Featured Bride - Brittney Matherly Parks

The Couple

These two met in neighboring cribs. Kidding, but it's close. They were in daycare together and they still love to joke that their story began when they were first learning to talk. Actually Brittney and Jeremy met via a mutual friend in high school and began dating after a series of effortless conversations. Once Brittney started college however, it was easier to be friends and they settled for that instead.
Flash forward to several years later when they reunited and began talking again. They went on 
their second first date on August 5, 2016. It was as if we picked up where we left off. Jeremy proposed on October 10, 2017, which is the anniversary of when I had to have open heart surgery as a child. That day has always been a special day that my family and I celebrate. When Jeremy proposed he said, “Even though they fixed your heart years ago, I want to be the one who takes care of it and protects it forever.” And she said yes, of course! They couple were married at the Gambill Estate in May of 2019.

The Wedding Day

Brittney: "We both love the outdoors. From the time I started thinking about my wedding day when I was a little girl, I always imagined it outside. We found a venue in Roaring River called Gambill Estate, and one of their locations for a ceremony was on a beautiful hillside next to a tree that is over 100 years old and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background as far as you could see. This was the location we picked.

On our tour day when we booked, Gambill Estate was starting new construction on what would become a beautiful wooden pavilion with recessed lighting and decorative iron railings. This was where we could accommodate extra guests, so the plan was to have indoor and outdoor seating for our reception, but due to the increased chances of rain on wedding day, we chose to have the ceremony at the pavilion. This way we could have the best of both worlds. Our ceremony was still outdoors, but it was covered. We chose to have a rustic/country theme.
I loved the trend of rustic/barn weddings and it was really beautiful."

Brittney watched the weather like a trained meteorologist for weeks and even spent several days before the wedding on a massive search for clear umbrellas (which they ended up using for photos). Ladies who plan an outdoor wedding know that the struggle is real, the actual day started with rain but it ceased in time for the ceremony. You never know! Plan for the worst and expect good things. 

The Dress

"When I started looking for my wedding dress, I thought I wanted something with a lot of lace or all lace and more form fitting and not too “poofy.” Since I wanted an outdoor wedding, I didn’t think I wanted a dress with a train or a veil. I wanted it to be white, not ivory or any other color. I knew I didn’t want a strapless dress, and I wasn’t a big fan of the mermaid or trumpet style dresses on myself. My goal was to try to spend $1,000 or less.
But, I did not stick with my original vision of my dress. There was a dress that I tried on that was all lace and form fitting. I had seen it online, and I knew this was going to be the one. I tried it on and hated it! Then, my mom picked out an ivory A-line style that had a good amount of lace detail, a belt made into it, a short train, and several layers to it that gave it a little “poof” but not
much. She insisted that I try it on, and I fell in love!"

Brittney was certain that she didn't want a veil, but we encouraged her to try one before leaving our boutique. She told us that once it was on, and she saw that the lace matched her dress and where it hit her at the hip, she "felt like a bride." BT also stored the gown for her. She purchased it in January of 2018, but married 16 months later. We're happy to do this when brides need us to. 

Brittney's bridesmaids robes and dresses came from Bridal Traditions as did Brittney's jewelry and the Groom and groomsmen's suits, minus the jeans ;) 

This Registered Nurse at Wake Forest Baptist Health-Wilkes Medical Center and Site Coordinator for Communities in Schools at North Wilkesboro live in Miller's Creek and love going to movies, concerts, taking walks with our little beagle, Snoopy, and spending time with friends and family. 

Congratulations to this lovely couple on their future together and we're so happy that we were a part of their day.