Wedding Date: Saturday, July 13, 2019

Derek and I met in 2015 when we were both doing a gap year program in New Zealand. Derek was the first fellow student that I met when I arrived in New Zealand, and I was immediately drawn to his sense of humor and outgoing personality, not to mention his good looks! Within a few weeks, we had both developed a serious crush, but we made the choice to stay friends for the remainder of our program. We spent 3 months studying together with a group of other young people in New Zealand, then 3 months apart while we backpacked through Southeast Asia. During this time, we communicated via lengthy Facebook messages and realized quickly that we were falling in love. On the night that we graduated from our program, Derek asked me to be his girlfriend, and the rest is history!

I can’t overstate how much fun I had working with Mary Bell. “Fun” isn’t exactly a word I would use to describe the wedding planning process before we chose Mary as our planner. Once we met for the first time, my mom and I were both elated to be working with someone who is so knowledgeable and detail-oriented, as well as charming and funny. It was amazing to see my ideas of a dream wedding come to life.

We chose Asheville because it is one of our favorite cities in the South. I am from South Carolina, but I knew that a wedding in my hometown would turn into a very large affair, and Derek and I both wanted a semi-small wedding. We absolutely love the charm of Asheville, and we knew that all of our out-of-town guests would enjoy staying there.

Derek proposed to me in December of 2018. We were dating long-distance at the time, as he was living and working in Seattle, and I was finishing school in New York City. I was on a post-Christmas family vacation in the charming town of Blue Ridge, Georgia, and Derek secretly flew down from Seattle. One evening after arriving back to the cabin, I found the porch decorated with hundreds of candles and rose petals, and there was Derek! It was a beautiful proposal, and we got to celebrate with my entire family afterwards, which was incredibly special.

Of course our “first look” was one of my favorite moments of the day! I felt a little bit anxious and jittery in the morning, but as soon as I saw Derek, all of my nerves were replaced with pure joy and excitement.

When I think about Thien La, our photographer, the first thing that comes to mind is “above and beyond”. Thien is confident but not domineering, and remarkably creative. He is also just a genuinely kind person, and brought such a sense of calm to our wedding. We were blown away by the beauty of our photos!

One of the most special aspects of our wedding was that Derek’s grandfather, Pastor Jim Bevis, (aka “Poppy”) performed our marriage ceremony. It is a tradition in Derek’s family for Poppy to be involved in the wedding ceremony of his grandchildren, and it was really touching to be a part of that tradition. His ceremony was warm and personal, and reminded us of the sacredness of marriage.

I loved dancing all night with my friends and family and my new husband! There is nothing quite as special as seeing everyone you love in one place, interacting and having a good time together.

Cara & Derek~ Deerpark on Biltmore Estate

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