Lindsay + Dustin's Wedding - Lisa Shelby Photography

Lindsay and Dustin both looked amazing and their wedding was gorgeous! They had a wine theme throughout their reception… I absolutely loved all their details! Everything, even all the desserts looked amazing! As their wedding favor they had bottles of wine for their guests that they had actually made themselves! Lindsay and Dustin put a lot of time into the planning of each detail for their big day and you could definitely tell! All those hours of planning were definitely worth it!

How did you first meet and what were your first thoughts/impressions of each other?

Lindsay: Well Dustin & I got matched together on e-Harmony in late October of 2011. I thought his profile was so sweet & he was so cute, but I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about the fact that he lived so far away (3 hours)! After God put it on my heart to get to know Dustin better, we began exchanging some messages through e-Harmony, then started e-mailing, and later texting, talking on the phone, & Skyping all the time it seemed. Dustin was constantly on my mind & I knew I had to meet him someday. By the time we had been communicating for a few months I was so ready to meet this guy that I was falling for.

Dustin: Lindsay and I met on eHarmony during my next to last semester at Tn Tech University. I joined in early October and was matched up with her within a couple of weeks. We got to know each other via eHarmony messages, e-mail, phone conversations, and Skype dates for the next two months. We met face to face for the first time on our first date in Chattanooga, TN. My first impression of Lindsay was that she was adorable, sweet, and funny all wrapped up in one! Oh, and she had a smile that absolutely warmed my heart!

Lindsay & Dustin's Nashville Wedding - Lisa Shelby Photography

Tell us about your first date!

Lindsay: After almost two months of communicating via technology, we decided to meet at our half-way point, Chattanooga, TN. Dustin met me in the Tennessee Aquarium’s parking lot on Friday December 16th, 2011. To me, there was an instant connection. We hugged immediately upon meeting, held hands while going through the aquarium, shared our Italian dishes at Tony’s Pasta, got cozy on our tour of Ruby Falls (the location of our first kiss!), and exchanged small Christmas gifts in Dustin’s car before making plans for date #2.

Dustin: Our first date was in Chattanooga, TN which was the midway point between Cookeville, TN and Atlanta, GA. Lindsay and I both drove one and a half hours to meet up in downtown Chattanooga. We met face to face for the first time in a small parking lot in downtown Chattanooga in front of the Tennessee Aquarium. I arrived first then Lindsay did. I got out of my car and before I could even shut the door Lindsay was already waiting to give me a big hug! We started our date off with a tour of the aquarium complete with petting stingrays, sharks, and butterflies! Afterwards we went to dinner at a romantic little Italian restaurant called Toni’s in downtown. Then we took a tour of Ruby Falls where we shared our first kiss! Our last stop was back in the parking lot for our first Christmas celebration in my car where we traded gifts!

Lindsay & Dustin's Nashville Wedding - Lisa Shelby Photography

When did you first know he/she was the one?

Lindsay: On my way home from our first date, I called my mom and dad and told them that I thought I had just went on my last first date! I guess it’s true that when you know, you know! I think it was just how Dustin made me feel like the only girl in the room & that our connection was just none like I had ever known before.

Dustin: I don’t know that there was an exact moment in time when I realized that Lindsay was “the one” however I do know that there was an exact moment in time when I realized that I loved her and was falling in love with her. Lindsay drove all the way to Cookeville to visit me one weekend during my last semester at TN Tech. At this point we had been dating for going on three months (5 months if you count eHarmony). Lindsay and I were only seeing one another about once every three weeks at this time. Lindsay’s golf season had just started and I was as busy as ever finishing up my last semester as an engineering student at TTU. We both knew that this meant we would not be seeing each other as often over the new few months. Lindsay drove all the way to Cookeville to see me after coaching a golf match on Saturday morning. We only had Saturday night together and then she had to hit the road Sunday morning to head back to Atlanta. Lindsay and I said our goodbyes, gave each other a huge hug, and then she broke down into tears because she wasn’t ready to leave yet. I took her back into my apartment, we cuddled up on the couch, and I held her tight in my arms until she stopped crying. After she left that day I regretted not telling her what my heart was feeling. I was falling in love with her. I told her all about it the next time we saw one another.

Lindsay & Dustin's Nashville Wedding - Lisa Shelby Photography

Tell us all about the proposal!

Lindsay: Dustin and I planned to spend the long-weekend of July 4th, 2013 in our special city where we first met, Chattanooga, TN. Unfortunately, we encountered a few roadblocks in our plan; Dustin got called into work on July 5th, and it had been raining ALL weekend. We decided we were going to go there on Saturday morning, rain or shine, because I had bought Dustin a Groupon for white-water rafting and we signed up to go that day. Well that was an experience, everyone in our raft got thrown off at one point in the river except my manly boyfriend (you should ask him to see the video, what a stud)! After we (barely) survived the white-water rafting trip, Dustin took me out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, P.F. Changs. I kind of had a feeling he might propose there, especially since his fortune cookie read “An unexpected relationship will become permanent”. But it didn’t happen that night. The next day, we went bike riding around downtown Chattanooga to sight-see while stopping at many of our first date locations. Dustin was eventually leading me through a random parking lot, and stopping at the pay-meter station. I didn’t realize it at first that this random parking lot was actually the exact spot where Dustin and I first met. We got off our bikes and Dustin started telling me all the stuff he loves about me. He then got on his knee and asked me to marry him with a beautiful engagement ring. I immediately said yes and he gave me lots of hugs and kisses. About a minute later, a man appeared from a parked car in the parking lot. He approached to congratulate us and explained that he took some pictures once he realized what was happening and sent them to Dustin’s e-mail, which was so nice!

Dustin: I proposed to Lindsay in downtown Chattanooga, TN where we met for the very first time. I purchased the ring at ShaneCo in Atlanta, GA then spent the next three months planning and waiting for the perfect chance to ask Lindsay to marry me! Several people knew that I had purchased the ring including Lindsay herself, my immediate family, and her immediate family so there was a little pressure on me to spill the details of the proposal and to hurry it up. I knew that Lindsay knew the proposal was coming but she nor anyone else in the family except me needed to know the exact details in order to maintain somewhat of an element of surprise. I planned to propose to Lindsay over the 4th of July weekend in Chattanooga. I was supposed to have the holiday off work and therefore a long three day weekend. Unfortunately I was called into work on both Friday and Saturday and the early portion of the weekend was a stormy mess. We decided to stick to our plan and spend at least one night in Chattanooga which was Saturday night. I carried the ring with me that night out to dinner with Lindsay in downtown and could just not find the right moment to propose amongst the monsoon of a storm that Chattanooga was being hit by. It was seriously a terrible three day storm that caused record breaking flash flooding. Finally the rain passed on Sunday morning, the sun came out, and it ended up being a beautiful day! Lindsay and I rented bicycles and pedaled all around the downtown area. We revisited multiple sites where we had spent our first three to five dates in the city. These sites included River Park, North Shore, Coolidge Park, the pedestrian bridge, and downtown near the Tennessee Aquarium. Our bike ride ended in a small metered parking lot in front of the Aquarium where Lindsay and I had met for the very first time! We parked our bikes and I began telling Lindsay how much she means to me and explaining how in love with her I was. I dropped down on one knee right there by the parking meter and asked her to marry me! She said yes! Best day of my life!!! Oh, and yes I was very nervous, but also very excited! I’m pretty sure if you ask Lindsay she would tell you that I was shaking!

Lindsay & Dustin's Nashville Wedding - Lisa Shelby Photography

What is the one thing you love most about each other?

Lindsay: Dustin makes me feel like the most important person in his life. He always shows and tells me how much he loves me & I always feel secure in that. He is so sweet & loves passionately many things in life.

Dustin: Lindsay is such a beautiful woman inside and out! She has a huge, open, and warm heart! She is incredibly sincere and loves God, her family, her friends, her co-workers, and her students very much! I can just see the way that she interacts with other people in her life and how considerate she is of others and I know that she will be a wonderful wife, a loving mother, and an awesome overall life partner! She also has the most beautiful smile that just warms my heart and makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world when I’m holding her in my arms and I get to see it!

Lindsay & Dustin's Nashville Wedding - Lisa Shelby Photography

If you feel comfortable, share something silly or quirky the other person does that is normally annoying or crazy, but makes you love them a bit more each time… Or you know you love them because when they do it, you don’t kill them! 🙂

Lindsay: Haha… um maybe driving slow in the fast lane. 🙂 At the beginning of our relationship, I would say something to him about it, but now I don’t really say anything, I just laugh to myself! It’s just him, driving slow to protect his precious cargo. 🙂

Dustin: Lindsay is what you might call an early bird and I am the night owl. She tends to fall asleep around 9:00 even on a Friday or Saturday night, usually when we are wrapped up on the couch together watching a movie. At first it would bum me out, especially after I drove three to four hours to see her, let her pick out the movie, and somehow I would end up on the couch a few minutes later seemingly by myself watching some chick flick! Over time I began to warm up to the idea of watching movies by myself with her all wrapped up in my arms asleep. It just felt so great to get to be with her on Friday and Saturday nights regardless of whether she was awake or passed out snoring! Did I mention the movies were no longer chic flicks? Yep, she lost her right to pick out the movie if we rent anything later than 8:30! Just kidding 😉

Lindsay & Dustin's Nashville Wedding - Lisa Shelby Photography

Besides getting married what is the one thing you are looking forward to on your wedding day?

Lindsay: Getting to see & celebrate with all of our family & friends who we rarely get to see!

Dustin: I am looking forward to having the biggest party with Lindsay, myself, our immediate family, our extended family, our best friends from high school, our best friends from college, our best friends from church, and our best friends from work all under the same roof together! We will have so many people that we love dearly from several different phases of our lives all in the same place celebrating us! It is going to be an amazing day! And night. 😉

Lindsay & Dustin's Nashville Wedding - Lisa Shelby Photography

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