In a place as fraught with politics as a high school cafeteria, few freshmen would dare approach a group of upperclassmen. But Caralee Fox was not a shy teenager. Homeschooled until she turned 14, she didn't know any of her peers except for a few seniors, including Zach Pridemore, whom she'd recently met at Ohio's Great Darke County Fair. So at lunchtime, she sat down at his table and began telling jokes. "She was pretty bold," says Zach, a construction foreman. "I played it cool, but we all thought it was charming."
The two became friends, keeping in touch while Caralee finished high school and Zach attended college nearby. Then in 2011, nearly six years after they'd met, "something shifted and I said, 'Hey, I like you,'" says Caralee. Though opposites in many ways—he's bookish, and she's happy-go-lucky; Zach's family is small, while Caralee has five siblings—they bonded over little things like a mutual love of Top 40 pop music, and found they shared values, like the importance of family. Five years later, on Caralee's 25th birthday, Zach proposed over breakfast in bed at their home in South Dayton.
The couple wanted a destination wedding that would feel like a vacation for their 46 loved ones; they settled on Parkside Resort in the Great Smoky Mountains, where everyone could stay together in cabins. "I love bold colors and texture," says Caralee, a hairstylist, and one of the first decisions she made was her dress with a brightly embroidered bodice. "It felt a little Mexican, a little boho." Wedding décor followed suit, with cacti and maracas mingling with ribbon wands. Nearly every detail was a DIY for Caralee, who spent months crafting and scouring thrift ores with help from her mother and sisters. "It was hard work, but we had fun," says Caralee.
The weekend kicked off with a pizza dinner at the bridal party's cabin, setting a relaxed tone for the festivities. The next day, September 24, 2016, Caralee's brother-in-law led the outdoor Christian ceremony; then guests returned to a taco-bar buffet. As dinner segued to a dance party, the couple cranked up music from a Spotify playlist and grabbed the mic for a duet of the Chainsmokers' "Closer," the perfect tune for longtime loves who are now tighter than ever.
