Ellen and Aaron True’s wedding makes me want to run through an open field somewhere…seriously. There are so many intimate details that make the ceremony and reception feel like coming home — if home were a quaint cabin in the woods. Held at the ever-so-picturesque Cloundland Canyon State Park, everything from the handcrafted beer bottle labels to the wedding cake (made by the bride!) was the pinnacle of simple, warm and sweet. Check out the rest of the images from Esther JuLee Photography and tell me you don’t agree!
So tell us how you met! Love at first sight, blind date, friends forever, we want the particulars!
Though we’ve shared the same friends for over 5 years (and even overlapped and Georgia Tech for several years) we never officially met until our friend Wendi’s surprise birthday party. I had plans to move to Asia as a full-time Christian missionary, but ended up using the ticket to join Aaron in Israel where he was researching for the summer. Meeting him in Jerusalem was only the 7th time we’d spoken face-to-face, but we had a wonderful, romantic time together in Israel before returning to Atlanta together.
Now for the proposal . . . details!
Even though Aaron was incredibly busy with school (he’s getting his PhD in Civil Engineering), the very day he received the ring in the mail he quickly arranged a hike with me up Stone Mountain “to get a break from his cubicle”. Once we’d found a comfy spot to watch the sunset, he got out a Bible full of numbered sticky notes and read the many scriptures we’ve heard along the way. Next he pulled out apples and gouda cheese, a bottle of red wine, and a whole bag of marshmallows. The marshmallows were especially endearing because he hates them as much as I love them. He then gave me a wooden box which he had adorned with a hand-cut copper tree and copper words reading “Will you be my true love?” His last name is True and the great tree is an important image for us and our marriage.
We want to know all about the wedding details! Was it the small and intimate setting or the big traditional?!
We had about 200 folk and we like to refer to the wedding as a shindig. The ceremony was outside in the peninsula of grass overlooking Cloudland Canyon. The chairs radiated out from a large tree which we stood beneath as we made our vows. We had no official attendants, though our wonderful friends and family helped in so many ways to pull the day off. The reception was in and around a rustic building isolated in the woods also in Cloudland Canyon State Park. Our grilling team of man friends used the humongous on-site pit to cook steak tri-tips for everyone while our sides were catered from a Chattanooga BBQ restaurant. The band was wonderful and played mostly bluegrass with some funky tunes as the reception got later. We danced and left in Aaron’s pickup truck by sparkler light. It was easily the most fun day of my life.
What were your playful twists that made your wedding unique?
I wore cowboy boots under my wedding dress – which I used when we hiked to the base of the falls for post-wedding photos. We also had an informal and fun ceremony – our officiate encouraged cheering and even told us to kiss twice. The tons of hand-made details also went a long way in making it unique. Between Aaron, my parents, and some friends we had 8 different kinds of home-brewed beer, complete with labels we designed and printed. I made the wedding cake 2 days before the wedding and stacked and decorated the tiers morning-of. Aaron and I spent months making the water and tea servers from wood, glass, and copper. All of the table cloths, window decorations, and even the lantern wiring were measured, cut, assembled, and hung the day before the big event. We encouraged our guests to take advantage of the trip to the wedding by taking the whole weekend as a mini vacation. About half of our total guestlist filled the park’s cabins and joined us for our pot-luck rehearsal picnic the night before the wedding. That coming together of so many of our favorite people for a whole weekend was simply beautiful.
Are you gasping?!? BEAUTIFUL photograph.
What was the best wedding advice you received?
Make it your own, expensive is overrated, and no matter what’s undone and what goes wrong be absolutely indulgent about enjoying every moment of the day.
Venue: Cloudland Canyon State Park | Sides Caterer: Rib & Loin | Bluegrass Band: Sons of Ralph | Photographer: Esther JuLee
Callie | July 6th, 2011 | See all posts by Callie
