Nashville weddings

Real Nashville Wedding: Vintage DIY Winter Wedding

Friday, March 26, 2010

I love when I get to feature a real wedding.  Some ask - what's the difference between a real wedding and an unreal wedding?  A real wedding showcases real brides, working with a real budget.  An unreal wedding is a photoshoot that is provided to inspire.  Budget is really no obect because you don't have guests to serve (1 table setting that is to die for) no mother to appease...get where I'm going:).

So, it is with my delight that I present today's real wedding, submitted by Kristyn Hogan, lifestyle photographer.  It is a vintage, do-it-yourself winter wedding.  It has some great detail and took place in Murfreesboro, using many Mboro wedding vendors. 

About us -
Bride -  Andrea Fisher, Murfreesboro, TN
Groom - Daniel Brame, Hopkinsville, KY

Wedding date & time -
February 6, 2010 at 5:00pm

Ceremony location -
Third Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, TN

Reception location -
The Vine, Murfreesboro, TN

Number of guests -
74

My wedding style and theme -
We had a smaller, intimate wedding since we both had family who lived out of state. We chose a vintage theme to reflect our shared aesthetic. Our reception decor was from my own collection of treasures passed down to me from my mother and grandmother, as well as items that caught my fancy at various antique stores in the community. Even our venue, The Vine, was vintage; it is a converted 1930's garage!

My colors and why I choose them?
My colors were black, ivory, and mossy greens. I really liked how classic the combined colors of black and ivory looked together, a softer version of black and white.

Wedding wow factor?
Our family and guests repeatedly admired how intensely personal and unique every detail of our wedding was. From the invitations to the first dance, we selected styles and themes that let our personalities shine through. We chose gentle, acoustic music, worship tunes, and upbeat jazz classics that were out of the ordinary for a wedding. We concluded the ceremony by having the best man read a Jewish wedding blessing from a prayer book his mother gave us, a nod to Daniel's heritage. Everyone loved the vintage theme of the reception.

Gift for bridesmaids?
I got my girls monogrammed black and white tote bags from L.L.Bean. Inside the tote bags I added little things that would come in handy, including black flip-flops, lip gloss, hand lotion, and a vintage embroidered hankie to carry during the ceremony.

Gift for groomsmen?
Daniel got his guys watches from his favorite website, http://www.ThinkGeek.com. These watches had a detachable USB memory stick. All of the men are geeks at heart in one form or another, so this was right up their alley!

Most special moment for me?
Seeing Daniel's face for the first time on our wedding day, when the doors to the sanctuary opened. The love and tenderness and awe and pure joy I saw there was something I will always carry with me.

My Wedding Vendors

Cake - Julia's Bakery
Cupcakes - Patty Collins, friend of the couple
Caterer - Goodness Gracious
Photography - KRISTYN HOGAN lifestyle photographer
Invitations - I purchased pocket folders and envelopes from http://www.cardsandpockets.com, designed the invitations myself, printed the inserts at Kinko's, and assembled them with my bridesmaids and fiance's help.
Dresses - David's Bridal- To my surprise, despite negative reviews from everyone I knew who had recently gotten married, I had a good experience at David's ... with one notable exception ... I made the serious mistake of giving them my email address; the result was an unimaginable overflow of spam.
Rings - Engagement ring - Custom vintage-inspired ring designed by Daniel, crafted by Elsa Deutsch of ElsaRings.com; Groom's band - BlueNile.com; Bride's band - Platinum Jewelers, Franklin, TN
Décor - Antique Center I & II, Antiques Unlimited, Hylabrook Antique Mall; Personal collection of bride and friends
Day-of Coordinator - Jessica D. Foster

My Favorite Vendors  – Highly Recommend

Goodness Gracious Catering, Murfreesboro, TN

Impeccable, personal service. They went above and beyond for me! I had mentioned I wanted to rent some topiaries for the decor and they hunted some down they had in their personal collection and let me use them at no additional charge. The food was fantastic, plentiful, and affordable. Our guests are still raving about it.

Flowers n' More, Murfreesboro, TN

You wouldn't guess it from driving by the small storefront, but Scott, the floral designer, is a miracle worker. I gave him a fixed budget and some ideas I had clipped out of magazines, then gave him creative control. My flowers were gorgeous, and the bridal bouquet was a conversation starter due the creative use of green herbs to accent the edges--my husband even sniffed the leaves to confirm it was so!

KRISTYN HOGAN lifestyle photographer

What can I say? As the saying goes, a pictures speaks a thousand words. Kristyn's photography truly tells the story of a wedding. I met Kristyn at my brother's wedding in 2007, where she took the pictures. Two years later, I knew the first person I'd talk to about doing our photography would be her. I knew that we'd forget much of the day in the months and years following our wedding day, but our pictures would remember for us, so it was very important that we both love the style and quality of the photography, and be comfortable with the professionalism of our photographer. Kristyn delivered. She captured moments from mine that are irreplaceable.

My Wedding Rewind

What I would do differently if planning again?  Hire a wedding planner!

I knew what I wanted, and I'm fiercely DIY in spirit, so I was reluctant to hand over money and/or control to another person. However, while I was able to do a lot on my own or with the help of family and friends, the fee would have been worth it when it came to thinking of and planning for the small details.

Best value for the service/product?
My decorations and my coordinator. I bought candles from another bride on Craigslist after her wedding to use in the church ceremony. One of my bridesmaids helped me make recycled cupcake and cake plate displays out of thrift shop candlesticks, glasses, and plates, as well as moss letters. The rest of the reception decor was from my own personal collection of antique/vintage items, gifts or loans from friends, and a unique collection of additional items I purchased from antique shops in Murfreesboro.

Our coordinator was a friend and freelance interior designer, Jessica D. Foster, who single-handedly ran the show for me on the day of the wedding (even doing my hair and makeup) and used the items I had collected to turn The Vine into a candle-lit vintage fairytale. I trusted her, turned her loose with the help of my family and friends, and didn't see the result until the moment we entered The Vine ... it was magical!

Neatest find?
The song I walked down the aisle to, "Butterfly Waltz." My fiance and I had looked into ceremony music and decided to both separately find several songs we liked and then compare at a listening session together to make our final picks. We both said we were very excited about a particular song, but wouldn't say what it was. When we got together, we discovered that we had both fallen in love with the same song independently! We agreed it would be "my song."

After searching his house for days, my father made the most meaningful find--my mother's handmade mantilla veil. Mom passed away in 2008 after a two year battle with colon cancer. She had made both her wedding dress and veil herself back in 1979. Wearing the veil was my way of having her presence with us during the ceremony.

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send   Posted on March 26, 2010 | Filed under: DIY & Budget Wed Finds, Real Nashville Weddings