PHOTO PROVIDED

PHOTO PROVIDED

Zachery Robert Gearhart, Sr. and Katie Rachelle Chilcote eloped April 16, 2024 on the Old Sligachan Bridge at the base of the Cuillin Hills on the Isle of Skye in Scotland following a two-year engagement beginning when Zachery proposed to Katie in Rome, Italy.

Meg Gillis solemnized the 1:30 p.m. exchange of vows and rings.

The bride wore a white lace gown with long, dramatic sleeves and a dried floral crown in her hair. The bridegroom wore a traditional kilt in “Black Watch” tartan.

The Skye Piper played “Mairi’s Wedding” on bagpipes to introduce the bride and “Flower of Scotland” after the couple was wed. Wedding pictures were taken at the Old Sligachan Bridge, in a woodland outside of Portree, and at The Old Man of Storr.

The couple had their wedding dinner at Loch Bay, a Michelin starred restaurant also located on the Isle of Skye. The couple honeymooned throughout Scotland for the following two weeks.

The bridegroom is the son of Robert Gearhart, of Philipsburg, and Duane and Zena (Falls-Gearhart) Heverly, of Howard. He is the father to two wonderful sons, Kaden Cribbs, 15, and Zachery Gearhart, Jr., 10.

Zachery is a 2004 graduate of Central Mountain High School and joined the National Guard as a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons Specialist for six years. He is a Sergeant at SCI Benner and has been a prison guard for 14 years.

The bride is the daughter of Dale and Amy Chilcote (Getz), of Orbisonia; sister of Jesse Chilcote, of Orbisonia; and granddaughter of Charles and Bonnie Getz (Gartland), of Mapleton Depot.

Katie is a 2009 graduate of Southern Huntingdon County High School and a 2013 graduate of Shippensburg University, with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in ethnic studies. She has been a prison guard at SCI Benner for seven years and was previously employed as a caseworker with Children and Youth Services.

The newlyweds reside in Pennsylvania and will follow their desire to continue traveling.