Erin and Steve Forest Wedding in the Smoky Mountains

10.05.19

Erin and Steve September 27, 2019

Erin and Steve’s wedding on September 27th was our first at the area we call the Highlands Location. It was lovely!! They arrived via party bus from SweetHeart’s Limo with all of their family. They are a light-hearted couple (as you can tell by one of the teasers) who met on Match.com and enjoy a good Subaru. Congratulations Steve and Erin!!

From the bride:
Steve and I met via Match.com. We had both gotten out of long term relationships 2-3 years prior and had tried dating through other social media platforms but both ended up on Match after not having luck through the more informal routes of friends, co-workers, and apps like Bumble. Even before the first date, we had discovered that we both went to Ohio University, lived 2 doors down on the same street in college (1 year apart) and my brother played lacrosse with one of Steve’s roommates and best friends since grade school. We also lived 4 blocks apart when we met.

Steve was funny and persistent in locking down a first date to the Chinese lantern festival in Columbus. While it ended up being cold and rainy/snowing, he was able to get us tickets to a Blue Jackets hockey game so that we could be inside. We talked the whole game and then went to Short North Tavern where we talked for another 1-2 hours. Steve walked me home, and it had started snowing massive snowflakes. He was a gentleman and walked me to my door where we had our first kiss/makeout session. I think we both knew it wouldn’t be the last time we saw each other. And Steve was quick to line up the next date 🙂

Steve’s dad passed away 2 months before Steve was born. In his memory, his father’s colleagues/friends have continued an annual golf outing (The Bollinger Open) to raise money for kids of single parents, or kids who’ve lost a parent, that works in the public housing sector. We were driving to DC for the 2019 golf outing (my first time) and got an airbnb in Thomas, WV- great spot if you haven’t heard of it. Steve wanted to look at land there (he works in property development) and was hoping it would be a peaceful, romantic spot for him to propose. However I was in sandals and had an epic case of poison ivy last year so I refused to get out and walk through the woods. Once we got to our airbnb we were in awe of the town and our accommodations- perfectly remote, wild, eclectic and care-free. Steve proposed while I was looking at the art in our airbnb, having placed the ring on the bed.

We just kind of happened upon Tennessee for our wedding. Initially this weekend we were going to be in Michigan for a road trip and tried to find a way for our families to meet us there but timelines weren’t matching up. Steve’s sister Megan mentioned TN and we found a house that could accommodate both of our families so that started the plans. We both love the outdoors, mountains, camping so once we started looking, it seemed to fit us best anyway. Your venue sealed the deal.

We most looked forward to having our closest family with us and a relaxed atmosphere to share our biggest day with them. We made it a priority to limit our responsibilities as well as the roles of our families for this day/weekend to ensure that we could have the most quality time together and the least amount of stress. I didn’t even know where our dinner is after- Steve took care of it and I was sure it would be perfect 🙂

We love food and trying new places to eat. We love to travel, whether its camping, snowboarding or new towns/countries. We just finished renovating a house in January that we are now living in. The best man/ring bearer and flower girls are Steve’s nephew and nieces. All the other guests are our 2 grandmas, moms, my dad, our siblings and 2 plus ones, plus the kids in the wedding.