MADISON – For one Alabama or Tennessee couple whose nuptials have been impacted by COVID-19, the Madison-based Kids to Love foundation is offering not just a wedding gift but the gift of a wedding.

The Alabama-based nonprofit organization, which works to meet the needs of children in foster care, has launched a contest to donate a fall 2020 wedding at Tranquility, a 48-acre mountain estate in Fayetteville, Tennessee.

The beloved former estate of Rey and Cynthia Almodovar, Tranquility (originally known as Cerro Tranquilo) was gifted to Kids to Love in January and will serve a dual purpose for the benefit of children living in foster care.

In addition to hosting weeklong summer camps reuniting siblings who have been separated by the foster care system, it will also generate revenue for Kids to Love programs as an elegant event venue for corporate retreats, weekend getaways and weddings.

It is this third planned use that inspired Kids to Love Founder & CEO Lee Marshall to launch the wedding giveaway.

“At a team meeting in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, we were envisioning how idyllic this beautiful retreat we’d been gifted, with its incredible valley views, would be for a mountain wedding. That got us thinking about all of the engaged couples who had seen their spring and summer wedding plans upended and were now dealing with cancellation fees, unrecouped expenditures and disappointment,” she recalled. “That was the ‘Eureka’ moment when we knew we wanted Tranquility’s first-ever wedding to be a second chance for a deserving pair.”

The winning couple will receive a total wedding package, valued at $30,000, for a maximum of 50 guests, including:

• Rehearsal space prior to the wedding day
• Full use of Tranquility the day of the wedding for pictures, ceremony and reception, including a choice of three event spaces: The Atrium, The Meadow and The Veranda
• Wedding day décor including an arbor, seating for up to 50 guests, tables, linens and place settings
• Reception charcuterie grazing table for up to 50 guests
• Wedding cake

The wedding party will be responsible for providing their own officiant, reception entertainment, bridal bouquet and boutonnieres, and photographer/videographer.

To enter the contest, couples must visit www.tranquilityweddings.com between May 1 and 22, where they’ll find an entry form and a chance to tell their story. A panel will narrow down the entries to a small group of finalists, whose stories will be posted across all social media platforms on June 1^st. The winning couple will be notified the week of June 15.

Below are some photos of Tranquility.