Cait and Donovan

Cait, in her own words…

How and where did you first meet? 
We actually met on instagram! I traveled heavily for work and was in New Orleans. I tagged “The French Quarter Festival” as my location which is how Donovan came across my picture (I had no idea how any of that worked). He messaged me saying “welcome to New Orleans” (which I ignored). The next day I was in Boston, then went back home to the Pacific Northwest. He messaged me again asking if I was an “Instagram person” who got paid to travel (wouldn’t that be nice). I figured I could have fun with this, and started making up elaborate stories (that were obviously fake). He understood my humor and sarcasm instantly. Our long messages became texts, then phone calls, then facetime, until he came for a visit…and never left.

At what point did you realize you were in love?
There were two points I remember distinctively. Donovan loves fishing. One day while we were facetiming, I asked him to show me his fishing gear. He was so excited that he walked out to the shed and showed me all the poles and fishing supplies he and his father kept. The excitement and confidence he beamed brought hearts to my eyes, ha! The second time was after he came to Washington State, we took a trip to the Oregon desert. We had our two dogs with us hiking in a pretty remote area. We found a little girl who was separated from her family. I am not the best with kids, especially upset ones, but Donovan got down on her level, made her so comfortable, told her to “Pet Miss Abey” (one of our dogs) and assured her that we would find her parents. I knew then, I wanted him to be the father of my children and fell in love with him all over again. Donovan felt like he always loved me, he always says he never would have moved to Washington if he didn’t. We just instantly had a familiarity towards one another.

What life goals and dreams do you share?

We want a house that sits on 3-5 acres, with cows, horses, and goats. We want to keep traveling and bring our future children to all the amazing places we’ve been able to see.

What have you learned from each other? 

We have learned to be more patient, kind, and understanding. Donovan is 10 years older than me. He understands my growing pains, is patient through my growth, and gives me incredible advice.

What do you most look forward to in your life together? 

We look forward to holidays with our always growing family, trips/vacations together, whatever life throws our way.

How did you choose Nantahala for your wedding? 

Our families live in NJ, PA, NC, MS, and LA. We lived in Washington State at the time and wanted to pick a destination that was easier for both families to meet. I have always loved NC and have had trips to the Smokey’s to visit my grandparents in Waynesville. I started thinking about NC and how it’s always been so beautiful, the people so nice, and eventually, we would be moving back east to be with our families. NC seemed like the perfect state to start our journey back east. Nantahala came up on a wedding site (I believe the Knot or Wedding Wire). Jody was SO helpful, informative, and made planning a wedding from across the country effortless and so easy. She was my rock. She goes, WAY ABOVE and BEYOND for her brides. She is a treasure. We are forest and mountain folks. We love waterfalls and being outside. Nantahala offered ALL of that and more. We could not have picked a better place to start our journey together. Best night of our lives!!