An Organic, Garden Wedding at the Hill in Athens, Georgia

When Allie Beth Simmons (23 and a fitness instructor) and Timothy Stuckey (24 and a loan officer) met at a CrossFit class in Athens, Georgia, they immediately clicked, spending hours talking in the parking lot. They went out, dated for six months and then got engaged. Their garden wedding took place four months later, just one year after the first meeting. “We found out quickly that when you know, you really do know,” Allie Beth says. Shades of gold, blush, forest green and cream were used for the ceremony and reception. Little decor was needed for the ceremony, in a historic home’s sunken garden, so the only details added were florals to the chairs and the brick wall. Timothy and his father made the wooden cross that served as an altar. Allie Beth wore a custom-made mermaid-style gown with a sweetheart neckline and lace detailing. Her bridesmaids wore Vera Wang A-line champagne dresses, while the bridesmaids wore blush. The groom and groomsmen wore navy suits with neutral ties and brown shoes. Bouquets and boutonnieres featured garden roses and greenery. The reception was held in the front yard of the Hill in Athens, Georgia, under white tents that held the bandstand, dance floor, buffet, tables and bars. Farm tables were decorated with green garlands as table runners and with candelabras with long tapers. "Bride" and "groom" signs decorated the head table. Guests dined on chicken and waffles and posed in the photo frame as the Motown band played favorite songs. The cakes paid tribute to the places they’d lived: Athens and Greenville. The newlyweds danced their first song as husband and wife to "Coming Home" by Leon Bridges. They ended the night with a stunning sparkler exit and headed off to their new life in a Rolls-Royce. —Caroline Eubanks