An Intimate Garden Elopement at St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church in Flat Rock, North Carolina

Louisa Conroy (35 and a physician) and Steven Dial (62 and a school administrator) first met at church and shared a mutual yet silent interest. After feeling the chemistry, a friend decided to schedule them to serve together on a Good Friday but told the rest of the parish a different time, so when they couple showed up, they were all alone. After almost eight years of dating—as well as five dogs and eight cats—Steven proposed on Valentine's Day with Louisa's miniature schnauzer. The couple waited another year before deciding to elope at St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church. "After being together for so many years, we 'planned' our wedding in 22 days!" says Louisa. "We already had reservations at Bahia Honda (campsite 68), so we decided to make that our honeymoon—why not?!" Once they decided to elope, they originally planned to go hiking and wed on a cliff, but their priest cautioned that the bishop might object to anything outside of the church. Instead Louisa and Steve compromised with a church garden ceremony in Flat Rock, North Carolina with only four guests—the bride's parents and cousins. After the intimate ceremony, the newlyweds celebrated back at their house with homemade cake and a variety of their favorite snacks. "Neither of us like champagne, so we brewed beer the year before our elopement in anticipation of our wedding 'someday,'" says Louisa. "We just wanted everything to reflect us and be stress free."