Nashville weddings

Kendra + Jacob’s Destination Nashville Wedding, from Belmont Mansion & Mere Bulles to Wild Beaver

Friday, November 2, 2012

Sometimes, we get lucky and stumble across amazing weddings that our photographer friends post on Facebook -- and I'm not just talking awesome photos; by amazing I mean, out of the ordinary and especially eye-catching! Thus is this wedding from Matt Andrews Photography. He posted and we begged to share with our ABG brides. Why? Because this Alabama couple really did an amazing job with their destination wedding in Nashville!

First stop: the Belmont Mansion where our couple said their vows. Next, the guests were invited to a reception at Mere Bulles Restaurant - with dinner and dancing. But the party didn't stop there; they kept going with an after-party gathering at the Wild Beaver Saloon. That is how you make the most of your time with your guests! Plus, their guests got a nice taste of our southern hospitality and tradition.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Kendra + Jacob
Wedding Date ~ July 28, 2012
Ceremony Venue ~ Belmont Mansion
Reception Venue ~ Mere Bulles
Guests ~ 140
After Party ~ Wild Beaver Saloon

Budget

$20,000 – 50,000

Wedding Team

Planner | Mary Natalie Hester
Photographer | Matt Andrews Photography
Second photographer | Lisa Beth Anderson
Venue & Caterer | Mere Bulles Restaurant
Cake Artist | Lori of Crumb de la Crumb
Ceremony Musicians | Blue Tones Music
Reception Musicians | Jeffery Davidson
Rentals | Gray napkins from Southern Events.
Gown  | Paloma Blanca from The White Room in Birmingham, AL
Bride’s Accessories | Shoes: Grace Footwear (Sienna) - The White Room in AL; Fun after-party shoes: DSW sale rack - we personalized them with K and B rhinestone letters at the toe (we replaced the jewel that came on the shoe with our own from Michaels); Earrings: Ross Simons; Garters: hand made by Burcu Rona via Etsy; Blue opal necklace: my mother’s from Australia; Ring on my right hand: my great-grandmothers wedding ring; Sapphire bracelet: a gift from Jake - bought in Mexico on his bachelor trip.
Men’s Attire | Michael Kors gray suits bought from Men’s Wearhouse. They had matching grey and yellow socks from Express.
Bridesmaids Attire | Alfred Sung (material: dupioni / color: quarry) from Bella Bridesmaids in Birmingham, AL
Hair | Mary Malone
Makeup | Davina of Artistry Salon
Nails | The Nail Bar in Franklin
Stationery | Grooms mother, Jana Whittington
Floral Designer | Elaine McCord
Transportation | Matchless Limo
Guest Accommodations | Loews Vanderbilt, Four Points by Sheraton in Franklin, and the Baymont Inn & Suites in Brentwood
Refreshments for the bridal party during the day (breakfast and lunch) | Jason’s Deli
Dance Studio | Arthur Miller in Marietta, GA

My Wedding Details

How would you describe your style as a couple?

Classic with a fun flare! We love to travel and spend time with family and friends, but we also really enjoy camping, hiking, running (we are running our first half together this year), remodeling our home, and cooking together! We try and keep the kid inside us alive (we LOVE Disney world and got engaged there), but we also both work really hard - Jake is an aeronautical engineer for Lockheed Martin and I am a clinical psychology graduate student at the University of Georgia.

How did you incorporate that style into your wedding?

We chose colors that were timeless (gray and ivory), but I wanted to incorporate a fun summer color as well, so I chose yellow to spruce things up a bit! We wanted a venue that was unique and had an antique vibe so we chose the Belmont Mansion. We also really liked how it was a historical site!

We were really interested in providing AMAZING food for our guests so that's partially why we chose Mere Bulles (it also had a unique feel). We chose Nashville because we wanted friends and family to come to a destination that had a history and was also CLEARLY southern (since I am originally from Alabama and my dad’s family is from Tennesee). We wanted our guests to expereiince live country music, BBQ, and of course the mechanical bull!

We also took dance lessons and our first dance was to Nat King Cole’s “L.O.V.E." to incorporate more of that classic feel. My dress was a form-fitting gown with lace details that seemed to have that classy yet slightly vintage feel, BUT my after party dress was more fun and modern (rhinestones and short!).

To incorporate our love for travel, we made cards from pictures of places we had been together instead of table numbers (e.g. guests sitting at “Cinderella’s Castle” instead of Table 1). Finally, to show our love for family and friends we had pictures hanging up with clothes pins around the dance floor of us with everyone who was coming to the wedding (we tried to have at least one picture of everyone who was invited!).

What was your (or your guests’) favorite aspect of your wedding?

I think many of our guests really enjoyed the food and the wonderful service at Mere Bulles! Our favorite aspect was probably taking pictures with Matt and Lisa. They really managed to get everyone having fun and all the special moments in our day.

You are our first wedding to feature at Belmont Mansion! Would you recommend the venue to others? Why did you choose this as the place to say I do?

Yes! I thought it was perfect for the type of “feel” that I wanted. I chose it because it was indoors (too hot to be outside in the south in July….) and was so much more beautiful than a typical hotel ballroom. That way we didn’t have to spend a lot of time and money decorating a space. In fact we had minimal decorations and the place looked great! The only hitch with getting married at Belmont is that you can’t start the wedding before 6 p.m. (because it's a historical site that people can visit) and there are no bathrooms upstairs for the bride!

Why did you choose Mere Bulles for your reception?

We REALLY wanted to give our guests amazing food….better than a lot of wedding food we have had! We also liked that it was not one huge ballroom. That way guests that wanted to be away from the dance floor could sit and talk (and still hear!).

What do you value most from choosing Mere Bulles?

The staff was amazing to work with! They were so pleasant to all of our guests and the event ran as smoothly as we could have wished! They also packed up all of our presents, cards, and left overs for us!

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

We splurged on the photographer (but he was MORE than worth it!), the dance lessons, and my dress. We really saved with table decorations (I made a lot of mason jar candles), escort cards/favors (I made mason jars with recipes for peach sweet tea), invitations and programs (Jake’s mom is a graphic art designer and she made them for us!), and Save-the-Dates (we used postcards from the Belmont instead of having special cards made).

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

I really wanted Jake to see me for the first time when I walked down the aisle, but maybe in hindsight I would have taken pictures first so that we were earlier to our reception and had more time to dance/chat with guests!

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

Remember to let yourself enjoy this process and make the decisions that make you happy

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 November 2, 2012 | Filed under: Destination Nashville Weddings!, Cakes & Food, Real Nashville Weddings