Vivian and Ronald
Another American wedding today, but this one is a very intimate celebration held in Monteagle, Tennessee
As today’s bride Vivian says “Ron and I wanted a wedding that was unique, fun and most of all small and intimate. To be true to ourselves and our values, our wedding was organic and environmentally focused. The products and services that we used were carefully chosen to reflect our style, imagination, creativity and individuality”
Vivian and Ronald married at 11am and followed their ceremony with a brunch reception.
Photos by The Frog Hollow Company
Vivian tells us the story of the scarves worn on her wedding day “Kathy Gholston and I designed the wool scarves for my sister and I. Kathy raises Skipper Alpacas, and she uses their wool to make yarn and weave beautiful and elegant scarves. All of her yarn is carefully hand dyed and comes from her Garland Farm in Dahlonega, Georgia.
I presented the scarf to my sister as a maid of honor gift along with a Stuart Nye sterling silver dogwood pin. Stuart Nye started his business in 1933 and became famous for the dogwood flower design. His jewelry is made entirely by hand using simple homemade tools. The flower girls were presented with his sterling silver dogwood bracelets with our wedding date engraved.”
Vivian and her sister both wore their great grandmother’s pearls and her earrings.
Vivian wore a Monique Lhuillier gown while her the flower girls wore were orange organdy dresses with smocked bodice yellow and pink flowers. hey added matching. white cashmere sweaters bordered with green four leaf clovers were worn over the dresses. Vivian’s made of honour wore a Vera Wang sage chiffon silk sheath dress with a high-low hem.
Aileen O’Brien, longtime resident of the assembly arranged the flowers for the wedding. Vivian says “We only wanted flowers and plants that were available on the mountain in late October. A small orange dahlia with bittersweet berries was worn on the lapel. One of the flowergirls carried his horseshoe which was given to him by his grandfather. Aileen decorated it with fresh bittersweet berries and silk ribbon and was presented to me after we were married to be hung over our front door for good luck. Our bouquet’s were white dahlia’s white and purple,white touched with pink/lavender lisianthuis(Eustoma), ferns, greenery and were wrapped with family heirloom handkerchiefs and pinned with my great grandfather’s lucky horse tie pin and great grandmothers Victorian hat pins.
My bouquet was wrapped with my great, great, great grandmother’s handkerchief which she carried the day she married her husband in Atlanta Georgia just before leaving to fight in the war between the states.My two other flower girls carried orange daisy mums and feverfew surrounded by circular geranium leaves and were also wrapped with my great grandmothers’ handkerchiefs.” Ronald wore his great grandfather’s kilt to represent his Scottish heritage.
Vivian says “One of our main goals was to show the best of who we were. From the beginning, we envisioned our wedding experience as a celebration that brought together our family and close friends in a relaxed environment that reflected our values while at the same time respected our cultural tradition. That is why we chose Monteagle Assembly in Monteagle, Tennessee.”
Ron’s best friend surprised the couple by bringing his two wonderful mixed collie breeds to the ceremony. They both wore a garland of wildflowers and dahlias around their necks.
Vivian shares “Our ceremony was held at Moses Rock and Waterfall Park in the assembly. The Moses Rock Spring, housed in an old stone structure, was the original source of water for the visitors and animals of the Assembly in the 1800’s.In 2007, to commemorate the 125th year of the exitence of the Assembly grounds,
Aileen O’Brien, a longtime resident and skilled landscaper was hired to develop the landscaping.A young stonemason from Lookout mountain, D.J. Giles, was hired to create the water feature.A year was spent developing the area now known as Moses Rock Park and Waterfall.
The water pours out from under a rock and builds up steam as it rolls down the landscape, splashing tnto a “pondless” basin with water-loving natives.In recognition of our environmental interests, The Monteagle Assembly granted us the pleasure of being the first couple to be honored in matrimony at Moses Rock and Waterfall Park.”
Adam Carlos provided the music for the ceremony.
Vivian shares the story of their wedding ceremony “Although we had anticipated perfect weather with the average high of 65 it started to rain at 4:00 in the morning which it stopped an hour before the ceremony but the temperature dropped to 39 degrees and I walked from the church down an old stone walkway where i met the flower girls, my maid of honor and my father in the gazebo which is where the old mill was where the assembly got their water. It was actually a storybook ceremony and was very spiritual and moving. Our priest was my headmaster from my boarding school”
The reception was held at the Edgeworth Inn. “Our reception was held at The Edgeworth Inn which is an 1896 National Register of Historic Places property. The inn is an antique filled Queen Ann style home nestled in the Monteagle’s Chautauqua Assembly which was founded in 1883 and has been continuously operating since its inception. We had the privilege of having Aileen arrange our flowers for our wedding. We only wanted flowers and plants that were available on the mountain in late October.Representing Ron’s Scottish-Irish heritage, he wore his great grandfather’s kilt
Vivian says “Our wedding cake was created by The Blue Chair Bakery and Coffee Shop. It was a delectable three tier almond butter cake filled with chambord raspberry preserves and french almond buttercream and French buttercream icing. Aileen decorated the cake with deep green hydrangeas to resemble four leaf clovers. The four leaves are for hope, faith, love and luck.
I use to go to sleep away camp every summer at Camp Merriewoode in North Carolina and my favorite song was “A boy and girl in a little canoe”, so we incorporated a collectible toy from Ron’s curio cabinet and displayed it on the topper tier separately to share our love for canoeing and kayaking as well as my song which was played by a member of the band. The table was decorated with mini grapevine beehives to show that I adore Ron and I think that he is the “bee’s knees”.”
Vivian shares the story of their wedding favors “Our favors were unique and everyone enjoyed them. My mother and I love vintage handkerchiefs and enjoy collecting. All the females received an heirloom handkerchiefs wrapped with a bouquet of lavender and tied with ribbon. I graduated from Bennington College in Vermont so for all the men we gave a bottle of fancy grade (which is the purest of maple syrup) maple syrup from Godin Farm Maple Orchard. in Vermont”
Vivian says “We ended the evening with a dinner which was featured as sangria, paella and the sounds of Santana The inn’s chef is from Brazil and makes his own sangria and served his valencia style paella with his basil/mint lemonade and flan His son who is a spanish guitarist performed as the evening entertainment.”
Thankyou to Vivian and Ronald for sharing your beautiful wedding day with us today on Polka Dot Bride! Congratulations on your marriage! Thankyou also to The Frog Hollow Company
Photos by The Frog Hollow Company
