Y years ago, a teenage wittlee retton frequently saw a boy running near her grandmother’s house. She recognized him as the son of her junior high science teacher, but didn’t think much else of it. One day, though, her grandmother issued a warning. “You better go talk to him,” she said. “Or you’re going to regret it.” Wittlee balked at the suggestion at first—she didn’t even know who this boy was, and she didn’t want to seem desperate or strange. But her grandmother’s words stuck with her, so one day the extroverted high schooler made her move. She strolled outside and waited for Matthew Tennant to run past the end of her grandmother’s driveway. Matthew was confused and had no idea who was waiting for him in the distance. “She just stuck her hand out and introduced herself, and said, ‘Hi, I’m Wittlee,’” Matthew remembers years later. Little did they both know that simple, straightforward introduction would change their lives forever. They remained friends for the rest of high school, and, after Wittlee moved away
from their hometown of Fairmont to attend Marshall University, they managed to keep in touch. They reconnected after she returned to town years later, and that time, the romance clicked. Since then, they’ve been inseparable. touchdown! When asked about the proposal, Matthew chuckles in the kind of exasperated way someone might when they’ve told a stressful yet important story more times than they can count. The first time he tried to propose, he says, was at a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game. They both loved Pittsburgh sports, and it seemed perfect. He’d contacted the team at PNC Park ahead of time, and was told to watch the big screen at the end of the third inning—the couple would be on camera then for his proposal. The third inning came and went as he waited in their seats next to an unsuspecting Wittlee. He thought at first that perhaps the team had a bigger surprise planned for both of them later in the game,
Camp Muffly Park was the perfect venue for this Tuscan-inspired wedding. As a nod to her departed grandmother, Betty Witt, who enjoyed hummingbirds, Wittlee, her mother, aunt, and cousin all displayed temporary hummingbird tatoos for the day.
36 | WV WEDDINGS Fall/Winter 2020
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