I was having a conversation with my 8 year old son. He said, “Mom, would you rather it not rain?” And I said, “I would rather it only rain at night.” He replied, “But mom, then there wouldn’t be any rainbows.” And I learned a life lesson that day.
Morgan and Bryan had no idea that their wedding at Vineyards at Betty Creek was going to be quiet different than expected. We all knew it was going to rain, but we had no idea the storm would literally stall over us and it would absolutely pour the rain for over an hour.
There really are only two ways to handle this situation. Freak out or roll with it. Freaking out isn’t the answer because there was nothing anyone could do about it. I am so so proud of Morgan and Bryan for just rolling with it. I truly believe they were rewarded with a rainbow and gorgeous clouds.
So let Morgan and Bryan be your teacher. Roll with it y’all. Rainbows don’t happen without the rain.
Shout out to these professionals that made this day amazing:
Wedding coordinator – Events by Kiersa (Kiersa and Jenn)
Venue coordinator – Tracy Masterson
Dress Designer – Justin Alexander
Where you purchased your dress – Liliana Bridal House, Lakewood, OH
Makeup and Hair artists – Fab Flawless
Floral designer – Sweet Stems
Caterer – Cielo
DJ or Band – Sam Irvin Music
Officiant – Lexy Bader (personal friend)
Cake designer – Karen Donatelli
Rental company – Professional Party Rentals
Now let’s hear a little bit more from the couple and their thoughts on their big day…
A bit about Bryan (Written by Morgan): Bryan is a brilliant, handsome, and hilarious anesthesiology resident, outdoor enthusiast, father to an adorable 5 year old boy, and now husband. He grew up in Massachusetts, spent his college years in Michigan, and moved to Cleveland for medical school and residency. In his free time, he likes to jump over rocks with his bike, ski down (or up) montains, learn about obscure (yet somehow useful) topics, and hang out with his wife and son.
A bit about Morgan (written by Bryan): Morgan is a North Carolina native who grew up near Raleigh and returned for medical school in Winston-Salem. She loves the mountains, the wild spaces, and the outdoors in general and can be found hiking or running marathons in the summer and being the first one down a new untracked skiing line in the winter. She cares deeply about her husband and her stepson, she thinks of everything, and she always finds the best way for everyone involved. She enjoys time spent in the kitchen with her family, working together to concoct some new recipe to be eaten over the stove. When practicing medicine, she sees the big picture and reacts confidently in a crisis, while staying humble and down to earth. She loves her cats as if they were dogs. She loves chocolate. She is completely gorgeous.
How did you meet? We met during residency during the pandemic. At the end of each week, we would celebrate making it through one more week – and we continue this tradition today!
Describe your first date? We were friends before we dated, so it is hard to pinpoint an exact first date. One that sticks out to us was a Thai food picnic with a bottle of red wine at a nearby castle.
How long have you been together? 3.5 years
What are your favorite hobbies and activities to do as a couple? We love to be outdoors! During the winter, we spend most of our free time skiing when we can. We also love to hike, run, bike, mountain bike, cook, drink coffee, drink wine, and goof around with our 5 year old.
Who popped the question and HOW? Bryan did! We were skiing in Vermont. It was the end of the day and the lifts had closed, so we were some of the only people left on the mountain. While skiing through the trees, Bryan pretended to fall. Morgan came around the tree, asked if he was hurt, and then he pulled out the ring! He had been trying to find a good time all day but Morgan was hungry (hangry) early in the day so he had to find a brownie to feed her before he could ask.
Why did you pick Asheville and your venue? We love the mountains. Morgan is from NC (Raleigh) and went to medical school in Winston-Salem so she has spent several weekends in the Blue Ridge. One of our first trips together involved hiking Mt. Mitchell, so the NC mountains seemed like the natural choice. We chose The Vineyard’s at Betty’s Creek because it is a beautiful venue, has amazing views, and served as our home-base for the whole wedding weekend.
What tangible detail of your wedding day did you love the most? (Cake, dress, special item?) The food! Also our rings. They are all about 100 years old and we had fun picking them out together.
How many guests attended the wedding? 52
What did you and your guests eat at the reception? Our reception was catered by Cielo. We wanted our reception to feel like an intimate dinner party, so we had a Mediterranean-inspired family-style meal. We had lentil salad, marinated tomatoes, smoked eggplant, roasted potatoes, trout, and leg of lamb. The chef had original takes on all of the dishes so describing them just doesn’t do it justice. We got SO many compliments on the food and wish Cielo could cater all of our meals!
What was the flavor of your wedding cake? We had a base of chocolate mocha and an upper tier of carrot cake from Karen Donatelli. She had so many amazing flavors so we also added a small apple spice cake on the side.
What is the one of the funniest things that happened on your wedding day? Looking back, probably the crazy rain storm. All of the weather forecasts suggested the storm would pass over before our ceremony but then it stalled right over our venue. At one point, just as we thought it was clearing, there was a bolt of lightning that seemed to hit a few feet from where Morgan was getting ready and a simultaneous roaring clap of thunder. Bryan and Morgan were not together but both remember that moment clearly and the following text to finally say we had to move the ceremony indoors (we were so hopeful for so long!).
What was your first dance song and why did you pick it? “Love Song” by The Cure. This is a song we often played late at night early in our relationship on our way from a full day of skiing or hiking. The song means a lot to us not just because of the song itself, but because it brings us back to those early road trips together where we talked for hours and built our relationship.
Bryan also suggested we dance the Charleston to “Party Train.” There simply was not enough time for us to learn the Charleston so we chose Love Song and went into the first dance completely unpracticed.
What stood out to you the most when you think of your wedding? Our goal for the wedding was to bring our closest friends and family together so they could get to know each other and develop community. We felt like we were able to accomplish this and loved hearing our friends and family tell us how much they enjoyed meeting someone new.
What is on your “bucket list” to do together as a married couple? We actually have a physical list that we started in our first few months of dating. We’ll spare you the long list but highlights include building a house with our own hands, visiting all of the national parks, and skiing in the Swiss Alps.
