Bilbo Baggins’ Inspired Wedding

You may remember Sarah and Chris’s fun rollerskating engagement session shot by Heather H Photography from a few months ago. Well, last month I received an email from Elizabeth from Dapper Paper sharing their wedding invitation suite…you can imagine how hard it was for me to wait till their wedding photos were ready to share them all today. So let’s get started, shall we?

From the bride, Sarah:

Not to be the super nerd BUT I found this picture of Bilbo Baggin’s birthday party from the first Lord of the Rings film. It just depicted so much joy and merriment. That’s what I wanted for our wedding. I also wanted it to be a celebration of everything that had led to Chris and I getting married. I wanted the people there to recognize how much we valued the role they’d played in our relationship.

Our color palette was gray, mustard yellow and a navy blue. I wanted everything to be kind of rustic and vintage – keeping in the theme of Bilbo’s birthday party :). The ceremony itself was outside in the courtyard surrounding our reception site. I thought it was really cool that we were in this beautiful outside space with all these pretty Chattanooga buildings surrounding us. A kind of grassy haven in the middle of a historic downtown setting.

I knew that I wanted to have the ceremony outside so that immediately narrowed the pool of places that I was looking. Lindsay Street Hall, where we eventually ended up having the ceremony and reception, was formerly a church renovated into an event space. I loved the aesthetic of the building. The original stained glass is still in place and the wooden floors and chandeliers were festive without being overtly lavish. Some time after I picked Lindsay Street I read an article about the space which explained that the former church had actually been a focal point of much of the Civil Rights Movement in the Chattanooga area. I really liked that the space carried with it this beautiful meaning outside the context of our wedding.

My favorite moment of the day was when my bridesmaids and I ordered pizza and watched the movie Some Like It Hot on one of the VHS players in their sweet hotel (The Stone Fort Inn – a really cute bed&breakfast in downtown Chattanooga). We had some down time between pictures and the ceremony so we put on our robes and kicked up our feet at just ate pizza and watched Marilyn Monroe. It was awesome.

I love how Grace Kelly looks in the film Rear Window. Her character Lisa Fremont is this incredibly sophisticated women, who also has this gutsy sense of adventure. I wanted my dress to some kind of manifestation of that. I wanted it to be classic and fitted but still allow me to get down on the dance floor. I ended up picking a dress by Paloma Blanca (style number 3906). That was perfect. I wish I could wear it everyday. I felt elegant and chic but also didn’t make shaking it on the dance floor. My friend Rylee Hitchner did my hair and my sweet little sister (and maid of honor!), Grace Young, did my makeup.

See more photos from their wedding on Heather’s blog. Heather is based out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but is available for travel worldwide.

Wedding Vendors (Chattanooga, Tennessee):

Venue: Lindsay Street Hall / Photography: Heather H Photography / Wedding Invitations: Dapper Paper / Caterer and Wedding Cupcakes: Sweet Gipsy / Wedding Dress: Paloma Blanca (style number 3906) / Hair: Rylee Hitchner (friend of the bride and maid of honor) / Makeup: Grace Young / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Groom and Groomsmen: their choice of Toms shoes and skinny ties / Florist: Laura’s Garden