Slideshow

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Share

When it comes to love, sometimes you just need a little kick to push you in the right direction. And a kick is exactly what brought David Miller and Katie Pruitt together. David met Katie while attending his sister’s martial arts studio’s open house in Gastonia. Katie, also in the class, was helping out with some audience participation. Holding a body pad, she was having audience members come up and kick her. When she got to David, he made it apparent that he didn’t want to kick a girl. But Katie made it clear that she wasn’t budging until he did. Days after the fateful kick, David asked Katie out for dinner.

“I knew almost instantly that he was the one,” says Katie. On Oct. 10, 2009, Katie and David were up spending the weekend in the mountains for Appalachian State’s homecoming football game. Before the game, the two decided to go on a morning hike. They reached the top of the cliff, overlooking Linville Gorge, and it began to sprinkle rain. Katie started to head back down when David cried out to her. Thinking he hurt himself, she quickly turned around and rushed back to the cliff. He was down on one knee with a beautiful ring.

“He had a lovely speech prepared but I don’t think I let him get it all out before I cried, hugged him, and said yes!” Katie recalls. Back down the mountain at the cabin, David surprised Katie yet again. She walked inside and “I love you” was spelled out on the floor in tea light candles, roses were spread all around the room, and David was ready with champagne to celebrate the happy and romantic occasion.

When it came time to plan the wedding, Katie always wanted a big church wedding with all her family there. However, the year before the wedding, Katie’s family tragically lost Katie’s younger sister Kaylee in a motorcycle accident. With the loss of her sister, Katie and David just wanted their ceremony to be an intimate and happy occasion. They chose to get married on the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., with six close friends and their photographer, Christi Falls. “California had been a special place for us. We’ve gone there every March since we started dating,” says Katie.

They wed at sunset on March 26, 2010, on the beautiful California beach. “I loved the moment when he saw me for the first time; it was perfect,” remembers Katie. After the ceremony, the couple – in wedding gown and all – headed up for a ride on the famous Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel. “We were up so high. We had L.A. behind us, the Pacific Ocean in front of us and the Malibu cliffs on either side. I literally felt like I was on top of the world,” Katie says.

They didn’t want to leave their friends and family out of the festivities, so when they returned home to Gastonia they threw a big formal reception with 150 of their friends and family. The reception was held at the Gaston County Country Club in the ballroom. “Red was my color,” says Katie about the décor. All of her elegant décor was accented in beautiful red flowers. The day ended up falling on what would have been Katie’s sister Kaylee’s 22nd birthday. Katie says, “It felt like she was there.”

It’s now been more than a year since the wedding. Katie and David moved to a new beautiful home in Waxhaw. They also celebrated their one-year anniversary in March and went back to sunny California. When asked about the future, Katie says happily, “We are in the first stages of starting our family.”

Featured Vendors

Photography
Christi Falls Photography
980-522-2933
Christi Falls Photography

Continue reading real wedding stories! Up next: 'She said yes! - Brittany & Brian'