Casual Smoky Mountain Wedding Ceremony – Laura and Jake

07.16.22

Laura and Jake – June 16, 2022

Casual Smoky Mountain Wedding Ceremony

Laura and Jake joined us for a casual Smoky Mountain wedding ceremony. They dressed the chapel in navy and champagne with our blue and yellow florals. Their children stood up beside them during the service as a friend presided over it. Her mom could barely contain her excitement as they said their vows and exchanged rings. She brought the cutest personalized cookies, and they had an amazing group of friends that helped make the day extra special!! Congratulations, Laura and Jake!!

From the Bride:

Jake and I met through a mutual friend, Melva who played matchmaker. Jake and Melva attended the same church and Melva and I worked together for several years. Jake has two girls and had been divorced for six years and I have two sons, but had never married. Melva wanted us to meet each other but due to various circumstances, it didn’t work out for a couple of months. While on a mission trip to Guatemala, my pastor prayed that I would meet a godly man that I could be in mission with to serve God. When I arrived home from the trip, I was on my knees praying and I cried out to God, “You know my heart!”. Basically, He knew the desire of my heart to meet someone. After that prayer, I decided I should reach out to Jake. If nothing else, he would be a friend to spend some time with. We texted and talked for awhile and on June 1, 2019 we had our first date.

Our first date was to an authentic Italian restaurant, Lola and Giuseppe’s Trattoria. We had a nice dinner and then went back to my house to sit on the front porch and talked until it was dark outside. From that point forward, we’ve talked, texted or seen each other most every day for the past three years. When I shared my prayer and crying out to God that He knew my heart, Jake shared that he had prayed the same exact prayer.

Jake proposed on November 12, 2021. I was sitting at the kitchen table and he came in later on a Friday night. He immediately went upstairs to grab the ring. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I jokingly teased him by saying I needed to think about it and then immediately followed up with a YES!

We started to plan a small wedding at home and it kept growing into a larger event that neither of us wanted. I googled Smoky Mountain wedding chapels and found Chapel in the Hollow. It was the perfect answer for us. We actually had a vacation scheduled for Norris Lake so we decided that it would be a great time for the wedding. I love Tennessee and have taken many trips with my family and friends to East Tennessee and the state in general. Jake and I also brought his girls to the Smoky Mountains for our first out of state trip together. We have made many fond memories here so we are continuing the trend.

We are mostly looking forward to our family, friends and pastor sharing the day with us as we enter into our marriage covenant with God. We love spending time with our friends and family! We also love to travel, camp, dirt track racing and taking long rides on the Harley. We also enjoy attending worship, bible study and serving God together. We are very much looking forward to our future as a married couple and blended family.