Tara and Andy’s enjoyed a winsome outdoor wedding in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Tara’s wore a gorgeous BHLDN gown that was perfectly simple and elegant. After a wedding ceremony by the Little River, they retired to the the Appalachian Clubhouse for their reception. Mountainside Guide preferred photographer, JoPhoto was on hand to capture this fetching wedding.
Tara + Andy
Elkmont, TN
May 2, 2015
Wedding day weather: Sunny and 70 degrees.
Number of guests: 60
Your budget: $10,000
Biggest splurge: photographer
Biggest savings: venue
Why did you choose the Mountains for your wedding?
Tara is from east Tennessee and grew up going to the Smokey Mountains. Some of Tara and Andy’s favorite things to do include trail running and camping. They have spent a lot of time in the mountains together.
Wedding day theme:
Rustic outdoor spring wedding
Where did you find your inspiration?
Pinterest and wedding blogs
How did you choose to personalize your wedding?
We had a lot of family members help with the decorations and the music! Andy’s mom made the lace and burlap buntings and Tara’s mom made a lot of the decorations. The maid of honor made the boxes of flowers. Tara’s uncle and brother played string instruments for the ceremony and her family provided the music at the reception.
What was your favorite part of the reception?
Our favorite part of the reception was getting to visit with all of our guests.
What are three things you’re super glad you did?
- We spent the most money on the photographer and were so happy with the pictures!
- We tried to greet all of our guests while they were standing in line for the buffet. We wanted to make sure we didn’t miss saying hello to anyone who came to our wedding.
- Tara’s favorite part was waiting to see Andy for the first time when she walked down the isle.
What was the biggest challenge in planning your mountain wedding and how did you overcome it?
Tara and Andy live in Memphis and had to plan the wedding from out of town. Tara’s family lives in east Tennessee so they visited one weekend and met with as many vendors as they could squeeze in.
How did you find and choose your vendors?
Since we were planning from out of town, we used online reviews of local vendors. We used JOPHOTO because they had photographed weddings at our location before, and their pictures looked beautiful.
What is your best piece of advice to other mountain brides who are planning their weddings?
Be flexible! And realize the mountain backdrop is beautiful so no need to stress about some of the decoration details!