Country Weekly
July 2000

At former "Prime Time Country" host Gary Chapman's wedding last month, it took a tasty treat to lure his reluctant ring bearer down the aisle: a hot dog

Gary's dog Simon, an official member of the wedding party, sniffed up and down the aisle until locating his master -- and the uncooked frank stashed in the inside pocket of Gary's cream- colored suit.

"It took a team effort to get Simon and the ring to us," Gary laughs. But the tie-wearing English Mastiff eventually hit his mark next to the bride and groom. With sunset approaching, Gary's 12-year-old son, Matt, walked bride-to-be Jennifer Pittman -- radiant in a Reem Acra gown -- down the aisle and into the patio area outside the Chapman home.

In the distance, horses romped across the green fields of Gary's 220-acre ranch in central Tennessee. As a gentle breeze stirred the leaves of the sweet-smelling magnolia trees, Matt stepped to his father's side as best man.

"That's when I lost it," admits Gary.

Tears of joy also clouded the eyes of Gary's daughters, 10-year-old Millie and 7-year-old Sarah Cannon, as their father and his new bride took their vows. Gary's father, former Texas minister Terry Chapman, performed the wedding ceremony, taking note of Simon's unusual role in the ceremony by quoting the Apostle Paul: "Bear with me in my folly."

Folly or not, the canine presence in Gary's wedding symbolized the sense of fun he and his new bride share. "It could not have been a better ceremony, because it's so much a reflection of who we are," he says. "When I first saw Jennifer in that wedding gown, she was just unbelievably beautiful, and I was overwhelmed. Beauty and hilarity -- that was our wedding, and that's how we want to live for the rest of our lives."

The fun continued as comedian/actor Tom Arnold toasted the new couple, entertaining the 350 guests with what Gary described as "the best 40 seconds of comedy I've ever heard." Tom cracked that he had also used a hot dog in his own wedding to a famous TV comedienne. "Oddly enough," joked Tom, "that's exactly how I got Roseanne down the aisle!"

While humor was in good supply, this day carried an extra load of emotional weight for the groom. The ceremony sealed a period of renewal for Gary, whose personal and pro- fessional life ran off the rails last year when his 16-year marriage to singer Amy Grant ended in divorce and his TNN show, "Prime Time Country," was canceled.

Gary says he is now on very good terms with Amy, and wishes her well in her own recent marriage to Vince Gill. Gary and Jennifer enjoy their pool time.

"Amy and I got three amazing children out of the time we spent together, and a lot of really great times and great memories," he says.

Gary also had to deal with TNN's decision, in its move toward non-musical programming, to axe "Prime Time Country," though he remains perplexed by the network's action.

"The ironic thing is that during the last couple months we were on the air, we had the best ratings we had in almost four years of doing the show," he says. "I was like, 'Why are we ending this? Somebody explain.' "

Gary worked to draw life lessons from his troubles. "The most amazing thing that I have found so far in life is the value of real forgiveness," he says. "Not just going through the motions, but really walking it. Forgiveness is the most beautiful thing you can find, whether it's some guy flipping you off in traffic, somebody yanking you around on a business deal -- or a relationship gone south.

"To be able to really forgive and move on is the only way. Otherwise, you carry it around, get old before your time and die bitter. I flatly refuse to do that."

So Gary pushed ahead. With his TV platform suddenly pulled out from underneath him, Gary refocused his attention on his radio career -- his 5-year-old "Sam's Place" radio concert series, and his weekly Christian-music radio countdown, broadcast on some 200 stations nationwide. Gary is also optimistic about a return to TV, with several possible shows being discussed. "All are going to be fun, and I'd do any one of them," he says.

Though his career is moving forward, Gary has lately been more concerned with welcoming his new bride to their showplace homestead. His Riverstone Farm features a 62-year-old, two- story plantation-style house, stables for his six horses, ponds for the geese, a studio for his music and an elegant log cabin for his parents.

Gary remodeled the kitchen, den and bedroom inside the main house after Amy departed. "There was something terribly therapeutic about redoing the bedroom," he exclaims. "I highly recommend it. I always wanted to move the bed so we could look up and see the stars, but I never could get it past committee. Now we can."

The scenic Harpeth River carves the rim of the property, which is a neighbor's yell away from Alan Jackson's place. "We'll borrow sugar from Alan, and sometimes he'll pull up here wanting a cup of coffee," Gary says with a smile. Deer roam the fields, which in the past would have tempted Gary to go hunting. These days he'd rather just watch the animals, although he confesses to occasionally giving them a wake-up call. "I get in my helicopter and chase them," he admits. "They're so gorgeous when they start running. They think I'm the dragonfly from hell!"

It was a much calmer Gary, though, who sat reflectively as his wedding day turned to night, his mind firmly on the new Mrs. Chapman. "It means a lot to me that she took my last name," he confides. "I don't mean that as any kind of slam at Amy at all, but it does mean a lot."

Gary, 42, and Jennifer, 31, met last year when "Prime Time Country" was shooting a bit on primates at Universal Studios in Florida. Jennifer was one of the animal trainers. A mutual attraction sparked, and they began dating.

After the couple decided to make their courtship permanent, Gary ran the nuptials by his children for approval. "It was a collective decision," he says softly. "This is such a critical time in the kids' lives that I can't imagine hooking up with somebody that they weren't pretty fired up about. And the kids are so crazy about Jen."

He casts a glance toward the swimming pool, where Jennifer has an arm around Matt in warm conversation. "They all love her so much," he says.

Tomorrow, reports Gary, he and Jennifer will be leaving for a honeymoon in Monte Carlo. "We're rednecks terrorizing the Riviera!" he laughs.

But now, he gently takes Jennifer's hand. "She's hard not to like," he says, as Jennifer looks away and blushes. "She's the kindest person I've ever met. She's really calming, too. And she's a blast!

"Jennifer's been an absolute blessing to me," he says. "She is the person responsible for the healing of my heart."

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