Kirstie & Mike’s NC Mountain Wedding at Overlook Barn in Banner Elk

Telling the stories of our couples is a highlight of our job, and one of my favorite parts of planning a wedding is looking back on the day with our couples! These blog posts provide the perfect opportunity for us to catch up with our couples, feature their stunning celebrations, and hear their love stories firsthand from their perspective.

Today on the blog, we are excited to feature Kirstie & Mike. Kirstie and Mike were married on November 9th, 2024, at Overlook Barn. If you are from North Carolina, you know that November 9th was just a little over one month after Hurricane Helene devastated many areas of our beautiful mountain community. I’ll let Kirstie tell it from her perspective, but before she dives in, we just want to emphasize how grateful we are for Kirstie and Mike for checking in on each vendor, pivoting, and going with the flow as we brought their day to life.

Photography by Bethany Barton Photography

Without further ado, let’s hear from Kirstie all about her and Mike’s love story and wedding.

Their Love Story:

“It was a couple of days before Christmas in December 2020, the height of the pandemic – what a perfect time to meet someone right? But all it took was a swipe right and comments on pictures of doggos and it was a match. After ~3 weeks of texts and a couple of FaceTime calls, we were finally able to meet. And no first date would be complete without, for those that know me, some sort of crying on my part. So when Mike stuck around, I knew he was a keeper.

Fast forward through a few months of pandemic dating around Washington, DC and Old Town Alexandria to when Mike took a new job down in West Palm Beach in September 2021, thus beginning our 1.5 years of long distance dating while I finished my MBA in DC. The time passed with back and forth visits to each other every month or so, and while I got to return to in-person classes, Mike lived his best golf life in Florida (let’s be real).

Finally, in December 2022, Mike threw me the best 30th birthday and graduation party and we began looking for houses in Charlotte, NC. We found the perfect home and moved in together (FINALLY!) in February 2023. April brought our sweet pup, Darby, and in September Mike got down on one knee and asked me to marry him in front of both of our families in Montauk, NY – a place very special to the Whites and now the Flegers. With more (happy) crying on my part and lots of hugs and laughter all around, we celebrated our new beginning at The End!

But it wouldn’t be wedding planning without a hiccup or two – or just one VERY large one… Mere weeks before our wedding, Hurricane Helene wrecked complete devastation on the High Country, and our first priority was ensuring that all of our vendors teams from Boone to Asheville were safe. Then, we waited for what felt like forever to finally get the all clear, but we’re so grateful we did! After that, it was navigating county curfews, finding new lodging, and figuring out new transportation logistics.

With the hurricane still on our minds, our wedding weekend was all about community. Our rehearsal dinner was in Boone, and I was so excited for family and friends to see a place that captured my heart while at App State. When the owner of the brewery told us she also got married at Overlook Barn AND used our photographer, Bethany, we knew that was our sign it was the perfect place to gather and have a good time.

That brings us to our wedding day. We decided to do a small elopement with family in July for our legal marriage, so our celebration on November 9, 2024 at Overlook Barn was all about having a good time and kicking off our marriage in the best way. The day was perfect – blue skies, a warm sun, and the most stunning view of the mountains. Even more, every single one of our vendors went above and beyond to make sure we had the wedding of our dreams, from the taco and BBQ stations to the jaw-dropping florals to the awesome band – everything was perfect, and I’m not just saying that. Mike and I left the weekend so grateful for being surrounded by so much love, compassion, support, and best wishes. That day will forever be instilled in our hearts as one of the best days of our lives.”

We can’t help but feel joy as we read Kirstie’s retelling of her and Mike’s love story because their day was full of so much joy!

We love to get our couples’ perspective on wedding planning as a whole. We find that the words of wisdom and advice our couples share are invaluable, and that’s why we share it here with all of you! Below, find Kirstie’s musings on wedding planning:

Musings on Wedding Planning:

What was your favorite part of wedding planning?

Getting to be creative and bringing my vision to life! And just meeting so many incredible vendors – I wish I could get married again just to work with all of them!

What is something you learned throughout the wedding planning process?

How many big AND little steps there are in wedding planning. The to do list didn’t feel like it would ever end and then in the last two weeks it all came together so quickly.

What is something (if anything) that didn’t go as you originally planned on the day of your wedding, and how did you respond?

Well this is easy – the hurricane 🙂 I’m very grateful we hired TWS because we truly felt as though you had our best interests at heart and went above and beyond to help us get answers about the venue and curfew. We couldn’t have navigated it without you.

Mike and I also had a very serious conversation about what truly mattered for the day if we had to make changes and ultimately, it came down to having a place to get married, having a place for our guests to stay, and that everyone could get to the venue safely. The day was about our marriage, everything else was a nice to have.

Popping in here – we are so appreciative of Kirstie and Mike! Their intentionality and level of care for their vendors was absolutely amazing, and we are so glad to have been a part of bringing their day to life – hurricane logistics and all!

What is your favorite memory of your wedding celebration?

Just being so happy, literally all day. The love of our family and friends was so palpable and it felt like Mike and I were riding the best high.

What advice would you give to a couple who is currently planning their wedding?

BIG BREATH. Have a checklist, or seven. Try to remember that it’s about you and your future spouse – you should be able to get married wearing a potato sack in a backyard and it would still be the best day because you have your partner and those you love around you.

We could not agree more with this advice! At the end of the day, your planning should always come back to your “why,” getting married! But also to what matters most to you. For Kirstie and Mike, that meant celebrating their marriage with each other and the people they love.

One detail Kirstie was especially excited for us to highlight was her florals by the amazing April Flowers Studio. She said, “They were so beyond stunning that I cried when I first saw them.” She also loved how the ceremony setup framed the mountains in the background and how the reception space felt warm and inviting.