Nashville weddings

Debbie + Carlos: Nashville Wedding Planner Has a Hollywood-Style Wedding of Her Own (with Karaoke!)

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

We love sharing real weddings with our readers, and this one is a treat! Not only is the bride a wedding planner, but the affair had an Old Hollywood theme! Who doesn't love Hollywood?! And since Debbie is from New York, she wasn't looking for your typical Southern wedding. Taking their love for the theater, Debbie and Carlos chose to create a theme that every guest would love. This included guests finding their seats at the reception with movie tickets and enjoying a popcorn bar.

We also love things that aren't always tradtional. In this case, it's the wedding party - it was all male. Debbie had her two brothers as "Men of Honor" and her one-year-old nephew as the "Ring Dude." Carlos chose his brother as his best man and two best friends for groomsmen to complete the party.

The classy black and white evening was shot by Karen Alisa Photography. Karen also took the bridal party to Events on 3rd (the old Nashville Dinner Theater). The space made for grand, Hollywood-esque photos with its red staircase, exposed brick, and overall charm. We hope you enjoy the photos and theme!

Debbie + Carlos
Date ~ August 27, 2011
Ceremony ~ Holy Name Catholic Church
Reception ~ Hilton Garden Inn- Vanderbilt
Guests ~ 90

Budget

$10,000 - $20,000

Wedding Team

Planner | Me! I have my own business, Wedding Designs by Debbie
Day of Coordinator | Beautiful Weddings by Beth Anne - my teacher in wedding planning! (bethannesbeautifulweddings.com)
Photographer | Karen Alisa Photography
Gown | David’s Bridal
Bride Accessories | I made both headpieces myself and my veil was created from my mom’s veil.
Groom’s attire / groomsmen attire | Men’s Warehouse
Hair | Alicia at Altra Salon
Makeup | Susannah Smith White
Stationery | My own! - Wedding Designs by Debbie
Ceremony musicians | Singers - Tyson and Cori Laemmel and Josh Waldrep; Lee Druce on piano and organ
Reception Musicians | JD Music
Transportation | Nashville Luxury Limos
Caterer | Hilton Garden Inn
Cake Artist | Dulce Desserts - we had a two-tier cake and a side cake
Dessert Table | We had many different desserts (aside from our cake) including tartlets, red velvet cupcakes, lime meltaways, and cannoli's from Savarino's.
Floral Designer | Green Finch Floral Design - my bouquet had black magic roses and red feathers! (greenfinchfloraldesign.com)
Guest Accommodations | Hilton Garden Inn Vanderbilt

Wedding Details

We had an afternoon ceremony at Holy Name Catholic Church in East Nashville. This was followed by a cocktail hour at the Hilton Garden Inn-Vandy, then a sit down dinner reception with dancing and karaoke. The ballroom at the HGI is located on the 9th floor penthouse with views overlooking Downtown Nashville.

How would you describe your style as a couple?

We are very dramatic. We met doing theatre and wanted our wedding to show our love of artistic design.

How did you incorporate that style into your wedding?

We chose an overall style of Old Hollywood and our colors were black and white, with red as the accent color only in flowers. We started with the save the dates and had a friend, who is a videographer, take photos of us like we were in film noir movies. Those pictures were also incorporated in the table numbers.

At our ceremony, the programs were rack cards with a red curtain opening on the front (like an old movie theater).

For our reception, we had a movie poster of Carlos and I at the entrance of HGI that directed people where to go. Once at the ballroom we had a red carpet step and repeat banner with a photographer taking pictures of the guests as they arrived. He printed them out for them to take home and to be slipped in the clap board place cards at the tables. I created escort cards that were movie tickets corresponding to the table numbers, which were movie titles and pictures that Carlos and I took (all in black and white). I came up with movie titles that were based on Film Noir and 1930-1950's movies. Example: Citizen Garcia, Beauty and the Beard, The Lady From New York, etc. We also had a popcorn bar!

What was the favorite aspect of your wedding?

Our first dance. Two of our friends Zack Gresham and Jillian LaFave from Umbrella Tree, arranged, played and sang Ben Fold’s “Luckiest”.

Where did you splurge? Where did you save/DIY?

We did not splurge at all. As a wedding planner, I knew shortcuts. Even though a lot of the wedding details seemed high end, I was able to bring costs down considerably by doing it myself. I think the invitations were the most extravagant, but since I sell them, they were at cost, plus I added my own touches to make them special.

Now that the wedding day is over, is there anything about your planning process you feel you could have done differently?

I would have had some sort of greeter at the cocktail hour. We wanted the movie/old Hollywood theme to expand by having a step and repeat banner that guests took photos in front of. They were then printed out and guests took the photos and put them in the place card clapboard frames at the tables. I think there was too much going on and many people missed out on that aspect.

In one sentence, what words of advice do you have for couples in the midst of their planning?

Do not worry about all the details, make it your own and be sure to not over spend.

Thanks for sharing your wedding with us Debbie and Carlos!

About the Author:

Megan

I’m new to the wedding industry. Before getting engaged I literally avoided any websites for weddings only because I knew, once I delved in, I would become obsessed…. And it’s true. Once I got engaged, I did become obsessed and luckily, about that time, I started working in the wedding industry. So my interest increased on two levels. Now I am a newlywed and still enjoying the industry. I love writing, social media and connecting to people; happily, I get to do all of this with ABG.

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send   Posted on October 11, 2011 | Filed under: DIY & Budget Wed Finds, Real Nashville Weddings