Wedding Day

Scarritt Bennett Center - Wightman Chapel

Ceremony

14TENN

Reception

Our Wedding

On Sunday, August 23, 2020, I attended my friend Haley Hughes’ Murder Mystery birthday party in Knoxville, TN. Haley and her sisters Riley and Baily had been wanting to set Justin and me up for a while, so this party served as the perfect front. (I’m still not sure that Haley was actually turning 30 ;) Haha!)&nbsp; I had no idea that there was any kind of set up involved at this party, but I LOVE any reason to dress in costume, so I went all out in my Murder in Sin City role of Colleen Candy. This included a gold sequin mini dress and rhinestone fishnets. Justin played the role of Full House Frank who, according to the game, “has also fallen in love with (Collen), but (she) does not return the feelings.”&nbsp; As soon as Haley arrived at the party, she filled me in on what was going on, and said, “I need you to fall in love tonight.” Thankfully, my character description and my true feelings did not match up, and I wasn’t sure how Justin felt that night, but I was definitely interested.&nbsp; After the longest three days of my life, on Wednesday, August 26, Justin followed me on Instagram and sent me a message. We immediately started talking every day and have never stopped. On September 19, Justin drove to Nashville to spend the day with me, and aside from not realizing that he tried to kiss me twice, the day was absolutely perfect. The next Saturday, we met in Chattanooga, and spent hours talking, walking around the city, and eating. When he finally kissed me at the end of the night, I knew I was done for. The next morning, I called my mom and said, “I think if he’s the boy I get to marry, I don’t even care that I had to wait until I was 29 to meet him.” Over the past year, I have fallen head over heels in love with Justin as I have gotten to know him. He is kind, fun, and giving. He loves Jesus and serves the people around him so well. He makes me laugh and is so much fun to be around. He is a worthy competitor in board games and beats me more times than I'd like to admit. It didn't take me long to know that he was the person that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I just had to wait for him to ask.

A Murder Mystery Love Story from Carrie

THE WHY (from Justin) There are so many reason to love Carrie, her graciousness, her kindness to others, her love for her family and friends, her love for Jesus, her competitiveness, her smile, her ability to make me smile each night when I see her on FaceTime, her love of letter writing, but most importantly is the way I feel each time I get to see her on Friday afternoons. Getting to know Carrie and her family and friends over the last year has been such a wonderful experience. Carrie has such a wonderful way with people and it’s something that I truly admire about her. In late October, Carrie presented me with a box of letters for November, one for each day of the month. Each morning, I would wake up and Marco Polo her and wish her a good day and then read my letter for the day. Some were about memories we had made together, others were about things she loved about me, and others were about what she hoped for. With each day and letter that I read that month, I realized she was the most special person I had ever met. And even though our relationship was still fairly new, I knew we were meant to be and my love for her was becoming real and tangible. Over the course of the next couple months, we were able to spend some extended time together and it was clear to me that Carrie was it...she was who my heart had chosen and I was smitten. I love her and spending our lives together sounds like the best idea I ever had. THE PLAN January - May 2020 My plan was to propose at Centennial Park in Nashville… on August 6. The first time I came to Nashville to spend time with Carrie, we walked around Centennial Park talking about our faith, families, career goals, what we loved and didn’t, and got to know each other better after several weeks of texting and talking on the phone. This place already had special meaning to us since it was our very first date, and so I knew that’s where I wanted to propose. I planned everything out for the end of the summer on August 6th, 2021. I felt like summer would be a stressful time for both of us. Carrie was working with FUGE camps and locations were coming back after a year off. Mission Serve was also having projects for the first time since 2019, and I was coordinating my first Mission Serve project in Knoxville, plus working my day job at Knox County Schools. Additionally, we were still trying our hardest to see each other as much as possible on weekends. Knowing all of this, I knew the summer would be a busy, stressful time, and I wanted us to enjoy our engagement. I started actively working on the August 6th plan, and I let Carrie know that I had a plan and was taking care of the details. As Carrie and I talked more and more about our future together, we decided to get married in 2021. We started looking at venues and dates, but there was one problem… Each time Carrie met with someone about the wedding, their first question was always, “when did you get engaged?” As this happened more and more, I could tell my August plan was not going to work. By the end of April, I decided I needed to move up my timeline, but there were a few issues. Nothing was ready! No ring, no photographers, no one else knew, no blessing from her family...nothing. I didn’t even know if the day I had in mind would work for anyone. I started texting everybody involved...my family, her family, her best friend Katie, our photographers, Haley and Harrison.&nbsp; After several back and forth conversations, things seemed to be coming together, but I knew if one thing didn’t line up, I would have to scrap the whole thing and start again. Luckily, our families and friends are the best!! Everyone cleared their schedules, I was able to get to Jackson, Mississippi to speak with Dr. Dodson, Christopher and Rachel were wonderful hosts while I hid out in Birmingham for a couple of days, and I was able to get the ring in about a week. While Haley wasn’t able to be there because she had to travel for work, her wonderful husband Harrison filled in and did an incredible job. THE DAY! May 31, 2020 Carrie knew it was coming...in all my planning I had forgotten to come up with a good excuse for why I couldn’t be in Nashville on Memorial Day. I had graduations starting the next day in Knoxville, so I used that but she did not buy it and was getting suspicious. I was staying at Christopher and Rachel’s house in Birmingham, so I had to be sneaky about my location when we FaceTimed each night. Memorial Day arrived and I drove up to Nashville and met Mom and Dad. I had turned off my location a week earlier so Carrie couldn’t track me...she is sneaky and doesn’t miss much! Each Monday night, Carrie, her mom, and a group of friends go out to eat together. Memorial Day would be the last time they were all together before summer got crazy, so her mom suggested they “get dressed up and do something nice” that night. As usual, they met in the Target parking lot and all rode together to “dinner”. Carrie was definitely suspicious at this point, and spent most of the day going back and forth about whether or not this was actually happening. I met Harrison, and we scouted a location and waited for the girls to drop Carrie off at Centennial Park. Since our first date, this was the longest Carrie and I had gone without seeing each other (10 days!), so I couldn’t wait to finally see her in person, especially knowing what I was about to ask. We walked around the same pond we walked around that first day in Nashville...just talking and catching up. I was nervously excited, and I think she was thinking, “hey man, are you gonna do this thing, or are we going to walk around this pond all night?” I led her back to the spot I had picked out and read her a letter. I talked about the memories of our first few dates, the times we had spent since then that were meaningful to me, and what I hope our life will be together. Carrie loves writing and receiving letters, so I think this was a good move on my part. After all the planning, travel, and time apart, I dropped to one knee and asked the most important question a man can ask of a woman, “Will you marry me?” She graciously said, “YES!” And so here we are, engaged and making wedding plans, booking venues and caterers, and still doing our best to see each other every weekend. We are so excited and we are looking forward to celebrating with each of you on December 5 in Nashville.

The Proposal from Justin

Our Story

Photos

Their freshman year of high school, Katie and Carrie were the only freshmen in a sophomore PE class. They were doubles badminton champions and have been best friends ever since. They have stayed best friends through attending different colleges, each working full time in ministry in different states, and a summer of being roommates at FUGE. This friendship runs on Marco Polo, countless road trips, and lots of iced tea. 

Katie Boles

Kelsey and I met the weekend before we started Kindergarten at Country Day when our parents who had gone to LC together saw each other outside of the gym. Meeting Kelsey is my most vivid memory of 1995, and I’m so thankful for 20+ years of friendship with her! We promised each other somewhere around 3rd grade that we would be each others’ maids of honor one day, and it's so much fun and sweet to see that dream come true. It was my joy and privilege to stand by her and Steven in 2011, and I’m so thankful to have her by my side on December 4.

Kelsey Jones

Carrie and Celia Grace worked FUGE Camps together in 2016 and immediately hit it off when Carrie handed CG a bag of washi tape and asked her to decorate staff notebooks. When CG moved to Nashville, the friendship was sealed for life. 

Celia Grace Denney

Chelsea and Carrie were roommates at LSU. Chelsea has spent several holidays at the Dodson house over the years and is a part of the family. She has the best laugh and accent of anyone you’ve ever met.

Chelsea Alford

At Carrie’s first meeting for serving with City Students, she noticed a girl with an identical David Yurman bracelet to hers and knew that she wanted to be friends with her. A few weeks later, Carrie and Grace worked the welcome booth on a Wednesday night, and the friendship was set in *silver*.

Grace Taylor

Kaylee and Carrie were roommates at LSU and shared a bathroom for two years. Thankfully, Kaylee still wanted to be friends after that. Kaylee “jumps” into every situation with so much joy and enthusiasm!

Kaylee Woodard

Rachel is married to Carrie’s youngest brother Christopher, but Carrie and Rachel have truly become close friends over the past several years. Carrie was the only girl in the family for a long time, but she has loved sharing the Dodson name with Rachel.

Rachel Dodson

Sam and Carrie were roommates at LSU and got to spend the summer of 2010 together in London. Sam is the most intentional friend a girl can have, and she makes every gathering the best celebration.

Samantha Hale

Let’s just say that I’ve known this guy for a long time. As a dad, he is ALWAYS supportive and encouraging, willing to lend his ear or share some sage advice. From rides to and from soccer practice, inspiring my love for how things work, and giving me my first cigar, he has always been my biggest fan. He and mom live in Knoxville and have always been such wonderful parents.

Steve Johnson

Chris and Justin became friends while involved at Central Baptist Church while in high school. Trips to Centrifuge, Orlando, and to the beach were always more fun with Chris. His sense of humor is so spot-on and really just makes the party. Chris and Justin were also roommates for a couple of years as well. As an avid gamer, Chris has contributed to Justin's habit of playing Call of Duty way more than I should. Haha...thanks buddy. Chris and his wife Heather love spending time with friends on the lake and catching the latest movies.

Chris Newman

Christopher is Carrie’s youngest brother. He and his wife Rachel live in Birmingham with two of the sweetest golden doodles, Charlie and Bentley. Christopher and Rachel have been so welcoming, as has the rest of her family. They also played a very big role in our engagement, as Justin hid out at their house for a couple of days before he popped the question in Nashville.

Christopher Dodson

Chuck and Justin became friends in college when they were both at UT. Chuck was one of a few friends that didn’t live at home during college, so many nights were spent at his apartment. Justin would have never imagined it then, but chuck gave him his first job out of college with the Christian non-profit that he and his dad started. Chuck and Justin still work closely together having been fortunate enough to continue his work with Chuck at Mission Serve. Chuck and his wife Amy live in north Georgia with their two kiddos, Drew and Marley-Kate.

Chuck Morris

Evan is Carrie’s middle brother and he is currently in seminary in Portland, Oregon. This past spring break Carrie and Justin did a whirl-wind tour of her childhood hometown and then we flew out to see Evan in Portland. He pulled out his Disney customer service skills and was the  best tour guide and took them to some of his favorite spots. They had some delicious meals, and were able to see a movie in a theater for the first time in over a year. It was wild!

Evan Dodson

Freddie and Justin became close in high school and college while both were involved with the praise team at Central Baptist Church. Freddie would melt faces with his awesome guitar solos and Justin would make sure people could hear it all the way in the back. Now, they work together at Knox County Schools and grab lunch together frequently. They typically spend those lunches catching up on the work stuff, but we try to talk about family, friends, and their new favorite bourbon. 

Freddie Cox

Dr. Smeltzer and I became friends in early high school as our families began going to Sunday lunch together after church. Smeltzer is the life of the party and always has a great one-liner ready to make you laugh. He is a great friend with an uncanny ability to know when to make you laugh or just listen and offer advice. He has lots of wonderful ladies in his life: he and his wife Kari, and their three daughters Caroline, Mary-Catherine, and Maggie live in Knoxville.

Jonathan Smeltzer

Rob and Justin didn’t start out as friends. They went to different elementary schools, but the same after-school program. They were mortal enemies...haha. Then in middle school, both were in chorus together and Justin quickly learned that Rob had the voice of an angel. Throughout high school they found out they had a lot in common and became great friends. Rob’s unwavering love of UT sports, and Jimmy Buffett music are just a couple of the reasons why Justin and Rob get along so well. Rob, his wife Ashley, and their son Peyton live in Knoxville.

Rob Huffaker

Dr. Ellenburg and Justin have been friends since Kindergarten...they met while playing in the saw dust bin in Ms. Oaks classroom in the fall of ‘87 and have been friends ever since. From playing roller-hockey in the driveway in middle school to spring break trips, watching the Vols, and making a couple of trips to Europe, they have made a life-time of memories. Trent and his wife Jennifer are wonderful friends. They have two kids, Caden and Mary-Michael.

Carrie & Justin

Carrie & Justin

C&J

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception