Alexis and Ryan got married on May 20, 2017
How did you meet?
Oh, this is a funny one! When I went to WVU I joined this Facebook group called "WVU Textbooks Free and For Sale". So, people would post their books for sale or books they were in need of on the page. I posted in July 2017 that I was looking for a Psychology 241 book. I received a message from Ryan saying he had the book. We exchanged numbers, and I said I would get a hold of him when I returned to Morgantown in August. As a 20-year-old girl, I didn't quite leave it at that. I checked out his only public social media which was Twitter. I thought he was pretty cute, so I found his Instagram and followed him. We texted a little bit back and forth throughout the summer and decided we would meet up that first week of class. After going to my first day of class, I realized it was the wrong book. I let him know, but he asked me to lunch anyways. The rest is history! ❤
Tell us about the proposal…
On one of our first few dates, Ryan took me to the prettiest little pond out near Cooper's Rock. We spent the entire evening fishing and just enjoying the fall weather. I told Ryan that is where I just "knew" he was the one. Fast forward two and a half years later to February of 2016, and that is where he dropped down to one knee!
What inspired the vision you had for your big day?
I have always loved every shade of pink and anything that sparkles. I knew I wanted my wedding day to be no different! This is how I chose it to be bright and full of color with the perfect amount of glam.
What made you choose the Art Center as your venue?
My parents actually went to a reception at the Art Center a year before we got married. When I saw the pictures from their reception, I knew that is where we wanted to have ours. I love that there are different floors. We loved using the first floor during our cocktail hour while we got pictures taken. This gave our guests time to socialize while looking at local art since so many of our guests were from out of town. I personally loved the neutral colors upstairs. This allows for any color scheme to flow perfectly into the space. I also loved the wood floors for the dance floor and DJ space. One of my favorite touches is the "hidden" side entrance so our bridal party (and us!) could have a fun introduction. I wish we could re-live our reception over and over!
What other vendors did you choose and can you tell us a little about your experiences?
I can't say enough about ALL of the vendors we chose. They made our wedding day a breeze which is what every bride dreams of.
First Lutheran Church - It was extremely important to me that my husband and I got married in this church. This is where my dad grew up going to church and is where my grandparents still went to church. All of my cousins got married there, and I knew I wanted to as well. Pastor Ian Reid was so great to work with. He and Pastor Julius Lewis performed our ceremony. They made our guests feel welcome. They knew we wanted them to feel the presence of God and also share about our relationship. Who couldn't feel the holiness and sacredness of the Lord in a church with such a beautiful cross placed in the center of the church. We loved how regal and elegant the stained glass makes the church look. We got to meet with the organist to pick out the songs for every part of our ceremony. Many churches don't let you decorate too much, but First Lutheran let us add floral arrangements where needed. They also provided us with the candelabras and lit them prior to our wedding. This gave the wedding such an intimate feeling which was exactly what we wanted for us and our families/friends. Our ceremony was so important to us, and it was exactly how we wanted it to be.
J&J On The Avenue - I know that the beautiful and gifted Julie Morgan recently closed her successful business, but she and Beth were phenomenal. I had gotten every prom dress from J&J's and knew I had to get my wedding dress from there as well. After trying on a few dresses I really wasn't crazy about, Beth messaged me and said "I found your dress". And she was dead on! This dress was head to toe jewels and gems - which they knew was exactly what I wanted. It was like Christina Wu specifically made this gown for me, and I am so thankful J&J's ordered it just for me! Not only did they spoil me, but they also spoiled my mom, grandma, bridesmaids, and flower girl. They catered to my every request and helped me pick out the perfect gowns for each of these special women. What was above and beyond is that they allowed my bridal party to get ready in their shop the day of my wedding. Julie went out and got us all specially ordered drinks from Starbucks and Timbits. Beth zipped me up in my dress and made sure I looked perfect. I really don't know what I would have done without them!
Callie Lindsey Photography - Callie was AMAZING. She had such fun ideas, and she also let me send her all of my Pinterest ideas as well. Thank goodness she is patient because I sent her text after text of all of the things I wanted to be captured. She sent us an itenerary that we were able to send to our bridal party so everyone knew exactly where to be at what time. This was also important to provide to our other vendors so they could plan accordingly and all be on the same page. This was perfect because she and her assistant didn't miss a moment. I loved the previews Callie sent us the next day. They captured beautiful pictures of us, our friends, and our families which is something we will treasure for a lifetime. The best word to describe Callie is genuine. She takes such an honest interest in her couples and the details of their wedding day.
The RC Saylors Videography - Where do I even begin with Nate and Abby??? For some reason our wedding videography just kept getting put on the back-burner. On May 17 (mind you we got married on May 20) my mom and I were going through all of the "big" things we wanted to make sure we had. It was about 10:00 at night when we realized we had forgotten a videographer. I knew Callie Lindsey was the best in the photography business, so I reached out to her to see if she knew anyone in videography. She had a friend that got a hold of Nate and Abby. On May 18th we had a contract signed with them. My husband hit it off with Nate and thought the drones were an awesome touch. I felt like we had been planning with them the whole time because they made our day go so smoothly. We couldn't have asked for better people to capture the live footage of our wedding day. Our wedding video and uncut footage is something we will treasure forever.
Parkersburg Art Center - Without the PAC my dream wedding wouldn't have felt complete. I absolutely LOVE that there are 3 floors that can be utilized. The downstairs area was perfect for our cocktail hour while we were getting pictures done. It was nice that our guests could take a look at the local art and walk around instead of just sitting and waiting. We didn't use the second floor too much, but it was nice to have that option if we chose to. My favorite part was the ballroom by far. I love the neutral tones of the upstairs so it can work with any color scheme. I loved working with Lyndsay because she was able to give me ideas of how to set up the tables for our guests and also where to set up food/drinks. The best part of the ballroom is the "hidden" entrance. It was fun for our bridal party and us to sneak in during our introductions. We had so much fun with this feature. My other favorite part is the dance floor! And wow, did our guests love it too. The Art Center is a dream reception hall and every person there was amazing to work with.
Crown Florals - These people are the best in the business. They not only did all of our floral pieces, but they also did all of the decor for the reception. When I went in with my original idea of soft pink and gold, I got to play around with some of the looks. I wasn't completely "sold" on the color scheme. So, Michelle had me come back again and just play around with colors to figure out exactly what I wanted. I ended up with some sparkle, hot pink, and deep purple. If you know me, this is ME. I loved that I got to see my reception vision in person long before our wedding day so I could make adjustments as needed to get exactly the look I wanted. When I finally got to see it all put together with the candles lit, it took my breath away. It was everything I had dreamed of since I was a little girl right in front of me.
Premier Productions - We worked with Mike from Premier. I loved meeting with him and discussing our dream wedding multiple times before the big day. Premier has everything down to a "science". They know exactly what they're doing and have it timed perfectly. Our reception ran smoothly and was so much fun. Mike knows how to get your guests up off their feet and to the dance floor. Our guests had so much fun we actually had to pay him to stay an extra hour! He really was the finishing touch that was able to pull our entire reception together.
Theo's Restaurant - Theo's catered the exact kind of food I was hoping to have for our wedding. I am not a "fancy" type of food girl. I wanted food at our reception people would actually enjoy. We got to go to their restaurant in Cambridge, OH and taste all kinds of food. This was important to us because we wanted to like the food as well. We also had an idea of what our guests would enjoy. So, this taste testing made it a weight off of our shoulders. We also got to try food we probably wouldn't have chosen. For instance, I do not like stuffing but was told the stuffing stuffed chicken was a top choice. I would have never picked this if I hadn't tasted it. We went with ham, chicken, green beans, baby potatoes, and rolls. Wendy packaged everything that was left so our familie could eat it later. It was nice to know we didn't waste any money on food that was leftover! Something unique to Theo's is that they offer the bride and groom a special meal of their own to take with them after the reception. They know how busy the day is and that often times brides and grooms don't get to eat. So they made special to-go boxes just for us that we enjoyed once we got to our hotel room which we devoured! Our cocktail hour was more of an appetizer hour with fruit, vegetables, and cheese with crackers. Our guests enjoyed this before the reception got started. My favorite part of Theo's is their presentation of the food. It exceeded any and all expectations I could have ever had. I sent Wendy an email of the colors I chose and how our reception would have some glam. They brought the most beautiful and elegant decorations to make their food tables look beautiful. There wasn't an inch of the tables that didn't match our reception theme. I couldn't have asked for nicer people, better food, or a prettier presentation.
Village Cakery - I am a big fan of wedding cake. I look forward to it more than the food at receptions. I was so excited for our taste testing. We tasted all kinds of flavors, but we ended up going with the traditional chocolate and vanilla. I really had no idea what I wanted as far as the style of the cake. Cindy was very helpful and worked with me as I went through countless Pinterest pictures. We ended up finding something that fit our reception perfectly - elegant with some sparkle. The piping was so beautiful. Cindy suggested for the sparkle that we add a wedding belt with some bling to it. This added such a beautiful touch! We also added some live flowers to the different tiers and the top. We were afraid the cake wouldn't be enough for our guests, so we added on cupcakes too. We didn't have much left! That is how you know it is delicious. The best part of the wedding cake was how delicious our top tier was a year later on our anniversary! I was shocked a cake could taste that good after being frozen for a year.
Tonya Winebrenner Makeup - If you need someone to make you the most beautiful version of yourself, Tonya is your girl. I don't really know makeup terminology, let alone bridal makeup. Tonya somehow took my poor explanation of what I wanted to look like and exceeded any of my expectations. I wanted to look glamorous, but I also wanted my natural beauty to be evident. My makeup honestly looked as perfect as it did at the end of my reception as it did the minute she put it on. She was extremely professional, and my mom and me looked flawless (not to toot my own horn, of course!).
Janet Parsons - Janet has been my hairdresser for as long as I can remember. I knew I couldn't get married without her fixing me up. Again, she took my poor explanation of what I wanted and just worked her magic. I showed her a few Pinterest pictures and said I wanted something similar, and she fixed me right up. Janet has a heart of gold and always makes everyone feel beautiful.
What is your favorite memory of your wedding day?
My favorite memory of our wedding day is when the doors opened up in the church, and I saw Ryan for the first time standing at the altar. It was such an overwhelming feeling. After knowing Ryan for one month, I knew I wanted to marry him. Three and a half years later that dream came true. To see him smiling back at me was just a flood of emotions. I was so excited this day was finally here and that all of our closest friends and family members were there to witness our marriage. Every step closer to him eased my nervousness and filled me more with joy.
Any last bits of advice?
Don't sweat the small stuff. When centerpiece arrangements seem stressful, seating charts feel impossible, and music selections seem overwhelming, remember exactly how much you couldn't wait for this day to come. None of that should overcome the joy of marrying your best friend. Most importantly, remember to enjoy your day. Try to remember it as much as possible and take your time to enjoy each moment.