A Long Time Coming Love Story

Sonny Nicole Reckart & Jonathan Houston Schuler
Beverly | 10.2.21

Photographed by Amanda Kisamore

Sonny and Houston were introduced at a young age and became close friends in the seventh grade. After many years of friendship, the two finally became a couple during their last semester of college. Houston proposed to Sonny outside the couple’s favorite restaurant, the Wonder Bar Steakhouse in Clarksburg, and surprised her by inviting her parents to celebrate their engagement with a steakhouse dinner and champagne. About a year later, Sonny and Houston held what they call “a homemade wedding” on Sonny’s family’s farm in Beverly, where her family had built a COVID-friendly wedding venue for the occasion.

There was a custom-built, chapel-style altar with a cross and a working bell that Sonny’s brother, Dylan, rang to signify the end of the ceremony. Instead of having a full wedding party, Houston’s sister served as Sonny’s maid of honor, and Sonny’s brother served as Houston’s best man, because the four of them are very close. The couple went with a black and white color scheme, chose not to do a “first look,” and recited traditional vows during the ceremony. After a patio cocktail hour, the newlyweds danced to their favorite song, “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran, for their first dance. Sonny’s childhood preacher, Pam Shuman, who officiated the wedding, gave a prayer before guests enjoyed a buffet-style dinner of American and Italian entrees and side dishes.

In addition to a traditional, three-tiered wedding cake, guests could also choose from an assortment of cake pops. Later, in true West Virginia fashion, pepperoni rolls were served, and guests danced in a circle to “Take Me Home, Country Roads” to conclude the night. Sonny and Houston traveled to Bungalows Resort in Key Largo, Florida, for their honeymoon before returning home to Elkins, where both work for Reckart Logistics—Sonny as vice president and Houston as a logistics broker.