A Refined-Yet-Elegant Mountainside Wedding at Waterfall Country Club in Clayton, Georgia

Karen Kane (40 and a business owner) had a feeling that Colin Grant (46 and a business owner) might be getting ready to propose on Christmas Eve when he handed her a small box at midnight. "Now had I had my wits about me, I would've realized it was not the size of a ring box, but I was still so sure he was proposing," says Karen. "I opened the box and there lay a beautiful silver chain necklace—without even thinking about it, I curled up my eyebrows and showed him the box as if to say 'Um this isn't the ring, you must've given me the wrong box!" But Colin played it cool, and when he put the necklace on Karen, he slipped a diamond ring onto the chain. Once Karen got over the shock, the pair began planning an intimate mountainside celebration at Waterfall Country Club in Clayton, Georgia. "The venue has a porch with a beautiful rustic lodge feel and was perfect," says Karen. "Giant wood beams, tiled floor with an oversized fireplace and all overlooking Lake Burton and the Georgia Mountains—some of the best views I've seen!" Ceremony chairs were set up at an angle on the porch for the perfect lake views and were decorated with hanging pink rose pomanders. As Karen planned her wedding, she envisioned a romantic color palette with shades of cream, champagne and soft pink. Two long tables set parallel to each other for family style seating were decorated with regal silver candelabras topped with a combination of roses, hydrangeas and astilbes. "I wanted simple but elegant for our wedding," says Karen. "After all, this was a small intimate wedding for our closest friends and family!"