In the fall of 2021, I got married in Minnesota. Tanya traveled from Tennessee to the wedding to read a piece that we selected for her during our ceremony. She and my husband went to college together and became close friends who travel to National Parks together. Tanya and I met on one of those National Park trips in 2019 when we went to Oregon. When Tanya came to my wedding, she brought her fiance along. We hadn’t met Dane before and we didn’t get to spend much time with them at the wedding.
Shortly after the wedding, we convinced Tanya and Dane to join us on an Alaskan vacation along the Inside Passage. When Tanya asked my husband and me to photograph their wedding, the ideas came so fast to have an adventure session in Alaska. You can read about that session here.
Tanya and Dane’s wedding gave my husband and me an excuse to go to another National Park. We headed to the Great Smoky Mountains to explore for a few days before going to Knoxville to capture the most fun wedding of our season.
We got there early and began capturing details and moments as the bride and groom prepared for their day. Tanya’s florist did an amazing job combining native plants, locally grown plants, and only in-season plants. We’re all a little bit obsessed with native plants, so seeing them in beautiful arrangements was a dream come true.
Tanya has so many nieces and nephews and she wanted each of them to be a part of the wedding. They walked down the aisle with leaves to toss in the air to the theme song from Jurassic Park. The ceremony was held under the most beautiful oak tree adorned with patio lights.
The entire day was filled with everything that Tanya and Dane wanted for their wedding. If Tanya wanted to do something, she found a way to make it happen. Like wearing a hospital gown while eating tacos.
We ended the night with a super fun sparkler exit that included a dinosaur appearance.