A Forest Inspired Wedding at the Sheraton Reston Hotel in Reston, Virginia

Cynthia (Cyndie) Johnson (28, a veterinarian) and Michael (Mike) Courtney (33, a network engineer) first met while swing dancing when Cyndie moved to Kansas for a summer internship. At the time, Mike was in graduate school. When the he asked to kiss Cyndie for the first time, she was hesitant because she only had a month left in her internship. “He said, ‘Oh, okay. Well I just knew if I didn't ask, I'd be kicking myself for a long time.’ As he was about to leave, she pulled him back for a smooch,” says Cyndie. The couple continued to date and within six months, Mike joined Cyndie in Virginia. He proposed after the couple reached the top of his favorite mountain. They were wed a year and five months later in Cyndie’s childhood church, Saint John Neumann Catholic Community in Reston, Virginia. “Mike, with his masters degree in religion, chose some beautiful readings that also reflected first falling in love, coming together as a couple and how that changes how we see the world and then how we will build our family,” says Cyndie. After the traditional ceremony, Her, Mike, and their guests went to the Sheraton Reston Hotel for a forest inspired reception. Their tiered wedding cake had a cascading vine design with two fondant birds as the topper to complement the theme.