Heather & Aaron
Meet the Crew
Heather Preston
Bride
Heather is a native of Elkins, WV. She is 32 years old and is a graduate of both West Virginia University and Fairmont State University. She holds a B.A. in Design/Marketing/Spanish from WVU and an MBA from FSU. Heather served two years as an AmeriCorps member during college. In 2012, she found herself in the oilfield dispatching truck drivers. In 2014, Heather was gifted with her greatest blessing - Harper Leigh. After Harper came along, Heather spent three more years in the field. While the job was fun and challenging, Heather wanted more time to focus on family. In early 2018, Heather opened her own business, Keys to Grace, LLC. She teaches private piano lessons in both Morgantown and Elkins. She also home-schools Harper and loves walking dogs!
Brianna Lovell
Maid of Honor
Bri and Heather met in college while working at a local nonprofit. There, they served as AmeriCorps members for two years while plugging away at their respective degrees. To give you a snapshot of this time in their lives, picture Bri (Food Pantry Coordinator) diligently typing away at her computer while Heather searched for ways to distract her from work. Though it took some time, Heather eventually broke Bri's studious shell and they became best of friends. Their friendship has stood the test of time and distance as Bri now lives and works near Washington, DC. Heather truly could not imagine a better person by her side on this oh-so-important day. Likewise, Heather will also be standing with Bri in her September wedding this fall.
Nikki Valentine
Matron of Honor
Nikki and Heather first meet circa 1990 - in preschool! There, a friendship blossomed that has carried over, and grown stronger, into adulthood. If ever Heather were in a bind, Nikki would be the first person she called. Without question or doubt, Nikki would drop everything and come running! She's loyal, trustworthy and one of the best friends a gal could ever have. One of the funniest memories Heather has with Nikki is from high school. Nikki had a goal to become a majorette in the marching band, but first she had to learn how to play an instrument. For several weeks, Nikki sought out "music lessons" from Heather on the saxophone. They laughed themselves to tears most days. Nikki squeaked and honked through her audition, but found herself sitting 4th chair in the band!
Sarah Ware
Bridesmaid
Sarah is one of Heather's oldest and dearest friends. They met in first grade girl scouts where Sarah's mom was one of their troop leaders. The girls spent their younger years playing in Sarah's backyard with pet rabbits and Sunshine, her yellow lab. Speaking of Sunshine, Heather can remember a trip to Sarah's grandma's house when Sunshine had a cold. Her nose dripped on Heather's leg the entire way home. The girls also traveled with Heather's family to the beach most summers where countless memories were made. From bike riding to roller blading to getting knocked down by waves and sunburned to a crisp, there is no chance of forgetting those carefree days. Fast forward several years, and the girls were roommates in college at WVU. Now they're both moms, teachers and lifelong friends.
Jennifer George
Bridesmaid
Jenni and Heather have been friends since middle school. They grew close in youth group at Landmark Baptist Church and were truly more like sisters. Jenni had three older brothers and Heather had one, so having a close girlfriend meant everything! In the summers, the girls would spend hours swimming in Jenni's pool. If they weren’t by the pool, then they were riding 4-wheelers or jumping on the trampoline at Heather’s aunts house just around the hill. Each summer Jenni and Heather also traveled to church camp together and grew both their faith and their friendship. Now Jenni is married to her high school sweetheart and is a proud momma of three. She and Heather still attend LBC and Jenni’s youngest daughter, Zayda, is Harper’s age. Seeing them together is like looking in the mirror!
Cassie Shiflet
Bridesmaid
Oh how Heather adores Cassie Shiflet! These two have become increasingly great friends over the last few years. When Cassie was a teenager, she started attending Landmark Baptist. Heather was in college, but she traveled home each Sunday to serve as the church pianist. They knew each other by default but became much closer after Cassie married Jon, their preacher's son. When Heather found out she was pregnant with her daughter Harper, Cassie was the first person she confided in. When Cassie recently learned she was expecting, Heather was one of the lucky few to know before the news was made public. Each week, the girls meet for piano lessons and to dish about their lives. It's a friendship surrounded by love and a whole lot of uncontrollable laughter!
Emily Currence
Bridesmaid
Another girl scout in the bridal party! Emily and Heather went to elementary school together and participated in several years of scouts. From cookie sales, overnight stays at the Carnegie Science Center, rides on the Gateway Clipper and several slumber parties, these girls have remained great friends. In middle school, Emily and Heather both joined the marching band. This meant they spent practically every afternoon together, not to mention countless weekends traveling. Emily was the drum major in middle and high school, leading each group through many field shows and parades. Except for time she fell off the podium, all went well! This past summer, Emily married a sweet guy named Josh. She picked Heather as her pianist, and their outdoor wedding at Camp Pioneer was picture perfect.
Kaitlyn Preston
Bridesmaid
Heather's most beloved bridesmaid is Kaitlyn, Heather's niece. This sweet girl came into Heather's life in December of 2005. With big brown eyes and brown hair, she stole Heather's heart and has held onto it ever since. A beautiful baby turned into a beautiful little girl, and now a teenager! Heather and Kate love going to the movies together. They've seen nearly every new release of kids' movies since Kate was old enough to sit still in a theater. Another typical activity of this duo was playing outside at Riverbend park. They'd hop in the car, get ice cream and be silly for hours. Now that Kate is a teen, she and Heather still love catching new movies. She spends her breaks from school in Morgantown with Heather and is a huge help with Harper, who absolutely adores her big cousin!
Aaron Dues
Groom
What to say about Aaron? He is a 38 years old product of Masontown, PA - a town about an hour south of Pittsburgh. Aaron is everyone's best friend! He was blessed with the gift of gab and he makes use of it daily. He's always calling to check in on friends and family, and he's genuinely interested in their well being. If you need help carrying furniture, Aaron is your man. If you need a listening ear, Aaron is your man. If you need to laugh uncontrollably, Aaron is your man. He's an outstanding friend, and an even better father. There is nothing in the world he wouldn't do for Tyce or Harper. He works long hours at Pilot Thomas as a truck driver in the oil field, but his family always comes first. Heather thinks all these qualities combined make him the perfect catch.
Jason Smitley
Best Man
Aaron met Jason at Albert Gallatin High School in their Video Productions course. There they played football together and spent many a day getting into the typical mischief that teenagers do. Aaron would spend school nights at Jason's often. They'd stay up half the night talking about sports, and of course girls. The first Penn State game Aaron ever went to was with Jason and his dad, Bob. Fast forward several years, Aaron was the Best Man in Jason's wedding to Amy Shore. Their families celebrate holidays, birthdays and just about everything else together. Aaron couldn't be more excited to have Jason as his Best Man.
Anthony Rossini
Groomsman
Tony and Aaron met at Rose Motors, Tony's family owned car repair shop in Masontown, PA. After Aaron's car accident in 2004, he spent a good while on crutches. During that downtime, Aaron would make his way to Tony's shop and shoot the bull with Tony, his dad and his uncle. He learned a lot about car mechanics with those three. When he's not at the garage, Tony's passion is drag racing. He, Aaron and a few others would leave Masontown around 7am, spend the whole day racing, and not get home until around 2am. Their conversations on the rides home would generally consist of all the craziness Tony got into in college, and of course more drag racing/dirt car racing stories. Down the road a few years when Tony married Jamie, Aaron was a groomsman in their wedding.
George Sapic
Groomsman
George and Aaron became friends after high school at a party thrown by a mutual friend. George had his own show car and was really into modifying them, so they spent a lot of time traveling to car shows together. A spot they frequented often was Carlisle, PA. In the summers during their early twenties, they'd head to the beach together with friends, travel up to Pittsburgh on occasion and check out football and baseball games when they had the chance. When George married Julie, Aaron was a groomsman in the wedding. Today, they still play basketball together on Monday evenings. And, during the summer, they play in the same softball league.
Tyce Bittner
Groomsman
Tyce is Aaron's most beloved groomsman, for obvious reasons! He is Aaron's son. Tyce is a 10 year old lover of video games, movies, Netflix and Hulu. He can get lost in a game of Scribble ’Nauts or Minecraft for hours, or binge watch The Flash with his dad all afternoon. Those guys are like two peas in a pod when it comes to entertainment. There isn't a superhero they don't like! If Tyce isn't engaged in gaming, he's loading a Nerf gun and planning a sneak attack on his dad. You might also find him entertaining Harper or playing with his cousins Lilian and Devon and Jadeyn . Tyce is not excited to wear a suit at the wedding, but he is excited that it's finally happening. When Aaron and Heather told him the big news, he said, "It's about time!"
Calvin Morgan
Groomsman
Aaron met Calvin just a few years ago when Calvin started dating Aaron's cousin Cassie. He was instantly part of the family from day one, and all the kids adore him. He stepped right into the swing of things and helped Aaron and Heather out immensely when they needed help with transportation for Tyce going to and from school. His relationship with Tyce grew strong during that time period, and they have shared many pepperoni pizzas together. Calvin was also instrumental in orchestrating big family trips to the Outer Banks over the last few years. Later on in 2019, Aaron will be standing by Calvin in his wedding with Cassie. Tyce will be part of the big day, too, as the ring bearer. If Calvin is somehow late to the wedding, it'll be because he's in a river fishing somewhere.
Fred Dues
Groomsman
Fred is Aaron's oldest brother. His favorite sport growing up was basketball. He and Aaron played little league baseball and football together and when they weren't driving their mother crazy by lighting hairspray on fire, they were playing Nintendo or Sega. Out of the three brothers, Fred was the first to get his driver's license. His first car was a 1988 Monte Carlo. Since Aaron was younger, Fred had the pleasure of driving him places as needed. Fred was also the first of the three to have kids - Lilian, 13 and Devon, 10. When the kids were little, they'd always play together with Tyce pushing toy trucks around and building with Legos. Now, they enjoy staying up all night watching movies and swapping gross preteen stories.
Jermaine Dues
Groomsman
Aaron and Jermaine are just a year apart in age. They spent their childhood as most boys, with video games and sports. They loved bike riding and building ramps to ride off. In high school, Jermaine, Aaron and Fred all played football together at Albert Gallatin. Jermaine and Fred both played as wide receivers and defensive backs while Aaron played as a running back and a line backer. Out of the three boys, Jermaine is most strict. He's always staying on the kids about getting good grades and listening well. He and Aaron are both truck drivers in the oil/gas field, but they always make time for family. Each summer, Jermaine and his better half, Tina, travel to the beach with Aaron, Heather and the rest of the crew. If anything can make him smile, it's time with his nieces and nephews.