Putting Down Roots

It took time and travel, but Lauren Grubb and Neil Jørgensen finally found the person and place they call home.

Lauren Gabrielle Grubb & Neil Jelmert Jørgensen
Morgantown | 09.09.23

written by Tara Wine-Queen
photographed by The Oberports

The love story of Lauren Grubb and Neil Jørgensen would fit right in with those of the couples interviewed in the classic romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally. Despite growing up in the same city, the two never met until they went away to college at West Virginia University.

“Neil and I have been in each other’s lives, unbeknownst to us, for a very long time,” says Lauren. “We went to the same daycare, same hometown—although we went to opposite high schools. I always tell him I wonder how many times we were at the grocery store at the same time or watching the same parade.”

Somewhere along the line, they had become “friends” on social media without really knowing each other, as people from similar places who have overlapping acquaintances sometimes do. One day, without ever speaking beforehand, Neil posted on Lauren’s Facebook wall about an unusual dream he’d had about the two of them robbing a gas station.

For Neil, the dream was not exactly out of the blue. “I had been perusing her profile,” he admits, “which probably led to the dream event.” That was his cue to properly introduce himself. “I definitely hoped it would evolve into something more! She seemed interesting and fun, which gladly turned out to be true.”

to the place they belong

After 13 years together, including a stint living in California, the two returned to Morgantown with their beloved pets, ready to start a family.

Moving to California had not been an easy decision—particularly for Lauren, who is extremely close to her family and her supportive network of friends in West Virginia. But after they’d struggled to find suitable jobs in Morgantown for Neil as a data scientist and Lauren in teaching, opportunities out west had been impossible to resist. Yet, while they liked California, both felt eager to return home to settle down. With Neil able to work from home, the pair took advantage of Ascend West Virginia’s program to entice people to move to the Mountain State through financial and recreational incentives, and they were able to put down roots and say “I do” in the same city where they had finally found each other.

the dress everyone said no to

Lauren’s dress is sensational, form-fitting and unique in a way that almost looks like a work of art. The sleeves are poofy and separate from the main silhouette of the dress, echoes of those Lauren’s mother wore to her wedding decades ago, although these have a more modern shape and color. It fits Lauren as though it were designed with her in mind. It wasn’t an easy find.

“I had gone to several bridal shops, and they kept bringing me these traditional dresses that just weren’t what I was looking for.” A trip to Sorelle Bridal Salon in Washington, Pennsylvania, with her matron of honor ended up being the ticket.

She tried on several dresses, stepping out to model each one for her bridesmaid—and each time, they could see on each other’s faces that it wasn’t the one. Eventually, she decided to take a risk. “I said to the girl that helped me, ‘Do you have any dresses in this shop that nobody’s bought, nobody tries it on, nobody likes it?’”

There was one, the girl said, but she would literally have to dust off the bag because no one had shown interest. Lauren said she wanted to try it.

“I put it on and came out, and one of the girls that worked at the bridal shop—her jaw dropped.” In the bag, it might not have looked like much, but on Lauren, the Kitty Chen Couture gown with a deep cut in the bodice and a voluminous train was a revelation. She had found the one.

down the aisle

While the ceremony and celebration came together beautifully, there was no guarantee in the hours leading up to it that that would be the case. The day before, Lauren, who is a type 1 diabetic, had to be rushed to the hospital when wedding stress sent her into diabetic ketoacidosis. Luckily, Lauren’s mom has spent decades as a registered nurse and was able to care for Lauren all the way up until it was time to put on her wedding dress—her mother was then finally able to remove the IV that had been delivering fluids to Lauren all day.

The ceremony, held outdoors at Tuscan Ridge with a breathtaking view of West Virginia’s hills as backdrop, was shaped by the couple to reflect their values and priorities. Lauren opted for both parents to take part in giving her away, with the three of them making their way arm-in-arm to Florence & The Machine’s soulful strings cover of “Stand By Me.” Forgoing traditional vows, the two instead wrote their own in small personalized books: one engraved with “My Promises to Lauren,” the other with “My Promises to Neil.”

It’s possible you’ve seen part of the pair’s wedding, as a video showing the bridesmaids walking down the aisle to personalized speeches Lauren penned for each of them went viral with millions of views on TikTok alone. As the voiceover of carefully composed dedications outlined first meetings, cherished memories, and praiseworthy qualities, the girls made their way toward where the couple would exchange vows, emotion rippling over their faces as they focused on walking straight while feeling overcome by the love their friend expressed for them on what was supposed to be her special day. To Lauren, honoring her friends in that way was the natural choice. “If I care about you, I’m going to tell you that in-depth.”

In a funny twist, though, Neil’s vows ended up being much longer than Lauren’s. “Looking back, we really should’ve talked about how long or short we were going to make them,” Lauren says, laughing. Knowing that she’s typically more effusive than Neil, she scaled back when writing vows, keeping them to a single page in the book she’d purchased specifically for the vows. When it came time, though, Neil’s book had pages and pages filled with the handwritten vows he had crafted.

The reception was designed to include only activities that were meaningful for Neil and Lauren. This meant skipping out on things like the bouquet and garter tosses and prioritizing things like speeches from loved ones and a first dance between the two of them to S.G. Goodman’s “Space and Time.” As a nod to their pets at home, drink napkins featured likenesses of their two cats and one dog offering “Cheers!” and love.

The wedding’s photography was done by The Oberports, and Lauren was especially pleased that Emily Oberport was able to recreate a very special picture for her: a snapshot of Lauren’s mother from her wedding to Lauren’s father, lovely in her wedding gown, looking out a window into her future. Unbeknownst to her mother back then, somewhere in that future is Lauren, standing at a window in her own wedding dress, so proud to be her mother’s daughter and grateful to finally have made it back home to her home among the hills to marry her longtime love and build the life they’ve dreamed of.

GET INSPIRATION FROM OTHER REAL WEST VIRGINIA WEDDINGS

CHECK OUT OUR VENDOR GUIDE TO HELP YOU PLAN YOUR SPECIAL DAY