Hiker Love: Katelyn and Adam’s Wedding at Spence Cabin in the Smokies

During the winter months, I enjoy looking back - perhaps wistfully - at work I did during the warmer months of the year. It warms the heart, it warms the soul, it warms my cold feet. And so I want tor revisit Katelyn and Adam’s intimate and quite elegant wedding at Spence Cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP).

For this couple, the setting was perfect. Both are avid backpackers and they wanted their wedding to be set in a deep forest. Located along the banks of the Little River in the Elkmont section of the GSMNP, the cabin is a quaint, wee pink structure set among pines and rhododendrons. Prior to the national park coming into existence via congressional charter in 1934 and opening some six years later, this area was a spot where affluent Knoxville folk built summer cabins to escape the heat. While most of the cabins are in ruins with only foundations and chimneys still present in the woods, some of the cabins have been restored and may be visited. Two of them - Spence Cabin and the Appalachian Clubhouse - may be rented for affairs such as weddings, family dinners, or baby showers.

What struck me with Katelyn and Adam’s wedding was how elegantly appointed they made Spence Cabin. The rustic nature of the building was highlighted with an antique pinecone china pattern that had belonged to Adam’s grandmother and vintage silverware that had belonged to Katelyn’s grandmother. Perfection! Wedding pictures of couple’s parents and grandparents were incorporated into the decor as well as two very important items - the couple’s backpacks! Take a look at their invitation, too - its features and whimsical watercolor of Spence Cabin.

Spence Cabin has a beautiful flagstone patio right on the river where a ceremony can be held. There was some worry that day as the rain fell - but just before the couple was set to exchange vows, the drops stopped and the surrounding woods looked magical, with deep, saturated colors and that for which the Smokies are named - a hazy and romantic mist. Of course, that worked well at the famed “troll bridge” (a little hard to find when the forest is green due to the thick vegetation but I know where it is).

Let’s look back at Katelyn and Adam’s beautiful wedding: