Poppy & carmella’s Non-traditional LGBT Wedding at Hotel Morgan

Wedding
Written By Caroline Moore
a trans man is dressed in a vest and dress pants, holding hands with his new wife dressed in a gown, in front of the Hotel Morgan.

So a nurse and a dancer walk into a dating app, fall crazy in love, and get engaged at a replica Up house in Utah. They say adventure is their word, and they found ways to sprinkle references to Up and adventure into their self-described non-traditional queer wedding. And of course, Ellie the dog was involved.

Getting ready for the wedding at Hotel Morgan in Morgantown, WV

A yellow lab has a collar made of roses and greenery, to hold the rings for a wedding. She is on the bed with some people in flannel shirts.
trans man affixes a collar of roses and greenery to his dog, who will be the ring bearer in his wedding.
groom is on the bed with his wedding party and dog, they are all dressed in flannel shirts except the dog.
bride with hair done is in a robe, her flower girls are also in robes. They sit on a leather chaise in a hotel room at Hotel Morgan in Morgantown, WV
Bride sits with her bridesmaids on a leather chaise in a hotel room at Hotel Morgan
A man has face planted onto the bed, where a bride and her wedding party sit laughing.
Close up detail shot of engagement ring with grape soda top.Queer wedding photographer Morgantown, WV
Two flower girls give the bride a kiss on each cheek, then two bridesmaids do the same.
Ladies in the wedding party sit on a bed at the hotel morgan. one is in a flannel shirt, the other in a robe.
Groom's dad helps him to fix his tie
detail shot of earrings, rings, and a hotel morgan room key card
black and white photo that shows feet on a tile floor, where a dog lays her head down to rest.
Groom adjusts his vest
Detail shot of dog's collar, decorated with roses and greenery, with rings pinned to a ribbon
bridal shoes, white chuck taylor canvas high tops with a row each of pearls and rainbow rhinestones on the backs
fancier bridal shoes for the ceremony ivory lace high heels
a clsoe up of the groom's tattoo which features flowers and the phrase da mi basia mille, Latin for "give me a thousand kisses"
Groom gets ready with his parents in their hotel room before wedding at hotel morgan in west virginia
black and white portrait of bride looking away from camera
Groomsman helping another groomsman to tie his bow tie
Trans groom opens letter from bride before wedding
Groom opens gift from bride before wedding

First look at Hotel Morgan

A lot’s been written about first looks, and whether to do them or not, and I think it’s a super personal decision. So I’ll give you all the pros and cons, but I’m not pushing for one thing or another. But one of the pros that I think gets overlooked is getting to see your partner’s reaction up close. Some people skip a first look, because they want that reaction to be of them coming down the aisle, and that’s fine. But you’re often pretty far away from your person. With a first look, you get to see their reaction up close and personal. If they’re not emotional people, that might not be super important to you. But Carm is emotional people.

Bride crying as she walks up for her first look with her groom
LGBT couple have their first look before their wedding, the bride has a tissue
Bride walking up to goom for first look before wedding
Groom is drying bride's tears with a tissue after their first look
LGBT couple pose for wedding portrait on the stairs at hotel morgan
Queer couple pose on stairs for their west virginia wedding
Groom's mom whispers in his ear

Poppy’s parents were also married at Hotel Morgan, 39 years ago.

Groom with his parents before his wedding
Two women lean back from railing with silly surprised faces. One is wearing a blue dress, the other a white button down shirt.

Poppy’s “Up” themed socks.

Groom wearing socks that feature Kevin from the movie Up

Who’s a good dog? You are, you are a good dog.

Trans couple pose with their dog before their west virginia wedding
LGBT couple pose with their dog before their west virginia wedding

The ceremony at Hotel Morgan

There’s a great view from the balcony at this place, it would definitely be worth having a second photographer here. This gives you the view of the ceremony set up.

Hotel Morgan ceremony set up. The floor is white and black marble, with huge chandeliers and a fireplace.
The view as you walk in to the ceremony at Hotel Morgan
Wedding signs that show the order of events, and that ask guests to put their phones away.

Ellie’s bringing the rings.

Dog with collar made of roses and greenery comes down the aisle at a wedding
Groom walking down the aisle with his parents

Another thing, even AFTER the first look, your person is still gonna be all full of emotions seeing your walk down the aisle.

Groom watching his bride walk down the aisle at Hotel Morgan, he looks emotional.

…and so will you.

Bride walking down the aisle at Hotel Morgan, she also looks emotional.
View from the back of the ceremony at hotel morgan, bride has a long veil
The groom gives his ring-bearer dog some kisses
black and white photo from behind the wedding party
Officiant at Hotel Morgan wears a rainbow scarf for this LGBT wedding
The bride listens to the officiant at her wedding
The bride pets her ring-bearer dog
black and white photo of the bride and groom with their officiant. behind them is a fireplace with a floral and metal arch, and a neon sign with their last name. photographed at hotel morgan.

Ellie’s over it, but is still a good dog. I’m living for this fist pump from Poppy.

on the left, the ring-bearer dog is laying down flat in the aisle, her reflection can be seen in the hotel morgan's marble flor. on the right, the bride and groom kiss, as he pumps his fist in the air.

Carmella, of course, didn’t want to be left out on the fist pump.

Recessional of the wedding. The bride holds her bouqet high in the air.
Bride and groom walk out of the ceremony at their hotel morgan wedding, they are talking to each other
Bride and groom kiss at the end of their recessional

Then it was time for portraits with our lgbt wedding party people

I have to write like this for the SEO goblins, I promise not to call your guests LGBTQ+ wedding party people. Unless they’re into it.

on the left, two flower girls in white dresses wearing flower crowns are smiling. on the right, bride and groom kiss under the hotel morgan sign.
wedding party group photos taken inside the hotel morgan
left, black and white photo of the bride and groom ouside the hotel morgan, the shot shows the entire height of the hotel. right, close up of groom's face, left half of which is blocked by a close up of the bride's face
wedding party group photo taken under the hotel morgan sign

We didn’t have to go far for photos, all of the portraits we took were within a block of the hotel.

bride and groom kiss on the stairs
wedding party poses on the stairs, we're getting weird with it
entire wedding party poses under the hotel morgan sign

The flying V, always a classic.

Bride with her wedding party on the left, groom with his on the right. both are arranged in a V formation.
The groom and his matron of honor both showing off their socks
close portrait of groom, his matron of honor rests an elbow on his shoulder
A wedding party looks sort of over it in this black and white photo
Bride and groom hold hands beneath a tree in west virginia
Couple portrait of bride and groom, mainly showing the bride's face
Bride and groom looking at each other
Bride and groom kiss beneath a tree at their morgantown wedding
Bride and groom crossing the street in morgantown. the bride wears a strapless gown, the groom a brown vest and dress pants with sneakers
View from behind the bride and groom as they walk toward a nearby mural across the street
Groom twirls the bride in front of a mural, her dress spins out around her

They practiced some moves for later.

The bride and groom are practicing a dance move where they each put an arm behind the others' head.
Bride and groom walking toward camera and smiling on the street in morgantown, wv
Close up, bride and groom are almost kissing, black and white photo
Groom looks at the camera smiling, he is a trans man with a nose ring wearing a brown tweed vest. Bride rests her hands on his shoulders and looks at his face, she is wearing a strapless lace gown.
Three photos of bride and groom hanging out in front of the mural
Bride and groom walking back to hotel morgan

The reception set up at Hotel Morgan

Pretty pretty details.

A neon sign that has the wedding couple's last name, and a photo of the bride's bouquet, a waterfall of greenery, and cream, pink, and red roses.
A globe that reads "so the adventure begins" and a sign asking guests to sign it
Details of the eucalyptus garland on the tables
Detail shot showing the plate and napkin layout for the wedding reception at hotel morgan
a wedding cake with naked style icing, on top are two chairs styled to look like Ellie and Carl's from Up. Right, cupcakes by Cupcakerie.
Left, the groom's parents watching his first dance. right, a clsoe up of his boutonniere
Left, a glass jug with a label that says "adventure fund". right, a close up of a boutonniere on the table with a woodcut name
Details of table layout at wedding reception at hotel morgan, the colors are pink and blush and blue with metal accents

Poppy and Carm making an entrance.

The bride ang room walk into the reception, the groom spins the bride and her dress flows
bride and groom dance and smile, they are holding hands and putting each other's arms behind their heads

They went with rolling their entrance straight into a first dance.

bride and groom dance in front of tables of their wedding party
bride wipes away a tear while dancing with her groom
in the foreground, you can see the backs of the bride and groom. they are out of focus, arms around each other. beyond them you can see guests seated at their reception.

The speeches were great.

Reaction shots of wedding party who are listening to speeches
Wedding party listening to speeches, the speaker is in the foreground out of focus
The bride is laughing uproariously at a speech given by the matrons of honor
wedding guests smile while listening to speeches at the reception in morgantown

Reception ambience at Hotel Morgan.

reception space at hotel morgan, you can see the late day sunlight streaming into one side of the room while the other is lit by purple tinged artificial lighting
Bride and groom kiss at their reception table, set up in front of the tile fireplace at hotel morgan, and also in front of their lit neon sign of their last name
black and white photo of the bride and groom giving a thumbs up after eating their cake
officiant in more casual clothing, enjoying the reception

After all the speeches and cake, it’s party time. When you marry a dance major, this is a very important part of the evening.

Bride and groom are dancing close together at the reception, groom is holding a drink
Bride and groom are dancing close together at the reception, groom is holding a drink

“Like a Prayer” came on, and this man came out of absolutely nowhere to belt the whole song, I loved every second of it.

left, a man is singing while holding a glass of wine. right, the same man is doing an exaggerated squat.

Poppy did The Worm. Here’s the thing, I don’t really work from a shot list per se. I do ask people to give me any special things that they really want to make sure I get (like, your parents dancing because they were married here, or the earrings your grandma gave you, or whatever) but outside of that, things happen and I photograph the things that happen. So do let me know if you plan to drop and do The Worm at your reception.

Groom does the worm on the marble floor at hotel morgan
Groom's parents enjoying the reception, watching the dancing
Groom's mom puts her hands in the air
Shot of the dance floor at hotel morgan taken from the balcony

When you get iced, you must answer the call. Even if you’re very busy having a wedding reception.

The groom drinks a Smirnoff ice

A night shot of the reception at Hotel Morgan, from the balcony.

wide shot of the whole dance floor at hotel morgan, the lighting is purple and blue, a huge chandelier is visible

Ceremony + Reception: Hotel Morgan, Morgantown, WV
Florist: Selina Hendrickson
Baker: Cupcakerie
Clothes: MB Bride
Accessories: Jacquline’s Fine Jewelry
DJ: DJ Jess
Hair and Makeup: Jessica Walker & McKayla Moore
Videographer: Tyler Cahill
Coordinator: Sammantha Norris

Caroline Moore
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Stephanie & Mike’s skateboarding elopement at west end overlook