When you choose to get married in a spot with breathtaking natural scenery, it just makes sense to let your setting take the lead as you plan your day. That’s what Madison, who’s pursuing a PhD in social work at the University of Texas at Austin, and Jacob, who works for a tech startup, did in crafting their Jewish wedding at The Venue at Greenbrier Estate outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, overlooking the majestic Smoky Mountains National Park.
When planning their classically elegant day, they took their cues from the magic of the mountains that surrounded them, choosing a blue and green color palette and working with
Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Brit Colors to design a custom ketubah depicting a sun rising over the mountains – as a nod do their venue, and also a beautiful symbol of the beginning of their life together as husband and wife. The ketubah turned out, in Madison’s words, “more beautiful than anything we ever imagined” – don’t miss it in the wonderful photos from Mandy Hart!
We also love the emphasis Madison and Jacob put on involving their families in their day. They involved loved ones in their ceremony and rented two cabins across from the venue, where they stayed with their respective families prior to the wedding. Even their choice to marry amidst the Smokies was inspired by Jacob’s family’s deep connections to the national park.
This day was just packed with so much joy – read on for Madison’s recounting of the full wedding…
How We Met
Madison, the bride: We met at The University of Alabama in our first year. After being friends for a year we started dating and have been together ever since!
A Smoky Mountains Wedding
We got married at The Venue at Greenbrier Estate outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee overlooking the Smoky Mountains National Park.
When we had been dating for a while, we took a trip with friends to The Smokies. While on this trip both of us felt how special the area was and thought it could be a special place to get married one day.
The Haiman family has always had a special connection to the national park. Jacob’s late grandfather, Richard Haiman, sadly was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he enjoyed spending his limited time in the Smoky Mountains with his favourite trail being the Alum Cave Trail. In 1995, Hurricane Opal ripped through Tennessee closing the Alum Cave Trail indefinitely.
Richard went to the parks service and generously donated money to help fund the reopening of the trail and was able to open it to the public. Richard enjoyed giving back to the parks so much that he decided to start the Richard Haiman National Park Foundation that is still run by the Haiman Family to this day, and Jacob was recently named a member of the board!
Stationery
We used Truly Engaging by MagnetStreet to customise our save the dates, invitation suite, and programs for the wedding. It was great to be able to use some preset designs but still make it unique to what we wanted.
Classic Elegance
We wanted a classic and elegant feel with a modern twist for our big day. We stuck to the green and blue colour families for our details, with pops of cream and white flowers as well. With such a gorgeous backdrop, we chose to highlight the natural beauty of the mountains while still bringing in some different design elements. Overall, we wanted the day to reflect us and our love for one another! Our wedding planner was Sarah Roberts with Knoxbelle Weddings. She was amazing and truly brought our vision to life!
A Jasmine Bridal Dress
I chose my dress by Jasmine Bridal in Atlanta, Georgia at Bridals by Aimee. My mom, sister, now mother-in-law, and now sister-in-law all travelled to help me find my perfect dress. We made a girls trip out of it and spent the whole weekend together.
We had the best experience at Bridals by Aimee. I felt like a princess trying on all of the different styles, but I couldn’t stop going back to “the dress”. It was everyone’s favourite and we all knew when I said yes, it was the perfect choice!
Hair + Make-up
I wanted a timeless, glamorous look for my hair and makeup, my inspiration was Grace Kelly.
We used Bangs and Blush, located in Knoxville, Tennessee. They travelled to us the morning of the wedding and provided services for me, my bridesmaids, my mom, my now mother-in-law, and my grandmothers.
Shoes
My shoes were Jimmy Choo tennis shoes. I knew I did not want to wear heels, but was having a hard time finding any shoes that I could see myself wearing on my wedding day. One day, my mom and I were in a department store and I saw the shoes and fell in love immediately!
The handsome groom
Jacob wore a Psycho Bunny suit from Dillards Department Store, and I bought him a Shinola watch that he has wanted for as long as I have known him to wear.
Bridesmaids
My bridesmaids wore dresses from David’s Bridal in the colour “Gem”. The colour of their dresses was a really important factor to me because the blue-green dresses helped to tie in all the different blue and green components of the day together.
Ceremony and Chuppah
We knew we wanted to incorporate a lot of the Jewish traditions throughout the day, including signing the ketubah, the bedeken, being married under a chuppah, the Sheva Brachot, the breaking of the glass, the yichud and the hora. The morning of the wedding Jacob went to breakfast with our rabbi to finalise the details of the ceremony.
Our close friends witnessed our ketubah signing before the ceremony, and watched as Jacob veiled me during the badeken. We had a large chuppah that was covered in flowers that we were married under. We asked for six family members to read modern, English, translations of six of the seven blessings; while the rabbi recited the traditional blessings in Hebrew during the ceremony.
After the ceremony, Jacob smashed the glass and we then went to spend some time in private for the yichud where we reflected on the ceremony and ate some snacks! During our reception we did the hora and then danced the night away! I did not grow up Jewish, and most of my family had never experienced a Jewish wedding. So, on our programs we made sure to describe all the special traditions that were a part of our wedding.
Ketubah
With the help of Brit from Brit Colors, we designed a custom ketubah. We knew we wanted to incorporate the mountains, and Jacob came up with the idea to have a sun rising over the mountains to symbolise the beginning of our life together as husband and wife. From there, Brit was able to create a ketubah more beautiful than anything we ever imagined!
Our Music Choice
We chose for our processional and recessional songs to all be instrumental versions of modern songs. Our families, bridal party, and Jacob walked down the aisle to instrumental versions of ‘Bubbly’ by Colbie Caillat and ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz. I walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of ‘Do You Remember’ by Jack Johnson, and after saying I do, we walked out to an instrumental version of ‘Here Comes the Sun’ by The Beatles. Our first dance was to ‘Forever and Ever’ by Randy Travis. We had live music for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception provided by Emerald Empire Band.
Flowers
Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved flowers. I have so many memories of my dad getting flowers for my mom, and ever since then have associated flowers with love and romance. So, when it came to my wedding, flowers were really important to me. I wanted big beautiful cream and blue flowers to stand against the lush green backdrop and LB Floral absolutely made my dreams come true!
Photographer
We initially chose our photographer, Mandy Hart, because we really loved her style and her previous work; and then when we were able to meet with her, we just clicked and knew we could trust her to capture our big day! The day of the wedding she made sure to get all of our special moments and we have beautiful photos to look back on.
Extra details
Throughout the wedding day and weekend, Jacob and I were very intentional about involving family as much as possible. Across from our venue, there were two large cabins that our families rented for the weekend. Before the wedding, we stayed with our respective families at the cabins. It was so fun getting to have those moments with family before we became husband and wife.
The night before the wedding, Jacob’s family hosted a welcome celebration for all of the guests. Having another night of celebration gave us extra time to spend with our guests and really built up the excitement for our big day!
The morning of the wedding, I got ready with my bridesmaids, mom, future mother-in-law, and both of my grandmas. It was special to spend the time getting ready with the most important women in my life. When getting dressed, it was just my mom and grandmas with me and it was a moment I will never forget! Jacob got ready with his groomsmen and dad.
Advice to other couples planning their wedding
I would take time throughout the planning process to connect with your partner and make sure the day reflects what you both want. At the beginning of planning, Jacob and I sat down and discussed what the most important parts of the day were for each of us so that we could prioritise those throughout the process. We ended up with a day that was a true reflection of both of us, our relationship, and our love for one another.
The day of, remember that no matter what happens, by the end of the night you will be married to your best friend. Reminding myself of this helped me to not stress as much about the small things. Focus on the big picture and the fact you are marrying the love of your life!
MADISON & JACOB’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Mandy Hart
Ketubah – Brit Colors {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club
Planner – Knoxbelle Weddings
Venue – The Venue at Greenbrier Estate
Bride’s dress – Jasmine Bridal found at Bridals by Aimee
Bride’s Shoes – Jimmy Choo
Bridesmaids – David’s Bridal
Hair + Makeup – Bangs and Blush
Groom’s attire – Dillards
Flowers – LB Floral
Band – Emerald Empire Band
Stationery/Invitation – Truly Engaging
Chuppah – Marsh Made Design
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.