The Sweetest Second Chance

How Joyce Wickland and Greenbrier Almond created a wedding at Stonewall Resort rooted in love, family, and West Virginia tradition.

Joyce Ann Wickland & Greenbrier David Almond
Roanoke | 8.2.2025

written by Laura Jackson 
photographed by Murphy Photography and Film, Maddi Randolph Photography, Abigale Stewart

When Joyce Wickland and Greenbrier Almond shared their first dance in front of 80 guests on August 2, 2025, at their Stonewall Resort wedding, it might have been their first time as husband and wife—but they’d met on the dance floor before.

Sixty years prior, Joyce had asked Greenbrier to a Sadie Hawkins dance at their high school in Buckhannon, and he’d taken her to homecoming. Then, life carried them in different directions—her in pharmacy, him in medicine—building lives, families, and careers.

After their spouses passed away, they reconnected. Joyce recalls reading two of Greenbrier’s books before seeing him again and being drawn to his spirit. “I fell in love with his heart and soul,” she says.

When they met, Joyce brought a gift of red raspberries. “And an Almond Joy candy bar,” she adds. “At Almond family celebrations, they gave them out.”

Greenbrier proposed on a rock in the river in Audra State Park. “We’re West Virginians,” he says. “We waded out and watched the gold and red leaves float by.” 

the heart of home

Stonewall Resort, tucked into the center of the Mountain State, offered plenty of room and weekend activities for the couple’s guests. The celebration unfolded with an intimate rehearsal dinner. “It was just the people in the wedding party,” Joyce recalls. “And then we had a campfire behind the lodge with stories, songs, and s’mores.” Guests even joined the bride at the marina to feed the carp.

On the day of the wedding, Joyce prepared with her maid of honor, her niece. The couple’s first look, on a balcony overlooking the lake, offered a quiet moment before the excitement of the day began.

The bride’s dress reflected practicality and charm. “I found that dress at the Apple Butter Festival for $35. It was exactly what I’d visualized,” she says. “I wore it on the honeymoon, too.” She hadn’t planned on wearing a veil but remembered a piece her aunt had made for her. “It was a beautiful crown with pearls and soft netting.”

Staying true to their small-town style, Greenbrier’s attire came from Mountain Boutique, Haberdashery and Salon in Buckhannon.

family and faith

The ceremony itself, held in the luminous Grand Hall, was rich with music and personal expression. The bridesmaids walked down the aisle to a recording of “My Home Among the Hills,” sung by the West Virginia Wesleyan choir, and Joyce was accompanied by her brother-in-law.

The couple created a ceremony that reflected their faith. “The song that played before he spoke was ‘Love Me Tender,’ and he sang the chorus of ‘He Leadeth Me,’” Joyce says. In response, she spoke about loving Greenbrier “mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.” The bride and groom exchanged simple, elegant gold bands from Williams Jewelers in Bridgeport, each inscribed with meaningful scripture verses. 

Likewise, every detail at the reception carried meaning. Tables were dressed in red, white, and blue, a nod to family and service. Country Blooms of Buckhannon designed arrangements featuring red, white, and blue roses softened with baby’s breath. “Those were always my son’s favorite colors,” Joyce says. 

Greenbrier has a tri-color connection, too. “I spent a good portion of my career helping combat veterans. We wanted to be patriotic.” 

To continue with long-standing family tradition, every guest received a special chocolate thank you, tucked into a folded napkin: a full-size Almond Joy bar. How could they not? Bonnie Belle’s Pastries in Nutter Fort designed and decorated a classic, three-tiered cake, and the couple supplied red raspberries to accent the white icing. In a nod to the past and in celebration of everything to come, Joyce even found the cake topper from her first wedding, in 1970. “My sister’s an artist, so she painted the bride’s and groom’s hair to match ours,” she says. “And then her daughter made the veil exactly like the one I had.”

The reception unfolded at Lightburn’s Restaurant, perched at the resort’s highest point. Tables filled one side of the room, a buffet glowed near the fireplace, and the dance floor welcomed guests. “It all flowed so well,” Joyce says. Outside, balconies offered sweeping views of the hills and lake in the evening light. “The weather was absolutely perfect,” Greenbrier adds. “It was just gorgeous.”

capturing contentment

Photography reflected the couple’s thoughtful approach. Rather than opting for an elaborate production, they supported emerging talent. Their official photographer, Abigale Stewart, had just graduated high school. “This was her very first wedding, and she did a great job,” Joyce says. Stewart and fellow young photographer Maddi Abbot worked under the guidance of professional photographer Quentin Murphy, whom the couple had met earlier in the year at a bridal expo. Murphy had been touched by their story of reconnection and a kind of love he “never thought possible.”

“He told us, ‘Your story is interesting—I want to photograph it whether you pay me or not,’” Joyce says.

As the evening wound down, the couple and their photographers made their way to the lake. “The lighting was perfect,” Joyce recalls. The green grass and forested shoreline provided the perfect setting for intimate lakeside images to close out the day.

After the celebration, Joyce and Greenbrier began a West Virginia honeymoon, traveling through some of the state’s most iconic parks, from Blackwater Falls to Watoga. Together they hiked, and often, Greenbrier says, they “sauntered” through the woods like the nature writer and naturalist John Muir.

Looking back, what lingers most is the memory of a day shaped by gratitude and joy. For the Almonds, this West Virginia wedding was not just a beginning but a continuation of love and a strengthening of faith. Ephesians 3:20–21 comes to mind for them both as they reflect on their journey together: They give the glory to God for their relationship, for bringing them together again after all these years, and for the years they have ahead still. 

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