Meet the Newlyweds HANNAH & CURTIS EVERETT

BY CHRISTINA RUOTOLO PHOTOS BY KRIS FAY

It was the summer of 2015 in Ormondsville, just a short drive from Greenville. There was a party, music was playing and friends were gathered together. Hannah and Curtis were there with their friends enjoying the evening. Seventeenyear-old Hannah looked over and noticed 21-year-old Curtis and wondered if she should say hello but was hopeful maybe he would come up and say hello to her frst. And, like all great love stories, right on cue, a few minutes later, Curtis walked up to Hannah and introduced himself. They talked the rest of the evening, getting to know one another and were hooked. This is the beauty of love and how one night and a chance encounter can change the whole trajectory of one’s life. For Hannah, frst impressions were everything. “I remember admiring Curtis and his confdence to approach me that night,” she said. “He was funny and had me laughing after minutes of knowing him. Later that night, we also teamed up and had an absolute blast playing beer pong against other couples at the party. I knew at that moment we would make a great team together. As the night progressed, I also learned about Curtis and my brother being friends in high school and all of the mutual friends we had together. I don’t know how we didn’t meet sooner.” For Curtis, the memory centers on one thing. “My frst impression of Hannah was her smile,” he said. “It caught my eye, and her kindness made it even better.”

After their chance meeting, and the alignments of the stars, they went out for sushi at Osaka Bistro in Greenville. Hannah remembers how stressed she was driving into town to meet Curtis and worried because she did not know how to use chopsticks. “I thought he would laugh at the idea of eating sushi with a fork,” she recalled. “Turns out he was eating his sushi with a fork also, so it was meant to be. And something I will not forget is that after dinner, we spontaneously caught a movie and it turned out to be pretty decent. We watched Paper Towns.”

Their dating life was flled with adventure after adventure. One of Hannah’s favorite memories with Curtis is kayaking to Maple Cypress for the frst time together. The world was spread out before them for the taking and love was welcoming them home. During their six years dating, Hannah graduated high school, then college, and started her career teaching children as Curtis began growing his business as a machinist and welder. Hannah also worked at a local boutique, and Curtis worked at local car dealership. “I remember when we moved in together during my college years and just feeling so excited to start the next chapter,” she said. “We have been through so many phases of life just in the seven years we have been together. I have seen him learn so many new things and create some pretty cool things with his hands. I have always admired his craftsmanship and him choosing to work with his hands.”

After six years together growing in love, Curtis was ready to propose. It was July of 2021 in the middle of a worldwide pandemic when they went on a vacation to Boone with Hannah’s family. “Looking back, it was such a special vacation since her grandparents, who have both passed away now, were also on the trip with us and were able to share the celebration,” he said. “We both enjoy hiking, so I proposed at the Cascade Falls on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a very private, intimate moment. I think this contributes to us both loving the western part of North Carolina. Lots of good memories.”

After deciding to spend their lives together and getting engaged, they still had to plan a wedding alongside the uncertainty of the world, but with their love as the most certain and true thing, they started to plan and execute a personalized wedding they would both cherish for the rest of their lives. For Hannah, the best part of planning her wedding was getting to give her mother the reins, so to speak. She told her mother what vision she wanted, and her mother helped her bridal dreams become a beautiful reality. “My mother and her business partner run an event-planning business, Southern Grace Occasions, and she is responsible for all of the wedding décor,” Hannah said. “Most of the decor was either thrifted from local shops or decor my mother had already in her wedding collection. I told her my vision for the wedding was bohemian naturalistic, and after sharing a few ideas from my Pinterest board, she did not disappoint. Her talent is amazing and I would not trade the experience for anything. It brought us closer together.”

After a year of planning, on October 8, 2022, in the afternoon on a beautiful autumn day, Hannah and Curtis were married at Fontana Farms in Grimesland, a private home of a family friend, which made it more special for the couple. The miniature horses and beautiful views were stunning and added to the bohemian natural theme that Hannah was seeking. They exchanged rings, vows and kissed under the canopy of trees and nature with their family and friends all around them. Hannah wore a halo of fresh peach and pink roses and seeded eucalyptus atop her head, held a bouquet of fowers in colors of fall with eucalyptus, orange roses, daisies, Anenome bulbs, dahlias as well as thistle and Pompass grass. Hannah wore a foor-length deep v-neck gown with an ornate lace overlay, long lace train in crème with champagne underneath that added to the ethereal ambiance of the day. Bridesmaids wore dresses in deep hues of peacock blue, rustic red, sage green, marigold, and eggplant purple.

Curtis, in addition to an adoring smile, wore a deep gray suit accented with a burgundy tie and matching pocket square. He beamed with excitement as he watched his bride-to-be walk down the outdoor aisle. He kissed his bride under a handmade triangular wooden arbor adorned with waterfalls of fowers and a steady pond in front of them. There was food, cake eating, kissing under a full moon and dancing amid twinkle lights. Hannah’s favorite memory from her wedding was the frst dance because it was fnally the time she could relax and sink into the festivities of their special day. Their frst dance was to Shake the Frost by Tyler Childers. They are both big fans, and wanted that to be their “frst dance" for a long time. “I was terrifed leading up to this moment, but once we actually were dancing, it felt like everyone else disappeared and I was able to really enjoy this moment,” she said. For Curtis his favorite wedding day memory was their frst touch and frst look that occurred before the ceremony. “Doing the “frst touch” and “frst look” before the ceremony defnitely eased my nerves and it was awesome being able to see Hannah before we started the ceremony.

The evening ended with a sparkler send of against a cool fall night as Hannah and Curtis hopped in a Mystic Chrome 1999 Mustang that for Curtis held lots of sentimental memories and was his all-time favorite memory made with Hannah. “I loved when we were leaving our wedding in my Mustang and having everyone cheering us on. I have rebuilt my Mustang from the ground up so it was awesome to fnally see my hard work paid of. This was a moment I looked forward to for a long time,” he said.

For Hannah and Curtis, just as the world opens back up after a long sleepy pandemic, their love is the hot sun on a mountaintop washing over for them with the sharing of dreams already made and future hopes and dreams yet to come as they build a life together.

After their wedding, Hannah and Curtis honeymooned in their favorite place, the mountains, but this time, the mountains of Colorado. “We honeymooned in Black Hawk, Colorado. We had absolutely beautiful weather and spectacular mountain views. We spent the week hiking around Nederland, CO and exploring downtown Boulder,” Hannah said. It has only been a few months since they were married, but Hannah and Curtis are ready for the next adventure. For Hannah, the best part of marriage so far is knowing they each have someone who will stick with them no matter what through good times and bad times. For Curtis, his favorite part of marriage is going through life with his best friend every single day. As for the future, Hannah plans to stay in the education system, but hopes to earn more certifcations within the feld. Curtis is a true craftsman and hopes to have his own business within the next fve years. For those newly engaged couples planning their special day, Hannah and Curtis ofer up their advice to help make the planning process less hectic. Remember to stress less and take lots of photos. “Do not worry about making everyone happy around you. Everyone has opinions and worrying about satisfying everyone around you will only wear you down and cause unnecessary stress when this is supposed to be a happy time. Also, take pictures of everything. Pictures are priceless when certain loved ones have passed on” Hannah said.

The wedding cake top is now frozen, champagne futes and wedding dress lovingly packed away, the reception tent taken down, and the candles snufed out, but the journey for Hannah and Curtis is just beginning to bloom. There is always a new path to hike, a new memory to make, a framed photograph to cherish and adventure around every corner for these newlyweds.

Her Magazine — February 2023