The Wheeler House: Wedding Wednesday: Melissa + Dylan Cross // September 19th, 2014

Wedding Wednesdays are all about Real Wheeler House Weddings and the stories behind the couples. We try to incorporate how the couple met, the story behind their engagement, the inspiration for their wedding, and the details from the actual event while including wedding photos to swoon over.

Well. The following is a guest blog written by a recent Wheeler House bride, and you do not want to miss a single detail. We fell in love with this couple, and we assure you that you will just by reading their amazing story.

Melissa and Dylan said "I do" at The Wheeler House on September 19th, only four months after their engagement. Who says you can't plan a wedding in four months? These newlyweds did- and they rocked it.

Grab the tissues, because this one is awesome.

[Thanks to Melissa Cross for writing and to Austin Martin Photography for the amazing photos!]

Dylan and I have gone to school together since we were 8. So we lived 10 years one friend circle away from each other, but we actually met at a high school graduation party.

Now, this wasn’t the typical “cute boy awkwardly introduces himself to the girl”, but it was a “heels over head” interaction—literally.

The graduation party we attended included a swing dance lesson and some free dancing time. Dylan asked me to dance and managed to pulled a few wrestling-inspired dance moves before we left.

Swing dancing has been a favorite hobby for the two of us ever since. After the graduation party we both went off the school at Georgia Tech and found ourselves in the same friend circle.

After a year of awkward talks and flirting, we made our relationship official.

At the beginning of our relationship we weren’t very intentional about going on dates, it was easy to get quality time when you shared all the same friends and went to the same meetings and clubs, so neither of us remembers our official first date. But our most memorable date was our 2 year anniversary. At this point we had found regular time to spend alone with one another and Dylan had decided to take me to the Melting Pot for dinner and to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra afterwards! It was so much fun, but a lot of things were slightly astray...

We missed dessert at the Melting Pot because we ran out of time, punted my heels into the grass because I had blisters, and managed to spend the whole night laughing and enjoying one another’s company regardless. I always joked afterwards that he owed my fondue at the Melting Pot because we weren’t able to stay for the BEST PART!

We dated for over 3 years before Dylan proposed. We have weathered many seasons together and through them all we have seen God’s faithfulness to us and grown in our faithfulness to one another!

Dylan actually managed to surprise me with a proposal because he had planned a date day for Monday May 19^thwithout including me in the plans. Dylan works on Mondays, so when he showed up on my doorstep that morning I was so surprised and excited to see him! We spent the day doing lots of fun things like making blueberry muffins together, hammocking in a nearby park, eating dinner together, and just enjoying the day. About half way through, however, I started to notice that Dylan had everything planned out fairly well (almost as if he had a schedule for the whole day…interesting).

He normally is very laid back and doesn’t stick to a plan, so I became curious.

We ended up at a friend’s dock that evening where a canoe and a bouquet of flowers was waiting for us. On the lake, after about 30 minutes of canoeing, Dylan had me turn around and face him.

My heart exploded because I realized that I was in a dress, there were flowers, there was a sunset, and Dylan was about to pull out a little black box. I focused all of my senses on what he said and did.

He told me about the Lord and how God was good, faithful, and the only one worthy of praise. He recounted how God had rescued us out of darkness and offered us new life in him; one day we would reach our final home and until that we were workers for the Glory of God. He told me that he wanted to make disciples of all nations and wanted to run after God until he got home (heaven).

And then He asked if I would do that with him.

At this point my hands were covering my face and Dylan got down on one knee in the canoe to asked me to marry him! I shrieked and obviously was ecstatic to say yes! The ring was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen and once it was secured on my finger, we shifted weight and flipped the canoe. That’s right, we both fell into the 2 feet deep water and laughed for hours. He told me that he loved me and that he was so happy. We spent the rest of the day celebrating and rejoicing with friends and family. It was the most perfect date.

I had always dreamed of getting married outside and ideally wanted to be able to do so in the late summer or early fall, so when we got engaged in May, we knew that Fall 2014 was for us.

We booked September 19^th and then coincidentally discovered that it was exactly 4 months after our engagement.

The very first time I saw the Wheeler House I was just passing through Ball Ground and I was speechless. I remember just saying over and over “I love that place”. I probably appeared obnoxious to the others in the car, but I immediately scheduled a tour and fell in love with the cozy atmosphere.

The venue was one of the easiest choices we made in the whole process.

We loved getting to make decisions together and grow into a unit through the wedding planning process; while the 4 month engagement was at times overwhelming, we were so happy with all the decisions we made and so thankful for the people that helped us plan and execute our most special day.

I, myself, absolutely adored the ceremony space. The outside setting and woods backdrop paired with the romantic drapery and string lights were exactly what I imagined my wedding would look like. That is the space that I fell in love with when we toured. And then we went into the reception area and I loved the intimate feel of the barn and how the drapery and string lights were consistent. It really was love at first sight.

Dylan really loved the unique details that the Wheeler House had to offer to the wedding. He was particularly fond of the famous floating bed on the back porch, but also enjoyed the eclectic atmosphere of a historic home.

We both have talked a lot about our wedding and we both have a favorite ceremony and reception moments. I loved the first moment I saw Dylan at the end of the aisle. I felt as if it was a surreal moment that I cannot explain with words. I had so much joy and I couldn’t wait to be at the end of the aisle with him!

After we were presented into the reception and had dinner, we had our first dance. Me and Dylan both agree this was by far our favorite part of the ceremony. We both love dancing and loved getting to dance to “Never Gonna Let You Go” by Ben Rector. It was a blast.

I have never been an over-the-top kind of person; instead I’ve always gravitated toward simple and unique things. So in decorating for the wedding I tended toward simple and unique. We wanted the atmosphere to be fun and casual but with an elegant touch. We also wanted to have some unique and memorable things, so all our centerpieces were personalized. We chose something that we loved to be the focus of each table (ex: Table 4—We love Swing Dancing, Table 5—We love the Outdoors). It was a fun and unique way to share our lives with our guests. We loved being able to incorporate our lives into our wedding.

We took our first adventure to Playa del Carmen and Cancun, Mexico. We were able to stay in two different hotels and experience two different places. We loved getting to bond over adventures like snorkeling, caving, ATVing, and exploring Mayan Ruins. In addition to having adventures, we also were able to relax and enjoy time away from planning, working, and our busy lives. We were so thankful for the time we spent in Mexico!

Now we are just excited to live a “normal” life for a while. You know, loving one another, figuring out HOW to love one another well, finding ways to annoy one another. But mostly we are excited to run after the same goals together: To love God and love people. We are not excited about the events of life, but are excited about the Maker of Life!

And in Him all things are new and exciting, so we hope to make much of Him through our marriage and the rest of our lives!