Couple weds, then honeymoons at Prince William Habitat ReStores

Peter and Michelle Fisher tied the knot on December 13 at a private ceremony at the Prince William County Courthouse in Manassas.

The couple then honeymooned at a rather unusual location: two of the Habitat for Humanity Prince William County ReStore locations.

“…We went to Habitat for a Habitat honeymoon,” Michelle told me. The couple visited both the Manassas and Woodbridge locations on their Habitat honeymoon.

Michelle runs a property management and restoration business, “Serenity Homes and Solutions,” which often takes her to Habitat for Humanity to scout for furniture. Peter often accompanies her to help get furniture and move it into her clients’ homes, so the setting for a honeymoon made perfect sense for the couple.

“…it’s kind of our thing,” Michelle told me.

Peter has been in the Manassas area for over eight years, and Michelle has been here for one year.

Michelle says she always liked doing crafts and “Pinterest stuff,” and had always wanted to get started in the rental business. She moved to the Baltimore area, drawn there due to its high levels of poverty and people who needed help, she said.

Michelle soon fell in love with the idea of helping families who need help. Now, “…it’s like we have an extended family out there.” Michelle said about the Baltimore area.

For Michelle, it’s not all about rentals. If any of her clients need help with a birthday party, Michelle and Pater bring a shaved ice and popcorn maker to help the celebration.

“It’s just really fun and I love it,” Michelle said.

Peter has a fulltime job at the Department of Defense and helps Michelle with her work on the weekends.

Michelle and Peter had been friends for about 10 years, and their relationship “just kind of blossomed,” Michelle said.
The couple eloped due to “The stress of the idea [of a wedding],” Michelle said. They plan to have a church ceremony eventually.

So on a rainy Friday, the couple went up to the courthouse with no guests and tied the knot. “We kinda giggled,” Michelle said.
Peter had just proposed the Friday before.

The honeymoon afterward? That was “spur of the moment,” Michelle said.

Through their dating, they would always look at things for houses to help families – Michelle said a lot of her clients are low income. So, she and Peter would go to thrift stores, Habitat for Humanity stores, and loading docks to look for furniture.

So right after their courthouse wedding, Michelle said, “I think we need to go to Habitat.”

“It’s our thing to do,” Michelle said. She said she and Peter had recently helped get a family into a property that didn’t have anything, so they provided them with items from Habitat for Humanity.

“That’s us at our core- helping the families in Baltimore,” Michelle said.