THE FULL STORY
Meet Rylee
At the helm of Down the Aisle Carolina is a woman with a hands-on heart and a lifelong knack for turning ordinary moments into extraordinary ones. Meet Rylee—the CEO, pastry chef, and self-proclaimed Love Farmer turning vendor dreams into show-stopping reality (with a little help from a very dapper cardinal).
Rylee FanFan
Chief Executive Officer
Part pastry chef, part matchmaker, part visionary-in-chief—Rylee FanFan is the heart and the hustle behind Down the Aisle Carolina. With a lifelong love of building things by hand, a business degree backed by real entrepreneurial instinct, and a firsthand understanding of what it means to build a life (and a wedding) with the one you love, she's the one steering the vision from the very top.
As Chief Executive Officer, Rylee brings warmth, resourcefulness, and a rare mix of head and heart to the business of love. She holds a Bachelor's in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Western Carolina University, alongside certifications as an NLP Coach, in EFT for Sex and Attachment Bonds, and Gottman Level 1—credentials that shape how she leads, and how she helps couples connect. Whether she's baking up something sweet for the team (a former pastry chef at Bobby Boy Bakeshop for four years, she still bakes weekly—don't be afraid to request a treat!), sewing and designing her next project, or dreaming up new ventures as The Love Farmer, she leads with grace, grit, and genuine care.
Rooted in her belief that connection is everything—she did, after all, marry the boy who grew up next door, having met him at age seven—Rylee brings the same hands-on devotion to DTAC that she brought to her own wedding, where she DIY'd her dress, her cake, and even the catering. When she's not building something new, she's happiest in the garden, lost in a good book, or dreaming of future travels to India, Greece, and Italy.
Topper
Master of Ceremonies
Topper wasn’t always a local legend. Once just a sharp-looking songbird in the Carolina pines, he grew tired of watching talented local wedding pros struggle to be seen—buried in directories, lost in expos, and overlooked by the very couples who needed them most.
So, he took matters into his own wings.
Topper traded his nest for networking, polished his feathers, perched himself atop the region’s most creative businesses, and declared: “This is no longer business as usual. It’s business as exceptional.”
He connected with two powerhouse women who formed Down the Aisle Carolina—a stylishly curated collective built for connection over competition, community over cliques, and creativity over cookie-cutter.
Now, Topper’s mission is simple: Bring the right vendors together, and help couples discover local magic they didn’t know they were looking for.
And...do it all with a wink, a wingtip, and a whole lot of style.
