Rustic Fall Wedding at the RT Lodge in Maryville, TN

November 14, 2017

Today marks our two year wedding anniversary, and I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by. It seems like just yesterday we were engulfed in the chaos of selling my house in Atlanta, building our dream house in Chattanooga, and planning our wedding in Maryville.

I’ve been going through our wedding photos, and I’m beyond grateful for our amazing vendors and family. Our wedding was truly a reflection of us, and our vision for a fun, rustic, and cozy Fall wedding was perfectly executed.

DIY was definitely a huge part of our wedding planning process. With my design background, I wanted to be involved in all of the decor aspects. The RT Lodge is beautiful on its own, and since they supply a large amount of seasonal decor, we really didn’t have to go over the top with florals and other decorations.

My husband, Bobby, and I dropped off two car loads of decorations at the RT Lodge the evening before our rehearsal dinner, and from then on they handled everything. Since we had the lodge for the entire weekend, our guests were able to arrive on Friday, and we spent the entire weekend celebrating with our friends and family. I was a nervous wreck leading up to the wedding, but quickly relaxed once I realized every single detail was being handled beautifully by the Lodge.

My mom and I spent several weekends painting pumpkins and gourds we picked up at Hobby Lobby and Michaels. We had friends pick up pine cones from their yard, that we spray painted gold, and my mom and her friends spent a windy weekend gathering maple leaves in a shopping center parking lot. Thank you!!!

I spent the Summer thrifting vintage bottles and vases to supply to the florist. Kim with the Northshore Kroger in Knoxville was beyond AMAZING! I created a style guide of images I’d gathered from Pinterest, and she took my vision and made the florals even more beautiful than I could’ve ever imagined.

Since we had the lodge for the entire weekend, our out of town guests and the wedding party stayed on the property. This was so convenient since on the day of the wedding, all we had to do was wake up, get breakfast, and start getting ready. The dressing room was large enough for the bridal party to hang out and relax.

One of the most important things to me was getting as many wedding photos as possible, and our photographer, Leah Bullard, was amazing. She and the lodge coordinated our first look, and it was such a special moment between Bobby and me. Leah guided us through every pose with ease, and I treasure these photos.

Bobby and I both agreed that we did not want a religious ceremony, but instead wanted to do things a little less traditionally. When we met Reverend Emily, we immediately knew we’d found the perfect person to officiate our wedding. She offered us several ideas, and we decided on a tree planting ceremony using a beautiful maple tree from my grandparents home in Connecticut. We used dirt from our parents homes in Louisiana and Tennessee where we’d each grown up to symbolize our unity.

Reverend Emily created a beautiful and lighthearted ceremony featuring Bobby’s charismatic cat, Dexter. The chuckles from our guests during the  ceremony kept the mood light and fun which is exactly what we wanted.

I can’t thank these ladies enough for being such good friends to me when I lived in Atlanta, and agreeing to join me on my wedding day. I promised them there would be no bridezilla antics, and we all enjoyed a fun weekend together.

Bobby invited his two close friends to be his Groomsmen, and my brother served as the ring bearer escort of Tillman, a large English Mastiff, and seasoned wedding professional.

The food at the lodge featured mostly seasonal Fall vegetables, and everything was amazing. The lodge made sure our plates were already prepared and waiting for us. We were able to enjoy dinner while watching all of our guests around us enjoying themselves.

I was really worried that none of our guests would dance, but our DJ, Robbie with Special Notes, did a wonderful job of getting everyone on the dance floor.

Thank you so much to all of our amazing vendors and family for bringing our wedding vision to life. We had the best time celebrating this special day with our friends and family.

Venue, Lodging, and Catering: RT Lodge
Florals: Kroger
Cake: Art of Cakes
Hair: Natalie Cage
Officiant: Reverend Emily
Wedding Dress: White Lace & Promises
Jewelry: Crystal Avenues
Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal
DJ: Special Notes
Photographer: Leah Bullard
Invitations: Nicole Victory Design