Photo session leads to marriage proposal

Family is woven through the love story of Chelbie Elisabeth Fuller and Jeffery “Dylan” Mobley—from a family photo session that led to a marriage proposal to the wedding reception at the old family “home place.”

The daughter of Ronnie and Crys Fuller of Ino and son of Donna Martin and Jeffery Mobley of Brundidge were married on May 18, 2019, at Ino Baptist Church in Ino.

Their wedding reception was at The Barn on Fuller Hill, a venue with a special significance to the bride.

“We decided on the wedding date within hours of being engaged,” Chelbie Mobley said. “But my Dad was in the process of building an event venue and it wasn’t finished at the time.” 

The venue that the bride’s father was building was on the family farm in Ino. “Not only did my dad build this venue but it is on the ‘Old Home Place’ that my grandparents farmed many hard years just to pay for.

“It’s a place we can call home,” she added with a smile. “And I cannot tell them enough how much that place means to me.”

The bride is the granddaughter of Bill and the late Mary Fuller of Ino; and Joyce Hitchcock St. John of Montgomery and the late Ed Crowell from Onycha.

The groom is the grandson of David and Janie Smith of Brundidge; the late Donald Meadows and Wallace and the late Lounelle Mobley of Brundidge.

Chelbie Mobley is a 2014 honor graduate of Kinston High School and a 2019 graduate of Troy University. She attended Enterprise State Community College for two years on a softball scholarship before transferring to TU where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a minor in Psychology. 

She is employed as a seventh and eighth grade science teacher at New Brockton High School where she also serves as the assistant coach for volleyball and softball.

A 2013 graduate of Zion Chapel High School, Dylan Mobley completed the Lineman School at Wallace College in Dothan. He is currently employed by South Alabama Electric Cooperative in Troy.

“A mutual friend of our mother’s did some matchmaking,” Chelbie Mobley said as she described how the couple met. “I vaguely knew of Dylan but of course I was curious.”

After casually connecting via social media, Dylan Mobley asked Chelbie Mobley out. “We began dating and have been together ever since,” she said with a smile. “And that is how this all began.” 

“I knew Chelbie was ‘The One’ not long after getting to know her,” Dylan Mobley said. “I had always wanted to marry a woman like Chelbie—someone who is genuine, loving, full of laughter and just a great person all around.”

Dylan Mobley said that his bride’s family was also a big plus. “I immediately fell in love with her family,” he said. “You couldn’t ask for nicer people and they have been nothing but good to me since the first time I met them.

“I learned a lot about Ronnie just by his dedication to The Barn on Fuller Hill. He poured his heart and souls into that place and it showed me the kind of person he was,” Dylan Mobley said. “Ms. Crys has been another mom to me, treating me like I was one of her own. They are awesome people and they raised an even better daughter.”

“From the day I met Dylan’s family I have always felt so welcomed and a part of the family,” Chelbie Mobley said. “Ms. Donna has always treated me like her second daughter, including me and trusting me with her son and his heart.

“She has trusted that I would love him the way she does and take care of him because I love him with my whole heart,” she added. “I can never thank God enough for not only providing me with an amazing family of my own but also allowing me to marry into a family just as precious to me.”

Dylan Mobley bought the engagement ring and consulted with his brother and his fiancé for “the perfect plan” to propose. “I think Chelbie was totally surprised and to say I wasn’t nervous would be a lie,’ Dylan Mobley said with a smile. “I was shaking so bad I could hardly get the ring out of my shirt pocket.”

“We had been dating for approximately two and a half years when we made plans to have some family Christmas pictures taken,” Chelbie Mobley said. “The Saturday after Thanksgiving—Nov. 24, 2018—while we were taking pictures I saw the photographer give a little wink to Dylan.

“Dylan’s hands immediately began shaking and he dropped to a knee and asked, ‘Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?’

“Of course, I didn’t even have to think of a response,” Chelbie Mobley recalled. “I said, ‘Yes, I will marry you.’”

“It was a perfect day and I thank God every day for helping me and guiding me to Chelbie,” Dylan Mobley added. “We have an amazing ‘tribe’ around us and we thank God every day.”

The couple were married at Ino Baptist Church in Ino with longtime family friend, Annie Johnson Hendrix, directing. The flower arrangements at the ceremony were the creation of Savanna Jackson Bruce, “one of my closest friends who was also a bridesmaid,” Chelbie Mobley said describing the greenery, white roses and white hydrangeas arrangements. “I chose white hydrangeas because those are my favorite flowers and gave our wedding the ‘Southern Elegance’ I was striving for.”

The father of the bride did complete The Barn on Fuller Hill in time for his only daughter’s wedding. “He assured me he would do whatever he could to make sure The Barn on Fuller Hill was complete for his little girl to enjoy her reception,” she said with a smile. “The Barn on Fuller Hill is a very special place to me.

“My entire life I had prayed for a man just like my dad. I prayed he would have the patience to put up with me. I prayed he would be understanding and love me for who I am,” Chelbie Mobley said. “I prayed he would be a hard-working man who loved his family and wanted to provide the best life possible for them.

“Lastly and most importantly, I prayed he would be a man of God and he would lead our family with God as the focus,” she added. “When I saw each of these qualities in Dylan I knew he was the man I had prayed for my entire life.”