Real Nashville Weddings

Thursday, October 29 2009

I love outdoor weddings - if you have the risk tolerance (which I don’t) to deal with weather stress. Plus, outdoor/garden weddings are hugely popular. Who doesn’t appreciate the beauty of the natural outdoors?

Here’s a great Tennessee wedding that is not only outside (love) but also was held at a family residence (love even more)!.

Guest Post: McNeal Video is a premier wedding videography company in Nashville, TN

Sharon and Jason were surrounded by friends and family as they were married on August 29 in a ceremony performed with the beautiful backdrop of their scenic family farm. Sharon and Jason’s beautiful wedding was held at Sharon’s parent’s farm located in Milton TN, which I think is close to Murfreesboro somehow. All I know is that is was the perfect place for an outdoor wedding.

The scenery was beautiful. We were surrounded by newly mowed fields and rolling hills and wild turkey and deer making their way into the valley totally unaware of everyone gazing at them from a distance. It was actually perfect.

Visit the McNeal Video blog for all the details of Sharon and Jason’s wedding day. You’ll find lots of photos posted there too.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

This is a super cute country wedding. Who doesn’t love gerber daisies and the mason jars are very whimsical. The reception overlooks beautiful views of Tennessee. Thanks Mandy and Charlie for letting me feature your wedding! Special thanks to Spangler Entertainment for introducing us to this wonderful couple.

Bride - Mandy Uptown of Mt. Juliet, TN

Groom - Charlie Belote of Gallatin, TN

Our Wedding Details

Wedding date and time -June 13, 2009 6:00 pm

Ceremony and location - Sycamore Springs Bethpage, TN

Guests - 175

Wedding Style:

My wedding style? Country Modern

My colors and why I choose them? Tiffany Blue and Teal Bridesmaid dresses and Kaki Suites

My theme? Gerber Daisies and Mason Jars

Personal touches? Our families set up the entire event. We had a special table that amazed.

Wedding wow factor? The location is beautiful. All tables had gerber daisies, were lite by mason jars with candles. There were also Mason Jars hanging from the trees. My cake was amazing. Tiffany Blue Sugar daisies and embossed stamped.

Favors? Program fans and matches. We exited with sparklers.

Gifts for bridesmaids / Groomsmen? Necklaces and earrings that were specially made for them by one of my good friends, and bracelets. Groomsmen? Brown Suspenders and a bottle of Jack Daniels.

What I did for the kids? Not many kids attended. They got flower girl presents.

Most special moment for me? Kissing my husband!! and My dad and I had a special dance that everyone loved.

My Wedding Vendors:
Cake- French Confection, Photo- Karrie Porter Photography, My dress, Bridesmaids and Tuxedos - The White Room, Music- Spangler Entertainment, Rings- Shane Company, Video- Dean Dean

My faves
Everyone we worked with were absolutely amazing. They all were more than we could ever dreamed.

How I found my vendors?
My sisters used The White Room, Spangler Entertainment and French Confection before and they were awesome.

My Wedding Rewind:

What I would do differently if planning again?
I would have hired a coordinator the day of the wedding. Also I would have gotten more beer. We floated one keg before everyone was done eating.

Best value for the service/product? Karrie Porter Photography

Neatest find? My location- Sycamore Springs in Bethpage. Not usually advertised for weddings but we rented the entire location for the whole weekend for $1500.00.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

I’m a Chuck Taylor aka Converse girl. In the past, Ive had yellow, blue and currently rock black Chucks. I was already in love with this bride’s color scheme - red and aqua are super hot, but when I saw the red Converse - I knew the couple was one of my own heart! I see a lot of Nashville weddings and I will say that this one will gone down as one of my favorites for 2009! The details are incredible, the colors pop and the candy bar buffet is sweet!

Great job Savannah and Ryan! Good thing you hired a rocking photographer to capture your fabulous wedding memories and details.

Guest Blogger: Jonathon Campbell Photographyl is a wedding and portrait photographer based in Williamson County, Tennessee.

“Once there was a tree….. and she loved a little boy. And every day the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. And they would play hide-and-go-seek. And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree…….very much. And the tree was happy.” These words from Shel Silverstein’s profound book, ‘The Giving Tree’ about unconditional love and its generosity were read aloud at the marriage of Savannah & Ryan.

They were married under a gorgeous tree at Two Rivers Mansion. Symbolizing the strength of their love, the tree theme was expressed throughout the big event and was partiularly meaningful because Ryan proposed under a big oak tree last year. Savannah chose red and blue as her colors and I loved the red and blues together. Everything really popped. They truly put a lot of thought and special touches to make a even more memorable day.

The amazing candy table was demolished after the receiving line made their way through so we grabbed this shot…

Red Chuck Taylors and a red 1960’s Ford Truck- how cool is that? They put a lot of thought into this shindig!!

Thanks go out to Michelle from Hartz Photographic that was there to help us capture all of these great details. (Thanks Michelle) and also to Eugene and Heather from 2Duce2 Videography that were truly a pleasure to hang out and work with. Check out their wedding teaser for Ryan and Savannah .

Vendors - Venue: Two Rivers Mansion; Videography: 2Duce2 Videography; Hair & Make-up: Amy Lynn Larwig; Wedding & Groom’s cake: Savannah Tea Company; Catering: MAFIAoza’s; Wedding Dress: The White Room; Transportation: Ragtop Picture Cars; Lighting: Nashville Event Lighting; Rentals: Liberty Party Rentals and Grand Central Party Rentals; Photobooth: Party booths; Groomsmen shoes: Converse

Be sure to visit Jonathon Campbell Photography for a full recap of this wedding, including even more amazing photos.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

This is the first Joelton wedding featured on ABG. The bride and groom married at a private residence, which I always love if it’s an option. Special thanks to the couple, Dean and Crystal, for allowing me to feature and to Myrick Studios for providing their wonderful wedding pictures.

Bride: Crystal
Groom: Dean
Wedding date & time: September 5th, 2009
Ceremony location: New Hope Free Will Baptist Church, Joelton TN
Number of guests: 200
Reception location: Peterson Residence, Joelton TN

My wedding details:
My wedding style:
 The wedding style was traditional and classic with a modern flair
My colors and why I choose them? Persimmon and Clover: I chose them because it was the perfect colors for the time of year. Leaving summer and going into fall.
My theme? I wanted a laid back, fun atmosphere!
Wedding wow factor? The decorations in the church and the reception tent location. It was just beautiful…
Favors? Personalized Hershey kisses and mints. We also did heart shaped soaps.
Personalized touches? Monogrammed cake table linens, we did all the decorations in the tent and the church ourselves with the help of an interior designer.

Gift for bridesmaids? Clutch to match their dress and jewelry for the ceremony.
Groomsmen? Pocket knives and a personalized Groom picture frame.
Most special moment for me? Seeing Dean for the first time, his smile and the look in his eyes.
What I did for the kids in my wedding? We actually did not have kids in the wedding. I bought silk rose petals and put those down the aisle the night before.

My faves:
All of my vendors are highly recommended on my part. They all did an amazing job to get everything together.
How I found my vendors – I did a lot of research on the internet since I was planning from Atlanta. Word of mouth from friends helped a lot as well.

My wedding vendors:
*Wedding cake: Sweet and Sassy Bakery in Madison, TN. (615)865-1450
We have used them for years and my wedding cake looked exactly like the picture I gave to them and tasted amazing.
*Groom’s cake: Special Cakes by Jennifer.
The cake she made melted in our mouths. We found a picture on the internet and she made an exact replica of it. She was an amazing find. I would highly recommend her to anyone! Jennifer Finnegan: specialcakesbyjen at yahoo dot com;
*DJ: Nashville Party Authority: (Blair): (615)391-2322
By far the best wedding DJ ever. They were professional, fun, flexible and knowledgeable.
*Flowers: Roma Land Florist and Gifts (Betty): Joelton, TN (615)876-6355
The flowers turned out amazing. My bridal bouquet was perfect. I used a picture from the FTD website and they recreated it exactly. Very reasonable in price.
*Tent rental: Classic Party Rentals: (Kristin) (615)641-1111
Kristin was amazing. She called and followed up to make sure everything was perfect. They were courteous and were amazing to work with.
*Caterer: Chef Christopher’s catering in Westmoreland TN (Josh): (615)644-7008
I cannot say enough about them. This was by far the most professional staff I have ever witnessed. They were on time, the food was great, and they did everything they said they were going to do and worked so hard to make my special day perfect.
*Favors: www. theKnot.com and www.orientaltrading.com
*Bridal gown, invitations, bridesmaids gifts, unity candle, napkins, cake topper, shoes, jewelry and veil : David’s Bridal: Madison, TN (615) 851-5454
*Groomsman gifts: REI.com (knives) and for the frames we used http://www.engravedgiftcreations.com/gc514.html
*Photographer: Mike with Myrick Studios in Hendersonville, TN.
He was amazing. He just has this gift!! Our engagement pictures were the best of all our friends and family who have gotten married! And of course, our wedding photos turned out to be great!! Mike is great to work with and I hope I get to work with him again in the future!

My wedding rewind:
What I would do differently if planning again? I would not take on so much of the responsibility myself. I would give some of the tasks to my bridesmaids and family.
 Biggest waste of time or money? I had too many favor options. The Hershey kisses and mints would have been enough.
Best value for the service/product? Photographer, Caterer and DJ
Neatest find? We found most of our decorations at hobby lobby and pottery barn.
 
Include anything else you want brides-to-be to know about you wedding, vendors, tips, etc.
I used www.weddingwire.com a lot. It helped me find vendors, gave great tips and kept me organized.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Kristin of Simply Stunning Events just got MARRIED! If you have followed ABG, you have enjoyed reading “When the Planner Plans” a regular post on ABG by Kristin sharing her wedding planning experience.

As such, this was truly an ABG wedding that I couldn’t wait to happen! She hired the best wedding team and as amazing wedding photographer (one of the best) I knew it would be well planned, well organized and well designed. In fact, I have been stalking her vendor’s blogs, waiting for pics or video of her wedding to surface and they have!

When Kristin returns/settles into married life, she’ll give us her full recap but until then…I’ll share sneak peeks, courtesy of her amazing wedding photograper and videographer - McLellan Style and 2Duce2 Videography. Also, be sure to visit Brocade Design Arts, who did an incredible job on the wedding floral and design and invitation featured below!

For more blogs on Kristin’s wedding, visit:
Photographer - highlight pics are available at McLellan Style
Videographer - teaser video is available from 2Duce2 Videography
Bridal attire - Faccio Bridal
Bride’s blog - Simply Stunning Events
Enjoy!

Wonderful florals by Brocade Design

Brocade also designed the wedding invitations

Love this centerpiece by Brocade.

Cake by Maples Wedding Cakes

Again, these are just the teaser pics.

For more blogs on Kristin’s wedding, visit:

Photographer - highlight pics are available at McLellan Style

Videographer - teaser video is available from 2Duce2 Videography

Bridal attire - Faccio Bridal

Bride’s blog - Simply Stunning Events