PART ONE

I want to preface this by saying that I have pushed this blog off for quite a while. Believe it or not, but finding the right words to describe an indescribable feeling can prove to be quite difficult. And maybe a part of me wanted to keep these special memories all to ourselves and our witnesses for just a while longer. I think I was mostly worried about coming off as self-centered or boastful, and for a day that is meant to be all about one couple I guess that makes sense. After recently celebrating some of our very best friends and their beautiful weddings, my perspective changed. Love deserves to be put on a pedestal — I know this doesn’t quite fit the adventure niche that I typically write about, but I am a romantic through and through who freaking loves love. I have also realized how important it is for me to capture our day in this space, and to be able to reflect back on it in all our years to come as Mr. and Mrs. Pascual. To feel that indescribable feeling reignite, and to maybe help out a future bride-to-be or two.

On September 8th, 2023, high in the Smokey Mountains of Eastern Tennessee I got to marry my person. Niko and I spoke our hand-written vows in front of ninety of our most loved family and friends, with Oakley and Everest by our sides. It was one of those “pinch me” moments that lasted all day, like a dream you don’t want to wake up from. The unfiltered love and happiness that we felt pouring from ourselves and others was palpable. It was so unlike any other experience, and far exceeded every expectation we had. And while we have shared a lot of adventures in the past ten years together, I definitely think this day was our best one yet.

Wedding Planning

Venue Selection

For a couple of adventurous souls who have a love for the great outdoors, there was no doubt in our minds that we were going to get married in a location with an epic view, where we could spend most of the day under the sky. Being that most of our families and a lot of our friends reside on the East Coast, we started a broad search up and down the Eastern United States. The idea of being far enough from home, while still a drivable distance was appealing to us — the roadtrippers that we are. We also wanted it to be a location that already held some special memories from past trips. Within a day or so of seriously scouting potential venues online, our options were narrowed down to the Blue Ridge Mountain Range.

I knew in my gut when I stumbled upon The Magnolia Venue in a blog that this was going to be the spot — so much so that Niko and I agreed we were okay with booking sight unseen. We were able to watch a detailed virtual tour of the property and all of its amenities, as well as speak with the property manager, Macey (who is so incredibly kind and helpful) and so we didn’t feel that the logistics (planning, time, and costs) of an in-person tour made sense. We also felt that not seeing it in person added to the excitement and magic of the day in hindsight.

The venue is perched on a mountain top, secluded from the commotion of the world with unobstructed, panoramic views of The Smokies. The beautiful build of the reception hall, bridal suite, and covered cocktail patio complement the rustic atmosphere in an elevated way. The garage doors, sliding doors, and large windows of the reception hall give this warm structure the perfect indoor/outdoor feel in case of inclement weather. With a guest limit of 100 people, it felt very intimate and possible to engage with everyone in attendance. I recommend that price point, general location, and estimated guest count are established prior to looking for venues so that you, your partner, and any other contributing decision makers can be on the same page eliminating arguments, disagreements, and/or disappointment.

Vendor Selection

I love the story each wedding tells about the couple it is centered around. The whole ambiance is determined by the decisions you make with your partner from the location, decor, music, time of year chosen, what traditions are incorporated or left by the wayside, even the color scheme. It is far more evident now that we are on the other side of ours, and it has given us a much deeper understanding of the effort that goes toward piecing every little detail together, and the trust that is placed into each vendor. Vendors play a big role in shaping a wedding day and can honestly make or break certain aspects of the event. Realizing what is important to you can help when determining where you’re willing to spend a little extra, and where you may want to be more conservative.

Because of our love and appreciation for photography, it was super important for us to book our venue and our photographer simultaneously. I did a lot of research on local photographers and was beginning to consider expanding my search radius when I stumbled upon Ashlyn’s work. We really were impressed with the package details and deliverables, her creative and emotive images from recent and past work, and we loved her editing style. Ashlyn’s kindness, experience, and passion to create the best work possible for each and every one of her clients was so evident from her website, instagram posts, and our initial encounters. After minimal back and forth our photographer and venue were booked and the countdown was on.

You will spend so much time with your photographer on your wedding day so while I understand I have a bias towards allotting more of our budget on photos than others, my biggest pieces of advice to any individual regardless of price point are: make sure that your personalities are compatible, review their portfolio and don’t be afraid to ask to see more to determine whether or not you genuinely like their style (i.e. composition, editing, creativity), and whether or not you are comfortable with the deliverables and price point.

Most venues will require at minimum a day of coordinator; however, we opted for full wedding planning services because this was more or less a destination wedding for us and most of our guests. Having never planned a wedding before let alone at venue we’ve never stepped foot on, we felt the extra guidance would be well worth our money. Having a supportive venue manager and a local wedding planner who have both have experience, expertise, and established relationships with all or most of our selected vendors definitely made a positive difference in our process.

We then began chipping away at the rest of the vendor selections based on the recommendations of our venue and availability of potential vendors. It seems as though most venues have a vetted list of professionals and while this wasn’t mandatory, I do think it was the best decision to utilize it. As I mentioned, these vendors are already familiar with the venue and the venue manager, but they have also likely worked out kinks a first time vendor may not have the foresight to prepare for. However, even with a prepared list to choose from, there is still homework to be done. We browsed websites, instagram pages, and pricing guides. We had phone call interviews with multiple vendors for the same service, and utilized google reviews to help narrow our selection and make choices that aligned with our non-negotiables and our budget. We were happily surprised to secure all of our first pick vendors (except for one and our back up honestly worked out so well that we wouldn’t have had it any other way). I’m not sure if these first picks were secured through luck, the fact that we got married on a Friday, or that we simply planned far enough in advance but it was a huge relief to get all of our contracts locked in.

All of our amazing vendors and contributors that helped make our day special in one way or another are credited at the bottom of this blog!

The Days Before Our Wedding

A few weeks out from our wedding Niko and I made a trip to the hardware store to pick up supplies so we could make our arbor and seating chart stand. We spent a day and a half planning, cutting, sanding, painting, staining, and nailing. I was pretty skeptical that we would pull these projects off to the degree of my expectations, but we were both super happy with the results. We definitely saved a little in rentals and it was pretty special to look around and see reminders of things I created with my soon-to-be husband around the venue.

With all of our projects and wedding to-do lists complete, we drove south. I left a few days early to have my hair and make up trial, and to pick up our wedding signage. I then looped back to Pigeon Forge, TN to meet Niko at an RV park for a few days. We wanted to get into town early so we could make sure we had everything buttoned up, and so that we could get our marriage license sorted out. Everything went smoothly — other than Oakley needing an emergency vet visit for a toenail removal. We luckily had a few days of downtime for him to rest and for us to enjoy the gorgeous weather, swim around in the pool, and break in our blackstone grill.

On Tuesday, we packed up the RV early in the morning. Most of our immediate families were in town by this point so my mom picked me up to meet up with my sisters and Niko’s mom for our nail appointment (we went to Cool Nails in Sevierville, TN and highly recommend this salon!). My mom then dropped me back off to Niko and we made our way to our house rental in Dandridge, TN that we would be sharing with some friends who were involved in our wedding party.

The cabin style house overlooked Douglas Lake and had a nice yard with water access and a dock. We rented a pontoon boat as a soft bachelor/bachelorette party, and as a thank you for all the travel our friends did to spend time with us.

We were able to host our families at our rental for catered BBQ on Thursday night acting as a super laid back rehearsal dinner. We got our food from Puckett’s Restaurant and everything was so delicious.

I honestly had a pretty hard time falling asleep that night. My brain went into overdrive wondering what the following day would hold, but eventually sleep won me over.

Wedding Day

The Morning

I practically lurched out of bed at the sound of my alarm, brimming with anticipation. I woke up nice and early so that I could take my time pampering myself, and not feel rushed in any way. On a day where you are surrounded by tons of people and getting pulled in different directions, it was really nice to have a quiet start. I took a shower, did my skin care routine, blow dried my hair, and then promptly made a fresh cappuccino with our Breville coffee machine because that thing goes almost everywhere with us. A few hours passed before I knew it and it was time for myself and some of the girls to make our way over to the venue.

Believe me when I tell you, I have known for a long time that I wanted to marry Niko so I did not expect to feel nerves of any kind. But as we got closer to the venue and the winding roads started to climb elevation, my stomach was in knots with eager anticipation. It was really the only point in the day other than the moments leading up to walking down the isle that I even had enough downtime to feel jitters.

The Ladies Get Ready

We got to the bridal suite for a 10am start. The first order of business was starting my playlist on the speaker because I love music. I went for my playlist that makes me want to cruise down backroads with my windows down and sing along as loud as I want — makes me want to get up and dance not caring how silly I look because the song is too catchy (which I have done many times in front of my family and friends, sorry not sorry).

I named that playlist Endorphins and if you’re curious you can find it here!

I opted for a tank top and onesie as our getting ready outfits (which Niko endearingly refers to as my trash bag outfit). They were very easy to change out of without messing up hair and make up. They are absolutely not as refined looking as a set of satin PJs, but I have zero regrets about this decision because it is so much more representative of my style, and I wanted everyone to feel super comfortable in the hours we spent getting ready. Some of the bridal party even ended up back in their onesies out on the dance floor which was a vibe and I was all for it.

While we were being pampered, the mimosas were flowing and I was in my element with my people by my side soaking in the views from the beautiful wraparound porch. Niko and both of our dads showed up at some time in the morning to drop off our supplies and assemble our arbor and seating chart. The vendors started to roll in one by one to do their thing. When the florist dropped off my bouquet to the suite for approval, it literally didn’t even register in my brain that it was my arrangement. It was so much larger than I anticipated and so uniquely beautiful. I would 10/10 recommend incorporating dried flowers into your arrangements if you are even slightly considering it at all. For me it was a symbolic tie to our love for the desert and a great contrast to the vast and lush green backdrop of the venue.

Things were moving very smoothly and right on schedule. Before I knew it the bridesmaids and our moms were all dressed and ready, and it was time for me to slip into my gown.

The Gown

Never have I ever felt more beautiful than when I ‘ve had this gown on. I know it sounds so cliche, but I threw it into the mix from the choices on the rack just to try it on for the heck of it. I honestly was feeling deflated after leaving my first dress appointment a few streets over. I could tell it was a pretty gown and it peaked my curiosity because it was so vastly different from anything I had tried in shop number one. I figured at the very least, it would help me narrow down my search. No part of me anticipated falling head over heels for it.

I remember trying it on for the first time so clearly. It felt heavy in a comforting and snug way as I slipped it on and got it fastened. I looked down and it was so intricate. I remember those intricacies making so much more sense seeing the gown take form to my body as opposed to how it appeared strung up on a hanger. The layers of fabric in varying shades gave off a crisp, warm glow when it caught the light and there were sparkles everywhere. The train was so dramatic but it also felt subtle in a way. There was not one thing that I didn’t love about it (other than it was definitely over the budget I had in mind — but close enough for me that I was okay with the risk of falling in love with it). It came to life when I put it on. Ladies, when you know, you know. And I freaking knew. I did try on the remaining four dresses that I had selected and genuinely liked them all, but there was just no getting my mind off of the gown. All of those memories came rushing back as I slipped into it that morning. But this time it was to do the damn thing.

The Gentlemen Get Ready

To be honest I don’t have a whole lot to say about the guys getting ready (since I wasn’t there firsthand) other than I know that laughs were shared, the beers were cold, and the cigars were cheap.

Niko didn’t have too many comments or insight about the guys getting ready which came as no surprise to me — but he did want me to touch on how happy he was with the fun ties I found to Etsy and his custom suit. We were in Reno, NV for one of my contracts at the time we started to go suit looking. We tried a few different shops but were pretty disappointed in what felt like a very limited selection of colors. As a last ditch effort we went in to a small boutique and were immediately impressed. The quality, craftsmanship, and selection were all leagues beyond what we had previously encountered and the shop owner is the coolest guy. Niko got measured that day and we placed an order for a custom suit. Flash forward to a few months later when it came time for final measurements and fittings — except that we had already relocated to Prescott, AZ for the next contract. Niko drove his motorcycle 11 hours up, camped on the side of the road, did his fitting the following day, and drove another 11 hours back to Arizona. Niko said it was a fun trip, and we love how we collected so many elements from so many places along the way.

First Look

I honestly was so torn whether or not I wanted to have a first look with Niko, and he didn’t have a super strong opinion on the matter either. But, after talking it over a few times we figured in having a first look we would be able to take some of our photos together before the ceremony and maybe be a little more present during cocktail hour with our guests.

Once the bridesmaid and groomsmen photos were wrapped up, Ashlyn came and got me for our first look. I walked through the wooded path with her, out to another expansive view where Niko was waiting for me with the dogs. Oakley insisted on being involved. At first he sat immediately in front of me and when I made him move he settled for sitting on top of my train. I remember Niko turning around and soaking in the moment . I just wanted to step forward and hug him — but I also didn’t want to rip my dress so he closed the distance for us. We had a blast taking some photos around the venue and then we split back off as guests began to arrive.

All of a sudden things felt very real. Our wedding planner popped back into the bridal suite and asked me if there was anything else I needed before walking down the isle. I looked at her and half jokingly said, “Can I have a shot?”

She gave a quick look around at my bridesmaids and me and told us she would be right back. Before we knew it we were each holding a shot of whiskey which clearly some of us can handle better than others. It was our fun, secretive moment together and these photos are priceless.

To Be Continued…

We are so freaking grateful for all of the incredible work our vendors pulled off, and feel especially thankful for our incredible photographer who captured our day so perfectly. Thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far, and stay tuned for part two!

Credits

Photography: Ashlyn Cathey Photo — all photos within this blog other than the boating carousel are credited to Ashlyn Cathey Photo!

Venue: The Magnolia Venue || Dress: Philly Bride | Naama and Anat Bridal || Suit: In Italia Mensware || Hair & Make-up: The Effortless Beauty || DJ: Stephen Goff Entertainment || Florals: Echelon Florist || Rentals: All Occasions Party Rentals || First Dance: Fred Astaire Doylestown || Catering: Rosa’s Catering || Cake: All Mixed Up Cakes || Planning: Everly by MGE with Alex || Signage: Hartsy Designs || Bar: Single Barrel Events || Invitations: Margo&Bees || Rings: Brilliant Earth || Bridesmaid Dresses: Revelry

THE PASCUALS | OUR WEDDING | PART I