North Carolina native Elizabeth's wedding to New Yorker Daniel showed guests from all over the country the meaning of 'southern hospitality.'
THE BRIDE
Elizabeth Woody, a nonprofit development officer
THE GROOM
Daniel Ford, an urban designer
THE DATE
June 2
"For people who grow up in Asheville, the Biltmore Estate is just another tourist attraction," muses Elizabeth (who herself grew up in Asheville). "The 'locals' can't and don't claim it as their own because it is so grand and 'over the top.'" But Elizabeth saw a completely different side to the famous 250-room chateau when she visited with her fiance Daniel, in search of a site for their wedding. "We chose the estate, not for her grandness or her pride," explains Elizabeth, "but rather for her humility, found in the Blue Ridge Mountains, magnolia and rhododendron bushes, and rolling green hillsides that magically disappear into the morning fog and evening sunsets." Dan grew up in upstate New York, and the couple now live in Colorado, but they met when both lived in Boston. Their relationship began as an easy friendship, and three-plus years later Dan proposed by presenting Elizabeth with a diamond ring inside a small metal box that he had made in high school.
-- Lisa Carse