Nashville Bride Shares Intimate Wedding Ceremony, Budget-Smart Dessert Reception
Friday, November 12, 2010
There are so many reasons why I just had to share Jennifer and Kent's spring Nashville weddings. First - I love that they were able to have such a wonderful wedding on a $10,000 budget. That takes a lot of DIY creativity, skill and discipline! Second - I appreciate that they had a two-part wedding, with an intimate ceremony followed by a dessert reception. This goes back to the discpline aspect. Often, it's hard to keep the guest list from morphing into a village of people. It is hard to tell people they can't attend your ceremony/dinner. But they did just that - kept their ceremony and dinner very intimate.
This approach is non-traditional and I love it! I hope their story gives you the courage to sit down with your fiance and family and plan a wonderful wedding that makes sense to you. Whether it's a brunch reception, classic family gathering, or even a fun jam session - your wedding can be fiscally responsible (on $10K or 100K) and meaningful to you and your fiance.
I hope that Jennifer and Kent's wedding will inspire you and encourage you to stay within your budget and personal vision.
Jen & Kent's Wedding by Jonathon Campbell Photography
Bride ~ Jennifer King
Groom ~ Kent Campbell
Friday April 2, 2010
6:30 p.m.
Ceremony ~ Cool Springs House, Brentwood, TN
Dinner ~ Stoney River, Nashville
Guests ~ 45
Dessert Reception ~ Saturday April 3, 2010, Stoveworks in The Factory At Franklin
Guests ~ 150
What was your wedding style?
Our ceremony was traditional and classic, but our dessert reception was fun and whimsical! We both wanted a very small, private ceremony where there wouldn’t be so much chaos that we wouldn’t remember the night or have the ability to speak to everyone. We heard from so many friends that they barely remember their own weddings that we wanted to avoid being overwhelmed. We wanted it to be about us…simple and “Southern” from beginning to end!
What were your colors? Why did you chose them?
Our colors were red and aqua. I just love the mix of those two colors and what they could bring to the décor and “feeling” of day. They just feel like Spring to me.
Did you have a theme? What was it?
Yes, but most people didn’t realize it. Kent is a graphic designer, so he worked a bit of our “history” into our stationary. Our first date was at Kemah Boardwalk on Galveston Island in Texas. So, he used the ferris wheel as part of our invitation design. Most people just assumed it was a cute little graphic, but to us, it was a sweet reference to a place that means the world to us.
What did you use for inspiration?
I bought entirely too many bridal magazines. Some were helpful, but after a while, I realized that many of them were so full of ads that they weren’t very helpful with a non-traditional wedding.
I did love every issue of Martha Stewart weddings and found that website helpful, along with theknot.com. But, as it came down to making decisions and especially finding local vendors, blogs were much more helpful and offered practical advice. Ashley’s Bride Guide and blog ended up being the most helpful to me for great ideas, inspiration, and its where I found my amazing photographers Jonathon & Sharon Campbell.
What was your budget? $10,000
What was your wedding WOW factor?
We had the most compliments on the dessert reception. It was meant to be a fun time to celebrate with family and friends. The night just went by so fast, we’re so happy we had our ceremony the night before in a more intimate setting. Many of the guests mentioned how much they loved our make-your-own S’mores bar, which was a last minute addition to our menu.
What did you give as favors to your guests?
We didn’t do any traditional favors. I’ve been to so many weddings where favors are left on the tables or thrown out, that we decided to spend the money on additional desserts at our reception (i.e. the S’mores bar).
How did you personalize your wedding?
Kent restores antique cars and trucks, but one that he began restoring with his father when he was only 15 means more than any other, his 1956 Ford F-100. We really wanted that truck to be our “getaway” car at the wedding, but since it is back in Houston, there really wasn’t a way to make that happen. So, I surprised him by having Homestyle Bakery bake a groom’s cake for him that looked just like his truck. They did a wonderful job. Also, Kent took the ferris wheel design from our stationary through both our dinner and dessert receptions by designing guest name cards, menu and food place cards.
What did you give your bridesmaids and groomsmen?
I gave my bridesmaids monogrammed totes bags with personalized journals that I made for each of them, along with their jewelry for the day. All of Kent’s groomsmen are “car” guys, so we searched for quite a while for the right gifts. Finally, on one of our many trips to Sears for Craftsman tools, I happened upon a barbeque set that was made to look like Craftsman tools. The guys thought they were great.
What was your most special moment of the day?
Our “first look” was absolutely the most special moment for both of us. After rushing around and all the madness of the morning, that one moment where we finally got to see one another and be alone was just something I can’t describe with words. Jonathan and Sharon (JCP) were so quiet and sensitive to that moment that I forgot they were there. Those moments together were priceless and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. For any bride who can forgo the traditional, I definitely recommend a “first look”.
Did you DIY and if so what was your favorite project? Why?
DIY all the way! Even though my poor husband had to go through many revisions, our invitations were my favorite project because we it was the main project we worked on together.
Wedding Vendors:
~ Planner: Me and my wonderful mother
~ Cake(s): Homestyle Bakery, Antioch
~ Caterers: Stoney River on West End and Stoveworks @ The Factory in Franklin
~ Photographer: Jonathon Campbell Photography
~ Stationery: DIY, with my groom as the graphic designer: jumpstartgraphics.com
~ Bridesmaid Dresses: I let each of the girls pick out their own dresses, I just asked for them to be red.
~ Rings: Brentwood Jewelers
~ Music: As for our live music, our good friend and husband of one of my bridesmaids, Mark Box played acoustic guitar. We trusted Mark so much, we just let him play whatever he wanted. He played something lovely as I walked down the aisle and it was perfect! myspace.com/markboxrocks. For our dinner and dessert receptions, we made playlists from our own music libraries and set up our Bose iPod dock.
~ Decorations/Detail: DIY – lots of candles, and flowers put together by some lovely bridesmaids, family and friends.
~ Bridal Gown: Arzelle’s – About 6 weeks from the wedding, I went to pick up my dress at a bridal shop (who will remain nameless) and was shocked to find it was too short! The dress shop had forgotten to order it with extra length. Since I’m 5’9, it ended up being about 3 inches too short. There was not enough time for them to get another dress in, so thankfully, they refunded my money (which is almost unheard of in the bridal industry) and my mom and I went on a mad dash to find a dress that would work straight from the rack. Thank goodness for Arzelle’s sample sale. I walked in and ended up buying the very first dress I tried on. The only alteration needed was a bustle!
~ Men's attire: The guys wore their own black suits. We provided the white dress shirts and ties.
~ Accessories: My jewelry was on loan from my amazing friend Brandon Emamalie at Brentwood Jewelry. Brandon found the most perfect necklace and earrings for my wedding day. I felt like a million bucks!
~ Flowers: Bridal and bridesmaids bouquets were designed by Emma’s florist. As for all the other flowers, my mom and two of my bridesmaids made a trip to Import Flowers the day before the wedding, where we got dozens and dozens of roses, carnations and daises for the centerpieces. With the help of friends, family, and the dozens of vases I’ve been collecting for years, we were able to keep total floral budget under $600.
~ Transportation: Since we didn’t have my husband’s ’56 truck here in Nashville, we decided to drive away in his car. Sadly, the night before the wedding, two deer ran directly into the side of it while he was driving through a construction area on Concord Rd. So, the morning of the wedding, he ran out at the last minute and rented a gorgeous Black Dodge Challenger. Neither of us wanted to return it!
~ Gifts: Pottery Barn and Bed, Bath and Beyond
Who were your favorites?
We can’t speak highly enough of Jonathon & Sharon (of Jonathon Campbell Photography.) They took time to get to know both of us before the wedding to make sure they really captured the moments that were important to us as a couple. The two of them work so well together and compliment each other in such a way that made us feel completely at ease. From the moment you meet them you notice two things: 1) they are absolutely in love with each other and 2) they are extremely professional. They are the perfect photography team and have become great friends through this process.
We recommend Brandon at Brentwood Jewelers to everyone. He was just great to work with. He was honest about everything and really respected our budget and the work they do is the highest of quality.
What would you do differently if you could start back at the beginning?
What a great question! I would definitely spend less time stressing about every tiny detail. If your budget is small and you are doing a lot yourself, you should resign yourself to the fact that you might forget something or something might go wrong. Even if you have a wonderful wedding planner, something can still go wrong; but try to remember that in the end, you’re going to be married to the man you love regardless of anything that goes wrong.
*The night before our wedding two deer ran into my husband’s car, I realized we hadn’t reviewed the vows, nor had we finalized the music playlist for our dinner and dessert receptions. The morning of our wedding, my bridesmaid and I got locked out of our ceremony location (with our car keys, purses and cell still inside) for more than an hour, my parents were two hours late, I was more than an hour late for my hair appointment, I forgot my flower girl’s hair bow and my groom was 2 hours late because he had to go rent a car and his brother (best man) left his suit pants back in Texas. Still, at the end of the day, I was JUST as married to the man I love even though things weren’t “perfect”. The moment I saw him during our “first look” session, all the worries and stress just faded away. So, if I could start all over….I would just enjoy the ride!
What do you consider the biggest waste of time and/or money?
I didn’t have too much money to waste, but for me it was little craft projects that I ended up not finishing. Although, I would say the total was probably less than $100.
What do you consider the best value for the service and product?
The best value we got was getting flowers and making our own arrangements from Import Flowers. They have an amazing selection of fresh flowers every day of the week and made it very easy for us to stay under budget.
Also, having our receptions at a restaurant, rather than renting a location and bringing in an outside caterer saved us quite a bit. Since so many of our guests were Southerners, we knew we couldn’t go wrong with steaks from Stoney River and desserts like Chess Pie and Banana Pudding.
What was the neatest thing you found for your wedding?
1) An embroidered “texas” handkerchief (which reminded me of my husband) that I found at Pangea. I wrapped it around my bouquet before I walked down the aisle.
2) A non-guestbook from Uncommon Goods where guests could fill out little pieces of paper with wishes and notes to us.
We had SO much fun reading them when we got home from our honeymoon. We have some VERY funny friends and family members!
What was your biggest {and best} splurge?
Having two receptions was definitely a bit of a splurge. But, we really wanted to have a small ceremony and dinner, yet still be able to celebrate with a larger group of family and friends. So, to us, it was worth it!
All photographs courtesy of Jonathon Campbell Photography. Click here to visit their website and blog!
About the Author:
Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide
Hey - I'm Ashley! I started AshleysBrideGuide.com to give Nashville brides, or folks planning a Nashville wedding, a local resource for inspiration and resources. Hope to see you at a bridal show soon! Happy Planning.
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Posted on November 12, 2010 |
Filed under: Real Nashville Weddings
1 Response to This Post
Posted on November 12, 2010 @ 1:42pm