Southern Weddings

Ever thought about planning a wedding in Costa Rica?  Well, Edna and Brett did and it turned out just what they wanted tropical and romantic. The two married at {Buena Vista Villas & Casas at Tulemar Beach}. They had the ceremony on the beach that was complete with music by Los Tres Caciques.  The ceremony was just what Edna + Brett wanted however, it wasn’t completely legal.  Read on to hear how they handled it and why it pays to have a Tennessee Mayor at your wedding.  More to come with this beautiful photography by {Beall and Thomas Photography}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story: Both hailing from active Maryville, Tennessee families and being Maryville High School graduates, there was always a few degrees of separation between us. We never met until much later, but our paths seemed destined to cross. I went to MaryvilleHigh School with Julie (Brett’s sister) and Brett was the same age as my step-brother. We both graduated from Maryville
High School (he six years ahead of me) and went on to pursue higher education and start our careers. One night after Brett finished a hard day at work and was checking his email, a message from his manager arrived announcing that his team had just hired a specialty product representative. The email went on to highlight that this new hire (a female) had experience working overseas and now would be working with the East Tennessee team. Brett called the number on the email and scheduled to meet her the following morning. “When she got out of the car, I knew I was in trouble,” said Brett. He spent the rest of the day working with me and by the end of the afternoon, we discovered how close we had been to meeting each other at other times. My dad operated on both his parents, Brett and my step-brother knew each other in high-school, and I was his sister’s Spanish 3 partner. Over the following weeks, Brett and I reminisced about growing up in the same community. After Brett got the boss’s blessing, we started dating. When Fall came, Brett took me horse-back riding on his parents’ Belgian Draft Horse Farm. At one time, Cunningham Farms raised over 25 Belgian Draft Horses and specialized in Carriage Rides and old fashioned farming with horse-drawn machinery. When we were leaving the barn, we both suddenly noticed a newspaper clipping on the barn billboard. It was a faded yellow picture from The Daily Times back in 1985 (our local Newspaper). In the photograph, Brett is driving a team of Belgian Draft Horses pulling a cart and family. In the photo, I am standing on a bale of hay while Brett is driving. We got engaged a few weeks later over
Thanksgiving.
What attracted me to my husband was: He is one of the most playful people I know—but he is also the first to take the shirt off his back and give it to someone in need. He is generous to a fault and is not afraid to sacrifice for causes he cares about. He can also make you laugh so hard your tummy will hurt for weeks. Did I mention- he’s not bad looking either??
Why do you love your husband? Because there is no one else for me. He has a softer side he hides under his mischievous armor.
What attracted me to my wife was: My husband said he now has to turn in his “Man” card for doing more wedding crap after being married! Best answer he could give “Her fiery Latin side.”
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Our first trip to Costa Rica. Brett had never been in Latin America before! We found a long weekend to getaway. We both had a blast!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The design of the actual ceremony. We had to have a tent at the last minute due to weather, but each seat was decorated with a beautiful wedding program, a cone of beautiful small tropical orchids, and a champagne bubble blower! We also had a beautiful table with our special Unity Candle and orchids to represent the loved-ones in our lives that could not make it. Even just after the rain, it looked beautiful!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Getting our hair, nails, and make-up done! I loved spending time with my incredible wedding party and the other ladies on our trip. We turned the wedding day into a day of pampering! It was so much fun not only to be with all my ladies—but also to see the transformations! We had such a blast that day.

Scariest moment? I had two scares in one day! The first scariest moment was right before it miraculously stopped raining! I was so scared of walking over the bridge with my dad in the rain! I was so thankful when it finally stopped completely when I got out of the car. Then, I got even more scared after my dad announced that since the wedding in Costa Rica was just Ceremonial, he didn’t feel comfortable with me going on our honeymoon. At that point, my father-in-law jumped up and married us again! Twice in one day! The laws had just changed and the Costa Rican weddings were not considered legal anymore. Thankfully, Brett made me go with him to the courthouse before we left the country to get a marriage license. Since his father Jerry is a Mayor, he could marry us all over again!

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/ verse/or line? We did not write our own vows per-se- but we worked with Friar Jorge (our Celebrant) to create a blend of vows that focused on our unique wedding and love for each other. When Brett’s dad married us again that night, we used traditional vows.

More to come from Edna + Brett!