“I like to joke that Parker and I met the modern way–by swiping on a dating app,” laughs Hannah Tumlin on finding her now husband, Parker, online. “Truthfully, I had only had the app for a couple days before I came across his profile and he turned out to be the first and only date that I needed to go on.”
Parker had recently moved from Tennessee to West Virginia in 2020, with most businesses still closed due to the pandemic. Hannah was excited to be Parker’s personal tour guide of his new town as things began to open back up, allowing them more time to get to know each other.
On a trip back to Nashville to visit friends and family, Parker decided to pop the question at a place he knew Hannah would love. “I have a love for plants, so Parker had reserved tickets at the Cheekwood Botanical Garden for his two friends to join us and had it all planned out,” remembers Hannah. Under an arbor filled with wisteria overlooking a reflecting pond, Parker got down on one knee, asking Hannah to spend the rest of their lives together. “People say love is hard, but loving Parker has been the easiest, most natural thing, and when he asked me to marry him, that was the easiest decision.”
When all the engagement excitement settled down, the wedding planning began. “I am from West Virginia and Parker grew up in Georgia and Tennessee, so our guests would have to travel regardless of the location,” shares Hannah. While contemplating the perfect locale for their wedding, Parker’s parents called to tell them that they bought a house sight unseen within the Amelia Island Plantation. Parker had spent numerous vacations in Fernandina as a child. “Before our call with his parents ended I was already googling ‘Amelia Island wedding venues’ and fell in love with the live oaks and dangling Spanish moss,” Hannah recalls. “I contacted the Omni that week and flew down once his parents were settled in to meet with the resort and save our date!”
The couple chose Walker’s Landing as their venue. “It’s natural beauty speaks for itself,” says Hannah. “It is a venue that needs very little decor or florals because the wooded cove immediately engulfs you in its lowcountry-esque charm.” Walker’s Landing is on the marsh side of the Omni resort looking west over an expanse of salt marsh and the Amelia River/Intracoastal Waterway. “Parker adored the peek-a-boo framed view of the marsh and envisioned our first look to be on the little bridge,” shares Hannah.
Hannah and Parker began their weekend destination wedding with a rehearsal dinner at the Oaks Community Center. Guests enjoyed a low-country boil while watching the sunset and listening to live music.
The wedding day began with a first look prior to the ceremony to allow the couple an intimate moment to exchange their personal vows. The ceremony then commenced with Parker and his parents walking down the aisle, followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen paired together. Hannah and her father emerged from the canopy of trees as the solo violinist played “At Last” by Etta James. “Time froze, and all I could focus on was Parker at the end of the aisle,” recalls Hannah. Hannah and Parker said their vows before a crowd of loved ones, enveloped by linen-draped trees and a marsh-front view. Parker and Hannah were married on Earth Day that year, so they had a unity tree in place of a candle. “We each watered a blooming Magnolia tree that is now planted in our backyard,” says Hannah.
To start the reception, guest were treated to cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the wraparound deck. Following the traditional dances, everyone broke to enjoy dinner. Guests were served a plated Florida Citrus salad to start, a brined and glazed chicken breast, Atlantic salmon, and all the fixings. “Our wedding cake was a gorgeous three tiered creation that was adorned with the same flowers that were featured in my bouquet,” says Hannah. “Parker is a surgical resident so I had the groom’s cake made to look like the game Operation.” A unique touch during the reception was a T-shirt toss by Hannah and Parker (with help from the groomsmen) of custom made shirts to remember the day. “Guests went feral over them,” laughs Hannah, “and many wore them to the farewell brunch the following day.”
“Being surrounded by so much love made everything so special and made all the time and money worth it,” shares Hannah. “So much thought and detail went into planning and to watch everything fall into place so smoothly helped us enjoy the day.”
After a honeymoon to Ochos Rios, Jamaica, the couple settled back in to their normal lives in West Virginia, though now as husband and wife, with many wonderful memories of their time here on Amelia Island.