Ethereal Gothic

by Sophia Lyons

AlthoughAspen and Michael described their ceremony as a bit like the wedding scene from the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, where a downpour interrupts the vows, the rain couldn’t dampen their radiant smiles. Their “woodland Viking gothic” theme was classy and trendy for an outdoor September wedding.

The couple met on Tinder while Aspen was in college at Wake Forest University, majoring in biology. Their first date was just supposed to be for lunch at her place, then it turned into an all-day thing.

“The rest is history,” Aspen said.

They both grew up in North Carolina, Aspen from around Charlotte and Michael from Wilson. In their daily lives, she’s a wildlife guide and he drives for FedEx.

In July 2021, they got engaged at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, where Aspen is a guide. She and Michael planned to hike with a friend in an area where lots of bears were known to inhabit.

“I was telling them how to be safe when hiking around bears when I came around the corner of the car and he was down on one knee,” she said, laughing.

After that, they knew they wanted to be married in the fall, eventually deciding on September, and choosing a venue was a priority; because Covid-19 meant many couples had to postpone their wedding or reception plans, the couple was clamoring for a venue during a popular time for mountain weddings plus the influx of additional couples who were comfortable celebrating their weddings as pandemic guidelines had loosened. They ended up choosing Overlook Barn because of its picturesque views and comfortable barn with ample space for an outdoor wedding and reception.

Aspen described the theme as “Halloween-adjacent”: she wore a white dress and no jack o’ lanterns were used in decorating, but they leaned into dark forest greens and

Continued on next page golds for the wedding colors and incorporated woodsy themes and animal skulls into the decor.

Magnolia leaves, ferns, dahlias, and roses in the bouquet and decor carried the dark greens and introduced pops of warm, deep red. Aspen lauded her florist for bringing the “rainforest indoors” vibe to life for the ceremony and reception; foliage decorated nearly every surface available.

To emphasize the woodland fairy, “woodsy gothic” look she was going for, Battle Born Beauty of Banner Elk, North Carolina, wove flowers into Aspen’s long, loosely braided and curled hair, and Aesthetics by Hannah of Johnson City, Tennessee, created a natural, soft glam makeup look. Michael’s hair was tucked into a variation on a low chignon, with his beard trimmed and styled.

The bride’s intricate lace mermaid-style dress came from Carolina Bridal, and menswear from Men’s Wearhouse. Bridesmaids wore different dresses in the same shade of deep teal green, which matched the groomsmens’ ties.

The wooden altar outdoors had animal antlers and bones tied into the foliage decorating the corners. The officiant was the bride’s aunt. The couple had asked guests not to use their phones during the ceremony, leaving it to Sarah DeShields of Enowen Photography, who also did an engagement and boudoir shoot for the couple.

A sign printed with big cats and other woodland animals, such as the tiger, red wolf, Iberian lynx and ocelot, pointed guests to their table assignments. On each table was a card with the table’s assigned animal and facts about them, and each dinner choice on the menu was named after an animal as well. White tealights, tall black taper candles, and an abundance of foliage accentuated the gold table service.

The couple served pulled pork, chicken and beef entrees with Southern and locally inspired sides, including sweet potato fries, grilled squash, onions and peppers, deviled eggs, and hushpuppies, catered by Stonewalls Restaurant of Banner Elk.

Guests were served cupcakes following dinner. Aspen recommends other couples looking to get married in the peak High Country wedding season begin looking for a cake earlier than they did, around six months out. Mohr Fun Events played music for the reception.

Kelly of Roan Wedding and Events served as wedding planner and day-of coordinator, ensuring the couple’s aesthetic vision shone through. After finding their venue, the couple’s biggest priority was ensuring the wedding would look the way they wanted.

“If it wasn’t for Kelly, we would’ve simply eloped,” Aspen said. “I could never have done it without my planner, period.”

Kelly worked to help them streamline timelines and decisions, make recommendations and do all the day-of prep as the day-of coordinator. She helped the couple determine what they needed, good prices for various vendors and determine what was necessary.

The most special moment, though, was the kiss at the ceremony in the pouring rain. It had started to drizzle as the ceremony began, and as the couple read their vows, the rain came down harder.

“Comical isn’t the right word, but when it started pouring, everyone was laughing,” Aspen said. They all stayed put, even though you could barely hear us at that point. We were just trying to get through our vows.”

Their Story

BRIDE

Aspen, wildlife guide

GROOM

Michael, FedEx driver

Vendors

VENUE

Overlook Barn

HAIR

Battle Born Beauty of Banner Elk, North Carolina

MAKEUP

Aesthetics by Hannah of Johnson City, Tennessee

DRESS Carolina Bridal

TUX

Men’s Wearhouse

CATERER

Stonewalls Restaurant of Banner Elk

MUSIC

Mohr Fun Events

PLANNER AND DAY-OF COORDINATOR

Kelly of Roan Wedding and Events

PHOTOGRAPHY

Enowen Photography, Sarah DeShiels