Spring Wedding in Chattanooga, TN at the Patten Chapel and The Waterhouse Pavilion | Mr. & Mrs. Crews
I gotta say, I think Sam and Dusty picked the most beautiful day of the year to get married. The trees were blooming, and the sun was peaking over lookout mountain in Chattanooga. You could feel the anticipation building as everyone seated themselves in Patten Chapel before the ceremony.
But the weather wasn’t the only beautiful thing about this day. Every aspect of the day was intentional and most of it was handcrafted by Sam herself, putting her own thoughtful touch on almost every detail of their wedding day.
”I made the flower girl dresses, cake topper, flowers, and seating chart. My MOH designed our invite, save the date, signs, table numbers, and seating cards. My cousin's wife designed and made our cake all the way from Ohio. The flowers came from Atlanta where I used to live and we spent a lot of time there, but I picked them out and had help from bridesmaids and my mom arranging the bouquets and boutonnieres, and decorations.
Out of all that though I completely forgot to make Dusty's boutonniere so on our wedding day, I picked a flower from my bouquet and I don't know... there's something heartwarming about that to me.
Gosh I feel like everything had a special meaning in some way. Our officiant, Frank, has known us for sometime now and made our ceremony so personal in every way. When they say it takes a village it really does and we couldn't have pulled any of this off without the support and help from our family and friends near and far.”
-Sam
“My best friends from grade school carefully picked out my earrings for my something new, my cousin who I've always looked up to brought me her necklace from her wedding as my something borrowed, she also brought my great grandmother's handkerchief for my something old, and my best friend got me a sixpence to finish it all off. My mom has always done my hair (she's a cosmetologist) since I was a little girl. Every school picture, piano recital, dance, you name it. It was super important for her and me that she do it on my wedding day.”
-Sam
“The best thing I can say is that it was a heart explosion. You hear different things from different people who have had a wedding and what to focus on and what to not worry about etc. but nothing could have ever truly prepared me for a day like this. I had been planning and making things for our wedding for over a year and to see it all come together was super rewarding. We had talked about eloping for some time and we're so glad everything went the way it did. Seeing our close friends and family (all from different walks of life) come out to support us.... I just felt so much love in the chapel. Plus Dusty's nieces chanting they have a new auntie was a highlight for me. I love them. I like to think his nephew was also excited but he's a man of few words.
All in all though, when those doors opened and I saw Dusty everything fell away. I kept thinking how did I get so lucky?”
-Sam
“When I saw my nieces and nephew coming down the aisle I got choked up. But when Sam came into the chapel, I couldn't hold back tears as I was overwhelmed with emotion and euphoria. Most beautiful bride and dress ever!!! The whole day was like a dream.”
-Dusty
“Even before the day of the wedding, everyone kept asking if I was nervous, and I replied,
"No. I'm not nervous to marry my best friend."
“The biggest thing that was important to me was to make our wedding as personable as possible. It may not have looked super professional, but I tried to make every thing that I could so that it had my personal touch. I wanted jewel toned wedding colors, our love of travel, and ultimately our personalities to shine through. Each table number was to a place we want to go, each place card was a post card to a beloved friend or family member, and our guest book was a globe to tie it back in.
No matter where we are we will have friends and family from all over.”
“Our first dance was "Heaven Sent" by Mr. Little Jeans. It was a song I put on a mixed cd for Sam on valentine's day, and she loved it too. Also it's one of my favorite records I own and "Mr. Little Jeans" is a minor character in a Wes Anderson film Rushmore. We both adore his movies, and believe that we were "Heaven Sent" to each other at the opportune moment.”
-Dusty
And my dance with my mom to Daughters meant a lot to the both of us. My dad hasn't always been there for me but she has and it's really close to my heart. Cheesy but perfect.
“Thanks to my amazing wife, who planned nearly every detail and didn't murder me during the process. Thanks to my parents for raising me well and to Sam's mom for raising my incredible best friend. Thanks to our amazing wedding planner Anna and our brilliant photographers and videographer Cassie, Mike, and Natalie. Emilie, what a beautiful and delicious cake! Tobey and DJ Tony Dub, you both crushed it. We couldn't have hoped for better toasts, and an even better maid of honor and best man. Thank you Amanda and Jeff. Thanks to the bridesmaids and groomsmen for putting up with us on our special day and so many other days. Thank you to our caterers, Patten Chapel, and The Waterhouse Pavilion (gold star for Haley for introducing us to Anna). Thanks to our organist and to Frank for performing a loving ceremony. Thank you to all the friends and family who showed up and shared an amazing day us and influenced our lives! And thanks to everyone who couldn't be there, but wanted to celebrate with us on the best day ever.”
-Dusty
WEDDING VENDORS
Ceremony Venue: Patten Chapel at The University of Chattanooga
Reception Venue: Waterhouse Pavilion at Miller Plaza
Planner: Anna Gaccione with Dixie Events
Videographer: Wedding Girl Films
Florals: DIY with Cut Flower Wholesale
Cake & Desserts: Emily Welk with Hazel & Rye Artisan Baking Company
DJ: DJ Tony Dub with First Verse Productions
Wedding Dress: The Something Blue Shoppe
Bridesmaids Dresses: Lulu's
Shoes: Steve Madden | Dillard's
Jewelry: Rone Regency
Men’s Attire: Brooks Brothers
Linens/Napkins: Bradley Rentals
Alcohol: Emily Pinner with Riverside Beverages
