GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) – The wildfires that killed 14 people and tore through Gatlinburg also stole an iconic venue from this city at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains whose nickname is “the wedding capital of the South.”
All that remains of Cupid’s Chapel of Love is a heart-shaped pink sign with its name spelled out in Barbie-doll-style cursive lettering.
The white, log building with a green tin roof and waterfall around back hosted more than 20,000 weddings in more than two decades. Some were quick, 15-minute “let’s get married this weekend” appointments. Others were full ceremonies, renewals of vows and weddings built on family traditions that began when parents and grandparents eloped there.
Alongside 20 friends and family members, Cheryl Petty Moats and her husband Jim got married there in 2014. The couple from Hurricane, West Virginia, always rent a cabin nearby in Pigeon Forge for their anniversary and take pictures where they were married.
Moats cried when she saw photos of the rubble. It’s uncertain whether the chapel will ever be rebuilt.