THE REGISTER
BROOKE ALLISON ESTEP & NATHAN JEFFREY WELCH HUNTINGTON I 1.23.21
they say the way a couple meets sets the tone for the relationship, and, in the case of Brooke and Nathan, nothing could be more true. Their lifelong friendship began when they were just toddlers in the church nursery, and it continued as they grew up together. They attended the same birthday parties for mutual childhood friends, spent summers at West Virginia Baptist Camp in Cowen, waltzed at middle school cotillion classes, went to youth retreats, and were leaders in the Baptist Campus Ministry at Marshall University. In addition, their parents are longtime friends and planned family vacations together. As the couple began their professional careers after college, Brooke and Nathan finally realized in the summer of 2019 that, somehow, they were becoming more than “ just friends.” When the couple announced their engagement to their friends in April of 2020, Brooke asked their longtime friend and youth minister if he was surprised. He replied, “The only two people surprised are you and Nathan. We have all seen this coming since you were both in middle school!” For years, Nathan kept a pair of sapphire earrings on his nightstand as a reminder to pray for his future wife. Unbeknownst to him, his lifelong friend Brooke would be the one wearing those earrings on the eve of their wedding. The tone set for this couple has been friendship from the start. They exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony at New Baptist Church in Huntington, celebrating with close friends and family. They retreated afterward to Highlands, North Carolina, for a quiet honeymoon before returning home to Huntington, where Nathan works as an operating room nurse and Brooke works in nonprofit grants.
BRIDE’S PARENTS Kelli & Harry Estep GROOM’S PARENTS Crystal & Jeff Welch PHOTOGRAPHED BY Jenny Reece Photo
74 | WV WEDDINGS Fall/Winter 2021
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