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Flower girl and ring bearer walk down same aisle 17 years later as bride and groom

"It's pretty crazy that I married my crush from daycare and he's just as cute now as he was then!"
/ Source: TODAY

Brooke and Adrian Franklin's recent walk down the aisle was different than it was 17 years ago, when they were the flower girl and ring bearer in a family friend's wedding.

The couple met at daycare in Gastonia, North Carolina, and belonged to the same church — South Gastonia Church of God, which ended up being the church they got married in on Sept. 19.

Brooke and Adrian Franklin, flower girl and ring bearer at a wedding 17 years ago, got married in September 2015
Courtesy of Brooke Franklin

While Brooke, 22, thought Adrian, 21, was the "only boy in the whole world," Adrian didn't want anything to do with her.

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"I didn't care too much for Brooke," Adrian told TODAY.com. "I was shy and she was outgoing and rambunctious. When they told me I had to walk down the aisle with her, I wasn't about that."

While Adrian couldn't wait for the wedding to be over, Brooke was thrilled to be able to walk with him.

Brooke and Adrian Franklin, flower girl and ring bearer at a wedding 17 years ago, got married in September 2015
Courtesy of Brooke Franklin

"I had a major crush," Brooke told TODAY.com. "I always tried to play with him at school and sit next to him at church. I was just mesmerized by him."

The couple ended up attending the same school together up until third grade, when Brooke's family moved to South Carolina. They briefly saw each other at a religious event in middle school, which is when Adrian's feelings toward Brooke started to change.

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They remained in the back of each other's minds, but it wasn't until August 2011 — when Brooke attended a service at her childhood church, where Adrian is now a minister — that they reconnected for good.

"Her outgoing personality used to annoy me and now it's one of my favorite things about her," Adrian said.

Brooke and Adrian Franklin, flower girl and ring bearer at a wedding 17 years ago, got married in September 2015
Courtesy of Brooke Franklin

About 300 people gathered in the South Gastonia Church of God, including the bride from the 1998 wedding, who gave the couple photos a month before, which were blown up and put on display at the wedding.

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"It's pretty crazy that I married my crush from daycare," Brooke said. "And he's just as cute now as he was then!"

Brooke and Adrian Franklin, flower girl and ring bearer at a wedding 17 years ago, got married in September 2015
Courtesy of Brooke Franklin