Misty Valley truly is a labor of love. God opened many doors for my husband, Earl and I to acquire this property, which Earl has transformed into the serene setting it is today. We held our first wedding in our unfinished home for our friends in 1987. Once Earl finished his vision of creating this open and inviting place, we were approached by others wanting to have their small outdoor

weddings near the creek or our large tobacco barn. We always declined as it was still an active tobacco farm. I always felt that

God had put us on this property for more than farming and a home so when the idea of a wedding chapel came to my mind many

years ago I thought that must be IT! My idea was not met with the enthusiasm I had hoped for when I presented it to Earl and our

three teenage sons. My dream was shattered at the time.

 

A few years later our youngest son and his fiancé were planning their wedding and only needed a place to have their ceremony. Their greatest challenge was finding the perfect place for their wedding. They both wanted something small with just family but were met with many obstacles with local churches and other possible locations. She stormed into our house one afternoon after a day of searching and shouted in frustration "this county needs a wedding chapel." She was not aware of my desire to build a chapel and I knew we could never finish a chapel in time for their February wedding so I didn't mention it. They finally decided to get married in their recently purchased home with their families present. With the help of my daughter in law and a couple of friends we decorated their living room for the wedding and their basement for the reception. We kept it simple yet beautiful and they had the wedding they wanted.

 

I still said nothing about my dream as I thought it was over, but once again opportunity knocked when disaster struck our country on September 11, 2001. At this time our tobacco raising days had ended and our sons had married and moved out. As a result of this tragedy, like many others our daughter in laws were losing their jobs. The thoughts of the chapel crept into my mind again but this time with definite purpose. As we all sat around our kitchen table one evening discussing the recent events I looked at Earl and said "this would be a great time to build the wedding chapel and give these girls a job. Lo and behold it must have been God’s time for it as Earl agreed. The next day we were drawing up plans and contacting officials to get all our ducks in a row. In October of 2001 we were approved to build the chapel so our journey began.

 

What to name it was the first big question but the answer was so simple. Over the years we watched the fog roll over the hills into the bottom land in the early morning and late afternoon or after a shower of rain and Earl would say “one of these days I am going to put an arch over our driveway with Foggy Bottoms etched across the top of it.” So with just a twist of a couple of words Misty Valley became the name for our venture. We still don’t have an arch over the drive but maybe one of these days.

 

With help from our sons, family and a close friend, Earl began building us a new future. He worked diligently everyday to see the chapel to completion. God continued to open doors for us, whether it was dealing with state and county regulations or just keeping everyone safe and strong, He was always present. We officially opened in April of 2003 within our budget and no injuries. Now I call that a labor of love! Our family’s lives have changed over the years and some have moved on while others are still an important part of Misty Valley. God has always sent me the right people at the right time and Misty Valley thrives today helping bride’s dreams come true.