Renee and John

Today's real Knoxville wedding was brought to us by Longwerks Commercial Studios. Renee and John were married June 12, 2010 at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens. Read on for more from the bride!

How did you and your husband meet? We met during orientation at work and became friends but did not start dating until about a year and a half after we met.

Tell us your proposal story: John took me to the Botanical Gardens, telling me were just going to walk around. When we got to the terrace area, where we would eventually say our vows, he pulled the ring out of his pocket and asked me to marry him. It was simple and perfect. I forgot to say yes so after hugging him for a while he asked again wanting to make sure we were on the same page.  

What was the most anticipated moment of your wedding day? Seeing each other and getting to call him my husband.

What was the most important thing to you about your wedding? I really just wanted to be present. So many of my friends have told me that they remember nothing from their wedding day; I wanted to get to spend as much time as possible with the people who love John and I, celebrating the fact that we have decided to spend the rest of our lives together.

What was your favorite part about planning your wedding? Planning the wedding was hard for me because all of our family lives at least three and a half hours away and most of my bridesmaids live outside the state. So my favorite parts were when I got to have family or friends around to help make decisions or to just be excited with me.  

What was your favorite moment your photographer captured and why? It’s a picture of my father and I dancing. The picture is taken from behind the heads of three little girls who are looking up at my Dad and I dancing. It so special to me because it feels like in captures the dreams of those girls and the realization of my own dreams.

Tell us about “the” dress. Who was with you when you found it? John and I had a pretty short engagement, almost exactly 6 months, so right after Christmas my mom and I went to Cincinnati to shop for dresses. I really had no intention of buying a dress that day; it was really just a scouting mission. As soon as we walked into the first store I felt overwhelmed. Did I mention, I HATE SHOPPING. There were so many dresses, my consultant was helping 3 other girls, and the dressing area was an open space so 8 other brides and their female family members got to see me naked. My consultant freaked out when I told her that we were getting married in 6 months. She told me that I had to find the dress that day because they could not guarantee that it could be made and shipped in a 6 month time frame. I tried on 10 or so dresses there but I was so freaked out by the consultant that we left with nothing, not even an idea of what I wanted. We walked to another store in the bridal district called European Bridal and we were the only people in the store. It was small, well kept, and they had a huge off the rack sale going on. I tried on maybe 20 dresses there, but got so hungry that I couldn’t think straight. We took a break, ate lunch, and I called John to give me some encouragement. After being rejuvenated by a chicken sandwich we went back to European Bridal and tried on every dress that I could afford. We got down to literally the last dress, and I was not impressed with it on the rack but once I put it on I felt confident. It was ivory silk and made by a Japanese designer with a drop waist and a beautiful flowing skirt and small train. Not at all what I thought I would wear but I loved it. My location was not conducive to having a train so I had alterations made at White Orchid Bridal. She handmade silk flowers and pinned them to the back creating a beautiful flow to my dress. To be honest, this turned out to be my favorite part of the dress. White Orchid also handmade my hair piece and my garter and I could not have been happier.

What are you most looking forward to about being Mr. & Mrs.? Growing together as people; I can’t wait to see where life takes us together and in our own journeys.

Photographer Longwerks Commercial Studios 

Caterer Sitar  
 
Florist The Flower Pot   

Cake Amy Callahan Walker

Invitations Nathan Bailey

Bridal Shop European Bridal and White Orchid

Ceremony and Reception Location Knoxville Botanical Gardens

Ceremony Music Taylor Brown and Heidi Gilson

Formalwear Dillards

Rentals Event Rentals

Beer Richard Otey and Nate Stewart (Personal Brew)