When Brad Paisley took a date to see the movie Father of the Bride in 1991, he had no idea the film’s lead actress would end up being his wife. After that relationship went south and he saw the movie’s sequel by himself a few years later, he decided he had to get to know the pretty brunette from the movie screen.
“I thought, ‘She seems like a great girl — smart and funny and all those things that are so hard to find,” the singer shared with Good Housekeeping.
His album, Part II, had a line about going to see Father of the Bride, so he used that as an excuse to invite Williams to star in his next music video for “I’m Gonna Miss Her.”
“It felt natural to ask her to be in it” he says. “Even though I didn’t know if she was married, divorced, or just out of rehab.”
Williams accepted the role and the pair began dating around the same time.
Paisley had a hunch that their relationship was the real deal, so he took things very seriously. “I really said to myself, ‘This time I’m not going to play games. I’m not going to pretend I’m somebody else, or do things I won’t be proud of later,’” he explained.
The country singer professed his love for Williams one night while walking on the pier in Venice Beach. He proposed on that same pier just six months later.
“He proposed right in front of the public toilets,” the actress later recalled with a laugh.
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They were married March 15, 2003 at the Stauffer Chapel on the Pepperdine University campus.
The Paisleys have two sons; William Huckleberry (born 2007) and Jasper Warren (born 2009).
The couple said “I do” once again in 2015 with a “really campy” vow renewal ceremony at a friend’s house.
“It was a surprise, I didn’t know we were doing it,” Williams-Paisley confessed to US Weekly. She even wore a wedding dress, which her best friend bought for her, but there was one minor issue. “You could see my pink panties underneath it,” she laughed.
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The pair has become a staple in the Nashville community, giving back whenever and however they can. In 2018, it was announced that the couple was teaming up with Belmont University (Paisley’s alma mater) to open a grocery store for people in need. The idea came to them after visiting a similar store in California.
“We took our boys to Unity Shoppe to teach them about serving others and giving back to people in need,” said Paisley in a news release. “And we came away surprised by what the organization had taught us. Most people don’t want handouts. They want dignity and respect. Most people want to become self-sufficient.”
Fans can support Brad and Kimberly’s charitable efforts by visiting TheStore.org.
