Michele + Forrest

Michele often jokes about how she met her husband in prison. She was working as a psychologist and he was a correctional counselor when they met at work (yes, it was a prison).

Forrest began to express an interest in Michele’s work (admittedly, he mostly wanted an excuse to talk to his crush), but Michele wasn’t keen to start up anything with her co-worker—especially because she had already formed an opinion of him, and it wasn’t a good one. “Even Forrest will tell you I initially thought he was a jerk,” Michele says.

A friend encouraged her to at least try one date, which obviously went quite well. After that Michele’s opinion changed pretty quickly and she fell for his smile, intelligence, humor and thoughtfulness.

To celebrate Forrest’s birthday, they reserved an old Airstream on top of a mountain, and one night after they’d enjoyed a homemade pasta dinner while watching the sunset and drinking beer and wine Forrest got down on one knee and proposed. “We took a selfie overlooking the mountains with the remaining sunlight we had, no makeup, messy hair, hoodie and all (and of course-ring finger included). We refer to that picture as the ‘authentic picture’ since we took much cuter pictures the next day, but that will always be the original ‘authentic’ picture after we got engaged,” Michele says fondly.

The most challenging part of planning was finding the right venue. They knew they wanted an outdoor wedding, but of course wanted to avoid the rain. Eventually they found the Forest House Lodge, and while they enjoyed the weekend road trips touring potential venues, Michele recalls the relief of booking the venue as being one of their best wedding-planning moments.

Before long the big day arrived, and despite the deceptively sunny start to the day, Michele recalls feeling a couple of dreaded sprinkles during the ceremony. It really started to pour as the couple was taking their newlywed photos, but with a clear umbrella and their talented photographer, P.J. from Fits and Stops Photography, they made the best of the situation and got some incredibly romantic and epic shots.

The couple wrote their own vows, and the wedding was small and full of family. Forrest’s brother acted as officiant, Michele’s mother had a moment to pray for their marriage, and their nieces and nephews all had special roles to play, including walking the couple’s beloved French bulldogs down the aisle.

“The setting, the view, the intimacy of our spot was unforgettable. I remember fighting back tears trying to read my vows. It was like time stood still. It was so beautiful,” Forrest says.

Another (regrettably) unforgettable part of their wedding day was the fact that Forrest ended up with the flu. “During dinner at the reception, we had to run up to the room he was feeling so ill,” Michele says. “After about 10 minutes of rest, he got up, put his vest back on and made his way back down to the reception. I was shocked and so incredibly thankful that he made it through the reception feeling so sick for one simple reason: me.”

The happy couple are looking forward to doing more traveling together before starting their own family and are enjoying day-to-day life with their partner (rain or shine, in sickness and in health).

—Jennifer Resnicke