Prior to their sweet backyard wedding, Abbey and Anthony’s love story began at WVU in a classic tale of fraternity boy meets sorority girl. Years of dating eventually led to a proposal on the Mt. Washington overlook – a traditional spot to propose for some members of Abbey’s family. But that particular family tradition wasn’t the only thing that inspired the couple and their wedding day. After looking through family photos of weddings past, Abbey was inspired by the timeless nature of the images, which led her to choose a palette of black and white with touches of gold. From there, almost every detail of the day was infused with a personal touch, including a voluminous bouquet from Blossoms by Jilliann that incorporated both Anthony’s fraternity flower and ivy leaves, which were Abbey’s sorority flower. The bride wore multiple accessories that held special meaning, including earrings from her late grandfather, a ring and a necklace from both her grandmothers, and her mom’s very own veil (with the original rips still in it!). With family clearly meaning everything to them, Abbey and Anthony found it hard to condense their original guest list of 300 to 25 because of the pandemic. However, they were honored to have their close family and friends by their side, with each person playing a role in their ceremony. Post nuptials, it was off to celebrate in Abbey’s parents’ backyard! They dressed up an outdoor space with gold chiavari chairs, fresh foliage, and plush draping from Illume Lighting + Event Design. The intimacy was perfect for the family-focused day and it all was captured through the eyes of Michael Will Photography in such a heartfelt way!
About the Couple
We met at WVU through Greek life and mutual friends. Anthony was a Phi Kappa Psi and I was an Alpha Phi. Over the next two years, we became close friends and began dating the summer of 2014.
We got engaged after a romantic dinner at Morton’s on December 23, 2018. We rode the Incline to the top and he proposed at the overlook. My parents and brother/SIL were engaged on Mt. Washington, so it has become somewhat of a family tradition! He had the ring for a full year and decided to ask my dad for permission the morning of proposal while I was working.
About the Wedding
The look and theme was timeless and elegant. I wanted everything to be traditional yet original. The colors were black and white with a touch of gold. The inspiration came from looking at family photos and loving the timeless feel of weddings. Love is never ending!
Every decision had a reason. We were married at St. Paul’s Cathedral for two reasons. First, my maternal grandfather was named Paul. Secondly, Anthony converted to Catholicism and the priest who married us was the priest who assisted Anthony in the process of converting. I wore many family pieces. My garter was her paternal grandmother’s. The veil was my mother’s (rip and all still in it). The earrings were a gift from my paternal grandfather shortly before he passed away. The blue ring was my maternal grandmother’s. There was a hidden Polish bible for my maternal grandfather. My bouquet had a red rose, the groom’s fraternity flower, and ivy leaves, my sorority’s flower. The necklace was a gift from my father to my mother. The purse was my mother’s. The bracelet was a gift from Anthony to match my wedding band with blue sapphires in it.
Family means everything to us, but we changed our guest list from 300 to 25 so our family could observe our marriage without the worry of COVID. Our bridal party consisted of only our siblings and our roommates that watched our entire relationship change from college to adulthood. Each family member played a role in the ceremony. A sibling’s girlfriend sang, another sibling’s girlfriend read the readings, another sibling’s boyfriend live streamed the wedding for friends and family. It was perfect and traditional while still celebrating modern love and marriage.
Favorite Moment
The entire day was my favorite. But if I have to pinpoint a few, there were three. First was when my roommate told me to sit down because she had slipped out of the hotel room to get the gift from my almost husband. Anthony had surprised me with the best wedding gift and biggest surprise (my bracelet!).
My second favorite was when I was close enough to see his face as I walked down the aisle (because the aisle is long!) and I knew he was my forever best friend. I couldn’t stop grinning! It was the best taking in the moments walking towards him as we started the next chapter in our life.
My third favorite moment was when we took the flowers over to Mother Theresa during Ave Maria. It was a beautiful moment together when we prayed next to each other. I could have stayed there forever. We were officially married and I knew it was only the beginning of a beautiful life together.
A funny final moment of the night was when we left my purse in Oakland and went back at 10 p.m. My husband ran across the road to my purse – still outside the church with nothing missing! He ran back to me like Rocky!
