A “Tunnel of Love” Led to an Epic After-Party at This Wedding in the Smoky Mountains

The invitation—based on folded Victorian valentines with an embroidered handkerchief hidden inside of the folds—set the tone for some of the bride’s more elaborate requests and the flawless execution of such ideas. The couple tapped illustrator Fee Greening to carry out the entire paper suite. “She was a dream to work with and designed a world in itself for our wedding,” Emma says. “What I really hoped to achieve for the weekend was an intimate feeling of grown-up summer camp. We were capped at a certain headcount and family made up for the vast majority of that group. We have huge families and wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Emma worked with her friend, stylist Thomas Kikis, on her wardrobe. “It was the most fun aspect of planning for me,” she says. “He expertly guided me through the absolutely insane world of bridal and made it all feel fun and easy. Also, he didn’t bat an eye when I told him I needed a new dress to change into after the ceremony two weeks before the wedding, he just sprung into action.”

On Thursday night, for the rehearsal dinner and welcome party, Emma wore a 2011 Alberta Ferretti dress they had altered to have a low back. “The bust has these beautiful florets with pearls at their centers,” Emma says. “It was very whimsical and airy feeling, and I just love that dress.” Atticus wore a blush double-breasted linen Brunello Cucinelli suit and Cucinelli sandals.

“I was a bundle of nerves [that night] until after dinner when I relaxed a little into the situation,” says the bride. “For weeks, it had looked like it would storm, but thankfully, the forecast for the entire weekend opened up completely. It felt like somebody was bestowing that gift upon us. The only night it rained was that Thursday night. It poured and the party had to move inside and turned into this incredible cozy house party feeling. It was the perfect remedy for my nerves and the best energy to start the weekend with.”

The couple chose to get married on Friday and have a big blowout party the next night, so they could fully enjoy Saturday with all of our guests. “Atticus and I are both a bit shy and wanted to go on a hike mid-morning and say our own written vows on the hike,” Emma explains. “We both sobbed through the entirety of it.” They also had an evening ceremony so that everyone could eat dinner around sunset and to ensure cooler weather. “[Even so,] Atticus and I still nearly fainted from the sun up there,” Emma laughs.

For the service, Emma wore an Elly Sofocli dress she found at the Mark Ingram bridal store. “It was one of the first wedding dresses I tried on, and after months of looking at vintage, considering custom, and attending bridal salon appointments, I went back to the dress that I felt the most comfortable in from the start. It was also my mother’s favorite option, which made me love it even more. My veil was a piece from Avec Amour. It was dramatic and over the top and completely perfect.” Atticus wore a custom Henry Poole suit he and his dad purchased together.

The flower children consisted of all the couple’s cousins’ children that could make it. “We are very close to our families, and I tend to call them my nieces and nephews to both claim a larger stake to them and simplify our relationship,” Emma explains. “I really love those kids more than I can say. Notably missing was my niece, Evie, for whom summer camp called, but whose name I would be remiss to not try to get in Vogue.”

The bride tripped a little when walking down the aisle, but her dad, John, held her steady. “I was calm and cried much less than I had the day before when we did a little rehearsal,” she remembers. “It was easy to stand up there looking at Atticus. We both were so hot, and he was facing the sun—at one strategic point I wiped away a bead of sweat for him, making it look like a tear to our guests. My tripping and both of our sweating was still perfect.”

Emma’s middle brother, Gerard, married the couple in a service that he wrote and crafted through meetings with the couple. He honored family and friends who have passed, read “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver, and led guests in singing “Lean on Me.” “Not one thing could have rained on our parade, committing to our soulmate, surrounded by the people we love most in the world,” Emma says. “I cannot overemphasize how much love was present in our ceremony and throughout the entire weekend. Everybody was high on it.”

After the ceremony, the newlyweds took wedding portraits before very hurriedly joining their guests at a pond-side pavilion set up for dinner and dancing. There, more than 20 vintage lace tablecloths, that had been sourced by Augusta Cole and her team, adorned picnic tables, and dinner was served family style.

Once everyone was seated, the couple’s parents and the groom gave speeches before the bride changed into a Danielle Frankel backless lace column dress with lace Manolo Blahnik pumps and the dancing began.

It continued until the fireworks show started. “The night was cozy and family-centric and completely perfect for us,” Emma says. “Legend has it hot tubs were involved, 3 a.m. canoe fights were had, and many bottles were popped.”

On Saturday, everyone woke up ready to run it back and celebrate now that Emma and Atticus were officially married. “We played tennis, had an afternoon picnic that guests could take wherever they wanted on the property, and had lively games of croquet and badminton going,” Emma says. “I heard word of pool parties mixing the kids with some of our more rowdy guests to make for some serious pool games.” For the picnic portion of the day, Emma wore a ’90s Alaia mini dress she found on Etsy with Chanel Mary Janes.

After the activities, everyone headed to their rooms and reconvened in black-tie for dinner in Blackberry’s barn. For the Saturday night festivities, the bride wore a vintage Alexander McQueen dress that she sourced from Vestiaire. “It must have been custom for another bride at some point, but we don’t have many leads on it,” she notes. “The tulle of the dress is so thin and light it felt like wearing a cobweb.” She paired it with an Art Deco ring of her grandmother’s and Giuseppe Zanotti heels.

Post-dinner, guests headed through a wine cellar that had been converted into a “tunnel of love.” “We based it off of some old kitschy Americana amusement park rides,” Emma explains. “Shooters of tequila espresso martinis were passed as we walked through and emerged into a completely transformed events space with our band playing.”

For dancing, the bride changed into a vintage Dolce & Gabbana two-piece set from Happy Isles with The Row sandals. Once through the tunnel of love, there was an elaborate dessert spread on a chintz tablecloth, a zebra-print bar, an Art Deco–inspired stage, and a pink-and-white candy-striped dance floor. “Much to my initial horror, the band walked off the stage and up walked a few of my cousins, an uncle, and the same brother who married us with instruments in hand,” Emma says. “They rocked the house down, and it wound up being everybody’s favorite moment of the weekend.”

Finally, they ended the night with a rowdy after-party DJ’d by the bride’s cousin Harry Williams. “Boxes of pizza and tins of caviar were served as a late night snack,” the bride says. “We did not stop dancing from the moment we walked into the reception until early the next morning. Friends were made, debriefs were arranged back in New York, and our phones haven’t stopped ringing off the hook since with well wishes from people we love.”