Ethan & Olivia’s Valentine’s Day Wedding

From a chance meeting in Athens to a full-circle proposal at Lake Oconee, this Tate House love story feels nothing short of divinely timed. What began with a flat tire and a simple act of kindness unfolded years later into a deep, unwavering connection—one that carried them across continents, through seasons of life apart, and ultimately back to each other. With a heartfelt proposal exactly four years to the day they first met, and a meaningful Valentine’s Day wedding centered on faith, family, and commitment, their celebration at the Tate House was a beautiful reflection of what mattered most: becoming one, surrounded by love.

How They Met: “We met in 2021 in Athens, Ga. I had just begun my freshman year at UGA and he was about to go to bootcamp for the Marine Corps. We both went out on the town after the first football game of the season and met through mutual friends. The next morning, I had to drive to Lake Oconee to meet my parents at an event my dad attends yearly for work. When I got to my car, I had a flat tire. None of my friends were available to help me change it, so I reached out to Ethan for help. He came and changed my tire to get me on the road to meet my parents.

We loosely stayed in touch for about a week following, but things quickly fell off and he joined the Marines soon after. We didn’t speak for 3.5 years, but in the summer of 2024, I was in Athens, Greece for a nursing internship and I got a message on Snapchat from Ethan. He had seen me post in Greece and was letting me know he was also currently in Greece. He was deployed on a ship in the Mediterranean and was ported off the coast of Athens at the time. Over the next few months our communication became increasingly frequent, even after I came back home in August while he remained deployed. He finally came home in December of 2024 and we began dating immediately.”

How He Proposed: “In September of 2025, we joined my parents at Lake Oconee for the event I previously mentioned my father attends for work each year. The first night, we had dinner reservations with my family, and before dinner I asked Ethan if he wanted to walk around the lake while we waited for our reservation. We started walking towards the water, and he ran back inside to go to the bathroom. However, instead he was asking my father for my hand in marriage and showing him the ring. When he came back outside, we began our walk and he proposed to me by the water.

Later the next day, while sitting at dinner, we realized that we were at the same event that I was trying to get to when he changed my tire in 2021. It was then that we realized Ethan unintentionally proposed to me 4 years to the day after we met for the first time in Athens, Georgia.”

How They Chose Their Valentine’s Day Wedding Date: “Our wedding day was Valentine’s Day, 2026. We chose it because the second and third weekends in February were the only days that worked with Ethan’s work schedule in the next year. The following weekend, the 21st, is my birthday, so we went with Valentine’s Day because I would rather combine our anniversary and Valentine’s day than my birthday and our anniversary.”

Why They Chose The Tate House: “We chose the Tate House because they provided all necessary services for us. This included a planner, servers, bartenders, food, alcohol, décor, florals, cake, coordinators, and so much more. This was important because we had to plan our wedding in 5 months, during which I started nursing school and Ethan was working in North Carolina. We needed a venue that would streamline the planning process and take the stress of Ethan and I. The Tate House made the planning process so easy and planned a beautiful wedding for us, even in our time crunch. I am type B, so I was very carefree in terms of the look and feel of the wedding day. I just wanted to marry my best friend and for our guests to have a good experience. Even with my painful lack of direction, the Tate House planned the most beautiful wedding. So many of our guests reached out to tell us that our wedding was the best, most beautiful, and most fun wedding they have ever been to.”

Valentine’s Day Wedding Design Vision: “Our overall vision for the wedding was simply having a day where we felt each other’s and our families’ love. The décor and aesthetics was not our main focus, but instead we prioritized planning a day that embodied our commitment to one another and the covenant we were entering into with God.”

Favorite Wedding Details: “Our ceremony was the most special part of the day. While we didn’t focus on prioritizing the décor and aesthetics, the Tate House absolutely did. When the doors opened and I saw my Groom for the first time that day, I was overwhelmed with how perfect everything was. Walking down the aisle to him was the most amazing moment of my life, and the atmosphere of the room made that moment so much more special.”

Wedding Color Palette: “I had my bridesmaids in light blue and the groomsmen in navy. I told Paul that I wanted all white and green décor. I didn’t feel the need to overcomplicate the colors of the décor because the venue is so beautiful on its own and I didn’t want to add too much that would take away from that beauty.”

Traditions vs. Making it Their Own: “We hold the tradition of biblical marriage very close to our hearts. It was important to us that we felt the presence of God on our wedding day. One way we did this was having our parents stand up and pray over us during the ceremony. For us, this symbolized Ethan and I leaving our families and becoming one flesh under the Lord through marriage.”

Final Remarks: “The same venue provided so many different aesthetics and locations for photos that evolved throughout the day. The mansion was gorgeous during the day for bridal portraits with lots of natural light and such an elegant feel. Then, once it was dark outside, it became the perfect spot for dark and moody images that gave our couple’s portraits an elegant and intimate feel. The pavilion was stunning during the ceremony with all the bright white and beautiful light. Then, at the end of the night, the lights outside the mansion provided the perfect opportunity for Ethan and I to take the most romantic nighttime pictures. Looking at all our pictures throughout the day, I have a hard time believing they are all taken at the same place.”

Photography: A & E Videography + Photography

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