Sweet As Honey

At Wilderness Lodge in Summersville, Melissa Moody and Kevin Hess’ wedding day was a floral, joy-filled celebration.

Melissa Moody and Kevin Hess
Summersville, WV

Written By Taylor Maple
Photographed by The Oberports

Melissa Moody and Kevin Hess were ready to be married. They had greeted the friends and relatives that had come into town, Melissa’s boys, Jeffrey and Jacob, were excited to officially welcome Kevin into their family, and the wedding weekend was perfectly planned—no need to worry. Then came a call, the day before vows were to be exchanged, that their officiant had had an emergency and wouldn’t be able to perform the ceremony after all.

This would have sent a lot of couples spiraling—and they did have a few moments of panic. But thankfully, Kevin’s brother, a minister, offered to step in, and the day proceeded as planned, almost like it was meant to be him at the altar with them in the first place. This moment is a symptom of the life Melissa and Kevin have built around them—one full not only of romantic love for each other and parental love for the boys, but love coming at them from all angles, ready to celebrate, protect, and bolster their joy.

After that, it was smooth sailing. Melissa did a “first look” not only with Kevin, but with her sons, as well. The day was a big deal for them, too, and that wasn’t lost on the couple. “My youngest in particular, I’m surprised he didn’t cry during the first look,” Melissa remembers. “But then when he was walking me down the aisle, and pretty much during the whole ceremony, he cried. It was super sweet.”

During the ceremony, the couple stood flanked by a beautiful floral arch that their florist, Lisa Sargent with Beautiful Beginnings Wedding and Event Planning, had crafted on-site—alongside every flower arrangement they needed for the day—with a team of helpers and a truckload of fresh flowers. Under the bright canopy, they exchanged pre-written vows that they had worked on together with their original officiant, and they also exchanged some vows with the boys. Then, the four of them embarked on a unity glass ceremony. They poured different colors of glass into a vase, a symbol of their new family that would be sent off, melted into new glass, and molded into a vase and Christmas ornament for their home.

After they were declared husband and wife, a party was in order. A retro trailer-style photo booth captured tons of fun memories, and a moonshine tasting from Isaiah Morgan Distillery—owned and operated by Frank and Elizabeth Dix, friends of the couple—gave everyone a taste of West Virginia in personalized mason jar–style shot glasses. “I don’t know that anybody really even drank the mixed drinks,” Melissa remembers. “I think most people hit the moonshine all night, and I will tell you, it is absolutely delicious.” Paired with outstanding food from Philip’s Personal Chef and Catering Services and a show-stopping cookie table filled mostly with Melissa’s mother’s own lovingly baked creations, no one’s belly was empty.

And guests needed all the energy they could get for the dancing that ensued. Melissa changed from her wedding dress into a fun, sparkly jumpsuit and sneakers to ensure she could comfortably bust a move, and she wasn’t alone. “As soon as dinner was over, we got everybody on the dance floor, and the dance floor was not empty the rest of the evening,” Kevin says.

There was one meaningful exception that cleared the floor—Melissa’s youngest son, Jacob, played guitar for the crowd. He takes lessons in Charleston, and his teacher had worked with him on a special ode for the day. Melissa had kept any potential performance a secret from guests, in case the day came and he didn’t feel comfortable, but he took the spotlight to much fanfare. “Man, he just owned it,” Melissa says. “It was so sweet, and he worked really hard. He did a great job.”

Delicious wedding favors awaited guests as they left: tiny jars of honey from Kevin’s own hives. “I started five or six years ago, raising bees, just for the environment,” he says. “Now I harvest honey every year, so we thought, ‘How cool would it be to have just a little favor of our honey on each table?’” There wasn’t a single jar left at the end of the night—Melissa says folks were even going around picking up extras, ensuring none went to waste. Bee details on cookies and the wedding cake carried the theme through, sharing not only Kevin’s hard work, but a bit of an inside joke as well. “My name, Melissa, actually means honey bee,” she says.The day was filled with those kinds of special details that show how much care and love went into the celebration. But what mattered even more to the couple was the ability to bring people together from all corners of their lives. From family and lifelong pals to deep friendships they’ve stumbled into on vacation, they felt that everything was right that night. “I’m a really firm believer in ‘Everything happens for a reason,’” Kevin says. “Stars align at different times to bring people together and make things happen in your life. So the timing has been great for Melissa and I getting together, and the friends that we’ve had the opportunity to meet at certain times in our lives. It’s all just special.”

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