Relaxed Forest Elopement

Joelle and Mike – September 10, 2026

There are plenty of ways to arrive at your wedding.

A limo.

A classic car.

Maybe an Uber if we’re being practical.

Or…

You can ride up on a Harley already wearing your wedding dress.

Joelle and Mike chose option four. 😂🏍️

These two came to East Tennessee for a relaxed forest elopement that felt completely like them from beginning to end. There was no giant wedding party, complicated timeline, or elaborate entrance. Instead, there was a motorcycle, a simple ceremony in the woods, lots of kissing, a tractor, winding Tennessee roads, mountain views, and two people who were clearly having a fantastic time getting married. Honestly? They understood the assignment.

Getting Married in One of Their Favorite Places

Tennessee wasn’t a random destination for Joelle and Mike. These two already love coming here to ride their Harley, exploring the curvy roads and mountain scenery that make East Tennessee such a fun place for motorcycle trips. So when it came time to get married, returning to a place that was already part of their story made perfect sense. That’s one of my favorite things about destination elopements. You don’t necessarily have to choose somewhere you’ve never been just because it looks pretty on Instagram. Sometimes the most meaningful location is somewhere you already love – the town you keep visiting, the mountains you can’t seem to stay away from, or the road you always want to ride one more time.

For Joelle and Mike, getting married in Tennessee wasn’t simply about finding a pretty backdrop. It was about getting married somewhere that already felt like them.

Yes, Joelle Rode in Wearing Her Wedding Dress

And because this was Joelle and Mike’s wedding, there wasn’t going to be some overly complicated getting-ready situation once they arrived. Joelle made the trip to the chapel already wearing her wedding dress. On the motorcycle.

Iconic behavior, really.

Mike kept his wedding-day transformation equally simple. He added a vest, and just like that… Wedding ready. I love how perfectly that sums up the entire feeling of their relaxed forest elopement. They didn’t need to spend hours turning themselves into completely different versions of themselves for the wedding. They showed up as Joelle and Mike. Just slightly fancier.

And married by the end.

Dusty Blue and Champagne in the Forest

For their ceremony, Joelle and Mike dressed the chapel in dusty blue and champagne fabric paired with our blue and yellow florals. The colors gave the ceremony space a soft, romantic feeling without making anything too formal. Against the lush greenery of the East Tennessee forest, the dusty blue stood out beautifully while the champagne warmed everything up. It was colorful. It was pretty. But it still felt easy. Which was exactly right for them. There was no giant crowd waiting around the chapel. No enormous wedding party trying to remember what order everyone was supposed to stand in. No complicated processional.

Actually, there wasn’t really a traditional processional at all.

Walking Down the Aisle Together

When it was time to get married, Joelle and Mike simply walked down the aisle together. Side by side. They climbed the chapel steps together, stood in front of Ian, and got married. And I kind of love that. Traditions can be wonderful when they mean something to you. But if the whole one person waits while the other makes a dramatic entrance thing doesn’t feel right? You don’t have to do it. Walk in together. You’re about to walk back out together anyway.

Joelle and Mike kept their ceremony focused on the important part. They shared their vows. They exchanged wedding bands. They made everything official. And then it was time to move on to the next essential wedding-day traditions:

Dirty jokes and kissing. 😂 My kind of people.

Wedding Photos With Their Harley

We started Joelle and Mike’s newlywed portraits around the chapel before bringing in a VERY important member of this love story. The Harley. There was absolutely no way these two were getting married in Tennessee without including their motorcycle in the photos. And that’s exactly how it should be. The best wedding details aren’t necessarily the things you bought specifically for your wedding. They’re the things that already mean something to you. For Joelle and Mike, their Harley represents adventures they’ve already taken together and plenty more still ahead. They’ve spent time riding through Tennessee together. They love exploring the area. It’s part of how they enjoy life as a couple. So the motorcycle didn’t feel like a wedding prop. It felt like part of their story, and it definitely deserved some glamour shots.

From a Harley to a Tractor

Naturally, after taking wedding photos with a Harley, our next vehicle needed to be… A tractor. 😂

Mike collects tractors which meant that once he discovered there was one available for wedding photos, we were obviously going to make this happen. This is exactly the sort of random personal detail I LOVE incorporating into an elopement gallery. Could we have skipped the tractor and taken another traditional romantic portrait somewhere? Sure. But would that have been nearly as much fun? Absolutely not. So Joelle and Mike climbed in next to it for some newlywed photos and a little canoodling. As one does.

Between the motorcycle and the tractor, their wedding gallery was becoming very specifically theirs. But there was another location that mattered even more.

Wedding Photos on a Winding Tennessee Road

The road was one of Joelle and Mike’s must-have photo locations, and once you know their story, it makes perfect sense. The roads around East Tennessee are part of what keeps bringing these two back. They love riding through the area together, exploring the curves, trees, and mountain scenery on their motorcycle. So for their wedding photos, we headed out to one of those winding roads. I love that this wasn’t just a location they picked because it photographed well. It represented something. Years from now, those photos won’t simply remind them what Tennessee looked like on their wedding day. They’ll remind them of all the rides that brought them here in the first place. That’s what makes personal wedding photography so much more interesting. You don’t need every location to be epic. You need it to mean something. And for Joelle and Mike, a quiet Tennessee road felt exactly right.

Sunshine and Mountain Views

From the road, we headed to the field with the mountain view. And Tennessee apparently decided subtle lighting was overrated. SUNSHINE. All of it. 😂☀️ It was bright. It was hot. It was muggy. Basically, East Tennessee was being very East Tennessee. But Joelle and Mike handled it like champs.

They laughed. They snuggled. They kissed. They played around. And they kept having fun even when the weather was making a pretty compelling argument for finding the nearest air conditioner. The field gave them a completely different backdrop from the forest and road, opening everything up to the mountains and sky. That’s one of the fun things about planning a relaxed forest elopement with a little extra time for photos. You can have the intimacy of getting married surrounded by trees without every single wedding portrait looking exactly the same.

Joelle and Mike got forest. Motorcycle. Tractor. Road. Field. Mountains. Not bad for one wedding adventure.

Ending Where It All Started

After our adventures around the property and out to the field, we headed back to the chapel. We finished Joelle and Mike’s wedding photos beneath the archway, bringing their day full circle. They had arrived together on their Harley. They walked down the aisle together. They exchanged vows and rings. They officially became husband and wife. Then they spent their newlywed time doing things that actually felt like them. There wasn’t a giant reception timeline pulling them in twelve directions. They didn’t have to rush through photos because 100 guests were waiting for dinner. They could just wander around together. Laugh. Kiss. Make inappropriate jokes. Climb on a tractor. Stand in the middle of a winding road. Sweat a little—or a lot—under the Tennessee sun. And enjoy being married.

A Relaxed Elopement Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

Sometimes people hear the word “relaxed” and assume it means there isn’t much happening. Joelle and Mike’s wedding is a pretty good argument against that. A relaxed forest elopement doesn’t mean standing in one spot for five minutes, signing a piece of paper, and going home. Unless that’s exactly what you want, of course. Relaxed is more about how the day feels. You aren’t performing for a giant audience. You aren’t racing a massive timeline. You aren’t adding traditions simply because someone told you they’re required. Instead, you get to choose the pieces that actually matter. Walk down the aisle together. Wear your wedding dress on a Harley. Take photos with the motorcycle you use for your adventures. Stop at a tractor because the groom collects them. Go play on the roads you love riding. Take in the mountain view. Make dirty jokes. Kiss your spouse. That’s still a wedding day. It’s just one built around the people actually getting married.

I’d call that a pretty darn good elopement. ❤️🏍️

Congratulations, Joelle and Mike!!

We hope Tennessee keeps calling you back for many, many more rides together.

Relaxed Forest Elopement Vendors

Venue: Chapel in the Hollow
Photography: Star Noir Studio
Officiant: Ian Parrott
Florals: Chapel in the Hollow