[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-tennille-and-sarah\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-tennille-and-sarah\/","headline":"Real Weddings: Tennille and Sarah","name":"Real Weddings: Tennille and Sarah","description":"  \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some women are just notoriously hard to surprise. They\u2019re always asking questions and checking up on things, which makes actually trying to pull...","datePublished":"2011-07-01","dateModified":"2021-06-21","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/real-gay-weddings_tennille-and-sarah.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/real-gay-weddings_tennille-and-sarah.jpg","height":382,"width":659},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-tennille-and-sarah\/","about":["Real LGBTQ+ Weddings"],"wordCount":972,"keywords":["Atlanta","country club","Georgia","same-sex weddings"],"articleBody":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some women are just notoriously hard to surprise. They\u2019re always asking questions and checking up on things, which makes actually trying to pull off something huge\u2014like a proposal\u2014nearly impossible. Alpharetta, Ga. resident Tennille is definitely one of those women.She and her partner Sarah had been a couple for nearly three years when Sarah wanted to pop the question. Sarah\u2019s plan was to take her time to look at rings on a day after it snowed, using the road conditions as her excuse to be gone for several hours. But she was caught slightly off guard as she was walking out the door by something Tennille said.\u201cI said, \u2018Bring me back a surprise!\u2019\u201d Tennille says. \u201cI never say that! But I resisted the urge to call her while she ran errands.\u201dAnd it\u2019s a good thing, because Sarah hadn\u2019t simply looked at rings. She\u2019d fallen in love with a setting and solitaire diamond and actually purchased it. \u201cI was so excited and nervous that I called one of my best buddies whose house was on my way home and told her I had to come by and show it to her and get some ideas on how to ask Tennille to marry me,\u201d Sarah says.Sarah\u2019s friend gave her some ideas on how to propose, but she decided to go with her own instead. \u201cShe came home and sat down on the couch and we chatted for a minute, and then she said, \u2018You asked me to bring you a surprise, and I couldn’t come up with anything,” Tennille says. \u201cThen she pulled the little black box out of her pocket and said, \u2018Will this do?\u2019\u201dThat\u2019s when Sarah got down on one knee and told Tennille she was the love of her life and asked to spend the rest of their lives together. \u201cIt couldn’t have been more perfect,\u201d Tennille says.\u201dThe women began planning the wedding almost immediately. They visited 20 different venues in Atlanta, and attended two wedding expos, including one that catered to LGBT couples. \u201cWe actually found our venue, officiant and place settings at the LGBT expo,\u201d Sarah says. \u201cOnce we booked our venue, it took a lot of the stress off of us because the wedding coordinator there was amazing.\u201dAlthough both brides worked on planning the wedding together, it was Tennille who really had the vision and Sarah who helped make it come true. And because it took place in Georgia, the wedding ceremony wasn\u2019t legally recognized. But that didn\u2019t matter to Sarah or Tennille.\u201cI am a pretty traditional and believe that you should be married\u2014legal or not\u2014before starting a family,\u201d Sarah says. \u201cI also wanted everyone to know I had found the woman of my dreams and that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. This was really my coming out, in a sense. I have always dreamed of my wedding day, but didn\u2019t think it would ever really happen.\u201dBut it did\u2014and in front of about 100 of their closest friends and family members. Sarah\u2019s father\u2014who had just been diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease\u2014was still able to walk her down the aisle. And Tennille\u2019s mother escorted her, in place of her father who passed away two years before the wedding.\u201cI struggled with who was going to walk me down the aisle in his place,\u201d she says. \u201cThen someone suggested my mother and I am so glad I made that decision. It was so meaningful for me to have her by my side giving me away.\u201dThe women wrote their own vows for the ceremony, and even had guests take vows as part of the ceremony. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know what the other wrote until we said them in the ceremony,\u201d Tennille says. \u201cOur officiant said they didn\u2019t really mesh, that Sarah\u2019s were romantic with some humor and that mine were very formal, but we decided not to change them because that is who we are.\u201dEquality-Minded Wedding Vendors: Venue: Berkeley Hills Country ClubCaterer: Berkeley Hills Country ClubPhotographer: Michael Winter, Winter ImagesFlorist: Chuck Milne, Milne ProductionsHairstylist: Bob Steele in AlpharettaWedding cake: Brenda BakesSarah\u2019s tuxedo: Joseph Abboud from Black Tie by LoriTennille\u2019s wedding gown: Justin Alexander from Sweet Elegance Bridals in DecaturHoneymoon: Iberostar Grand Bavaro in Punta Cana, DRAfter the actual ceremony, guests were treated to a cocktail hour, buffet dinner, open bar and lots of dancing. \u201cOur reception colors were hot pink, black and white,\u201d Tennille says. \u201cI am not typically a hot pink kind of girl\u2014and Sarah definitely isn\u2019t, but I saw a table set up in a magazine and fell in love and it was all over after that.\u201dThere were many special touches at the reception, as well. Sarah\u2019s father wasn\u2019t well enough to attend much of the reception, and had to leave before the father-daughter dance. So Tennille shared her father-daughter dance partners (her stepfather and two brothers-in-law) with Sarah. \u201cIt turned out to be a very moving part of the reception for each of us,\u201d Sarah says.The women also chose to acknowledge their close friends Patty and Lisa, who were celebrating their 10-year anniversary. They had their anniversary announced and their song played so Patty and Lisa could have a special dance together.Overall, the entire wedding was intimate and exciting, and filled with joy. \u201cI felt incredibly lucky to have just married my best friend and one true love,\u201d Sarah says. \u201cIt was really overwhelming to have so many people there who all came to share in our love. We are extremely blessed.\u201dWritten by Sarah Gleim |\u00a0Photography by Michael Winter, Winter Images"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Real Weddings: Tennille and Sarah","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-tennille-and-sarah\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]