Treehouse Wedding Memories

Treehouse wedding romance…

My husband and I have been married for 10 years now. With children underfoot and a home renovation project underway, it is easy to forget our romantic beginnings. We met during the design and construction of the George S. Bryan Discovery Forest Treehouse at (what is now) the Chattanooga Aboretum and Nature Center in Southeast Tennessee.

I was the nature center’s director and Monty was the artist/contractor who designed and built the 750-square-foot treehouse in the arms of a 250-year-old Overcup Oak tree. We worked together for almost a year, toiling on a platform in the woods over the details of creating an artistic and childlike dream of a treehouse. I knew I was smitten one morning when he arrived with an intricate cardboard model of the structure so I could visualize what was to be.  We were married in that treehouse in April 2001.

Last week, our two daughters attended summer day camp at the Chattanooga Arboretum & Nature Center. While they were canoeing, fishing, exploring, hiking, playing in mud, and learning about wildlife, I was reminiscing in my comings and goings about my many memories of that place. The girls don’t think twice about the fact that their parents met while creating a treehouse (doesn’t everyone?), but I am reminded of how appropriate our story is for our family even today. Our “artistic building expressions” and teamwork continue as we renovate a cabin in the woods on a mountain outside of Chattanooga.

Discovery Forest Treehouse in Chattanooga, Tenn.

I recently heard that the Discovery Forest Treehouse was pictured in a national bridal magazine - Better Homes & Gardens? While searching online for the article (which I never found), I discovered this beautiful wedding video of another couple that was married in the treehouse, Ayesha and Zach, whose nuptials took place there in May 2010. Their wedding video – and the beautiful music that accompanies the footage – bring back sweet memories for me, as well as a deep appreciation for the people who made that treehouse dream come true. People like Rebecca Smith, a creative genius and former fellow staff member at the nature center; Bobby Caldwell Jr., a devoted conservationist who passed away much too soon in December; Senator Bob Corker; the Olan Mills family; and many others.

It takes dreamers and visionaries to create magical public spaces, and it is a testament to the joy treehouses can provide – for both children and adults - that couples and families continue to enjoy that special space among the trees today. I am grateful.