A Spring Wedding in the Smokey Mountains

ALLIE + ANSEL • KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

KAPPA DELTA WEDDING | 05.12.17

This is a modern day love story y’all! Ansel and Allison actually met one other on Tinder! They spent several months chatting with one another via text and video messages until they both just accepted the fact that they clearly just had to meet. So, what better day to have a first date than Valentines Day?! Ha! No stress there, right? At least they kept it casual with a dinner & movie. Cliche? Sure. But this is a classic first date for a reason! No pressure. Eat a little, laugh a little, & see if there is chemistry. Which, there definitely was! Since their first date they couldn’t imagine spending time with anyone else. Now this gorgeous Kappa Delta bride might look a little familiar to y’all. Remember a few weeks ago when we featured their amazing proposal photoshoot? Spring of 2016 the couple decided to celebrate their love with a couples photoshoot at Carvers Gap, Ansel surprised Allie by proposing overlooking the Blue Ridge mountains. Hello, dreamy! Romantic photos with breathtaking views and a shiny new ring to commemorate the moment. Yep, sign us up for that proposal!

A Kappa Delta Family

Allison surrounded herself with her Kappa Delta sisters on the wedding day. Even more so, they were her Greek family tree. Her Maid of Honor was her first Little Sister, Lauren. She also had a Matron of Honor, Laura, who is her Big Sister! The other 3 bridesmaids were all also in her family line. Her other little sister, Morgan, her grandlittle, Courtney, & her great great grandlittle, Savannah – who is also Allison’s actual biological sister! We are feeling the KD love right here!!

Rethinking Tradition from a Traditional Bride

Allison shared her thoughts on tradition with us. “When I think of weddings, one of the first things that comes to mind is tradition. Ensuring you have something old, new, borrowed, and blue, spending the night before away from your groom, the giving away of the bride, the exchange of rings–the entire day is centered around traditions.” Naturally, the two of them planned to not see one another before Allison’s father walked her down the aisle. Like so many brides, a first look was not something that she could picture herself doing. “A first look was something I had not even imagined doing, but after talking with several fellow brides and brides past along with scouring through the beautiful magazine Cynthia had put together, my groom and I decided that we would forego tradition in this one case and have a first look. Doing a first look was one of the best decisions I have made in this entire wedding process.” Allison had a fun morning with her girls getting ready and was anxiously awaiting the moment she would finally see her groom. She remembered having Cynthia, her amazing photographer, come to let her know it was time. “I walked down the steps, heart fluttering when I saw the back of my future husbands blue suit. He said to me while still turned away “hey baby” and all my nerves were instantly calmed.” The couple chose to write letters to one another and read them right before they saw one another, which made the moment all the more special & emotion filled. “It was a special moment. One that wasn’t interrupted by needing to pose. Just my groom and myself loving on each other before the biggest day of our lives. The intimacy of the moment calmed any nerves or anxiety that a wedding day brings. We got to laugh and play and joke about the way he had envisioned my dress. The moment was beautiful–and it was all ours.” They remember the wedding day energy as being full of excitement, not nervousness. Thanks to their first look, they were able to have time together to be alone just the two of them, which rarely happens after that moment on the wedding day.

Their Wedding Day Advice?

“There are two pieces of advice I can pass on to any bride. 1. Find a photographer you adore and 2. Do a first look–give yourself those special moments beforehand to remind yourself that through all the chiffon and flower petals, this day is entirely about you two and the love you share.” These two are so full of wisdom and love & we completely agree with their advice!

For the wedding day the couple wanted to have a wedding that celebrated their nerdy side with an elegant mix of boho vibes. We can’t get enough of the beautiful bohemian arch that they were married under. After their first look, the couple was so happy to be able to spend the rest of their time with their friends and family celebrating and sharing in laughter and love. Remember how we mentioned that they had Chemistry from their very first date? They literally had periodic table elements for their reception table numbers. Some other nerdy elements that they had planned for the reception was an R2D2 & BB8 cake topper and light sabers as favors. How fun is that?!

Follow Cynthia Viola!

Cynthia is a North Carolina based Wedding & Portrait Photographer, she & her husband run their photojournalistic style photography studio. While based in Raleigh, they are often traveling & love being able to document weddings away from their hometown. This is Cynthia’s second featured with Greek Life Society, but her first wedding feature. The vibrant colors of her images & the emotion she captures in her photos are only the start of why we love her work! Oh, and ps. we know she loves color because she rocks some gorgeous purple hair!!