Guests were treated to cupcakes, and personal touches were added
that represented family interests—like the fisherman’s Bible that was
given as a wedding favor to those in attendance.
and I said yes. He said he would do anything for Laken, and I said I would, too. Then he gave me a pistol to protect her. We were just sitting in his office, and he whipped out this pistol and handed it to me.” A plan soon unfolded to surprise Laken with a proposal. She was asked to help Dillon film a commercial for Fly Rod Chronicles one evening at A Mountain Clays in Bridgeport. “He was very quiet, and I’ve never seen him shoot so bad in his life,” she says. “I was really nervous,” Dillon says. “I was just hoping I wouldn’t drop the ring off the balcony of the lodge or something else wouldn’t go extremely wrong.” It was such a picturesque setting that the thought did cross her mind that maybe the big moment was approaching. But Dillon threw her off by waiting until the last possible minute to drop to one knee. “All I could get out is the word ‘yes,’” says Laken. She planned the wedding of her dreams. For the venue, she chose Wilderness Lodge near Summersville, set in the Appalachian Mountains and overlooking the Gauley River. “I knew we would be bringing 60 people up from Texas, and I wanted a lasting image in their heads of what West Virginia is truly like.” The months leading up to the wedding were filled with mixed emotions as Laken’s grandmother fell very ill. Just two weeks before the wedding, she passed away. Though it was devastating to the family, their strong faith got them through, and all agreed she would have the best seat in the house on wedding day. two families unite On October 2, 2021, the Fleming and Meadows families and close friends gathered for a late-afternoon outdoor ceremony and white tent reception. The weather was pristine, and leaves were beginning to turn shades of red and gold. Dillon says his wife’s attention to detail made it a special, memorable day. “I was surrounded by all the most important people in my life—either physically or spiritually. We were married in front of God and everyone, and that’s what is most important.” Four years after meeting Dillon, Laken was thrilled to become his wife. “When I was 9 years old, I made a pinkie promise to my mom that I would date a boy four years before we got married. Dillon and I didn’t intentionally do that, but it just kind of worked out.” After much dancing and celebrating, the evening ended with a sparkler send-off as the couple left for a honeymoon in Cancun. They are making a home on the family ranch. Dillon works for United Ag and Turf, and Laken is a physician’s assistant at Urgent Care. “We get to see each other every day and every night,” Dillon says. “To me, that’s a dream come true.”
56 | WV WEDDINGS Fall/Winter 2021
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