Camp Holloway 

Wedding Day

Wedding

Reception

Wolf Creek

Iowa Reception

Our Wedding

Brian and I met in the most unlikely of ways - through the Girl Scouts! I (Elizabeth) work for the Girl Scouts and was hosting a table at a local elementary school. I had not officially started my job yet, but I was eager to&nbsp;prove myself and get several girls to sign up. The entire night, a few tables down, a kind gentleman kept talking to me. We talked about the best restaurants and bars in Nashville, and he told me that I needed to get my boyfriend to take me there!&nbsp;I laughed it off, saying I don't have boyfriend, knowing fully this man (with a wedding band on) was hitting on me!&nbsp;I felt flustered.As the man (I found out his name was&nbsp;John Helm) leaves, he asks for my number for his "nephew". I was convinced that&nbsp;he did NOT&nbsp;have a nephew.&nbsp;So I&nbsp;decided to&nbsp;give him a flyer that says "Join the Girl Scouts!" with my work contact information on it.





I&nbsp;did not think anything about this for weeks until an email pops in my inbox from a Brian Hemping. He shares how John is his uncle, and he asked me to get coffee.&nbsp;I'm not one to turn down coffee, so Brian and I&nbsp;officially met on August 28th, 2016.&nbsp;





The rest is history.&nbsp;

Thanks, John!

Brian and I had planned to go to Chattanooga for the 2 years we had dated. I finally pulled the trigger and rented an AirBnb back in February for our upcoming trip in July 2018.&nbsp;

My family had just moved to Middle Tennessee, and my mom asked me to take my younger sisters to get their nails done before they start high school at a new school. I grew a little suspicious after that, but when&nbsp;I&nbsp;actually started to plan our Chattanooga trip, that's what really made me think. I called Brian to tell him&nbsp;that I&nbsp;had made a bunch of plans and he says "well I&nbsp;want to go to Lookout Mountain from 5-7pm". Okkkkk, that is super specific and not like Brian's character at all. I was curious and thinking it could possibly happen. So naturally, I brought it up to Brian.

"Brian, I&nbsp;think we are getting engaged this weekend!" - me

"Huh? No!&nbsp;Why can't we just have a weekend with no expectations? I understand why&nbsp;you would be suspicious, but I am not proposing. Let's enjoy our time here and have a fun experience. Plus&nbsp;you know that&nbsp;I don't even have a ring" - Brian

I thought, well there's that. No big deal, this will still be a fantastic weekend. And it was!&nbsp;We had so much fun. We went to the aquarium and enjoyed all of Chattanooga!&nbsp;Even if we hadn't gotten engaged, I would consider this one of my favorite trips of all time.&nbsp;

5pm rolls around and we head our way to Lookout Mountain. We get to Rock City&nbsp;and took in&nbsp;the sights. Brian stops at every. single. gift. shop. I&nbsp;said "Brian, I really don't want to go in every gift shop, we have dinner reservations, can we just get on with it?". Brian says "I paid $35 for our tickets, we will stay here as long as I&nbsp;want!"&nbsp;

Well, okay!

We view the beauty of Rock City&nbsp;and make our way up to Lover's Leap. Brian is kind of standing behind me and asked&nbsp;"is your heart beating?". I thought that was an an odd thing to ask.&nbsp;Then he says "it's about time I make this official."&nbsp;I turn around and he's on one knee. I&nbsp;couldn't believe it, I legitimately thought it was a practical joke!&nbsp; He asked me to marry him, and I was in shock. I said, "are you joking?" And again he said, "WILL YOU BE MY WIFE?!" I&nbsp;guess I&nbsp;said yes! He slipped the ring on my finger and I in total disbelief.&nbsp;We are congratulated by a ton of characters: Bill who works at Lookout Mountain has his camera phone shoved in our face.&nbsp;There was all of 8th grade on the mountain with us giving us a round of applause.&nbsp;And of course, Brian hired&nbsp;a surprise photographer to capture the moment! I&nbsp;could not get it together. I kept saying "I'm going to throw up" because I was so overwhelmed!

After getting some staged photos, we make our way down the mountain&nbsp;and my ring lights the way. I kept asking Brian who knows that we were engaged. He tells me only my family, his family, Rebecca and Meagan. I was so stressed about how I&nbsp;was going to tell everyone!

We had an amazing&nbsp;dinner afterwards and we call our family to share the news they already knew!&nbsp;I was so excited that night I&nbsp;couldn't sleep, so together we&nbsp;watched Finding Dory till 4 in the morning.&nbsp;

The next day, we went to Milk & Honey for brunch before leaving.&nbsp;But&nbsp;Brian said once or twice that we should walk around the shopping center. Well, we do that&nbsp;and there is nothing to go into except a&nbsp;Dollar General. Now he is adamant about going to the Chattanooga&nbsp;Choo Choo, which was kind of funny. Then he wants to go to the Art District and then to&nbsp;get a coffee, and we do all of that too. I&nbsp;thought it was odd because he usually just&nbsp;wants to get home and not spend any extra money. ;)

We decide on the way home to stop at my parents house from&nbsp;and I&nbsp;was so anxious!&nbsp;I&nbsp;called my friend Laurel to&nbsp;share the news with her, and she is thrilled for us. We finally&nbsp;get to my parent's house and the garage door is shut and locked. I&nbsp;was thinking "oh nooo.... something's happening"&nbsp;

We walk into the most incredible surprise. So many&nbsp;of our friends and family are there for us. I&nbsp;was blown away by it all. This whole time, my biggest concern was telling people that we were engaged. Laurel tricked me, changed her flight, and came to the party.

It was the most perfect weekend. We were able to share the happiest day of our lives&nbsp;(so far) with our favorite people. I feel so lucky every day that I&nbsp;get to marry Brian forever and that we have the best people in the world there for us.

The proposal. 

We are so excited to get married and to start our lives together. Brian and I have put so much thought into our special day and we are honored that you would join us. Whether you are coming from Bondurant,&nbsp;Iowa or Nashville, Tennessee we are so thankful for you. Your presence is the best gift we could ask for.

Our day.

Our Story

Details

I have known Rebecca for as long as I've been alive. She was a sister before I had sisters. She is the most loyal and kindest person I know. We have made it through many highs and lows. The lowest being in middle school when she yelled at me to get out of shotgun and we didn't speak the rest of the day. Thankfully we made it through that dreadful day and now I'm so excited for her to stand by me on my wedding day!

Rebecca Jackson

Matt and I met during our Sophomore year&nbsp;at Central College in 2008 as members of the basketball team. We had&nbsp;a mutual class together and one day we were chatting after class ended before&nbsp;Matt saw someone else he knew, so he stopped to say hi&nbsp;to them but I kept walking away.&nbsp; Then&nbsp;I hear Matt shout at me, "HEY KID! COME BACK HERE, I'M TALKIN' TO YOU!" He then invited me to come hang out with him and a few&nbsp;friends later that night. That's where our&nbsp;friendship began. I'm honored to have Matt stand with me&nbsp;as my Best Man and I'm&nbsp;thankful to call him a friend.

Matt Gronewold

Beau is my second cousin. Despite being much, much, MUCH older than I am, Beau has always been like the brother I never had. (A much older&nbsp;brother I may add) Beau took me under his wing during my teenage and college years and it is my&nbsp;honor to have him stand&nbsp;as my Best Man. If we run out of beer during the reception, Beau might have an idea as to why.

Beau Sederwall

Lauren's first impression of me was getting to witness my&nbsp;lip syncing skills to One Direction. And it was at that moment when&nbsp;I became her best friend. We were roommates for three years before she kicked me out to live with Matt, her husband. I'm so thankful for Lauren's unwavering friendship and I'm thrilled to have her as my Matron of Honor.

Lauren Brown

I've only known Mark for probably&nbsp;the last 22 to&nbsp;23 years. We met on the soccer field as youngsters and grew up together in Bondurant, Iowa playing an endless amount of Sega. After graduating high school, we became college roommates at Central for three years. I'm happy to call Mark one of my absolute best friends and grateful to have him in our wedding. We told Mark the ceremony time is 4 hours earlier than when&nbsp;it actually starts&nbsp;so that he will only&nbsp;be about&nbsp;20 minutes late.&nbsp;

Mark Feld

Rachie's is my Rachie's. She is the best person ever and I love her SO much! She's the best, she's always there for me when I&nbsp;need her. Every time we hang out she spills a glass so everyone watch your toes on wedding night. That's all I have. Love you, Rachel!

Rachel Norman

Hannah Holland, what a gem. I met Hannah in college and made Nutella pancakes for her. We enjoy fun things like egging the richest part of town and watching PBR (or Professional Bull Riding). Hannah is always there to pick you up. I'm so excited to have her stand with me on my special day!

Hannah Holland

Brandon and I attended school at&nbsp;Bondurant together and became close during high school with our friendly, but fierce competitions. We competed in everything.&nbsp;Ping pong, soccer, basketball, who had better dance moves&nbsp;or it could even be who wore a better outfit for that day. We always had to one-up one another. Our battles were typically down the middle, except he could never quite grow a full&nbsp;beard out like I did. Glad you finally became a man, Cookie! I am so happy&nbsp;to have Brandon be a part of our special day.&nbsp;

Brandon Cook

I met Jamie on the first day of college. She has been a constant source of friendship, guidance and joy in my life. I've never met anyone else like Jamie Keiser in my entire life. She is incredibly creative and passionate about the work that she does. I'm so thankful to have Jamie with me through my hardest seasons and grateful to have her during my most joyous seasons!

Jamie Keiser

I met Cody when I was 5 years old and he had a rat tail haircut. (That last&nbsp;part wasn't significant but I just felt everyone should know.) After I moved away&nbsp;in 1st grade, we reunited our friendship when&nbsp;Cody moved to Bondurant in 8th grade. However, it really&nbsp;wasn't until after high school and college where our friendship really grew into what it is today. Cody and I have shared several memorable times together. Needless to say, we have a few good stories! Elizabeth and I are grateful to have him in our wedding.&nbsp;

Cody McDaniel

Emily is my youngest sister and is incredibly talented in all things musical, makeup, and memes. She might love&nbsp;John Mulaney more than she loves me, but I&nbsp;get it. So excited to have her stand with us on such a special day.&nbsp;

Emily Bradley

Austin and I crossed paths during our middle school years as heated&nbsp;basketball rivals. He played for Ballard-Huxley, a school that didn't get along well with Bondurant. I will always remember seeing "BIG MAN" written in sharpie on his basketball shoes. I thought, "what a goof". Fast forward 10 years and we were reintroduced at Central College on the basketball team. Turns out he actually&nbsp;was a goof. Our sense of humors created a common ground that is the root of our friendship. It is neat to see our unique relationship come full circle as I served in his wedding and now he is a member of mine.&nbsp;

Austin Begg

Marko and I met on the basketball team at Central College. As a point guard, it was a blessing to have a Serbian shooter on the team to make me look good. Marko and I ended up living together after graduating from&nbsp;college and we&nbsp;have sustained our friendship over the last 10 years. Marko is a fan of the Chicago&nbsp;White Sox and Duke basketball. So that tells you a lot about him as a human. But in spite of those glaring blunders,&nbsp;it is an honor to have him as a Groomsman. As long as Marko leaves the&nbsp;Šljivo at home, everyone will have a great night!

Marko Marinkovich

Caroline Bradley, AKA Carboline Breadley, because she loves bread, is my other sister. This girl loves herself a refreshing virgin pina colada with a slice of untoasted bread on the side. Unfortunately we had to eliminate rolls from the wedding menu, but I'm excited to have Carboline be a part of our&nbsp;big day!

Caroline Bradley

Laurel is a goofball and I met her when we were in middle school. She was weird then, and even weirder now. She touches and changes so many young lives as a teacher in the inner city of Atlanta, and was even the teacher of the year last year. I am so thankful to have Laurel as a close companion even miles away.&nbsp;

Laurel Collinson

Travis and I met in 2011&nbsp;when he hired me&nbsp;to be the Freshman basketball coach at Bondurant. For the next 4 years, we worked closely together to create a slightly above average basketball&nbsp;program. Although we've had to put up with our share of travels, stupid fouls, and airballed free throws, we've stayed strong in our loyalty to Bondurant basketball. Pitbull has helped us get over the tough losses.&nbsp;Despite my&nbsp;move&nbsp;to Nashville, Travis and I have still maintained a close friendship. Travis was the first person to find out and congratulate Elizabeth and I on our engagement with a random phone call as we were walking down&nbsp;Lookout Mountain. I'm really excited and happy to have Travis in my wedding party.&nbsp;

Travis Evans

I've been friends with Jacob since 1st grade. We grew up together rooting for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Cubs, quoting the movie Heavyweights,&nbsp;cheering on our favorite WWF wrestlers, and competing side by side in football and basketball. We have made lasting childhood memories, but our success on the football field together probably trumps them all.&nbsp;Jacob has been one of my closest friends for a long time and I can honestly say that&nbsp;I've even fully&nbsp;forgiven him for attending&nbsp;Simpson College instead of Central. It's awesome to have a life long friend be a Groomsman!

Jacob Leonard

Ashley is Brian's younger&nbsp;sister and only sibling. I'm excited to gain a sister that is&nbsp;my age and not 10 years apart!&nbsp;Ashley and I have danced together at Coyote Ugly, so cross that one&nbsp;off the bucket list. I'm really happy to have a new sister and for all the fun times that are ahead for us.&nbsp;

Ashley Hemping

Lanie is the daughter of Grant and Allie&nbsp;Pinkley. Grant is&nbsp;one of Brian's lifelong friends from Bondurant. Lanie is a real cutie!! We are thrilled to have her as our flower girl. My mother is sewing a beautiful dress for Lanie to wear.

Lanie Pinkley

Kyle and I met our Junior year at Central College. (One could argue&nbsp;the greatest year in the history of undergrad) Kyle is a loyal friend who would do anything for a buddy. Kyle and I share a love for Tech N9ne music, Chicago Cubs baseball, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and Guinness beer. That's a lie, I don't drink Guinness at all but everything&nbsp;else is&nbsp;true. I'm extremely&nbsp;grateful to have Kyle serve as an Usher.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kyle Foreman

Hayden is my cousin. Even though he betrayed me by going to the Cub Scouts, I still adore him.&nbsp;Hayden enjoys Nerf wars with Brian and I, Star Wars, trains, Batman and chocolate milkshakes.&nbsp;He is such a smart little boy and will make a wonderful ring bearer!

Hayden Erwin

Nick, or Merical as we all call him, and I met during our Junior year of college. We were able to manage a close friendship despite never having any fun, attending every class precisely on time, reading textbooks the majority of hours in&nbsp;the day and night, sitting out karaoke nights,&nbsp;and resisting any temptation to play Mario Kart together. We hardly ever pulled any pranks and we were&nbsp;always the most responsible ones of the group. I can't for the life of me understand why Merical chooses to root for Iowa State, but nevertheless&nbsp;I&nbsp;am thankful to have him as my Usher!

Nick Merical

Ben is my first cousin. We both&nbsp;enjoy doing&nbsp;fantasy football and sports&nbsp;trivia together. I was Ben's inline hockey coach&nbsp;for a few seasons here&nbsp;in Nashville. In our last year, we put together a plan to help&nbsp;Ben reach his goal of winning MVP of the league and we also&nbsp;took home the U10 Championship Trophy! It is very special and significant to have Ben be involved with our wedding.&nbsp;Elizabeth and I are anticipating Ben having a wild time!

Ben Helm

Grayson is John's middle child. We like to play football and basketball with each other and we occasionally have a&nbsp;wrestling match! I coached Grayson in hockey for a few years and have watched him grow into a very talented player. Grayson is the same age now as I was when I was ring bearer for John and Dawn's wedding. Elizabeth and I are excited to have Grayson be in our wedding and are looking forward to seeing his moves on the dance floor!

Grayson Helm

Drew is the third cousin and despite my mom and uncle only being a year apart in age, Drew and I are 21 years difference. Yes, you read that right. Drew and I enjoy doing artwork together, building LEGOS and playing silly games. I also coached Drew in hockey and loved his funny celebrations whenever he scored a goal. The only person who might be more excited than Elizabeth and I to have Drew in this wedding, might actually be Drew! We are so happy to have him in our wedding party.&nbsp;

Drew Helm

Wedding Party

Photos

Q + A

Registry

Please click on the link below to reserve a room for $132/night. Please book by 3/22/19 to ensure room availability.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1544295201036&key=GRP&app=resvlink">https://www.marriott.com/event...</a>

Courtyard by Marriott Nashville Goodlettsville

Please refer to your details card in your invitation for information on parking. Shuttles will be provided

Transportation 

Please click the link below to reserve a room at the&nbsp; Fairfield Inn &&nbsp;Suites for $139/ night. Your reservation will include breakfast. Please book by 3/19/19 to ensure room availability.&nbsp; <a href="https://www.marriott.com/meeting-event-hotels/group-corporate-travel/groupCorp.mi?resLinkData=BRADLEY%20HEMPING%20WEDDING%5EBNAFV%60BHWBHWA%7CBHWBHWB%60139.00%60USD%60false%604%604/19/19%604/21/19%603/19/19&app=resvlink&stop_mobi=yes">https://www.marriott.com/meeti...</a>

Fairfield Inn & Suites Nashville Hendersonville

Travel

We are trying to pair the culinary experience with a cultural experience. We are attempting to create the perfect setting to share with friends your passion for wine, music and great food. We believe strongly in our company mantra that you should “Indulge the Senses”&mdash;that the sounds, smells, tastes, and views should combine to create a unique and special customer experience.

City Winery Lounge

JJ's Wine Bar is an upscale wine bar with a trendy edge, located in the heart of historic downtown Franklin.&nbsp;

Inside, the atmosphere is fun, relaxed, and comfortable; decorated in an eclectic, hip style. We offer 28 different types of wine by the glass, dispensed in your choice of sizes - a taste (1 oz), a half-serving (5 oz), or full-serving (8 oz), using a smart-card received from your server.

JJ's Wine Bar

Check out Nashville Guru for more things to do!&nbsp;We&nbsp;recommend checking out the following neighborhoods: <a href="http://nashvilleguru.com/neighborhoods/gulch">the Gulch</a><a href="http://nashvilleguru.com/neighborhoods/hillsboro-village">Hillsboro Village</a><a href="http://nashvilleguru.com/neighborhoods/wedgewood-houston">Wedgewood-Houston (one of our favorites!!)</a><a href="http://nashvilleguru.com/neighborhoods/downtown">Downtown/Broadway</a>

Nashville Guru

Diskin Cider is bringing true craft cider to Tennessee and the South. &nbsp;Bridging the gap between wine and beer, our fresh, flavorful, small-batch ciders break the mold of overly sweet cider with the natural flavor of fresh pressed apples.

Creating branch-to-can fresh and dangerously good hard cider for our guests to enjoy within a festive and unique space is what drives us every single day.&nbsp; 

Cider is an experience.&nbsp; Cider is sharing the good times with family and friends while enjoying great food and music and fun.&nbsp; Cider is also about having a place and people and an environment of support during the not-so-good times.&nbsp; We at Diskin Cider understand that we are much more than finely crafted apples, and can’t wait to share the full experience with you.

Diskin Cider

Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria is Nashville’s hottest new pizza joint. Our aim is to bring a fun atmosphere to the neighborhood pizza scene using locally sourced ingredients. Located in historic North Nashville, Slim & Husky’s offers hot, fresh specialty pizzas and locally brewed craft beer. Welcome to The Buc!

Slim & Husky's Pizza Beeria

Each venue features fun and competitive golf games for all ages, climate-controlled playing bays for year-round comfort, an impressive&nbsp;<a href="https://topgolf.com/us/menu/">food and drink menu</a>, private spaces for groups of any size, HDTVs to watch the big game and a music selection that will make every visit feel like a party.

Elizabeth & Brian

Elizabeth & Brian

Photos