A Mountain Side Wedding at Grandview on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga
“We had been looking forever at venues around Atlanta and nothing really felt like “us.” Honestly, the most “us” wedding would have been to travel somewhere exotic and elope haha! But, we wanted to be surrounded by our friends and family so we kept looking. It was actually after I got burnt out from searching and I asked Ransome to look at venues that he sent me Grandview! We fell in love immediately from simply looking at the pictures on the website and then even more so after visiting the venue! Grandview has a house that looks European-esque and the grounds are crazy beautiful with an incredible view out over the Chattanooga valley. The ceremony and reception would be outdoors which we loved and we’d get to take pictures over at Rock City next door which satisfied our want of adventure and incredible wedding photos.”
“I never thought twice about doing anything other than a first look, because that was for us. The ceremony was going to be great, but it would be filled with family and friends; where as the first look allowed us to be alone and to really be ourselves. We were able to share notes beforehand, and then to spend a few minutes together before taking on the full day of events. It was very special and if we hadn’t done the first look, i would have been counting down the seconds until we were able to be alone and talk for a few minutes, which wouldn’t come for hours later.
Kimberly had been talking about the dress forever and while the wedding had been held over us for months, seeing Kimberly that day would really “kick off” the start of the day ahead. While waiting for her, I talked to Michael about photography, travel, and his recent wedding, which helped me to stay relaxed while Kimberly got ready. As she walked up and put her hand on my shoulder, I turned around. Her dress and her hair looked like a model out of a James Bond movie, but it was the look in her eyes that stood out to me even more. That... was something that I can’t put into words.
-Ransome
“Our guest book set up at the front of the house and our souvenirs both reflect our love for travel and adventure. Ransome opened me up to international travel back when I graduated from college by buying me a cruise for my graduation present. Since then, we have been fortunate enough to travel to so many amazing places and create indescribable memories. In fact, travel has become one of our biggest passions together and is something we plan to continue to as much as we possibly can throughout the rest of our lives together.”
“Ransome’s grandfather performed the ceremony which was incredibly special special for us. He has married Ransome’s parents, all of his aunts and uncles, his cousin, and countless others, and having him as our officiant created a feeling of comfortability and pride. Ransome’s grandfather and grandmother have been married for over 60 years, and brough wisdom and strength to our wedding, as well as wit and humor! It was truly amazing to see so many generations of Sheets’ involved to which I was about become a part.”
“A favorite moment of mine was when we were doing our first dance. Our first dance was such a great memory for me because it felt intimate between Ransome and I and yet we were still surrounded by people who loved us. Our first dance was the first thing we did after being announced as Mr. and Mrs. Sheets and I felt like the love and happiness shared by Ransome and I during our first dance emanated to our guests and set the mood for the entire reception.
Our first dance song was to “As Time Goes By” by Dooley Wilson from the movie Casablanca. A couple of years ago on my birthday Ransome cooked me an amazing dinner of tapas and cocktails that were Moroccan themed before watching the movie. This was a huge deal because 1) Ransome does not normally cook and 2) The food was sooooooo delicious. I still dream about it. It’s funny because I can get mushy over most romantic movies but Ransome never does - except for Casablanca. We found it fitting for our first dance together to be to the love song played throughout the movie. Also, the words to the song talk about all the ways love continues “as time goes by” which felt very fitting as the dance symbolized the beginning of the rest of our lives together.” -Kimberly
The first time Michael and I went to Chattanooga, the view of the city from Lookout Mountain was my first impression. I instantly fell in love with this city.
Two years later, I found myself back in Chattanooga at the Grandview taking in this view once more. The only difference was that this time Kimberly and Ransome were dancing in front of me, newly married, with city lights flickering behind them. It was honestly something straight out of a movie.
“Ransome and I love playing games (I guess most people do haha), but we actually met playing ping pong. Any time we go to a bar with games like ping pong, Golden tee, shuffleboard, pool, etc. we are the first to go play. We’ve shared some awesome memories playing games and wanted to play them at our wedding as well!”
“Everything was perfect. When I look back on the day, I am overwhelmed with feelings of happiness and gratitude. Ransome and I had been planning the wedding for close to a year so seeing everything come together into an event that was so “us” was a dream. There were so many people working behind the scenes to make sure that everything went smoothly and Ransome and I are forever grateful. The wedding literally could not have happened without our friends, family, and vendors who were at our beckon call. Before the wedding, so many people try to offer you advice and one of the things I heard the most was, “Sometime during your wedding, pause together to look around and take everything in.” I actually never took this advice because I didn’t have to. I was constantly taking in everything around me the whole day and reflecting on how happy I was. Even though the day went by faster than I would have liked, I took in every single moment and memory. Driving home on Sunday together, Ransome and I reminisced about how wonderful the day had been and how everything far exceeded our expectations. I don’t know (and don’t care) if any of our guests felt the same way, but for us - it was perfect.”
