We are on a search for Nashville's favorite wedding cakes of 2009/2010. Now through August 5, please email your professionally captured wedding cakes for consideration. We will share the best cake designs with ABG readers in August.
Please include the cake artist/company and the photographer. You can submit multiple submissions but only 1 per email. You do not have to be an ABG bride or wedding professional to be submit your best cakes. Feel free to send bridal, grooms, sculptured cakes.
We can't wait to see your submissions!
Here are some of the favorites from our wedding cake gallery. We can't wait to see yours!
Kim Washington who owns and runs Paperkuts Studio. I love working with Kim! She has great energy and even better stationery:). I often like to visit her studio just to check out what's new. Last time, I purchased super cute personalized notecards from but she also carries gifts and many wedding stationery lines. You can browse her site for a list of stationery companies Paperkuts carries, browse the selections online and then meet with her to browse stationery catalogs and touch and see the myriad of wedding and personal stationery options.
With her years of experience, she will work with you to make sure that your invitations are exactly what you desire. She also is one of the few stationers around who carries hard-to-find, African American, Hispanic / multicultural stationery.
Spotlight on Paperkuts Studio
Number of years in the business:
Nine
How did you get started in weddings?
My original goal was to become a wedding planner. Event planning was part of a previous job, and who doesn’t love a wedding? From there, I feel in love with stationery-the rest is history!!
What do you like most about weddings?
What I love most about weddings is the moment when the bride & groom see one another for the first time. Oh, and when they recite vows! Also, any other moment that comes around!!
What’s your favorite wedding pic/video and why? I love any and every picture of anything paper related. It is very hard to pick just one!!
Direction card from Birchcraft Studios
An assortment of wedding invitations from Pioneer Color
What is your service philosophy?
My service philosophy is simple: The Golden Rule. I believe it is an honor for someone to choose to purchase their stationery from paperKuts studio. Therefore, I want them to be in an environment that is comfortable, no pressure to purchase, informative and fun!
What are your strengths compared to others in your category? Why should a bride hire you?
As I stated earlier, I feel honored that a bride/groom decided to visit the studio, even if they don’t purchase from me. I want them to leave feeling that they had a great experience.
Who are your 5 favorite Nashville wedding vendors – helpfulness, professionalism, style?
Because I am one of the many important steps in planning a wedding, I really don’t get to work with a lot of other vendors. I have met so many great wedding professionals and have much respect for the work they do, it is hard to narrow it down!
Who do you recommend when you’re not available/not a fit?
If there is something that I don’t carry or cannot complete for a bride, I never hesitate to recommend other stationery vendors.
What do you read/watch regularly to stay on top of wedding/event trends?
I love to keep up with the latest trends in the wedding world! I read Stationery Trends, Greetings, any Bridal Magazine or show. I also love to read the many great wedding blogs that are out there, as well as, other stationery vendor’s sites.
Fun announcement cards
Classic wedding invitations from Your Invitation Place
Let’s discuss current wedding trends -
What trend do you love?
Stationery is ever evolving and so are the options. Currently, I am in love with Pattern Mixing and some of my favorites come from Bella Ink Designs, a new vendor that I acquired from the National Stationery Show. I’m also loving color-lavender; purple & chocolate are really hot.
Bridal shower and matching thank you cards from Bella Ink
What trend do you hate?
I love all things paper!
Trend I’m glad is gone?
I believe that nothing really leaves in stationery, just evolves. It so depends on the bride and groom and their personal taste.
What are your favorite wedding websites?/ Neatest wedding find?
I often go to invitationbox/weddingpaperdivas/finestationery.com to search for items that I may not carry when assisting a customer. For all things wedding, Ashley’s Bride Guide, of course!
What's one way Brides can save money/be more economical or something to that affect
Stationery, of course!!! In planning, 2-3% of your budget should be on paper. All of the craft stores carry beautiful DIY invites, along with a coupon, you can save a ton! If you don’t feel comfortable with the printing process, paperKuts studio will be more that happy to print the info for you.
What are you reading or what was the last thing you read?
I’m obsessed with the whole “Twilight” series. I’ve read all of the books and even went to the midnight showing of “Eclipse”!! It’s all about love!
Just Married card by Kemse & Company
All the invitations featured are by just some of the lines carried by Paperkuts Studio. For more invitation options or to get in touch with Kim, visit Paperkuts website!
As a Nashville wedding resource, our goal is to help you find great services and products for your wedding that are available locally. We love Nashville and know that just about everything we need can be procured in our amazing city!
When we learned about Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co, we just knew their gourmet chocolate would be a great wedding favor option for brides. They make their own stone ground dark chocolate in a variety of flavors that not only are beneficial to you* but also taste really really good.
Customize your own chocolate wrapper with your initials and message to your guests.
We heart Olive + Sinclair
They were kind enough to let provide chocolate bar swag to our SATC party guests (which they loved!). And just the other day, Ashley sampled and swooned over Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Gelato at Brave Gelato. Can you say delish! If that weren't enough, when Gwyneth Paltrow was in Nashville filming a movie, she visited Olive & Sinclair and gushed on her site, GOOP.com that "the chocolate itself is some of the most flavorful we've ever experienced and the combinations were amazing"...It's good stuff!
The company
Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co. was founded by Tennessean Scott Witherow who was the generous source of the chocolate bars donated to the party. Scott is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef whose resume boasts several of Nashville's most innovative restaurants with skills excelling in the pastry department.
Made right here in the heart of Nashville, Olive & Sinclair's chocolate comes in delicious flavors like Mexican Style Cinn-Chili, 67% or 75% dark chocolate, coffee (which has bits of coffee beans in it - so good), salt & pepper and my personal favorite, sea salt. In fact, I'm nibbling on some right now for inspiration**! They produce 330-600 pounds of chocolate a week in their McGavock Pike factory and store and you can get the chocolate there or at several local stores!
The bars each come wrapped in a chic, stylish wrapper and the entire package is a visual treat. The wrappers are designed by local printing company, Spirit of Nashville and are just stunning. Each time I buy a bar I feel this urge to frame the wrapper! It's that pretty!
Custom wedding chocolate bars for favors or gifts
What Ashley and I are most excited about is Olive & Sinclair's wedding chocolate! The rich, delicious dark chocolate flavor which is sure to please everyone who has a bite. But the special part about this is the wrapper which has a bride and groom on it, and a place where you can print your initials and a message for your guests. This is such a fantastic gift for out-of-town guests and/or wedding favors to really give your guests a personalized piece of Tennessee to take with them.
They need at least three weeks notice to get the bars ready so for those of you who haven't picked your favors or haven't thought of the perfect item for your gift bags, get in touch with Olive & Sinclair to discuss.
I'll leave you with video of Scott and his team at Olive & Sinclair hard at work, creating the bars from start to finish. Visit the Olive & Sinclair Blog to see what else they've been up to and find out what new flavors they're going to have for us later this year. I, personally, can't wait.
Video courtesy of Josh Anderson
* Did you know that dark chocolate can be good for you? According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, dark (not white or milk) chocolate contains high levels of antioxidants and has been shown, in some cases, to lower high blood pressure. And we all know about pressure when it comes to planning a wedding! Decision made - chocolate favors it is!
Things happen. We all are usually pretty prepared for the fact that not everything will go exactly according to plan. There's no sense in letting little hiccups ruin your wedding day but you also need a solid contingency plan in place! Today's favorite blog post is by Genna who blogs for Chef's Market. The post lays out the reality of situations that could occur on your wedding reception and the best plans you could make to avoid them. This is a must read which why we just had to share it!
Summer is the one season that will unapologetically book your calendar with weddings months in advance. Plans on the fourth of July? Canceled. Your sister’s getting married on the beach. A weekend trip to your favorite vacation spot? Sorry, you’ve got MOH duties. The wedding fever epidemic hits every year between June and September and it’s no surprise why. Summer is a gorgeous time of year to be married and it’s the perfect season to celebrate outside. So if the sunshine, fresh flowers and extra daylight have you dreaming of skipping through a field to say ‘I Do’ you’ll want to sit down and create a strategy that will keep you from falling head over heels in the mud when it starts to rain on the big day! Read on for 10 things to consider when planning for an outdoor wedding reception:
1. Pick a menu that can stand up to the heat - if you’re getting married in July and you’re going to be eating at five o’clock there’s a good chance it’s going to be hot and humid while you’re guests are standing in the buffet line, so you want to serve food that will stay fresh. Think non mayonnaise based salads and things like poached salmon that are typically served at room temperature. Rice salads, such as our Wild Rice Orzo, are a great option as well.
2. Hire a caterer who knows their way around an outdoor reception – Catering outside has a lot more logistical kinks to work out than a typical indoor reception. Make sure your caterer will not only be able to get the set up down perfectly, but will also have no problem serving foods the way they’re supposed to be served ( keeping cold foods cold and hot foods hot).
3. Have a back up plan – Plan B is never ideal, but knowing you’ve got a safety net in case Plan A falls through is comforting and will keep you from stressing out if you have to switch gears on your wedding day and set the reception up inside the nearest building. Have a go to list of who will move what, how you’ll rearrange the tables, chairs, decor and food in case of emergency.
4. Rent a tent or have one on hold – if you’re banking on clear skies and have skipped #3 then you’re pretty much guaranteed to have nature tease you with rain, wind and whatever else she can come up with. OK, maybe that sounds harsh but haven’t you ever heard of Murphy’s Law??? The point here, is that it’s smart to at least have a tent on hold in case inclement weather does show up…and if it doesn’t? Well, spend the night dancing under the stars!
5. Provide lighting for the catering tent/food prep area – This sounds so simple, but it’s because it seems so obvious that many people forget until it’s too dark to see anything and you have servers dropping dishes. Make sure that any space where your caterer will be unloading/packing up the food is well lit.
6. Keep bottled water on hand – The last thing you want on your wedding day is for your grandmother to get heatstroke…bottled water is an easy way to make sure your guests stay cool and have as much fun at your reception as you had planning it. You can even make sure that necessary items like bottled water get their own personalized spin by creating monogrammed labels to fit around the bottles.
7. Beverage stations – Much like the bottled water, a beverage station will ensure that your guests have something cool to sip on while they eat dinner, mingle with friends and enjoy the reception. Beverage stations are perfect for an outdoor reception. At Chef’s Market, we love to use large apothecary jars filled with different colored lemonades and teas. You can place flower wreaths around the jars or add sliced fruit to give the drinks more color and flavor!
8. Air Conditioning/Fans are important – Whether you’re under a tent or under the sky, bring something to keep the air circulating as your reception gets underway. Rental companies often carry large industrial fans for just such occasions and if you’ve got a tent and your budget allows for it, you can actually have air conditioning set up for your celebration.
9. Bugs – It doesn’t matter where you are, if your reception will be outside you’ve got to consider the bug factor. Think about using citronella candles or providing bug spray for guests to use prior to hitting the dance floor. Another trick to keep pests away, is to wipe down tables and chairs with a wet cloth before setting them up for the reception (this will get rid of any food/drink residue that might be lingering on the surface).
10. Wind – With an outdoor reception, the first step is to accept that there will be some things you just cannot control, like the weather. You’ve got a tent on hold in case it rains right? Make sure you’ve got a plan for rain’s best friend named wind. Even with a tent, wind can sneak up under the sides and wreak havoc on table settings and food arrangements. The best way to deal with this possibility? Have decorative weights that can be placed on tables to hold everything in place. For a cute and simple DIY tutorial click here.
The bottom line when it comes to planning an outdoor wedding reception? Accept that it will be a little more challenging than a traditional ballroom or indoor venue and then go for it! If your heart’s set on having an outdoor celebration in the middle of August then there’s no question that that’s what you should have, just be a little strategic, prepare for the unexpected and enjoy your day!
Visit the Chef's Dish - the Chef's Market blog for more wonderful catering planning ideas and posts from the lovely Genna.
When we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of wedding planning, it's easy to overlook what's at the core - a marriage. Once in a while, we meet a gem of a bride whose vision isn't all about the glitter or themes but one who cherishes the moments that she wanted as part of her special day, with lots of unique personalized touches that were such a joy to see. For Lauren and William, their wedding was a day spent with family and friends from near and far, one that was capturedl in gorgeous photographs, and super fun photobooth pics.
Simply Vintage - Real Wedding Feature submitted by Photo Booth Nashville
Bride ~ Lauren Stephens
Groom ~ William Branson IV
Wedding Details:
April 10, 2010, ceremony 5:00 pm, reception 7:00 pm
Ceremony- St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Franklin, TN (pivate ceremony, family only)
Reception: Houston Station, Nashville, TN
Approximately 140 guests at reception
Wedding Style:
What was your wedding style?
This is hard for me to pin down. There were definitely a lot of vintage elements, but the reception felt like a really fun mix of vintage and urban.
What were your colors? Why did you choose them?
Light Pink + Gray. The colors had the vintage feel I was going for.
What did you use for inspiration? {magazines? blogs? websites? etc.}
I mostly used blogs for inspiration. East Side Bride, Once Wed, etc. (Ashley adds - be sure to check out the East Side Bride's feature on Lauren's wedding. It's honest, candid and hilarious!)
Wedding Scoop:
What was your wedding WOW factor? {What did your guests love?}
There were a lot of things that continue to be talked about. One was the Photo Booth Nashville. The other? I played a song for my husband w/ my guitar and harmonica at the reception. I guess not many people had seen a bride with a guitar + harmonica holder.
What did you give as favors to your guests?
We had a photo booth, so the “favors” were the printed photo strips.
How did you personalize your wedding?
There were a lot of things that made our wedding very reflective of us. (Of course the photo booth + my guitar playing helped). The groom’s cupcakes had skulls on them, which is something of a theme in our apartment. My family + extended family are from Louisiana and we had a lot of guests from the wedding from Louisiana, as well. When we left, we had a Second Line Parade. It is a New Orleans tradition in which a brass band plays and those who follow twirl a parasol and a white handkerchief in the air. It was a way for us to bring my home state to our wedding.
What did you give your bridesmaids and groomsmen?
My sister was my only bridesmaid, so I ordered her a monogrammed Lucite tray. We gave our dads ties from Psycho Bunny, and we gave our cousins who were readers/ushers monogrammed money clips. I also had hair lovelies made for some close friends + female cousins from Oh My Deer on Etsy.
What was your most special moment of the day?
Pinning down one special moment would be pretty difficult, since the entire day was phenomenal. But actually walking down the aisle with my dad, seeing faces of my family smiling at me, and seeing William waiting for me at the end would probably have to take the cake.
Did you have kids at your wedding? What did you do for them?
No, we didn’t have any kids at the wedding.
Did you Do It Yourself? Or, did you leave it to the professionals?
I honestly have to say that I am NOT much of a DIY-er. However, my mom did take on a couple of projects. One being that she hand stamped 100 handkerchiefs with fleur de lis + tied them with a cute ribbon for our second line parade.
Wedding Vendors:
~ Planner: Elegant Weddings By Angela (ElegantWeddingsbyAngela.com)
~ Cake(s): The Bake Shoppe
~ Caterer: Chef’s Market
~ Photographer: Laura Dart, D'art Photographie (DartPhotographie.com)
~ Stationery: Save the Dates were designed by my best friend, Megan Willoughby. The wedding invitations were SMOCK, from Salutations in Charlotte, NC. Tags for handkerchiefs + photo booth reminder were made by Erin Duffy at Social Graces in Hillsboro Village. ~ Bridesmaid Dresses: I only had one bridesmaid: my sister. We had her dress made by a wedding store in Charlotte, NC called Hayden-Olivia. This is also where I bought my wedding dress.
~ Rings: We had our rings made.
~ Music: For the ceremony, we had a good friend, Dan Hochhalter, play violin. At the reception, the Malemen were our band and they ROCKED. Everyone loved them!
~ Decorations/Detail:Nashville Event Lighting, Photo Booth Nashville
~ Bridal Gown: Vineyard Collection
~ Tuxes: No tuxes. Our dads + the groom had their suits made.
~ Accessories: Veil was made for me, purchased at Hayden-Olivia in Charlotte, NC.
~ Flowers: The fabulous Chase Rivers.
~ Transportation: We hired a trolley to take our family members who attended the ceremony from the hotel downtown to the church in Franklin. For that, we used Franklin Trolley. The bride + groom left the wedding + reception in a Packard that was owned by a friend of the bride.
Who were your favorites? {the ones you would highly recommend to your best friend}
Elegant Weddings By Angela. Hands down. She + Susan Able (our coordinator) helped guide us through the previously unavigated waters of the wedding industry and I did not feel that they let us down one time. All of the vendors they recommended were completely professional + helpful. I would recommend Houston Station (HoustonStationNashville.com) to ANYONE. Jeff Thornhill, who runs the place, is unbelievably helpful. Chef’s Market also went above + beyond.
Wedding Rewind:
What would you do differently if you could start back at the beginning?
Honestly, there aren’t a lot of things about the execution of the wedding that I would have done differently. (Let me also add that none of this could have been done without my tireless mother). However, I would have been more specific about the photographs I wanted taken at the reception.
What do you consider the best value for the service and product?
I have to say, Chef’s Market is the absolute way to go for catering in Nashville. They have catering down to a science. They are professional, helpful, great with logistics, and the food is great! I honestly would recommend them to anyone.
What was the neatest thing you found for your wedding?
It is more of an emotional thing than anything else. But all of the people who love you most in the world are all in one room, some coming from far, far away. It is an amazing thing to share that day with people who love you that much.
What was your biggest {and best} splurge?
This wasn’t built into our budget, so I have to say that the photo booth definitely takes the cake. We have the most hilarious pictures of our friends, and you can definitely tell which ones were taken later in the night. Everyone is STILL talking about it, 2 months later!
Congratulations and all the best to Lauren and William!
Pictures courtesy of D'Art Photographie (dartphotographie.com) and Photo Booth Nashville.
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