Sara Evans with fiance Jay Barker on the Orange Carpet at the 43rd Annual ACM Awards, Sunday, May 18, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. Photo by David Vespie.
June 14, 2008 — People.com reports that Sara Evans married former University of Alabama quarterback Jay Barker today in an outdoor ceremony at a Franklin, Tenn. farm near Sara's home.
Sara's son Avery, 8, walked her down the aisle and the couple's seven children (Sara's three and Barker's four from their previous marriages) were their only attendants.
Nashville singer/songwriter Marcus Hummon, writer of the Rascal Flatts hit "Bless the Broken Road," performed the song during the short ceremony. Christian minister Joe Beam, who introduced the couple last fall, performed the ceremony.
Sara, 37, wore an ivory silk taffeta Vera Wang gown with a halter neck; Barker, 35, wore a Dolce and Gabbana suit. Guests were told to wear black, but the wedding's catering was decidedly more down-home, featuring fried chicken, beans, biscuits and macaroni and cheese.
"It was really very elegant, but Sara wanted it to feel like you were at her house," friend and wedding planner Traci Phillips of The Perfect Party told People.
Sara and Jay were engaged last March. "It was hard for me to believe he was real and that he loves me the way he loves me," Sara told People. "I thank God many times a day for bringing me Jay."