Howe Farms (Highlands Chapel)

Our Wedding Day

Our Wedding

Caden and Isabella’s story begins with a bit of a prologue. Both of them grew up going to Wallace Memorial Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Little did they know, but they were together during Sunday church services, Wednesday nights, Upward Sports events, and summer camp trips, years before they fell in love. Their parents knew each other, but that was about as far as the connection went. In 2013, Caden and his family moved just outside of Knoxville and began attending Corryton Church. Though they had spent many years in the same place, Caden and Isabella largely fell out of each others’ memories. Fast forward to Spring 2020 and COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic, most schools in the Knoxville area did not hold graduation ceremonies. In May, Corryton Church hosted a graduation ceremony to honor the members of the church graduating from high school and college and give them the ceremony the pandemic took away from them. Caden was asked by the Student Pastor to be the speaker at the ceremony, to which Caden happily obliged. As it turns out, Isabella knew another person graduating that semester who was also being recognized in the ceremony, so Isabella and her mom attended. At the ceremony, they heard Caden give his speech, and it sparked a conversation between Isabella’s mom, Jodie, and Caden’s mom, Cindy. From that conversation, the two of them playfully suggested that Caden and Isabella would be a cute couple. About a year from then, Cindy asked Caden if he remembered Isabella Murrell from Wallace, and he told her that he didn’t. She said that he should look Isabella up on Instagram, and that “she’s pretty cute.” Caden looked her up, and he quickly found his mom’s claims to be true - “wow she is pretty cute!” So Caden messaged Isabella on Instagram to strike up a conversation, and they began talking about their plans for school. Caden had just finished his first year at the University of Tennessee, and Isabella had just graduated from Grace Christian Academy and planned to attend Anderson University in South Carolina that upcoming fall. Soon, Caden asked Isabella out to lunch, and she happily agreed. On May 25, 2021, they had their first date at Salsarita’s in Hardin Valley. There was definitely a spark! Over the next several weeks, their relationship quickly blossomed through lunches and dinners, coffee dates, movies, and trips to the zoo and Dollywood, where they held hands for the first time! Caden and Isabella say that they started dating on May 25, because even though they weren’t “official” until the following June, they hit it off from the start, and it’s now so clear that God had something very special in store for the two of them. In June, Caden knew that it was the right time to ask Isabella to officially be his girlfriend. He picked Isabella up from her house and they spent the day together, and all the while he was trying to think through how, when, and where he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend. On the way back to her house, as Caden continued to mull over various plans in his head, Isabella beat him to the punch - “so, are we like boyfriend and girlfriend now?” They were on the same page, a common theme throughout their relationship, and Caden was thrilled to agree. They probably called each other “my boyfriend” and “my girlfriend” a dozen times in the five minutes they had left on the drive back to her house. Throughout that summer, their relationship continued to flourish, and even though Isabella’s move to South Carolina was fast approaching, they only grew closer together, and they shared their first kiss on the steps of Isabella’s house at the beginning of August. Later that month, Isabella moved to South Carlina to begin her freshman year at Anderson University, thus kicking off Caden and Isabella’s four-year season of long-distance dating. Fortunately, Knoxville and Anderson are only about three and a half hours away from each other, so road trips to visit each other became a regular occurrence. However, when academic commitments kept them apart, they made sure to stay connected through FaceTiming, texting, calling, and sending funny videos to each other on TikTok on a daily basis. Thankfully, Summer and Winter Breaks were a nice pause on their usual long-distance arrangement, and they made sure to cherish those times of reunion in Knoxville. It was during one of these times in December 2021 in Lakeshore Park in Knoxville that Caden first told Isabella that he loved her, and she told him that she loved him too. Several years passed by, and Caden and Isabella’s love for each other continued to grow deeper and stronger. It became clear that God had orchestrated for them a beautiful future together, and they began discussing the possibility of marriage. They had purposefully taken things slow throughout their relationship, but as their time in college began to near its end, they both became confident that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together and get married after they both graduated. In Spring 2025, Caden designed a ring using gold and diamonds from the engagement ring and wedding band of his grandmother, Donna Hughes, and diamonds from the engagement ring of Isabella’s mom Jodie. Caden began planning his proposal to Isabella. In April 2025, Isabella traveled to New York City with a group from the Anderson University theatre department to audition for professional productions, participate in theatre workshops, and see some Broadway shows. New York City is Isabella’s favorite city in the whole world, and Caden knew that very well. Caden wanted to do everything he could to surprise Isabella, but he also knew that she was smart enough to sniff out any plan he might make to propose in Knoxville or Anderson. Isabella’s mom and Caden threw around lots of potential plans, but nothing seemed exactly right. However, when Caden learned about Isabella’s upcoming trip to New York, you probably could have seen an actual lightbulb turn on over his head Loony Tunes-style. It was the perfect place to propose, because not only was New York Isabella’s favorite place, but why would she ever expect Caden to be there? So Caden flew into Newark, and on April 16, he ventured into Central Park. Caden had recruited some of Isabella’s friends from Anderson, Addie Wiggins and Hannah Blough, who convinced Isabella to come with them to take pictures in Central Park. Little did Isabella know what the day would hold. For months, Caden, her mom, and, eventually, her friends had been putting this together. It was all leading her straight to her dream proposal. As they walked through the park, Isabella happened upon Caden, who was down by the lake with a bouquet of six tulips, Isabella’s favorite flower, each a different color. He told her that each colored tulip represented a thing he loved about her. White represented her purity; pink represented her gentleness; purple represented her elegance; yellow represented her joy; orange represented her enthusiasm; and red represented her love. Caden told her that he loved all these things about her, but more importantly, he loved her, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Through tears, she told him that she loved him too, and she also wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. It was an absolute dream of a proposal! After taking pictures around the park, they ate dinner, where Caden excitedly debriefed the entire proposal plan with her and they made a ton of FaceTime calls announcing their engagement, and that night, they saw Sunset Boulevard together. Now we look to today. Caden and Isabella have conquered long distance, as they are both back in Knoxville. Isabella graduated in May 2025 from Anderson University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre and a minor in Worship Leadership, and Caden is currently attending the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law. They are so excited to get married and to share it with you! After they get married, they plan on staying in Knoxville until Caden graduates from law school, after which they plan on relocating to New York City, where Isabella will pursue a career in professional theatre, and Caden will pursue a career in business law. They are looking forward to the adventure living in New York will bring, and they can’t wait to begin building a beautiful life together as husband and wife.

Isabella & Caden

Isabella & Caden

I&C

Our Wedding Day