Cave Springs Arkansas Wedding: Catherine Mahaffey & Foster Jones

Germantown, Tenn. natives and nature lovers Catherine Mahaffey and Foster Jones lived in the same neighborhood growing up. When it came time to go off to college, they went their separate ways – Catherine to the University of Arkansas, Foster to UT-Knoxville – but ended up dating despite the distance.

The groom proposed on a trip to Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park, and on March 31, 2012, the couple came home from California jobs with the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service to get married at Catherine’s parents’ home in Cave Springs, Ark.

(See their spread in the digital edition of Arkansas Bride.)

HOW THEY CUSTOMIZED
“No. 1 was that it had to be outside,” Catherine said. “My parents’ backyard made for the perfect venue. They planted red tulips that were miraculously in full bloom for our wedding day.” A close friend officiated the ceremony, which featured a reading from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature.” The bride wore a custom-cut tea-length gown and had Foster’s grandmother’s diamond re-set into a one-of-a-kind ring. Finally, the flower girl carried the same basket Catherine did at her uncle’s wedding 25 years before.

HOW THEY SAVED
Because the couple used the bride’s parents’ home, no venue had to be rented, and Catherine made birdseed heart wedding favors for guests to hang at their homes. “Bird watching was one of the first hobbies that we discovered and came to love together,” she said.

UNIQUE TREAT
For the cake, Catherine skipped buttercream and fondant and went for cheddar and blue cheeses instead. It’s true; the couple’s cheese wheel wedding cake was a savory surprise that their guests loved.

THE DETAILS

  • Photographer: Miles Witt Boyer Photography
  • Event planner: Details Wedding & Events, Fort Smith
  • Florist: Tanarah Luxe Floral & Event Styling, Little Rock
  • Caterer: Ella’s at Inn at Carnall Hall, Fayetteville
  • Band: Same As It Ever Was, Talking Heads Tribute, Knoxville, Tenn.
  • Wedding stationery: The Happy Envelope, Knoxville, Tenn.
  • Wedding gown: Ballew Bridal, Collierville, Tenn. & Allure Bridal, Memphis
  • Bridesmaids attire: All About Weddings, Germantown, Tenn.
  • Groom/groomsmen attire: JosBank.com
  • Jeweler: James Middleton Jewelers, Memphis, Tenn.
  • Hair: Metropolis, Fayetteville
  • Makeup: Glo, Fayetteville

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