STIR

Rehearsal Dinner

Moxy Chattanooga Downtown

Welcome Party

The Historic

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Common House Chattanooga

Reception

Our Wedding

Preston and I were both in Huntsville for Christmas last year. He had to head home right after Christmas to go back to work. I stayed in Huntsville to spend time with my niece and nephews for a few more days. Preston kept calling me to tell me he was craving pasta, to which I told him "Okay, so go get some pasta." He did not go get pasta, so that was the first thing he wanted to do when I got home. We leave for dinner and Preston “forgot his jacket” (had to grab the ring), so I was cold and tired of waiting on him and I said I’m driving. He wanted to go to a restaurant called Tony’s (a delicious pasta place that does not accept reservations). We get there and we see that it is packed and there are so many people waiting. I said “We’re not eating there.” And Preston said “We should at least see what the wait is.” And I said “No we’re not eating there. Find somewhere else.” And he was just sitting there not looking up places. So I said “Where do you want to go?” And he said “I think we should wait for Tony’s.” And I said “No we’re not going to Tony’s.” So we finally land on a different restaurant, Wooden City. We get to Wooden City and the hostess says it’ll be an hour wait. So I said “Eh I don’t think we should wait.” And Preston said “I think we should wait.” I was fighting him on waiting vs. leaving. But then the hostess said “Actually I think we have enough time between reservations and we can seat you now.” During dinner, we talked about engagement and I said “I should just plan the whole thing. I don’t think you even know what I want.” And Preston said “Yes I do, I think you would want us to go to a nice dinner and then we go home and I propose to you at home.” And I said “That’s dumb, you shouldn’t do that.” ... We finish dinner and we go home. Preston apparently wanted to propose on the front porch so the ring camera could capture it, but I barreled inside (so there went that plan). He gets inside and he starts turning on all of the lights. And I said “We don’t need these lights on, turn them off.” I go to the bedroom because I needed to send a work email and Preston follows me and says “I need to ask you something.” So I said “If you’re not even going to be in that room then why do you need all of these lights on. Go turn them off.” So he walks out and goes to turn all of the lights off. I go out there with my work computer and I say “What could you possibly need to ask me?” And then that’s when he got down on one knee. And I said “This isn’t real. That’s not real.” And then eventually said yes. And here we are!

Julia’s POV

Julia is the queen of checking everyone's location, so starting the process of getting her ring was a challenge in itself. I reached out to her dad to ask when I could come talk to him, and he happened to be in Huntsville the next weekend. I devised a plan to go down under the guise of helping my friends move furniture for their grandmother (thanks for the cover story, Dukes brothers). While on the way down, I reached out to Julia’s sister to see where the family was. I picked up Mike on my way to see everyone and got the ring that day. Then came the second challenging part: having it re-set for her. I used our friend Ellen as a distraction for Julia on a Saturday, although Julia did not make it easy, as she shot down several plans. Eventually, Ellen convinced her to go to a movie, which allowed me and our friend Mary to head to the jewelry store. When the day finally came to ask the question, Julia decided to stay an extra day in Huntsville for the holiday. This only made my nerves worse. After many changes in plans the next day, we finally made it home, where I had to chase her around the house for a few minutes. When I finally got down on one knee, my nerves got the best of me, and I still have no clue what I actually said. I know she said yes to whatever I asked, though. The night wouldn’t be complete without me trying to put her ring on and it being two sizes too small. Julia will admit that it wasn’t my fault, though, and we got it fixed a few weeks later.

Preston’s POV

Our Proposal Story

Photos

Wedding Party

Q + A

We have a hotel block setup at The Kinley, The Moxy, and La Quinta.All hotels are within a half mile of the venue.

Preston & Julia

Preston & Julia

Registry