Cosmopolitan Chapel

How does a bride-to-be in Iowa wind up getting married in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee? She must have stumbled across a Web site for one of the local chapels, you say. Logical answer, but incorrect. Believe it or not, she heard about Mountain Valley Chapel via simple, old-fashioned word of mouth. Her hairdresser, who had attended a wedding here two years earlier, recommended the chapel upon learning that his client was undecided about a ceremony location. Surprising chain of events to many, but not to Jerry Lucas, owner of Mountain Valley Chapel for the past 12 years. The Baptist minister is used to marrying couples from a wide variety of places, some as far away as Tokyo and Zimbabwe. Those, he admits with a chuckle, “did find us on the Internet.” Even his staff of 12 is geographically diverse: they have settled in Sevier County after coming from New York City, Jacksonville and Miami, even California. Lucas utilizes traditional methods of marketing, including multiple Web sites, print advertising, and participation in wedding trade shows. He even sends a videotape, complete with sweeping aerial views of his chapel and surrounding 18 acres, to many prospective brides. But it’s the word-of-mouth advertising of which he is most proud. “We have two big books filled with appreciation letters. We get at least one or two a week,” says Lucas. Formerly in commercial real estate in Florida, Lucas explains how he got into the wedding business: “My wife and I were married in Gatlinburg in a private chalet. We would come up here six or seven times a year. When my son went to college 12 years ago, we did a lot of research before deciding on this. We wanted something that was elegant and distinctive, something people would respond to.” Lucas designed the chapel himself; it is situated on a peak just two miles off the Pigeon Forge Parkway. Both the chapel and nearby gazebo offer wide-ranging mountain views. Just inside the cedar-and-glass structure is a sitting area with gas fireplace and separate dressing areas for the bride and groom. The chapel offers seating for 100, a bank of windows, three unobtrusive video cameras, and candles too numerous to count. One hour is the usual amount of time that a bride will reserve the facility, but that can be customized “depending on the size of the wedding party,” explains Lucas. After so many years of performing wedding ceremonies, how does Lucas feel about what he does? Any hint that he ever tires of the steady stream of couples coming to him on their big day? Not a chance. The minister beams like a proud father and says with conviction, “I have the most fulfilling job. David Letterman says he has the best job in the world, but I have the best job in the world.” Then Jerry Lucas rises from his seat to extend warm greetings to a soon-to-be-married couple from York, Pennsylvania, making their way toward the gazebo – and their new lives together.