A Long-Awaited Wheeling Wedding

Alexandra Raye Greco & Eric Michael Kinney
Wheeling | 9.25.21

photographed by Wild Native Photography

Eric, from Bridgeport, and Alexandra, a Wheeling native, met in 2015 through Eric’s sister Olivia. Eric and Alexandra would cross paths in the university halls, and Eric always had some little surprise for her, making her day all the brighter. Eric pulled off a surprise proposal at his hometown church with a little deception and a lot of help from his family. The couple weathered four years of distance due to post-graduate training, a three-and-a-half-year engagement, and a pandemic to get to their big day, but they finally made it in 2021.

They planned their nuptials at St. Michael’s Church in Wheeling, Alexandra’s hometown church. Alexandra wore an intricate lace gown with beaded detailing and an ivory underlay. Her garter was specially sewn by Eric’s mother and incorporated pieces from Alexandra’s mother’s, maternal grandmother’s, and paternal grandmother’s wedding dresses. She was escorted down the aisle by her father, where she and Eric exchanged traditional Catholic vows. The reception kicked off with a choreographed first dance to Michael Buble’s “Everything,” which a live painter captured as the reception went on.

Guests enjoyed cookie and candy tables and made use of a photo booth to capture a memory of the stunning day. The three-tiered white cake was raspberry-filled with optional chocolate ganache, lovingly decorated by bridesmaids using the flowers from their very own bouquets after a decor mix-up called them to action. The night ended with a West Virginia wedding must: swaying to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The newlyweds took off into the night for their honeymoon in the Bahamas before they returned to Morgantown, where they both work as clinical pharmacy specialists at WVU Medicine.

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