A Smoky Mountain Wedding Chapel for Outdoor Intimate Weddings and Elopements

10 Year Vow Renewal – Amanda and Jeff

01.09.22

Amanda and Jeff – December 30, 2021

10 Year Vow renewal

Amanda and Jeff joined us for our second event today. They are our last vow renewal of the year. They brought her parents to us today to celebrate their 10 year anniversary! They dressed the chapel in white fabric with our blue berry winter florals. She brought the most adorable pouf of a dress, and his velvet jacket was fabulous. What a great couple to end this amazing year with!! Congratulations, Amanda and Jeff!

From the Bride:

We worked together for years and actually started off not liking each other much AT ALL 🤣 Over the years of working together and going through different things in life we gradually grew close. We both were apprehensive and didn’t try to put any expectations on one another, but we fell in love along the way. We decided to elope after a few years together and talked about having a bigger celebration at a milestone year. We’re now celebrating our 10 anniversary with y’all!! We actually aren’t even sure what our first date was 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️ We might need to look into some meds for our memories 🤣🤣

Because of our relaxing approach to our relationship early on we didn’t discuss marriage much. Then one evening we were at a holiday dinner with family and he leaned in and whispered in my ear….I think we should get married! I was shocked to say the least but we were married by the end of the week!

I (Amanda) have family in East Tennessee and grew up going often through the years. Its a place very near and dear to me. My husband has never been so I thought this was a great way to share it.

Since we eloped at the courthouse it was very quick and we lived away from family so we weren’t able to share it with anyone. The pictures are what are the most exciting for me. Something for us to look back on and share.

We’re both homebodies honestly. Most times we opt for a quiet night in. We recently moved to a small town in Oklahoma and enjoy the outdoors with our pups. We are definitely woodsy people..campfires and 4wheeler rides. I’m a crafter so I enjoy coming up with new and unique things. We’re trying to get that going as a small side business.

Chapel Florals: Chapel in the Hollow

Bouquet: Bride

Dress: Top – Factory Blue on Etsy Bottom – JacandJanLTD on Etsy

Photography: Star Noir Studio

Menswear: Blazer – Amazon.com Shirt – Boot Barn

Shoes: Idyllwind and Ariat

Hair and Makeup: Southern Sirens

Are you planning a 10 year vow renewal! We love helping couples celebrate their milestones. 🙂 Check out our calendar to see if we have your date available.

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Family Micro Wedding – Kerry and Rodney

01.09.22

Kerry and Rodney – December 30, 2021

Family Micro Wedding

For the first wedding of our last day of weddings of the year, Kerry and Rodney brought their families here to be joined together. They dressed the chapel in blush fabric with our moody florals. She looked amazing in her flowy white dress. These two were so fun together! Congratulations, Kerry and Rodney!

From the Bride:

We met through family. Kerry has two adult daughters and Rodney has two boys, 13 and 8 and we are blending our families. The first date was very casual. Dinner and drinks. Rodney proposed. We went ice skating and had the whole family with us. We were celebrating Kerry’s daughter’s birthday. Everyone knew about the proposal but Kerry.

Rodney loves Tennessee. We were planning a vacation to Gatlinburg and started looking for places to get married and found the Chapel in the Hollow and that was it. It was a plan. Kerry is looking forward to taking all the best pictures in all the locations available. Rodney is looking forward to making Kerry happy.

We love to ride side by sides. We own a Can Am Maverick and look forward to trips to the ATV parks in Tennessee. We do love Mexican food on a date night. We like going to the movies.

Hair and Makeup: Southern Sirens

Dress: Amelia couture from Bella and Bloom

Photography: Star Noir Studio

Rings: Kay Jewelers

Officiant: Ian Parrott

Venue Associate: Elizabeth DeCoursey

Venue: Chapel in the Hollow

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Afternoon Micro Wedding – Kylie and Michael

01.09.22

Kylie and Michael – December 29, 2021

Afternoon Micro Wedding

Kylie and Michael joined us for our second wedding of the day and got to experience some drizzly Tennessee weather during their afternoon micro wedding. They dressed the chapel in champagne and white with our white florals. Her dress was elegance incarnate, and his jeans and blazer looked casually chic. They had the cutest little party animal with them. Congratulations, Kylie and Michael!!

From the Bride:

Michael and I met when I was working at a local restaurant/bowling alley in Syrcause, Indiana. More specifically, Michael and a co-worker of his came and sat at one of my tables and together we picked on his friend for ordering a girly drink. 🙂 After that he continued to come into my work quite often with other friends or family, making sure he came to find me to say hello and I’d do the same. A couple weeks after our first meeting I had a friend request on facebook from him and of course accepted it. Come to find out he had been searching for me on facebook for a little while but couldnt find my account, but his cousin did and sent it to him. Cant forget to mention that when his cousin would come into my work without him he would send him snapchats of me letting him know that i was there. Most of the time Michael would come join his cousin if he knew i was working. I like to tease Michael that he stalked me for about a month before we ever actually hung out.

Our first date was to Longhorn Steakhouse, Michaels favorite restaurant. It was like 90 some degrees outside, his truck didnt have a/c, and he was in jeans, his boots, and a flannel. I was wearing a knee length dress, with a jean jacket, and my converse chucks. Although I was dressed slightly more appropriate for the weather, I realized that I had a sweat spot on the back of my dress when I went into the restroom. Dinner was very good and Michael was very polite and respectful towards me and everyone else.

Michael proposed. We found out a little over half way through september of 2020 that we were expecting a baby. Although I have two boys from my prior marriage, this was our first (and only) child together. Fast-forwarding to January of 2021, we held a gender reveal at his aunts house with our closest family. After the burnout powder revealed we were having a boy we hugs and kissed and went on to celebrate with the family. As I am giving my sister a hug, I hear gasp and turn around to michael on one knee. He asked me if I would marry him and my voice box froze. HAHA! he held his hand out to take mine and asked me again, THEN I was able to answer.

We had originally chose to have a small wedding at his aunts house right outside of Milford but changed our minds three times. Every time we decided something different it seemed to grow into something more than we wanted. So after talking one day out on the back porch, one of us mentioned Tennessee.

Truth be told, we are very much homebodies. We would rather get a bunch of candy, a bowl of popcorn, and a couple of fountain pops, turn on a movie and turn off all of the lights and just stay in.

Coordination: Arianna with Custom Love Gifts, Events & Prints

Florals: Chapel in the Hollow (Bouquet via Boujee Blooms )

Dress: David’s Bridal

Photography: Star Noir Studio

Menswear: Macy’s and Buckle

Shoes: Betsy Johnson

Rings: Kay Jewelers and Manly Bands

Officiant: Codie Bolin

Hair and Makeup: Bride

Venue Associate: Elizabeth DeCoursey

Venue: Chapel in the Hollow

Are you planning an afternoon micro wedding? We’d love to help you celebrate! Check out our calendar to see if we have your date available.

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Wintry Micro Wedding – Nikole and Sheldon

01.09.22

Nikole and Sheldon – December 29, 2021

Wintry Micro Wedding

Nikole and Sheldon joined us today for a wintry micro wedding. They dressed the chapel in navy and white with our blue and yellow florals. Her dress had soooo much gorgeous texture to it, and he looked oh so handsome in his grey suit. They brought their pupper to the ceremony — such a cutie!! Congratulations, Nikole and Sheldon!!

From the Bride:

We met through family friends and our extended families. Sheldon planned a trip to Florida to celebrate my graduation from grad school. I was completely unaware he was planning to propose. On one of the last nights there he got up and was giving what I thought was a toast to thank everyone for spending the week with us. About half way through I realized he was working towards proposing and was completely surprised. I of course said yess (through happy tears). He later told me he waited util the last day of vacation because he was nervous and if I said no he wanted to be able to leave quickly. We have been happily engaged for almost 3 years now!

We were planning on being here to celebrate Christmas together. We jokingly were talking about eloping. I googled Smoky Mountain elopements and found the Chapel in the Hollow. After we found it we decided it was perfect and a small wedding what exactly what er wanted. We quickly planned the wedding in and are excited to celebrate in East Tennessee. We are most looking forward to celebrating with our closest family and friends.

For fun we enjoy exploring new places and spending time together.

Coordination: Arianna and Stephanie with Custom Love Gifts, Events & Prints

Florals: Chapel in the Hollow

Dress: Essence of Australia from Bustle Bridal-Baton Rouge

Photography: Star Noir Studio

Bridesmaid Dress: David’s Bridal

Menswear: Men’s Wearhouse

Rings: Kay Jewelers and Zales

Officiant: Ian Parrott

Venue Associate: Elizabeth DeCoursey

Venue: Chapel in the Hollow

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Surprise Winter Wedding – Anne and Nick

01.09.22

Anne and Nick – December 28, 2021

Surprise Winter Wedding

Anne and Nick brought their families to us for a surprise winter wedding. They waited to tell their families about it until Christmas Day to keep excitement high and stress low. They dressed the chapel in champagne fabric with our red berry winter florals. They opted for a first look so they could have more time for photos, and they were so cute together!! Anne opted for a form fitting trumpet style dress, and Nick had a fun russet colored suit. Congratulations, Anne and Nick!!

From the Bride:

Nicholas and I met in college in passing, but never looked twice at each other. A few years later, Nicholas reached out to me on Facebook while he was working in the area that I lived in.(For context purposes, Nicholas is a project engineer and travels for work) I ignored him for a solid 2 weeks, but after contacting me every way possible, I agreed to a date with him. We went on our first date on Friday night, I came back to go out with him and his work crew that same Saturday night, and then the county shut down due to COVID. Due to COVID I was working from home, and there was no restaurants open for indoor dining. We spent the first 6mo dating, having dinner in the truck or his hotel room. Due to realities of his job, relocation soon approached, and many conversations had to be had. He relocated a hand full of times the first year of our relationship. I drove an average of 200miles each way, each weekend following him across the state, but have never looked back since our first date!!

I was late for the first date because I was determined to not show up. I had a good friend of mine that had insisted I go because quote, ‘You’re going to marry this one’ … so I eventually convince myself to show up to prove my friend wrong, what harm could one date do? .. So I show up late, Nick’s first words were “You’re finally here, I’m starving”. We go to eat Mexican, as I am shoveling a giant fork full of cheesy rice into my mouth- with a large margarita in front of me, Nick decides to tell me he tries to watch what he eats, because eating healthy is important to him. … somehow we managed to get thru dinner and laugh enough that I am willing to hang out and accept his offer to come back the next night. From there, we just never really separated. We’ve been inseparable for the most part and just tag along wherever the other one goes!

We had been together for a year in March 2021, even tho I had decided we were getting married well before our first anniversary. Our anniversary comes and goes, no ring. I bring it up and question it every chance I get. I’m impatient, eager, and determined that he either marries me or I’m leaving(I was kidding)… Finally summer rolls around and I’ve about given up on a ring anytime soon. We were getting ready to head to his parent’s house for 4th of July. I tell him to check one last time if he forgot anything, and he says, no he didn’t, but I did. He shows me the ring, and I immediately begin crying my eyes out. I don’t think he even was able to ask me or get on one knee for catching me from falling in tears. After accusing him of playing a very mean trick on me, he says that he’s serious and put the ring on my finger.

We had previously decided on North Carolina for our wedding private, no guests ceremony. While scrolling thru facebook a friend had asked for elopement suggestions, and Chapel in the Hollow was mentioned by someone else. I decided to look CIH up and immediately fell in love. We knew we had to change plans.

Nick’s work base is Knoxville, and East TN is where we plan to plant roots and raise our family at, so marrying at somewhere that we can come back to is very special to us.

I am excited about my dress and his suit! We were with each other when both were picked out, but haven’t peeked since purchase dates and we both just genuinely LOVE our attire. Our attire is total opposite of the outdoors location and we hope that it makes everything just pop. No significance, all siblings and parents are in town but otherwise… We liked that it worked with celebrating Christmas and New Years all in the same time frame.

We LOVE to visit local breweries. We are always looking for new food to try and a new brewery to pair with it! We also love going to Main Event in Knoxville. We used to lie to his parents about needing to get me home to Lebanon, and stay the night in Knoxville to play arcade games at Main Event until late at night!