Nashville weddings

Friend Saves the Day + Delivers Photos for Kevin + Leah’s Private, Mere Bulles Wedding Reception

Friday, April 13, 2012

Kevin and Leah are graduates of our 2011 Smart Bride Bootcamp, but you may recognize them from our 2012 camp. They returned this year to share what they learned while planning their Nashville wedding. If you missed the camp, you truly missed a treat. They were lively, entertaining and very honest about what they loved and learned through the process! I can't sufficiently recap all of their nuggets of wisdom, but here's what you definitely need to know...

Kevin and Leah hired a photographer whose work they fell in love with. While he was a good photographer, he wasn't a good wedding photographer (please know that there is a difference). The photographer lost images from their wedding so they were lucky to have a family friend, Claire Marie Photo, who also took photos that day AND they had hired a pro wedding videographer.  

I am happy that Kevin and Leah were still willing to share their photos and their wedding day with us. With or without all of their photos, there is sweet love and a forever marriage for Kevin and Leah and that's all that matters in the end.  

Leah + Kevin
Wedding Date ~ November 6, 2011
Ceremony Venue ~ Riverside Chapel SDA Church
Reception Venue ~ Mere Bulles
Guests ~ 275

My Budget

$10,000 - $20,000

My Wedding Team

Venue + Caterer | Mere Bulles
Planner | Dayna Jaye, a family friend
Photographer | Claire Marie Photo
Videographer | FullFrame Digital Cinema
Gown & Accessories | David’s Bridal, Etsy
Groom’s Attire / Groomsmen Attire | Ambassador’s Formal
Bridesmaids Attire | The Bridal Shoppe of Murfreesboro
Hair | Sarah Purcell, friend of the bride
Makeup | Shea Moore of MAC
Stationery | Invitations were designed by Octane Designs in Lexington, Ky.
    Programs were designed by the couple and printed at Copy Express in Murfreesboro
    Personalized thank you notes from Design in August (see them here: designinaugust.com/stationery-hello/).
Ceremony Musicians | Seth Costner, Rich Brinsfield, Troy Logan, Travis Logan, Raffeal Sears, Deaundrea Walker, Royce Mosley, Danelle Corbin - friends of the bride and groom
Reception Musicians | George Seay, groomsman (geetheblogger.tumblr.com)
Cake Artist | Cupcake Collection
Floral Designer | The bride had her bouquet designed by a family friend
Guest Accommodations | Hilton Suites Brentwood

My Wedding Details

How would you describe your style as a couple?

We'd describe our style as modern, sophisticated, simple, classy, modest and slightly quirky.

Bride heads down the elevator to the couple's first look as friends watch from above.

How did you incorporate that style into your wedding?

Though our budget and guest list may have occasionally had more influence than we'd like, we would often sit down and think of ways to turn lemons into lemonade. By that, we mean that we worked to ensure every element felt like "us."

Before the ceremony began, we played a video that we had created a year prior to announce our engagement on Facebook. While the bridal party waited for the ceremony to begin, we had a big UNO tournament where everyone played, even the bride in her dress! Then, we expressed our love for music by having what we jokingly call a "mini-concert" with five songs performed during the ceremony. Kevin sang his wedding vows in the form of an original song. Leah even convinced the entire wedding party to collectively sing "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles.

As for decor, we wanted the atmosphere to reflect the simplicity of the fall season with lanterns with lighted candles lining the center aisle. The flower girl tossed leaves instead of flowers.

What was the favorite aspect of your wedding?

Our wedding day was truly a day of love, family and friendship. Though there were some stressful moments leading up to the wedding day, we would not have replaced any of it for the world! We had a large bridal party – 10 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen – and it was so great to see our friends establish lasting friendships among themselves outside of our relationships with them. Being surrounded by all of the love was definitely our favorite part of our wedding day.

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

Our biggest splurge was our videography and our “after party,” or second reception at Mere Bulles. Before getting engaged, Leah knew that she wanted to work with Full Frame Cinema and we adjusted our budget to accommodate her wishes. And we’re so glad we did! They were everything and more that we could ever hope for in a vendor.

As far as the second reception, we knew that we were going to have a large number at the ceremony and we wanted something a bit more intimate for our bridal party and family members. We had a dessert reception at the church immediately following the ceremony for all the wedding attendees. Later, we hosted an invite-only "after party" at Mere Bulles in Brentwood, where we were able to relax, eat, dance, and spend quality time with our closest friends and family.

We saved by enlisting the help of family and friends whenever possible and appropriate. For example, Kevin's aunt is a talented artist and seamstress. She hand-made all our boutonnieres and corsages. She also contributed to several of our other ideas for decor. Other family members and friends helped us decorate the venue. A close family friend even offered to help coordinate our wedding, and it was one of the most valuable gifts we received.

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

We would have got our coordinator involved earlier in the process, compensated more of our volunteers for the sake of increased accountability and secured references on vendors of high-ticket services. Regarding the vendors, it would've been more useful to discuss the experience of working with someone outside of only the wedding day.

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

Pay for the aspects you consider to be priorities (i.e.. photography, videography, decor, etc.), and leave DIY projects and assistance from volunteers to details you consider flexible and less vital.
 

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 April 13, 2012 | Filed under: Real Nashville Weddings