Real Wedding

Kelsey Fields and Christopher Starcher of Morgantown, West Virginia met while tailgating at a West Virginia University football game nine years ago.

“I knew I wanted to use fresh flowers for the crowns, so The Flower Studio in Pittsburgh made the crowns," Fields said of her bridesmaids' attire.

Fields, who chose white dresses to complement the colorful bouquets, had her bridesmaids by her side.

Starcher’s initial take on Fields? “I thought she was pretty,” he said.

Last October, when the couple took a trip to Lewisburg, West Virginia, Starcher brought along a ring to which Fields had taken a liking.

"And at the end, I said, ‘Wait, I got one more really good pose,’ and I pulled the ring out," Starcher said.

Fields said she was so surprised by the gesture that she also got down on one knee. “He said, ‘You need to stand up!’ I was really in shock. We both cried. It was a very special moment.”

With the wedding set for Aug. 2, 2014, they invited 60 guests to their wedding and reception at the Morning Glory Inn bed-and-breakfast in Pittsburgh.

“I wanted something that almost felt like a garden, with an antique and Victorian feel,” Fields said. “We found this inn, and it was perfect. It was everything I had imagined.”

After dating for four months, Fields and Starcher took a break, but wound up back together in 2010, when their daughter Avery was born.

“We were young parents, just kind of struggling through life and figuring things out," Fields said. "I think our separating made us realize: You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.”

“It felt right, so we went with it,” Starcher said about their relationship.

"Everything seems to have fallen in place," Starcher said. "It’s a lot easier now.”

While The Beatles’ “In My Life” played at the reception, they shared their first dance as husband and wife.

Fields said "In My Life" is "symbolic and sentimental for our relationship, through the years."

“Years ago, when I heard that song, I told my sister, ‘I’m going to be dancing to this song with Chris at our wedding,’ because the lyrics just describe us to a T: ‘In my life / I love you more.’ It’s perfect. Every time I heard it, I thought of him," Fields said.

Fields had fresh flowers for her colorful bouquets that suited her Victorian garden-themed wedding.

“By the time she was walking down the aisle, I was pretty much in a blackout,” Starcher said, laughing.

As a photographer, he’s seen plenty of flubs and screw-ups at weddings, and he didn’t want to be a klutz on his own big day.

“My brother was my best man, and he ended up dropping the rings as he was handing them over, and all my anxiety went away. After that, I was good, but before that, I was a wreck," Starcher said.

While rain is good luck at a wedding, it isn't convenient. Fortunately, the bride and groom were prepared. “We did have to bring umbrellas to stay outside, but it was indoor and outdoor," Fields said. "But the rain actually added to [the ambiance]; it was really nice.”

“Christopher and I have been through a lot through the years,” Fields said. “But we’re exactly where I want to be.”