Gabi & Corey

How did you meet?
We met through our sisters. They were friends in high school, so we knew of each other. When we were in our junior/senior year of college, he messaged me. We started talking then and haven't stopped!

Tell us about the proposal…
We were visiting Savannah, Georgia. We decided to go to Tybee Beach to check it out. We were walking down the beach when he asked!

What inspired the vision you had for your big day?
We used Pinterest a lot to help find ideas for the wedding and reception. There are so many examples there! We also looked at Etsy, Hobby Lobby, and borrowed items from family and friends.

What made you choose the Art Center as your venue?
We went to a wedding at the PAC soon after we got engaged (Curtis and Deeanna's wedding). We loved how the space looked and they decorated it so beautifully. We made an appointment with Lyndsay soon after to look at the venue and booked it!

What other vendors did you choose and can you tell us a little about your experiences?
Catering: Valley Catering. Teri had us do a taste test and was very accommodating. Her food is delicious and her staff was polite and courteous to all guests.

Florals: A Unique Flower and Gift Shop. Cheryl was so patient and kind helping me figuring out what we needed for our wedding day. She helped me pick what kind of flowers, colors, and offered some wonderful advice.

DJ: Premier Productions Entertainment. We had talked to Mike to help figure out details and what package to get for what we wanted. We had Pat for our reception. He went above and beyond to make sure our day was great. He helped us plan the reception, was attentive to our needs, and made wonderful song choices throughout the night. He kept everything running smoothly.

Photographer: TBS Photography. Tori was amazing. She makes sure you are getting photos you want and is great at directing a group of people to get the perfect photo. She showed up early and stayed late to make sure she caught all the moments we wanted captured.

Cake: Village Cakery. Cindy made a wonderful cake-as usual! She dropped it off for us and made sure it was exactly what we wanted.

What is your favorite memory of your wedding day?
Other than getting married, our favorite memory was the reception. My favorite part of a wedding is the dance floor and our guests and Pat the DJ made it a great experience. People were always dancing and having fun!

Any last bits of advice?
Your wedding day goes by quickly. Try to take it in and enjoy every moment. Afterwards, take time to rest and enjoy your new spouse!

Justin & Lacey

How did you meet?
Swiped Right

Tell us about the proposal…
We were on a family beach vacation and Justin had planned to ask Lacey on the beach before sunset. We got dressed up to go out to dinner with his family and take a walk on the beach afterwards. Justin had planned to have pictures taken in the evening as the sun was setting. He had his mom and stepbrother in on it taking videos and pictures. After a couple pictures Justin reached in his pocket, pulled out the ring and got down on one knee. Lacey’s first reaction was to kick Justin in the leg (playfully) and run the other direction without Justin even getting to say a word. After running away, she then ran back to Justin jumping and saying YES YES YES! He put the ring on her finger and gave her a big hug and they had their first kiss as an engaged couple.

What inspired the vision you had for your big day?
We wanted to do something different, local, and outdoor. We decided on Blennerhassett Island (Walnut Grove). It was a beautiful area surrounded by big walnut trees and great lighting. Even had a visit from some deer during the ceremony.

What made you choose the Art Center as your venue?
The Art Center has a great location with a large reception room. Lyndsay was great to work with and met all of our needs. She did everything she could to help make our day special.

What other vendors did you choose and can you tell us a little about your experiences?
For dinner we had Chic-Fil-A catering. Molly Henthorn photographed our special day. Premier Productions Entertainment was our MC and DJ. Village Cakery for the cake. Lynsday Biehl did all of our flower arrangements and bouquets. Bella Via for hair, and Merle Norman for makeup. Everybody was great to work with and would highly recommend every one of them!

What is your favorite memory of your wedding day?
First look, and watching the sunset as we rode the boat back to Parkersburg from the Island.

Any last bits of advice?
Take time to enjoy the day, and the memories you are making because it goes by fast.

Avery & Lydia

How did you meet?
Avery and I met at the gym haha. I was always there with my best friend and college roommate and she knew Avery because they went to high-school together.

Tell us about the proposal…
I told Avery that I really didn’t want anything super extravagant or public. I wanted an intimate proposal. We had a cookout for the Fourth of July at my parents house and both our parents and his grandparents were there. His mom started taking pictures and told us to stand by some flowers and a tree to get our picture. He totally surprised me and got down on one knee and popped the question. I was not expecting it at all and I barely remember saying yes because I was so shocked and excited. I loved having our parents and his grandparents there.

What inspired the vision you had for your big day?
We wanted to have a nice, elegant wedding but we also wanted it to be a fun gathering of all our friends and family. Luckily we were able to do both! We had all our friends and loved ones from several different states all under one roof for the whole day. And that’s exactly what we envisioned. The decor came easily because my mom, my mother in law and I are all pretty crafty. We went with a lot of twinkly lights, glass and candles. The PAC was the perfect venue for what we wanted.

What made you choose the Art Center as your venue?
The PAC was affordable and provided a unique setting that isn’t offered anywhere else around the MOV. The staff, especially Lyndsay, were so easy to work with and so helpful in getting tables, chairs, easels, etc. set up. The venue was able to hold more than enough people without feeling crowded. The building is well kept and the guests absolutely loved the cocktail hour being in the art exhibit area. It was also such a huge convenience that the church we got married in was just two blocks down the street.

What other vendors did you choose and can you tell us a little about your experiences?
Valley catering- Each guest I have spoken to post wedding has raved about the food. Eric and Terri are absolutely the best! They are so kind and hospitable. They make sure everyone is taken care of and they provide more than enough food for the number of people you have in attendance. They made sure everything was served on time, quickly, and smoothly. I cannot say enough about the catering service they provide!
Photography: Radiant mountain media… THE BEST OF THE BEST. They turn all of your photography dreams into real life. They are kind, fun, and so easy to work with. Their talent is unmatched. We absolutely adored working with them for our engagement pictures and then on our wedding day.
Cake- Sophie Miller - local girl, our neighbor, delicious cake and exactly what we wanted
Flowers - DIY
DJ- Dave Huggins… the best DJ in the MOV! One of our close friends and an amazing musician who knows how to keep a party alive

What is your favorite memory of your wedding day?
Our favorite memory of our wedding was being able to sit back midway through the evening and see all of our friends and family together having such a good time. There was not one person in the room that wasn’t up dancing for part of the night if not the whole night. It was such a happy day and we would relive it over and over again if we could.

Any last bits of advice?
ENJOY YOUR DAY. Don’t stress the small things. The little details will work out and if they don’t, no one will know but you! So enjoy the day. It’s the best day of your life.

Deeanna & Curtis

How did you meet?

We worked at Kroger together. One evening after work, he invited me to get frozen yogurt with him. The rest is history!

Tell us about the proposal…

We were visiting our favorite beach, Holden Beach, NC. One day, we were going to the beach to take some pictures. Little did I know that he was going to pop the question. We went to the pier to “take some pictures.” Then, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! His aunt from Charlotte was hiding out on the pier for hours to capture the special moment.

What inspired the vision you had for your big day?

One day, we were at Pat Catan’s looking around. I knew I loved blue and purple together so we went to the ribbon aisle and picked out the color shades that day. I’ve always loved silver (and glitter) so that was our accent color. As for the rest of the inspiration, Hobby Lobby, Pinterest, and my mother-in-law Pam helped create the vision.

What made you choose the Art Center as your venue?

The Art Center was the first venue we looked at. We knew that this would be the perfect location to have our reception. It was close to our ceremony location, the perfect size, and had beautiful interior. The staff there were very helpful and kind too! We also loved that there were different floors we could use.

What other vendors did you choose and can you tell us a little about your experiences?

Catering- Valley Catering. The food was outstanding! The staff were so accommodating and helpful throughout the entire evening. Teri was so accommodating during this pandemic. She knows how to treat her customers wonderfully!

Cake- Jenna Petry. The cake was beautiful! Even better, the cake was absolutely delicious. Jenna was very helpful in helping us decide the cake details.

DJ- DJ Associates. The DJ kept the guests entertained for hours. He was very organized and created a fun atmosphere for everyone.

Photography- Grace Wolfe Visuals. Grace was amazing as always. She was flexible and very prepared to get shots of our entire day. She captured so many special moments for us to treasure.

Hair Comes the Bride- The ladies at Hair Comes the Bride were so patient and talented. Their staff did the bride and bridesmaids’ hair and makeup. They accommodated everyone’s desires and helped us all look our best.

Crown Florals- The flowers were so beautiful. The bouquets and arrangements exceeded our expectations.

Laketree Event Rentals- Our tablecloths were rented from Laketree. Wendy helped us choose our tablecloths. She worked hard to get them to us when we needed them.

Event Designs- We rented the string lights for our reception from Event Designs. It added the perfect amount of lighting to the evening. Michelle hung the string lights. She is great to work with!  

Olive Garden- Our rehearsal dinner was catered by Olive Garden. The food was delicious as always!

What is your favorite memory of your wedding day?

There are so many special moments so it’s hard to choose one! One of our favorite memories is when everyone went outside for our “send-off.” Our family and friends lined the street with sparklers. We walked through the tunnel while they cheered and showed us their love.

Any last bits of advice?

Try to soak it all in! Your wedding day requires so much planning and it goes by SO fast. Make sure you take a minute to look around the room and truly cherish your special day and your loved ones there with you.

Joseph & Rebecca

How did you meet?
Rebecca and I met while running in a park, it turned into running dates.

Tell us about the proposal…
Rebecca was on a cruise on new year’s so we decided to have our own New Year’s Eve when she got back on January 3rd.  We had a gift from my sister, when we opened it, it was a puzzle of us from Thanksgiving.  On the Picture it said Rebecca and Joseph 2019 and that was our guide.  We spent the night watching Dick Clark’s Rockin New Year’s Eve, eating yummy apps, drinking champagne, and working on the puzzle.  About 70% into the puzzle Rebecca started questioning what the puzzle said as the letters didn’t flow with the example on the box.  She quickly realized that the writing on the Puzzle said Rebecca will you marry me? Even though she figured it out I made her finish every piece before I asked her. We are each other’s missing piece; the puzzle was a perfect representation of that during our proposal.

What inspired the vision you had for your big day?
Joseph’s Dad’s tie. Joseph’s parent, Sohiel and Jamie, got married in Syria 40 years ago. When Joseph was 7, they moved to America, packing up what little they could to build a life here. Amongst the items they brought, Soheil’s tie from their wedding. Rebecca saw this tie, looked at Joseph and said, “You will wear this tie during our wedding!” To have Joseph wear the tie his dad wore in his wedding was so special. It was having a piece of their history, their beginning, and to have made the travels from one side of the world to another made it more special. The devious of colors were picked from this tie, but the inspiration for the night as well. The two made the decision to make it a close friends and family affair, having many items throughout the wedding that were pieces brought from family members’ homes’ as well. The love and culture from both were present and radiant!

What made you choose the Art Center as your venue?
As we do not live in Parkersburg, we attended the Bennerhassett bridal show where we met Lyndsay and she helped us better understand what the Art center can offer. We had seen pictures but once we saw the venue, we loved it, and honestly Lyndsay and the staff where very accommodating and even got us the date we wanted though at the time was not available.

What other vendors did you choose and can you tell us a little about your experiences?
Picking the art center seemed to be the perfect move as we also picked Valley Catering.  Valley Catering and the Art center have a history of working together and that was an added bonus.  We also picked Premier-productions as our DJ, Lake Tree Event Rentals, and Village Cakery.  The best thing about those vendors is that they all worked together in the past have a good work ethic. The only thing on their agenda was US, and what we wanted at our wedding. They were very patient with us through the pandemic and all the anxiousness of planning our wedding from 5 hours away, and we could not appreciate them more.

We picked Withthelingerhunts as our Photographers and Kaleb Graham as our videographer – All of our vendors where amazing and made our day special.

What is your favorite memory of your wedding day?
When talking about this question Joseph and I had the exact same response. After walking down the aisle, the moment Joseph and I got to take each other’s hand. I looked at Joseph with a huge smile, covered with a mask, and said,” Hi!” At that moment everything else stopped, it was just us two finally joining together as one!

Any last bits of advice?
Take 5 minutes during the reception, just the two of you sitting at your table or standing it the back. Look around the room at all of those celebrating YOUR LOVE, and take it all in. It is a beautiful event, but such a beautiful moment when you realize all the fun your guests are having celebrating the love you share for each other. Two hearts becoming one.

Madison & Cody

Madison and Cody were married July 20, 2019

How did you meet?

We met through our female mutual friend. The friend ended up being a groom’s lady on Cody's side.

Tell us about the proposal…

It was supposed to be a Christmas proposal. My ring ended up not getting here in time. Cody apologized and told me my main gift was on its way. He didn't tell me what it was though. A week later, after I kept asking, whether or not my gift was here. He surprised me with it. It was unplanned and in our living room, but it was perfect.

What inspired the vision you had for your big day?

My wedding was art themed. I am an art teacher, so the museum was the perfect space for my big day. "I feel there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people" Vincent Van Gogh

What made you choose the Art Center as your venue?

The second I walked in the door I looked at Cody and told him that I was getting married here. It was all around the perfect venue.

What other vendors did you choose and can you tell us a little about your experiences?

We did most of the wedding ourselves. My mom catered the food. I made all the decorations, and florals. Family friends Dj'ed and bar-tended. However, we did hire Vironica Horst, owner of Small moments photography and she is absolutely brilliant.

What is your favorite memory of your wedding day?

Me and my Husband's first look. It was incredibly emotional for both of us.

Any last bits of advice?

Enjoy the day. Take time to eat and dance, and don't sweat every small detail