Brittany and Dustin were married this past Saturday in one of the prettiest days that we have had this year.  May has not been kind to our brides(weather-wise) and I was very thankful to at last have a beautiful day.  The wedding was held in Sarah's Glen and everything was so green and lush.  Brittany's colors were reflected in the sky and mountains and as you can see at the photo above, the green, blue and white made for a picture-perfect palette of Spring color.  Although we have had a lot of rain, it definitely has contributed to the beauty of the meadow, trees and flowers.  Brittany and Dustin are obviously very much in love and I hope they have a wonderful time on their honeymoon in Jamaica!  Keep in touch and send me some photos for my  website photo gallery when you get home.  Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your day.  Everything was lovely!

Erica and her mom, Mary Lou, first visited the property not too long after my youngest son got married.  I think that they had visited the website and clicked on the slideshow from Julie Roberts Photography and liked what they saw.  Erica was finishing up her senior year at Tennessee Tech University and Joe was in his last year at Maryville College.  After they decided to use our farm and facilities, Erica and I did alot of emailing back and forth while she was doing her student teaching.  I know that she had alot on her "plate, " with all that student teaching (lesson plans, reports, prep work, etc.) involves and trying to put together a wedding.  She always seemed to be right on track and very sweet and kind and appreciative. Activity on the day of the wedding started around 11:00.  The hairdressers were waiting on the bridal party to arrive, the florist was arranging greenery, hydrangeas and assorted cut flowers on the pergola, and Mary Lou had hired several very creative women (Pam--you were great) to decorate the inside of the barn and the front porch and lawn for the reception.  Our wedding coordinator, Lesley, was running from place to place to make sure that every task was being completed.  She wears me out watching her run everywhere she goes!  As we got closer to the time of the ceremony, much like my oldest son's wedding, it looked like the sky was going to open and we were going to get wet!  Our largest wedding had been around 250 and we had tents in place in the event of rain.  Erica and Joe's wedding was probably the second largest wedding we have had.  We were expecting around 180 and over 220 were in attendance!  We didn't have a tent so I imagine that there were alot of prayers when those clouds suddenly rolled in:)  The horse and carriage (always so beautiful coming over the ridge at the meadow) picked up Erica and her father and it seemed as though the clouds were sent to cool everything down and we didn't get any rain at all.  It was a beautiful wedding and everyone seemed to have a great time.  The fence row was lined in our signature mason jars with tea lights and guests were sitting in the front lawn, enjoying the quiet dusk of the evening.  Congratulations Erica and Joe and please send me some photos to post on our website as soon as you can!  God Bless--Janice

This wedding felt like family.  T.J. and Jessica made us feel as though we were part of their family.  This was one of the most special couples I have had the pleasure of being with.  This is not to take away from any other bride or groom or individual that has honored us by using our property.  Maybe I should express it this way; as a teacher by profession (the other profession) I believe that there are students who walk in your classroom and you know that you are going to have a special connection.  That's what I felt with TJ and Jessica.  They were young people that I felt as though I had known all of their life, except they were from Georgia and we had never spoken until early this year.  They visited one Saturday as they were on their way to Gatlinburg for a weekend away from work and from school.  Jessica is going to be a teacher--God bless her:)  I am a "hugger" by birth and by the time their visit was over that day, we hugged each other goodbye and I had a feeling we would be seeing each other again.  TJ did alot of the planning, or at least, relaying messages from Jessica about planning, via telephone.  They were able to visit with us again a few more times before the wedding and on one occasion, I was emptying my vehicle from a big shopping trip to buy supplies and they both started unloading the car for me without being asked:)  On the morning of their wedding day, it was raining--more like the sky had opened.  Jessica was very upset as she had the right to be, but the clouds lifted long enough to have lots of outdoor photos.  Although it was not their first choice, the wedding was held inside of our barn and it was absolutely beautiful.  Not necessarily because of the barn, but because of the emotion coming from both the bride and groom.  I hope you don't mind me saying this TJ, but when you started crying as you saw Jessica come down the staircase, I was crying and then when the beautiful story about "your two hands" was being read, I think everyone in the room was crying  I know you wanted an outdoor ceremony, but the beauty of the service was felt deeply by all who were in attendance and it wouldn't have mattered if it had been inside or outdoors--it was one of the most moving ceremonies I have ever been privileged to be in attendance for.  Then you left me such a sweet note thanking us and TJ's mom sent us a lovely thank you card and THEN, TJ called and left a message on my phone after the honeymoon thanking us again.  I am going to keep that message and when I'm feeling blue or wondering what I was thinking when we started all of this, I am going to listen to that sweet, sweet message and say to myself--"Oh, I remember why:) "  Thank you to both the Rogers and Lea families for visiting with us and sharing this special moment in the lives of your children.  May God Continue to bless you all--Love, Janice and Bill Livingston