Highgate Carriage House Wedding | West Virginia Wedding

I am so excited to share this gorgeous Highgate Carriage House West Virginia Wedding with you! Seriously amazing venue!

Staci and Don are the sweetest. You might remember them from their cute country engagement session. 🙂 One of her biggest worries about their wedding day was rain. And, they ended up having the most beautiful fall day.

Her parents. I LOVE.

And Don with his guys.

The guys hanging out doing what they do best.

Staci got these cufflinks for Don. Love them!

How did you meet?

We met sophomore year at WVU at a party

How did Don propose?

We rented a cabin in New River Gorge, WV for a long weekend. We went zip lining all day, came back, and I was trying to relax a little before getting ready for dinner. He was outside with the dogs and was very persistent that I come out into the yard because there was (allegedly) a baby deer out there. Don’t get me wrong, I love animals but a fawn in the woods is not going to get me to jump up off the couch and run. After about 10 minutes of this, I finally go outside to look. He then said something to the effect of “oh I forgot to tell you that I got the dogs new tags.” As I read, “will you” and “marry me” on their tags, I turned around and he was on one knee. The best part is that he recorded the whole thing!

What are you most excited about for your wedding day?

Seeing his face when we see each other for the first time. I’m excited for the wedding but I’m more excited to just start our lives together after the wedding.

They had the sweetest first look.

LOVE this.

Staci hurt her foot and has been wearing a boot for a few months…. She took it off for the day! 🙂

Staci is seriously gorgeous!

What do you love the most about your man?

That’s tough. I love how patient he is with everyone, including me.

What they love to do together:

Team trivia, binge watching shows, skiing, ice skating, Town Hill Tavern, hanging out with the pets, Pirates games, Steelers games, WVU football games, WVU basketball games (anything WVU), & country concerts.

Their gorgeous ceremony!

One of my favorite photos of the day.

Quick story to share here… I don’t want to take away from Don and Staci, but I can’t not share this amazing story.

A Resurrected Marriage.

I was chatting with Don’s dad at The Sip Station, and I don’t even know how we got on the subject. I think I might have asked how many years he and his wife had been married (left of photo below). He went on to tell me their story. It is equally heartbreaking and uplifting.

They were married… and then ended up getting a divorce. They ending up losing one of their children. The tragedy of that brought them back together, and they ended up getting REMARRIED! He said they spent about 20k to get divorced.

You are not on an island.

They’ve attended the Weekend to Remember a few times. Josh and I have been and it is amazing. But, what I loved about what he said… He said he thinks that if more married couples would talk about their marriages, their hardships… it would make a huge difference. I think there is so much truth in that. Talking about problems TOGETHER, but also in COMMUNITY. I think so often, we think we are the only ones struggling through something in marriage, when the truth is, we aren’t alone, we just feel like we are. Of course there are extreme circumstances, but generally speaking as married folks… we walk through so many of the same hardships. And, we aren’t meant to walk through them alone.

Isn’t that in part why we get married in the midst of our friends and family? They are witnesses of our vows, and are cheerleaders for our marriage. They are our support system. Let’s let them be supportive.

And their outdoor reception. Love all of their signage and their clear tent!

First Dance.

We did the majority of their photos prior to the ceremony, but snuck out for a few minutes close to sunset.

LOVED her hair! Her sister did it! She did all of the ladies hair, and is incredibly talented. Everyone looked amazing!

The Sip Station!

They had the Sip Station come for the majority of the reception. It was a hit! They served coffee beverages and snow cones. The coffee was PERFECT for a fall night!

Love their clear tent! They are common over on Kauai, but was good to see one here!