Suzan Kethley Raines and Bartley Tucker Schaerer were wed at five o’clock in the evening on October 19 at Town Hall in Rosemary Beach.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Grady Raines of Ridgeland. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. Jerome Kethley Tharpe and the late Mr. Tharpe of Madison, and Mr. and Mrs. Eustice Grady Raines of Canton. The bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Burton Tucker Schaerer of Chattanooga. He is the grandson of Mary Hunter Morgart and the late Roy Maurice Crawley, and Carolyn Owens Schaerer and the late Emil Tucker Schaerer, all of Chattanooga.
The ceremony was officiated by Pastor James Ross of Niceville, Fla. Nuptial music was provided by Top Hat Live String Quartet. Shirley Sanders Foster sang “Ave Maria” and “The Lord’s Prayer” just as she did at the bride’s parent’s wedding more than 30 years ago. The entrance to Town Hall was adorned with an arch of white lady spray roses and natural greenery that draped the doorway. The ceremony was performed under an arch of white hydrangea, purity garden roses, and white lady spray roses.
Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a designer ball gown of French Alencon lace with eyelash trim. The gown featured a sweetheart neckline with a scalloped edge train and was finished with a cathedral length veil and blusher of ivory tulle. The bride wore her maternal grandparents’ wedding rings pinned to her dress, her mother’s ring as her “something borrowed,” and a bracelet that was gifted to her from the bridegroom. Her bouquet of white tulips, yarrow, dahlias, butterfly ranunculus and white lady spray roses was tied with silk ribbon and an embroidered vintage handkerchief with her parents’ names and wedding date in blue.
Matron of honor was Mary Lee Schaerer of Nashville, sister of the bridegroom. Bridesmaids were Tayte Hunter Adams of Atlanta, Sydney Turnage Brown of Jackson, Beatty Kathryn Carpenter of Dallas, Leah Cook Rains of Jackson, Price Waltman Irvin of Nashville, Olivia Beatrice Johnston of Atlanta, Ann Elizabeth LoCicero of Jackson, Olivia Shea Miller of Scottsdale, Audrianna Chine Muse of Austin, Sarah Kathryn Pierce of Nashville, Elizabeth Quirk Jackson of Atlanta, Austin Brewer Reviere of Auburn, Chandler-Grace Michael Rolfe of Nashville, Turner Yates Strickland of Jackson, Anne Tyler Ward of New Orleans, and Suzanne Flautt Wilson of Jackson. They wore luxe chiffon sea foam blue dresses tied at the shoulders.
Ringbearers were Edward Grea LoCicero and Walker Andrew LoCicero of Jackson. The bride’s proxy was Keaton Hayes Cook of Dallas, and the reader of scripture was Madeline Wyatt Carmody of Jackson.
The bridegroom’s father was the best man. Groomsmen were Peyton Chandler Adams of Oxford, Herbert Joel Banks IV of Mangham, La., Frank Bo Byrd IV of Thomasville, Ga., Robin Edward Brett of Fairway, Kan., Thomas Bryson Crimmins of Cleveland, Ohio, Justin Stagmaier Garrett of Chattanooga, Sam MacNair Glascock of Chattanooga, John Michael Graham of Canton, Garrett Keiffer Greene of Chattanooga, Kevin Eugene Irwin of Nashville, Andrew Edward LoCicero of Jackson, Dakota Steve Nix of Chattanooga, John Grady Raines Jr. of Jackson, Tristan Dean Talbert of Little Rock, and Isaac Tillman White of Chattanooga.
Following the ceremony guests were invited to a champagne table in the courtyard of Town Hall. The reception was hosted by the bride’s parents on the Western Green. Guests were welcomed to an entrance lounge on the green with groups of white sofas and slipper chairs for cocktail hour to enjoy the sunset. Passed hors d’oeuvres were mini Beef Wellingtons with au poivre, petit gourmet grilled cheese with Gruyere, fried calamari cups with cherry peppers, and crunchy shrimp wraps with Mandarin sauce. A seafood bar was set up in the outside sitting area with grilled oysters with pecorino and garlic butter, raw oysters on the half shell, and an assortment of freshly made sushi prepared by a sushi chef on site. A specialty cocktail named “Rosemarried” was served as well as an Old Fashioned nicknamed “The Boss” after the couple’s dog.
Guests were then invited into the clear tent illuminated with two rings of flowers draped with white roses and greenery. The couple opened the reception with their first dance to “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley followed by a father/daughter dance to “You are the Sunshine of My Life” by Stevie Wonder and then a mother/son dance to “My Wish” by Rascal Flats. Guests danced the night to music performed by Azz- Izz of Atlanta. The stage was draped in white with lush white floral arrangements lining the front of the stage top. The dance floor was lined with tufted banquettes set with small cocktail tables and gold floor lamps. A two-sided lounge was set centrally in the tent with settees and tables draped in white linen illuminated by candles. Focal floral arrangements were created using nerine lilies, white hydrangea, and purity garden roses.
The five-tiered strawberry and signature white bride’s cake had smooth buttercream frosting with bead trim garland and was surrounded by fresh roses and hydrangeas. The bridegroom’s cake was chocolate and was a replica of the Vaught Hemingway Stadium at Ole Miss complete with lights, and a picture of the couple on the Jumbotron.
Dining options included gourmet hamburgers with aged cheddar, Nashville hot chicken sliders with French fry cones, shrimp and grits, beef tenderloin with wild mushroom risotto, and jumbo lump crab cakes served over mixed field greens with remoulade and roasted corn relish.
As the reception wound down, guests were led in a second line by the band’s saxophonist to the Town Hall for the after party. The Town Hall courtyard was transformed into a bar and lounge area with canopied daybeds. Inside a DJ was set up under the flower arch where the couple were married. Guests enjoyed a late-night snack of Chick-fil-A, and the bar served espresso martinis for a night cap. As night came to a close, the couple departed through a tunnel of fountain fireworks and left in a vintage Ford Bronco.
On the Thursday night before the wedding, the parents of the couple hosted a Welcome Bonfire on the beach at Rosemary. Guests enjoyed grilled skirt steak and chipotle chicken tacos served with Mexican sweet corn salad and arugula. Margaritas and Palomas were served as signature drinks, and dessert was s’mores by the bonfire. Guests were entertained by the guitar sounds of Stephen Pillow of Greenwood and were treated to a sunset and full moon.
The day before the wedding, the bride’s grandmother hosted a bridal luncheon at the bridesmaids’ house by the pool. The bridegroom’s parents hosted the groomsmen for lunch at Idyll Hounds Proper in Inlet Beach. Later that night, the bridegroom’s parents hosted a rehearsal dinner at Restaurant Paradis. Following a cocktail hour with passed hors d’oeuvres, members of the wedding party and family enjoyed a seated dinner. The dinner was followed by a post toast for all wedding guests, with music provided by an acoustic trio.
After a wedding trip to Turks and Caicos, the couple is at home in Chattanooga, where the bride is a physical therapist at Excel Therapy Services in Dalton, Ga., and the bridegroom is vice president of operations at Schaerer Contracting Company.
