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Picture it: an intimate ceremony among the turning fall leaves of a woodland backdrop. A gray dress, dapper groom, and a little edge with leather jackets. You don't have to imagine it, because I've got just such a wedding. Marcella and Jimmy chose a gorgeous fall day for their Seymour, TN elopement.
Their rings were tied to a handmade ornament and the rest was left to the adorable rustic chapel that served as their ceremony space and the glorious foliage that made for seriously gorgeous photos. This is the elopement we can all dream about…
Our song is “Feathered Indians” by Tyler Childers so I think the desire to get married in the mountains started from listening to his music. Neither one of us had ever been to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge and I wanted it to be a new adventure for both of us.
Neither one of us are religious so we didn't really want a church-like setting. I looked for months to find a wedding package that provided the ceremony, setting, and photography I was looking for (even attempted to organize everything myself from out-of-state). I found Chapel in the Hollow the weekend before we left for TN and knew they were perfect for us!
Jimmy was actually the reason for our color scheme. We got engaged in March and I had settled on another dress (and another one before that) which was white with a mermaid skirt. He bought his shirt with navy stripes and the vest the weekend before we left for Tennessee and we did a dress-up test-run to see how we looked. I felt like my white dress just didn't go with his shirt and vest, especially trying to envision us in Tennessee scenery. I ordered my navy dress on Amazon and got it two days before we left Florida!
The only decor item we brought was an engraved wooden heart ornament our rings were tied to. Jimmy's mother gave us a wedding card with the ornament tied to it two days before we left. I mentioned to Jimmy that I would love to include the ornament in our pictures so his family felt like a part of our wedding and Jimmy suggested tying our rings to it for our ceremony. I of course LOVED that idea and so we did it.
I loved, loved our intimate, just-us ceremony (no offense to friends and family!). But it's such an impactful moment. I am so happy it was just us sharing the vows, holding hands, laughing while we took pictures.
The most special moment for me was listening to the vows during the ceremony, particularly the vows presented by our officiant, Ian. So very touching, beautiful, and inspiring for a couple starting their marriage. I anticipated crying all over everything during the ceremony (my now-husband was forewarned many times so he was also anticipating this), but managed to make it with just a few tears and barely ruined makeup.
If you feel like eloping, even if you're getting married a year from now, DO IT! It is such a beautiful and (I'm going to use impactful again) impactful moment. I am so glad we decided to do something with just him and I where we could focus on each other, laugh together, and have our wedding be about just us.
Vendors
Photography: Star Noir Studio • Hair and Makeup: the bride • Floral Designer: Melissa Timm Designs • Event Venue: Chapel in the Hollow • Dress: Huifany on Amazon (similar)
Gallery
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
Amazing shots.