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‘Forever Love’: Reba McEntire fans get hitched
By EMMALEE C. TORISK
CANFIELD
Donna and Shawn Mansfield didn’t want to do anything too fancy for their wedding.
As a joke, they talked about getting married by country superstar Reba McEntire — who is not an ordained minister, they were dismayed to discover. But when they learned that McEntire would be performing this year at the Canfield Fair, everything began to fall into place.
Months of planning brought them to the gazebo at the Canfield Fairgrounds on Sunday afternoon, where the 32-year-old country music fans were married in front of dozens of family members, friends and curious bystanders. The newlyweds also attended McEntire’s grandstand concert, which began at 8 p.m.
“We wanted to do something different,” said Donna, who donned her mother’s 34-year-old wedding veil — attached to the back of her pink cowboy hat.
Donna added that she’s been a fan of McEntire’s for about two decades. Not only is McEntire a great singer and performer, Donna said, but she also records songs to which the couple can easily relate.
Wearing Western attire, including cowboy boots, they walked down the makeshift aisle to McEntire’s “Forever Love,” which contains the following lyrics: “I won’t give up no matter what / I’ll be waiting for you, forever love.” Several wedding guests wore T-shirts emblazoned with the couple’s names, along with “Forever Love.”
Those words are especially relevant to Donna and Shawn, who were high school sweethearts. When the two graduated from Youngstown’s Wilson High School in 2000, however, they went their separate ways.
About two years ago, they found each other again, though several states separated them. This time, it was forever.
Minutes before they tied the knot, Donna and Shawn talked about what they most loved about the other. For Donna, it’s Shawn’s smile. For Shawn, it’s Donna’s blue eyes, which a person can “just get lost in.”
Both said they looked forward to starting their lives together.
“[I’m most excited about] spending the rest of my life with her,” Shawn said.
Clare Mansfield, Shawn’s mother, said she always knew the two would end up together. A number of other family members on both the bride’s and groom’s sides agreed.
“Now they can have a happy ever after,” Clare said.
Bev Fisher, fair manager, said the Canfield Fairgrounds has hosted weddings before, including those at the horse rings. It’s “kind of neat” that the Mansfields got married at the 168th Canfield Fair, and especially on the day of McEntire’s concert.
“To pull off a wedding during the fair, I give them a lot of credit,” Fisher said.
McEntire — who has released 26 studio albums and has had 40 No. 1 singles and 14 No. 1 albums in her career — last appeared at the Canfield Fair in 2011. She is one of the best-selling artists of all time and has sold more than 80 million records worldwide.
The opening act for Sunday’s concert was the Willis Clan, a Nashville-based family band that appeared on “America’s Got Talent.”
George Roman III, the fair board director in charge of entertainment, said the Willis Clan will perform an hour-and-a-half-long show at the Canfield Fair’s Concourse Stage at noon today.