have been a place more dear to his heart to have the Groom’s dinner than on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri. 
Needless to say, both Katy and Shaun were SOOO thrilled about this opportunity. Not to mention, their guests couldn’t stop talking all week about how excited for they were for this event! Breanna and I were two of those people who couldn’t shut up about it!
So after some stories from the Admiral and some alone time spent between our cameras and the ship… Katy and Shaun arrived. It was such an amazing opportunity to get to wander the ship freely to take some photos of the 2 of them. Not many people get the chance to take pictures of the Missouri without tons of tourists in the background! We were so thankful to have such a unique photo opp… it was so much fun!
(That’s Shaun and his dad on the left there.)
(Those guns fire 16 inch wide bullets that weigh as much as my car.)
(That is the U.S.S Arizona Memorial in the background. It was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor and is the grave for more than 1,000 members of the crew. The juxtaposition is amazing . . . the U.S.S Arizona marks the entrance of the US into WWII and the U.S.S Missouri is where the war ended.)After a few photos, it was time to get the party rolling and Katy & Shaun’s guests started to arrive right on schedule. They were given a couple of hours to have cocktails, mingle, and explore the ship.
For as excited as these guests were about this party… I don’t think anyone’s expectations were even close to disappointed!
(I love how regal Katy and Shaun look in this picture).
(You can like our page on Facebook to tag yourself in some of the photos!)
After that, everyone was treated to a fantastic Mongolian BBQ dinner. Breanna and I got to sit with some of Shaun’s dad’s Navy buddies and their wives. We heard some amazing stories of their lives in the Navy. So awesome!!
Speeches were given, the bridal party was introduced, pictures were shown, and everyone was celebrating!
(This is Shaun’s grandmother and he was beyond excited that she was able to make it to this and to his wedding).After the party, Breanna and I took and opportunity to get some shots of Missouri and Arizona at night.
This really was such an incredible evening and we feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of it! Thanks to Katy, Shaun, and the entire Tucker family for putting on one spectacular event and for inviting us to share in it with you!
(Click here if you missed part 1 of Katy & Shaun’s Pre-Wedding Events. Click here to see the entire set of photos from this event and others that are available for you to purchase. The wedding photos are coming soon!).
[…] Scottie is actually going to write about the final event (so it will be much shorter!) which is the Groom’s dinner that was held on deck of the U.S.S. Missouri. If you do a quick scan of your brain to find your old high school history lessons (it’s right there past the lyrics to every Bon Jovi song ever written and the phone number to your secret crush’s parent’s house) you’ll find that this is the ship on which the Japanese soldiers stood 65 years ago when they signed the document of their surrender at the end of WWII. It’s a huge piece of history that most people tour during the day… but we got to party on it at night! Of course an experience like this doesn’t slip past us without some once in a lifetime photos coming out of it (and I didn’t sleep through this one!)! See the photos on our blog about the Groom’s Dinner HERE. […]
That was amazing! If it was me, I wouldn’t shut up about it either! 😀