This gorgeous couple recently renewed their vows in Chattanooga, Tennessee
A few months ago, Cierra reached out to me and told me that her 5th anniversary with her husband David was coming up and she wanted to surprise him by planning an intimate vow renewal while they were in Chattanooga for their anniversary weekend. I had recently planned a surprise proposal and had a lot of fun with that so I was all in to help plan a surprise vow renewal! She originally wanted to do their vow renewal at Rock City in Chattanooga, but due to Covid restrictions, it wasn't going to be possible, so plan B it was! A few weeks before the vow renewal she sent me pictures of the super cute bed & breakfast they were staying in called Mayor's Mansion Inn and asked if I thought maybe the courtyard there would be a good place to do it. I wholeheartedly agreed!
We made plans for me to arrive at Mayor's Mansion Inn a little before Cierra and David returned from dinner. Myself and the officiate Dawn set ourselves up in the courtyard and waited for Cierra to come down from her room (she had hidden her dress in another room at the inn to change into after they got back from dinner so David didn't suspect a thing). Once Cierra met us in the courtyard, I took a few photos of her bouquet (it was actually her original bouquet! Silk flowers) and the book of their vows while we waited on David to join us. She had texted him and told him she had a surprise for him in the courtyard. As David walked into the courtyard you could tell how surprised he was - but he also looked overjoyed seeing his wife all dressed up. After David had a few minutes to take everything in, we took a few couples portraits and set up a FaceTime call so that Cierra and David's son (who was staying with Grandma) could watch his parents renew their vows.
The vow renewal ceremony was short and sweet. We hung out in the courtyard for a few more minutes after the ceremony to take a few more photos before we jumped into the car to head to a secondary location to take more portraits as the sun went down. Cierra had originally mention wanting to take pictures at Sunset Rock but I let her know it may not be open but assured her I had some backup options if that was the case. Once we got up the mountain we found out that Sunset Rock was indeed closed (thanks again COVID), but thankfully, I had anticipated this and had another location picked out that was only a short drive away so we didn't miss any of the yummy sunset light. Side note - always be sure to have a backup plan!!
The backup location I selected isn't super well known, but is arguably one of the best places to view the sunset in Chattanooga and I actually like it even more than Sunset Rock, so while it may not have been the original plan, it turned out even better! We arrived at the absolute perfect time right as the sun was starting to go down and spent the next 30 minutes or so exploring, laughing and capturing the love that Cierra and David share.
