Rechelle and Ryan - August 2016

Rechelle and Ryan met in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 2001 when they were both 19. They married in a court house soon after and had their first son, William, who is now 13. As Rechelle put it “We both needed room to grow,” so two years later they split up to give each other space. He moved back to Vermont and she stayed in North Carolina. But Ryan’s mother told me, “Ryan just couldn’t stay away from Rechelle.” It was not long before they got back together again (2 ½ years) and had three more beautiful children, Owen age 5, Ella age 4, and Wesley age 3.

Fifteen years after their first marriage, they married again on Wayah Bald on August 16, 2016 and had their reception at Nantahala Weddings & Events. With all of their children participating in the ceremony, there was sheer joy everywhere! Abundant kindness and powerful familial love emanate from the photos of this beautiful family whose warm hearts and generous spirits fill up the space around them.

Part of the reason Rechelle and Ryan got married in Nantahala is because they want to move here, start a commercial farm, and raise their children here. They wanted to entice their families to move here, too – grandparents, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews on both sides. And their plot is beginning to unfold: everyone at the reception was already talking about how they could bring Ryan and Rechelle’s dream to fruition.