Tennessee Winter Wedding at Chattanooga Golf & Country Club by Bamber Photography

Posted April 11th, 2011 by Heather Vreeland | 1 Comment - Post A Comment

What kind of wedding does a former pageant queen turned Miss Tennessee girl have? A glamorous one. Hello! Blaire wed her beau Wade in an intimate, traditional wedding on a moon-lit Tennessee night in early 2010. The ceremony, was held at Patten Chapel and decorated with candles and orchids, smelled of roses, and shimmered with hints of gold and crystals. Later guests dinned and danced at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club that overlooks the Tennessee River. Their wedding was simple, but accentuated with glamour wherever possible….as obvious in the gorgeous fur stole Blaire wore that was her grandmothers. We simply adore this detail! Following all the festivities, the newlyweds dashed away on a Caribbean cruise and then Wade surprised Blaire with a 10 day honeymoon to Egypt! Bamber Photography preserved all the drama and glamour in these beautiful images, don’t you think? Real all about their wedding planning process below…

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Can you give us an overview of the event?
We had a glamorous and elegant winter wedding in my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. My husband and his family are from Texas. So, it was a perfect southern blend! Our ceremony took place in a small historic chapel just after dusk, decorated in candles and orchids, smelled of roses, and shimmered with hints of gold and crystals. We were surrounded by loved ones and family, and we danced the night away in celebration over-looking the moon-lit Tennessee River.

What were your playful twists that made the event unique?
My favorite addition/twist was a very personal one.I wore my great grandmother’s fur stole. She passed away when I was 12, and she was an amazing woman. It matched my ivory dress perfectly and actually looked like it was part of the dress. I felt very old Hollywood!It still belongs to my Grandmother. So, it was my “something borrowed.”

bamber-photography Did you DIY any of the details?
Yes- the invitations! We printed them off the computer ourselves and hand glued rhinestones!It was tedious work, but they turned out beautiful and saved us a lot of money, which we were able to channel into other things like photography and the dress.

What was the most memorable moment?
The dancing at the reception! I was so worried that with a smaller wedding, no one would dance. I was sooo wrong! In fact, my maid of honor definitely “dropped it like it was hot” in the middle of one dance, and I have the pictures to prove it! I loved that everyone let loose, had a good time, and truly celebrated with Wade and I.

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Tell us about the food and desserts.
Wade and I are both meat eaters. SO, we had a couple carving stations and buffet-style set-up. The cakes were amazing! I had a very moist yellow cake with canola filling (also known as italian cream) and butter cream icing. My groom’s cake was quite the hit! I had a mouth-watering german chocolate cake designed to look like my husband’s football jersey. (We met at the Liberty Bowl while he was playing for the University of Houston and I was there as Miss Tennessee)

What kind of energy did your entertainment give the event?
We had a DJ host the event, and he did fantastic! Within minutes of our arrival, the entire wedding party (and all of our crazy relatives) had already hit the dance floor!

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Tell us about your wedding gown and what your wedding party wore.
I actually drew a sketch of what I wanted my gown to be- body forming with a slight flair and train. I wanted it to be ivory with gold detail. The dress I found matched it almost exactly. It actually didn’t attract my eye on the hangar, but I knew the moment I tried it on! It was a pale gold with an ivory lace overlay. It tied up the back to give a dramatic and sexy look (as well as really pull your waist in!). It was strapless with a sweetheart neck line. As accessories, I wore my great grandmother’s gorgeous necklace, and I borrowed her fur stole for the ceremony, which matched my gown perfectly! Since it was an evening, formal wedding, I picked a long gown in a neutral tone that would look good on the girls and in pictures. I wanted it to be timeless. You know- I didn’t want my kids to look at thee years from now and wonder why we were wearing crazy colors or styles!

What was the best wedding advice you received?
At first, I was really stressing about budget and doing the wedding how I wanted. I don’t know if I’m alone in this, but I have a special talent for being attracted to expensive things. So, when I was trying to figure out what to spend the money on and where to cut back- I got some great advice: “At the end of the day and 20 years from now, you will have pictures of you in your gown.” So- spend your money on pictures (they will be with you forever!) and your dress (ok- and maybe pay attention to what the groom is wearing as well!)

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