Southern Living article about our treehouse

tennessee living
A Storybook Setting
Once upon a time, a couple
met while creating
a {antasy tree house.
Love soared right along
with the special structure.
l1 ids instinctively understand the
I \magic of a tree house. From a
lofty perch rising high above earthbound life, they map out adventures,
utter oaths of secrecy, and swear lifelong pacts of friendship.
"I use to tell my mom, 'I may live
in a tree house someday,'" says Jenni
Veal with a laugh. For Jenni and her
husband Monty, a tree house became
the visionary starting point of their
life together.
Mapping 0ut Adventures
The couple met while studying blueprints for the extraordinary George S.
Bryan Discovery ForestTreehouse at
the Chattanooga Nature Center. Ensconced in a century-old overcup oak
tree on Lookout Creek, the fairy-tale
structure boasts stained glass works,
Scottish cathedral windows, handcarved posts, and a breathtaking view
of wooded splendor.
"We were really interested in
adding something unique to the nature center," says Jenni, who served
as executive director at the time of
the tree house's creation. Monty, a
contractor, implemented the original
design by architect Rob Fowler and
contractor Monty Humphreys.
"Even though we had some blue-
z
massive overcup oak stretch through
tr
=
6
I
c
by the man creating it. The couple
began dating after the tree house's
completion in Octoper 2000.
Surrounded by lush nature, the
structure now serves as the site of en-
vironmental education programs,
ture center wanted to create something kind of enchanted and magical
and childlike." Jenni never counted
on becoming personally enchanted
together," says Jenni with a laugh.
"He's down-to-earth-a builder kind
artist." She adds, "The staffat the na-
2O-tennessee living
z
the center of the 750-square-foot
structure. right: Jenni and Monty Veal,
with oldest daughter Lucy Mae, met
while working on the tree house.
storytelling, puppet shows, weddings,
and children's birthday parties. But
Jenni and Monty rate their wedding in
2001 as the ultimate tree house event.
When they revealed their romance
and upcoming nuptials, the couple
delighted in the shocked responses.
"Our friends would never have put us
prints," Jenni says, "MontyVeal was
building around this huge tree and
had to work out the details. To really
make it happen, he had to be the
lo
top: Three tree trunks from the same
E
o
o
F
o
I
L
of guy. I'm kind of a free spirit. Monty
calls me a tree hugger.
t'Of course," she adds, "we just
knew we had to get mar:ried in the tree
house." Now the pair brings daughters
Lucy Mae and Emma Kate to the site
where their parents pledged their
vows. "When the girls can really understand that their dad built it and this
is how we met, it will be so special,"
Jenni says. NANCY DoRMAN-HrcKSoI:
For more information about
George S. Bryan Discovery F
Treehouse and the Chattanoo
ture Center, call (423) 821 -1