Kim & Jason’s Whimsical Wedding Reception & Ceremony at the Nashville Zoo
Friday, April 12, 2013
Ninety-nine percent of the time, our wedding stories are told from the bride's perspective, or that of the wedding planner. Today we're in luck! Kimberly and Jason came together to tell us about their Nashville Zoo wedding and boy am I happy they did. What a team! If you normally just look at our photos, take a few extra minutes to read about their day and their oh-so helpful advice.
Special thanks to Sarah of Music City Events (their planner) who told me all about their lovely wedding, and Keoni K Photography. who was quick to repond to our request for photos, which proved to be incredible!
Kimberly and Jason
Wedding Date ~ September 17
Ceremony Location ~ Nashville Zoo, Botswana
Reception Location ~ Nashville Zoo, Wild Animal Carousel
Budget ~ $10,000 - 20,000
Guests ~ 50
WEDDING DETAILS
How would you describe your style as a couple?
Kimberly: We are, in general, a pretty laid-back couple. While we both work in intellectual jobs (he’s a computer programmer in healthcare, I’m a scientist turned medical writer), we try not to take ourselves too seriously! We both also love to create and be creative.
Jason: I don’t even know how to describe our style. Non-conformist chic?
How did you incorporate that style into your wedding?
Kimberly: With most of our guests out of town, we wanted to treat our wedding like a destination wedding in our adopted hometown. We searched high and low for a location that would showcase something special about Nashville while letting us flex our creative muscles in some of the reception details. The zoo just felt “right.” Being nature-oriented people, we loved letting the zoo flora and fauna serve at the majority of our décor. Of course, I couldn’t resist putting my crafty touch on things. The inspiration for the colors came from a piece of fabric, a tribute to my life-long sewing habit. I still love how cute the animal silhouette escort cards and table numbers turned out, and my bridesmaids loved their custom personalized clutches.
Jason: We wanted a venue that had a more whimsical atmosphere than the more traditional wedding venues. I’d say the venue influenced our colors, décor and details more than the other way around.
What was the favorite aspect of your wedding?
Kimberly: The ceremony was absolutely magical. When I walked down the path towards my soon- to-be husband, it felt like our closest friends and family had joined us someplace a million miles away—with elephants! We wrote our own vows and chose our own readings, which made it even more meaningful.
Jason: Getting married outside in front of the elephants and having the reception at the carousel. The venue really matched our personalities and everyone had a blast.
Where did you splurge? Where did you save/DIY?
Kimberly: We splurged on things that would add to our enjoyment and memory of the day, like the location and photography. Our photos are works of art, so that was totally worth it. I also splurged by buying a second dress about a month before the wedding. I ended up selling my first dress for almost full price, so it wasn’t too big of a hit on the budget! We brought our own beer and wine, which was both a save and a splurge—we bought good value wine and craft beer that we would enjoy. This turned out to be a good thing since we overestimated our guests’ consumption and there were plenty of leftover for us! We probably didn’t actually save much money through my DIY invitations, menu cards, escort cards and other décor due to unexpected costs and projects that never got finished, but the joy I got from creating those items was much more valuable.
Jason: We splurged on the photographer. We were able to save several hundred dollars on drinks because of the venue we chose as we were not locked into an expensive per person drink plan.
Now that the wedding day is over, is there anything about your planning process you feel you could have done differently?
Kimberly: I suffered from an acute case of DIY Diva—with all the pretty inspiration and projects from blogs and magazines, I had to fight the urge to craft EVERYTHING. Honestly, there were projects that I tried and abandoned, which resulted in wasted time and money, plus added stress. For instance, I thought I could make paper flowers to save on floral costs. I created about 30—enough for 1 or 2 arrangements—before my fingers wanted to fall off. Giving a talented florist free reign with a limited budget turned out to be a much more reasonable solution. If I were to do it again, I would work harder on reigning in my creative ambition and expectations so I could enjoy the process more.
Also, I had considered hiring a day-of coordinator to be a necessary expense. If I had known how fantastic working with Sarah would be, I would have splurged and hired her much earlier to plan the whole thing!
Jason: I have no idea…
In one sentence, what words of advice do you have for couples in the midst of their planning?
Kimberly: In the swirl of inspiration, to-do lists and creating your vision, try to stay focused on enjoying the process!
Jason: Get a wedding planner.
WEDDING TEAM
Planner | Sarah Willard, Music City Event
Photographer | Keoni Keur, Keoni K Photography
Venue | Nashville Zoo
Videographer | Jeremy Korwek, Tropikal Studios (brother of the bride)
Bridal gown & accessories | Bride’s gown was a Jim Hjelm from Faccio Bridal. (Store is now closed). Jewelry were vintage pieces purchased on Etsy.
Men's attire | The groom wore a 3 piece suit purchased at Bachrach in Green Hills and a tie from the Tie Bar. Gromsmen, father of the bride, and brother of the bride wore their own khaki pants and white shirts. We gifted them ties that coordinated with the groom’s tie.
Bridesmaids' attire | Bridesmaids wore their own blue dresses as the bride’s “something blue”!
Hair | Angel Brewer, Salon Angel
Makeup | Amy Lynn Lawrig
Stationery | Invitations and programs were designed by the bride, printed using Vistaprint, and assembled by the bride and her mother. Save the date cards and menu cards featured postcards from Anderson Design Studio with details added to the back by the bride.
Ceremony musicians | Rob Higginbotham, Nashville Wedding Guitarist
Reception Musicians | The groom created a Spotify playlist, cued to all the important moments (first carousel ride, first dance, cake cutting). The brother of the bride acted as MC and DJ.
Transportation | Groom’s Honda Element! We prepaid for taxis for the bridesmaids and out of town guests that needed transportation.
Caterer | Taste of the Wild at the Nashville Zoo
Cake Artist | The Bake Shoppe
Floral Designer | Belles Fleurs created the reception centerpieces. The bride carried a fabric flower bouquet created by Etsy seller Hairbowswonderworld. The bridesmaids carried silk clutches with fabric flower embellishments created by the bride and her mother.
Guest Accommodations | Doubletree Downtown Nashville
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.
send
Posted on April 12, 2013 |
Filed under:
