Love is not canceled.
So when Heather and David asked us to shoot their outdoor wedding from a safe social distance, we agreed.
Heather and David were originally planning a huge Biltmore estate wedding with 12 bridesmaids and 12 groomsmen in April. Thanks to Covid, their wedding plans HAD to change.
The decision was made to change the location to David’s parent’s home on Lake Keowee. Immediate family only on land and all other guests viewing from boats!
In Heather’s words… “We were ready to be married, move on with our lives as a married couple and we’re ready to start a family. We respect people who postponed, but for us we were married to our date and the “big party” became not as important. Our perspective changed everything.”
The day was absolutely stunning and we had PERFECT weather.
Guests pulled up to the dock to collect their boxed dinners, drinks, and cupcakes before the ceremony.
The cake’s view.
We were so happy to see that many of the guests dressed up for the occasion and even brought binoculars!
“Air elbow bump” from 6 feet away.
Tiger king fans? Just kidding. They are Clemson Tiger fans of course!
Heather’s awesome sister was such a great help! Shout out to Heartwarmers for the gorgeous flowers!
First look love.
One of our favorite moments of the day was when they read letters to each other.
Their baby, “Banks” is such a good dog! He was so happy to join in the fun.
That sunlight and those blooms made a great setting for a gorgeous couple!
David was so glad his grandmother was able to attend the wedding. She stayed near the house with Aunt Lanie. She was all smiles the whole day.
The moms.
Here comes Banks and the bride!
Cheers and boat horns to honor the newly married couple!
First dance was next to the water so the guests could be a part of it.
This awesome lady recorded the whole wedding on Facebook Live so all the friends and family who couldn’t be there in person could share in the joy!
The toast, like the ceremony, was projected via speakers. These moments are priceless.
Sometimes the most unplanned moments are some of the best. Heather and David’s guests did a little “boat parade” to congratulate the couple!
To be out on a boat at sunset with this couple was gold.
Not today Corona virus!
This girl is SUCH a gem. She was so much fun to be around and oh my! SO gorgeous.
And to top off the evening, fireworks for everyone to enjoy.
Now, enough from us. Here is a bit more from Heather and David!
A bit about Heather: I am 34. I was born and raised in Texas but went to high school in Asheville. I went to Clemson for college and moved to Atlanta after college to work as a pediatric nurse at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for 11+ years in a very specialized ICU. I then moved to Seneca SC in 2016 to be with David but traveled for to ATL for 4 years to work. I eventually resigned from that job in Dec 2019. Now I primarily focus on my Rodan+Fields skincare business. I hope to work in the nursing field again soon now that the wedding is over, but I haven’t figured exactly what direction I want to go yet. I am the outgoing, social type. I am also OCD and Type A. I am obsessed with wine- especially red wine and rose. My bachelorette party (that was cancelled) was going to be in Napa and it was going to be “Rose all day” themed. I love my small family and love being around my friends. Thought I’d end up in a big city with a “city type” guy and never would have thought I’d be living in a small town and marrying a “small town” type of guy. But I love my life in Seneca and am excited to raise a family here.
A bit about David: He is 32. Born and raised in Seneca SC. Went to Clemson for college, so he has never lived anywhere else. He works for his dad’s company Boutyland- which is a convenience store business associated with Exxon gas stations. He is also a realtor on the side. He is more of a home body and prefers a simple life. He is happy with the same restaurants, the same activities, etc. He loves country music, but he also knows every word to every rap song there is.
We compliment each other perfectly. I get David to do things he wouldn’t normally do and try to get him out of his comfort zone and travel. David helps me appreciate the small things in life, like enjoying a night in watching a movie. Everyone teased us for how long we had been dating. All of our friends had been through several relationships, got married and are on their 3rd child while we’ve been dating. I’ve wanted to be married since year 1 so it’s been a long wait. Once David decided he was ready, his whole demeanor changed. It was like a weight lifted off of him and he was SO ready. We didn’t want to postpone because there was no guarantee of when this will be over.
Off note – we had a tornado come through Seneca 5 days before our wedding that destroyed our town. It didn’t touch our house, but it destroyed a lot of neighborhood and a lot of our town. We were out of power until 10:30pm the night before our wedding. We were running our fridge off a generator and that’s it. Thankfully it came back on so we could get ready in the light on Saturday 🙂
How did you meet? Sept 4th at a friend’s condo after tailgating all day at the first Clemson game in 2011.
Describe your first date? I’m not sure what our official first date was, but the weekend I met him I ended up staying in Clemson all Labor Day weekend to hang out with him. I left on Monday and called my parents and told them “I think I’m in love. I think I met my husband this weekend.” The next weekend I came to stay with him (he lived at his parents’ house) and so I met his family immediately. I fell in love with them immediately too.
How long have you been together? 8.5 years
What are your favorite hobbies and activities to do as a couple? Run and play with our dog Banks, work out, watch Netflix and drink red wine in bed, go on Lake Keowee, go to dinner, go to Clemson games, and go on trips.
Who popped the question and HOW? David did. We became official in Cashiers, NC and so we have celebrated a lot of our anniversaries up there. There is a beautiful look out spot on the way up the mountain that I annoyingly always make him stop (on the way up and on the way down) to get out and take a photo of us. He made up a lie that his friend got him on Mountain Top (a prestige golf course) at the last minute on a Friday so he said to pack a bag real quick. He said the girls were going to go to a spa while the men played golf the next day. I didn’t have a spray tan (which I got every Friday which means I really didn’t know) and wore an oversized sweater in the car. I worked my R+F business all the way up the mountain so I didn’t say a word to him. When we got to the lookout spot he knew I would ask to stop so he pulled over. He got Banks out of the car and after taking our usually selfie he got down on one knee and asked me by saying “Will you be Banks’ forever mom?” I originally responded with “omg are you serious??” repeatedly because I never thought the day would come. After I said yes, his brother Greyson and his girlfriend Carissa jumped out of a car with champagne. They were hiding in the backseat taking photos and videoing it. Then we continued our way up to the cabins in Cashiers where my parents, his parents, my sister and her wife were. They had decorated the whole cabin in engagement decorations. We went to dinner at the restaurant David and I became “official” in 2011. It was so fun!!
Why did you pick Asheville and Seneca SC: We originally picked Asheville because that is where I call home. Since I was 15, I thought it would be a gorgeous place to get married. As soon as we saw the Diana venue we were sold. The view of the Biltmore House and mountains was stunning. We picked Seneca, SC as a backup because the Biltmore Estate cancelled our wedding due to the corona virus. Due to the crowd restrictions and the closings of hotels, we were worried to still get married in Asheville. Our plan B was to get married at our neighborhood country club with our wedding party only – which was going to exclude our extended family. But then the corona virus restrictions got stricter so that was cancelled. At that point we wanted to plan something that couldn’t be cancelled no matter what, but that would still be special to us so we decided to get married in David’s parents backyard overlooking our 2 favorite things- Lake Keowee and the mountains. It was a way to incorporate Asheville in some way and also the lake we love and the place we spent our first weekend together. Also it was the only way we could include some of our family and friends and keep social distancing. We had drinks and boxed to-go meals on the dock. People came by and served themselves. Our local bridesmaids and groomsmen came by in boats dressed up in their formal bridesmaid dresses and tuxedos/Brackish bow ties (which were the groomsmen gift). Only immediate family were on land. We separated the 2 families. My sister who is a ED NP got tested (and came back negative) so that she could come and feel comfortable. David’s sister’s family who live in Cali came 15 days prior to the wedding so they could self quarantine before the wedding day. Everyone was safe.
What adjective best describes your spouse on your wedding day? Happy
What tangible detail of your wedding day did you love the most? My dress. I custom designed the top half myself with the help of Kelly at White Magnolia in Atlanta— Gizelle James was the designer who actually recreated it.
What did you and your guests eat at the reception? We were originally supposed to have passed canapés, salad, crab cakes, Filet Mignon with a lobster tail, and a huge cake. We ended up doing 3 boxed to-go meal options (fried chicken sliders and beef tenderloin sliders with potato salad and fruit cup and grilled cheese for the kids.) Thanks Renee Hunt! We also served individual wrapped cupcakes from our local Walnut Bakery
What was the flavor of your wedding cake? Honey Lavender and carrot cake; grooms cake was cookies and cream; cupcakes for the guests were assorted flavors.
What is the one of the funniest things that happened on your wedding day? I had to put a trash bag over my head in order to get my dress on so that I didn’t get makeup on my dress.
What was your first dance song and why did you pick it? la Vie En Rose – Louis Armstrong because I’ve always thought from a little girl that was the most romantic song every written. Also, it means “life through rose colored glasses” and our wedding was grey and rose gold themed.
What stood out to you the most when you think of your wedding? How different and unique it was. I had always said “what could I possibly do to make our wedding stick out/be different than the 500 we’ve been to??” — God sure does have a good sense of humor because our was very different. We live streamed it so that all of friends and family could safely watch from home. Also, the capacity was very strict at the Biltmore so it was very hard making the wedding list. It was the first time our families had fought actually. In the end we got to invite ALL of the people both sides wanted so it ended up working out in our favor.
What is on your “bucket list” to do together as a married couple? Go on our honeymoon to Jamaica- it’s been cancelled twice already and we are hoping to go in June if they re-open by then. We have an over-water bungalow with 24-7 butler service for a week. It’s all inclusive. My bucket list was to go to Maldives but David hates flying (like he gets antsy and uncomfortable, not scared) so he didn’t want to make the 24 hour in the air flight there so our compromise was this so that I could get my bucket list experience but it was closer to the US. Also, we want to start a family soon 🙂
