Donna Ellen Schwinn and Thomas Chase Arrington were united in holy matrimony by the Rev. Jeff Lambert on Sat., March 16, 2013, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.

The ceremony, with breathtaking mountain views, was held at the Tennessee RiverPlace in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The bride is the daughter of Thomas and Nida Schwinn of Decatur.

She is the granddaughter of Mr. Howard Schwinn and the late Helen Schwinn of Pine Hurst, N.C., and the late Frederico and Angelita Banzuelo of Ilo Ilo, Philippines.

The groom is the son of Neil and Kim Arrington of Andalusia.

He is the grandson of Rex and Janice Arrington and Farris and Barbara Norris, all also of Andalusia.

Miss MaryBeth Arrington, sister of the groom, attended the bride as her maid of honor. Bridesmaids were Abby Hornbrook, Harmeet Kaur, Pratyusha Patel, Amanda Irle and Bekah Rea. Each attendant wore a knee length exclusive design dress of satin and chiffon in Malibu blue. Their bouquets were yellow roses, orange spray roses, succulents, button poms and caspia.

The bride’s goddaughter, Miss Marley Heinrich, served as the flower girl. She wore a white tea length dress with a Malibu Blue ribbon at the waist and a hair ring made of white flowers and streamers. She tossed the day’s white rose petals.

Mr. Thomas Neil Arrington, father of the groom, served his son as best man. Groomsmen were Bobby Black, Daniel Allison, Brent Shiver, Kevin Dasinger and Vikas Singh. The groom wore a tan tux, ivory tie with matching vest and a boutonniere made of one single ivory rose. The best man and groomsmen wore tan tuxes with Malibu Blue ties and a boutonniere of one single miniature yellow rose with orange tips. The ring bearer was Noah Thompson, cousin of the groom. He wore a tan tux with an ivory tie with matching vest and a boutonniere of one single miniature yellow rose with orange tips. He carried a traditional white pillow tied with a satin ribbon in Malibu blue.

The radiant bride was given in marriage by her father. For the ceremony, she wore a pale ivory lace sheath gown with matching off-the-shoulder scalloped lace bolero with beads, sequins and covered button closures. The sleeveless gown with chapel length train featured a corset bodice with a satin ribbon tied around the waist and a peacock “wedding day” rhinestone brooch that was given to her by the groom’s mother.

Her head was adorned with a French style blusher bridal birdcage veil that was embellished with Swarovski crystals and a spray of ostrich feathers. Her bouquet was made of ivory roses and hydrangeas. A matching set of earrings and a bracelet of 18K white gold and lined with rows of baguette diamonds belonging to the bride’s mother was worn on her special day.

The nuptials were exchanged in front of an arbor nestled on the banks of the beautiful Tennessee River. It was decorated with grapevine, roses, hydrangeas, spray roses and stock flowers in ivory and white. A cord and veil ceremony including the Lord’s Supper and the blessing of coins was included as a special Filipino custom. The cord symbolized being tied together forever and was draped around the necks of the couple by the groom’s grandmothers. The veil symbolized God’s love and blessing over the marriage and was pinned over the bride’s head by her mother and over the shoulder of the groom by his mother. The coins represented the wife’s trusting her husband to provide, and he trusting her to manage the money.

A lovely tapestry of music was provided by the Amabile String Quartet.

An outdoor reception followed the ceremony with banquet tables dressed with white linen and cocktail tables draped with the bride’s wedding colors of yellow, orange and blue. Each table was decorated with a stagecoach lantern perched on a wood slice. Each was surrounded with succulents, orange rose petals, pebbles and moss.

The couple’s first dance was to “Have I Told You Lately” followed by the bride and her father and the groom and his mother dancing to “Somewhere over the Rainbow”.

The bride is a 2005 graduate of Austin High School in Decatur and a 2012 graduate of Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy.

She holds a doctorate of pharmacy and is employed with Rite Aid Corporation.

The groom is a 2005 graduate of Andalusia High School in Andalusia a member of Kappa Psi fraternity and 2012 graduate of Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy. He holds a doctorate of pharmacy and is employed with Rite Aid Corporation.

The couple visited the beautiful snow covered Teton Mountains in Jackson Hole, Wyo., for their honeymoon; they now reside in Chattanooga, Tenn.