Pomona Natural Bridge | Southern Illinois Wedding

The Couple

Chandra Feltman from Pomona.
Mike Molony from Chicago.

How They Met 

Mike and I met the good old-fashioned way – In a bar! One of my best friends and I went out for happy hour with a big group of colleagues one night, and after a few hours she asked the guy she was dating to come meet up with us. Mike came with him, and I distinctly remember thinking to myself, “Oh! He’s cute!” We were introduced and struck up a conversation. Mike had just moved to Knoxville from Chicago a few months beforehand. I moved to Knoxville from Southern Illinois a year prior for graduate school. We bonded over being Illinois transplants and began realizing how much we had in common. We ended up abandoning our friends and talking for hours in a quiet area of the bar.

At the end of the night we exchanged numbers, and I remember being hopeful about this cute, interesting guy I had just met! When I didn’t hear from him the next day, or the day after, or the day after, I was a little irritated. Finally, THREE WEEKS LATER, I decided I should just text him even though he never contacted me. Turns out, his phone had broken that night and he actually didn’t have my number. Since I never contacted him, he assumed I just wasn’t that into him. Once that mix-up was resolved, we went on a proper first date, and the rest was history!

Side note: Let that debacle be a lesson to the ladies out there – Don’t let outdated, arbitrary rules about who should pursue who in a relationship get in the way of what could be your perfect match!

The proposal 

A little history: On our third date, Mike and I drove out to the middle of nowhere to go to a haunted house. On our way home, he randomly stopped the car and told me to get out. We didn’t know each other very well at this point (and I had spooky scenarios on the brain thanks to that haunted house), so I was a little wary of why this guy was parking his car on the side of an abandoned highway at midnight and telling me to follow him. Ultimately though, I decided to trust him, and Mike led me to a beautiful overlook of Fort Loudoun Lake. We sat on a bridge overlooking the water and ended up talking for hours. It was one of those nights that you look back on as a couple and say, "That was the night, you know. That's when I knew I was falling in love with you." Fast forward ~2 years later. After an amazing meal and that same haunted house, Mike stopped the car again. At our spot. We sat on the bridge and talked about how much our lives had changed in those two short years. We talked about our past. We talked about our future. And then, he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. It was the absolute perfect proposal and one of the best moments of my life.

Wedding Venue 

Our wedding and reception were held on the grounds of CornerStone Cabins in Pomona. I had always dreamed of getting married in a backyard ceremony and having a big outdoor party afterward. Unfortunately, the property at my parents’ house is very hilly, and there wasn’t a great spot for the ceremony or reception. CornerStone Cabins was nearby and it felt very much like the property where I grew up – it was just a little flatter! It was also very close to Pomona Natural Bridge, which is where my parents got married, and I loved the idea of being able to do our first look and photos there. So I got the backyard wedding of my dreams; it just wasn’t my backyard.

Wedding inspiration

I actually came down with the flu right when I was beginning to plan my wedding. I ended up being bedridden for 10 days and spent the entire time scouring Pinterest, Instagram, and wedding blogs for inspiration. (All while hopped up on a bunch of meds, mind you. It felt like I had fallen into a wedding planning vortex!) In the end, l found myself drawn to things that involved muted pastel palettes, soft fabrics, garden flowers, and various lights with elements that you might see at a winery. Thus became my Vintage Vineyard Fever Dream wedding inspo!

Favorite Part

My favorite part of the wedding was exchanging our vows, hands down. Mike and I wrote our own, and I am so thankful we did. I will never be able to describe how meaningful it was to make those unique promises to one another in front of everyone we care about most in this world. I still cry every time I think about it.

Memorable Moment

I think the immense amount of love I felt probably stands out the most – and not just the love I felt for and from Mike, but also the love I felt from our families and friends before, during, and after the big day. Our wedding was almost completely DIY, so it was definitely a labor of love, and it took a village to bring together. Our friends and family stepped in, stepped up, and worked their tails off to give us the wedding of our dreams. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so celebrated, so supported, or so connected to our people. We will cherish those feelings for the rest of our lives.

Advice

I think I can wrap this one up in 3 little words: You. Do. You! Honestly, at the end of the day it’s your and your partner’s wedding and it should reflect you – not your loved ones, not what Pinterest says you should like, not tradition – just you and what you both love. You’ll never regret it. I know we don’t.

Vendors

Photographer: Blue Garnet Weddings // Videographer: Tower Studios // Hair & Makeup: Fringe the Salon // Day of Coordinator and Decor: Deliciously Ordinary // Catering: Great Boars of Fire // Wedding and Reception Venue: CornerStone Cabins // First Look Location: Pomona Natural Bridge