Chelsea and Matt’s Rumbling Bald Resort wedding was absolutely precious. I think the thing that stood out to us was how much that Chelsea girl is loved. Matt too, of course, but what stood out was how that even though Chelsea is an only child who has just recently lost both of her parents, she is SO loved and her friends and remaining family and godfather just stepped right up to make her feel special on her wedding day. And boy! Was she such a happy bride! To have lived through all that she and Matt have lived through (he loosing his mom as well some years back) they both had such a joy about them!
Also, can I just say that their first dance was EPIC. Shout out to Kathleen with I Do Dances and Dance Club Asheville for choreographing this awesomeness.
Another thing we loved about this wedding was how much this couple loved their pup. And I must say this dog made some funny faces!
Chelsea was a most beautiful bride. We love the fact that Chelsea’s mom helped her pick out her wedding gown before she passed away.
Flower girl details.
The “before ceremony” getting ready photos are some of our favs.
It was SUCH a bright and beautiful day!
Let the ceremony begin!
Moments like these are why we always photograph weddings as a team. Chelsea waving to her fella and him waving back. Absolutely awesome.
Chelsea was escorted by 1st her godfather and then her grandfather.
The joy and laughter at this ceremony was amazing.
Even in the face of loss.
There still can be joy.
This was a really fun wedding party!
Sometimes we just sit back and wait for the real moments to happen on their own. This is Chelsea and Matt walking to their reception together. They had no idea we were watching these beautiful moments unfold.
Onward to that DANCE!!!
It took Michael and I both to get all the moves in this dance! I love how different the images turned out based on our different perspectives.
This Chelsea bride is dearly loved. It was such a blessing to see her people rally around her. We loved capturing these moments.
We took some time at Sunset to capture these moments with Chelsea and Matt down on the beach at Rumbling Bald.
Chelsea loved her cake!! Having being a pastry chief in the past herself it was quite the compliment.
Head table sign!
Toast time! These moments with that view were priceless.
Chelsea danced with her Godfather for the father/daughter dance. It was so sweet.
And Matt danced with his aunt! Chelsea and Matt both danced with many family members throughout the evening.
This party was a lot of fun for everyone!
We interviewed Chelsea and Matt and here are their really amazing answers! Check it out.
A bit about Chelsea: Lake Lure native, Anthropology + Literature BA from UNCA, loves reading, baking, the outdoors, swimming, adventures of any kind, & “wining & dining”, attended A-B Tech’s Baking and Pastry program and pursuing baking/pastry as line of work. Only child and lost my father in Dec. 2015 and my mother in June 2018.
A bit about Matt: from Basingstoke, England, Economics + Maths BA from UNCA, incredible tennis player (received full scholarship to UNCA for tennis) and very athletic in general, loves football esp. Manchester United, loves business/finances/numbers (started his own LED business after college which he managed for 5 years), adventures of any kind, and a real thrill-seeker — loves skydiving and anything considered extreme… Has 1 brother in NC, lost his mother in Sept. 2013, father recently moved to NC to be closer to his boys.
How did you meet? I was the first American girl Matt met when he landed in Asheville 3 days prior to our first day of class as freshmen as UNCA in the game room – we played a game of pool with friends. We were also in the same class come Monday morning. I always love saying that I met my husband and my best friend/Maid of Honor on the same day…we three were always late and often straggled into class together a few minutes later than everyone else. How lucky am I?!
Describe your first date? Hard to say, we kept it so casual the first three years and often went out together with mutual friends. The first time we showed interest in each other as more than friends happened at Scandal’s night club in downtown, but we started dated officially three years later inside Charlotte Street Pub after having dinner and again playing pool in the back; both locations’ of questionable respectability which I find funny and endearing 🙂
How long have you been together? Going on 7 years now! But have been close for 10 when we met at 18.
What are your favorite hobbies and activities to do as a couple? We love going out to eat and treating ourselves to a nice meal and bottle of wine. Not hard to do in Asheville! We also love traveling and cuddling while watching tv/films.
Who popped the question and HOW? We have such a good engagement story!! Matt proposed on a trip to England. Most of our milestones have happened with my family here in the States, therefore it was important to Matt to get to get to share something with his family in England. He planned a “family day” at a beautiful estate near his family home called Tylney Hall. This was one of his mom’s favorite places in the world and as a boy, he’d often tell her that he would buy it for her one day. His entire extended family was there and it was in fact, our engagement party! Not a family-day outing as I anticipated. I had no idea it was coming. We went on a private walk around the gardens, champagne and sunshine (which is rare in England) in tow and he asked me to marry him down on one knee. We rejoined the party and had a beautiful day celebrating our engagement with family and friends. Magic!!
Why did you pick Rumbling Bald Resort? Originally, I didn’t want to get married in my own “back yard” so we toured different venues around Asheville, the coast of NC and even destination spots such as Aruba….but honestly, nothing compared to Lake Lure! And we are so so happy that we ended up choosing to get married at my home, it made it even more special.
What adjective best describes your spouse on your wedding day? Handsome and Happy!
What tangible detail of your wedding day did you love the most? (Cake, dress, special item?) I loved our cake! It was very modern and different, not the traditional white icing but gray & gold, pink, and purple. I also loved my dress! It was actually the first (though not only) dress I tried on and I fell in love…my mom helped picked out my dress but then died unfortunately before the wedding, so it was really special to me that she had gotten to see me in my dress. Our first dance was also very special.
How many guests attended the wedding? 100
What did you and your guests eat at the reception? The food Rumbling Bald provided was amazing. Buffet style with prime rib, mountain trout, and a chicken option, caprese and a green salad, cheese tortellini and more; delicious appetizers as well. Couldn’t have been more pleased here! All our guests raved about the food.
What was the flavor of your wedding cake? 3-tiered cake: Strawberry (my moms favorite flavor), Lemon (my grandfathers and my own favor flavor), and Lavender (my moms favorite scent). We also had fresh-fruit tarts (my favorite thing I learned to bake at AB Tech) and chocolate tarts for the chocolate-lovers.
What is the one of the funniest things that happened on your wedding day? Well we had a choreographed dance routine (from Kathleen at Dance Club Asheville who was amazing!) but didn’t practice hardly enough, nor did we practice the dance with our “wedding day” shoes on or a strapless dress for that matter, so during the dance, Matt’s shoes were very slick (he compared it to the episode of Friends where Chandler also slips during his own first dance at his wedding with Monica) and my dress almost came down during a dip! But we laughed it off and everyone said it was great regardless.
What was your first dance song and why did you pick it? We choose “You Took the Words Right Out of my Mouth” by Meatloaf because of Matt’s mom. Jan was a very proper English lady (well-mannered, no cussing allowed, etc.) but she absolutely LOVED Meatloaf – who is pretty flamboyant to say the least. At her funeral and at her request, she choose Meatloaf’s song “Bat Out of Hell” to be played during her funeral procession. We also love Meatloaf and our first dance was a tribute of sorts to her.
What stood out to you the most when you think of your wedding? I think just how many of our loved ones who traveled far and near to be there and support us on our “big day” – we had family and friends come from England, Spain, Sweden, France, California, Washington, New York, Florida and of course, all over North Carolina to be there for us and it meant so much that they all spent the time and money to show us their support. Everyone was so happy and you could really feel the joy and love from everyone present. It was honestly really weird having all the people you love in one place and being able to combine all our worlds was really very special.
What is on your “bucket list” to do together as a married couple? We want to travel a lot, try as many new things as we can, have children – maybe our own, maybe adoption, maybe both! – we want to have multiple homes (especially one near the beach!), and retire in the English countryside.
Shout out to these amazing wedding professionals that made this day so amazing!
Wedding coordinator – Lisa McMillian, Exquisite Events & Consulting
Venue coordinator – Paula Benson, Rumbling Bald Resort
First Dance Choreographed by: Kathleen Haun with Dance Club Asheville.
Dress Designer – Winnie Chlomin Lee
Where you purchased your dress – Winnie Couture, Charlotte, NC
Hair designer – Mia at Rumbling Bald Resort Spa & Salon
Floral designer – Emily Copus, Carolina Flowers: Farm & Florist
Cake – Mandy, 50/Fifty: The Art of Dessert
Officiant – David Bollt, Asheville Marriages
