Wednesday, October 13, 2010
At bridal shows, we're always blown away with the latest in wedding guest seating. Now, you can really wow your guests with a wedding reception area that goes beyond the typical 60" round banquet tables with chairs around them. Why not make your wedding look and feel like you've invited your guests into your home? Comfy, cozy lounge seating makes it easier for people to gather and mingle. If you're a little apprehensive about stepping out of that box, Julie Hurst of Liberty Party Rental has the tips and ideas for the hottest lounge seating trends for your wedding.
Expert Advice - Lounge Seating from Liberty Party Rental
Lounge seating comprises of several elements, the most distinct of which are banquettes and axis furniture. Banquettes are the larger, bench seats you will recognize, a lot of times with a taller back to them almost like you're at a chic, L.A. club. Axis furniture are the smaller, 2.5 foot by 2.5 foot sectional pieces that come in a corner piece, a chair or ottoman. "Both are just as nice, they're all very versatile. Some people have used both banquettes and axis seating, but a majority of clients go with one or the other," advised Julie.
Liberty Party Rental is the only rental company in Nashville that carries their banquettes. "They come in four different colors (black, brown, ivory and white) and some of our brides have brought in their own fabric which we can wrap around the banquettes for a smaller extra cost." This is such a great idea, since lots of wedding decor is based on color schemes so this way, your furniture could complement your palette if you want to branch out beyond the four basic colors offered.
So what are some ways that lounge seating has been used? One way is what Julie has dubbed a Quiet Room. "Brides had a bar set up separate from the dance are, where people could mingle away from loud music, filled with lounge furniture instead of tables and chairs they had banquettes and butcher block coffee tables and groupings of axis furniture. They created an actual lounge.
Left: Banquettes. Right: coffee table for a more relaxed option
Estate Style is when banquettes are set up on one side with chairs set across a long dinner table. This also works for plated dinners where guests don't constantly have to get up to get more food.
Estate style seating. I love how it lends a touch of elegance to a garden style party.
Using a punch of color with colored pillows is also a fun way to complement your wedding's theme. Julie tells me that what's been popular among brides is renting the white or natural seating and having pillows as accent to pull their colors in. Liberty Party Rental has pillows available in an array of colors. You can see what your options are under "Creations" on the Liberty Party Rental site under the "Elements Collection" that is a list of all the items that go into lounge decor. If you can't find a color that works, you could also find pillows you do love to use. "Depending on the colors, some brides have purchased pillows themselves to use as accents to match their color scheme."
"Lounge furniture has become the trend with weddings – even if brides are on a tight budget they’re figuring out how to splurge to have at least a section of lounge furniture. More and more people are doing the lounge because it’s becoming a décor item. It’s a focal point, like if they have a dance floor, they surround the dance floor with axis furniture." Julie and her team at Liberty Party Rental will work with you to make sure you're making full use of your budget, whether or not lounge seating is what appeals to you. And if it is, you've definitely gone to the right place for it. Click here to visit their website if you haven't already found a great rental company with which to work for your wedding!
And if you're a bride who has used lounge seating for your wedding, we would love to see your pictures!! You can email us, or if you have a blog, let us know how to find you! We'd love to see what inspired you.
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Posted by Tabitha |
Filed under: Details, Design & Florals, Luxury Wed Finds, Wedding Resources
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Friday, October 1, 2010
I love that wedding florals have progressed beyond simple bouquets. These days, flowers take centerstage to complement the food, the colors and the lighting. They can be larger than life to create a feeling of opulence for a big, spectacular wedding or more subdued and simple for more intimate settings. Behind those wonderful designs are floral designers like Hillary Robson who owns http://www.brocadedesigns.com. Hillary's an artist who loves her work and loves what she does with weddings and brides, and that passion is totally your gain. If you don't know her, you should!
Spotlight on Brocade Design Arts Nashville
How did you get started in weddings?
I’m one of those people that were always enamored with weddings. I think maybe I grew up in an age where the pageantry of weddings were super celebrated and that impressed upon my young mind—like Lady Charles & Di, or even Luke and Laura. I can vaguely recall the thrill of being a flower girl in my uncle’s wedding and how I knew that one day, I’d be the bride. I didn’t play with my Barbie’s in a “here we go to work, and come home, and get dressed…” but instead it’s “Barbie’s Wedding!” over and over again. I have played an integral role in most of my close friend’s weddings long before I was involved in the business, and I’ve never grown tired of the planning and execution of an event that celebrates two people in love. I went into the business of weddings in December of 2007, when I realized that this passion of mine could become a career.
What do you like most about weddings?
There are two moments that I love most about weddings. The first is when I meet with a bride for the first time, and I learn about her vision, the vendors she’s using, the space she’s using, and we dream up the décor for her day. The second is the very minute I’m finished with a wedding setup and I see that vision come to life. I love the dream to reality aspect of what I do, and I love knowing that I’ve helped a bride execute her dream and make it into something that is real and tangible, and something she and her husband will remember forever. The other thing I love is when I watch their ceremony and I see that look on the grooms face when he first sees his bride walking down the aisle—it makes me cry every.single.time.
True confession: my favorite thing to do is to make bouquets. It’s like therapy for me, some people take long walks, some people lie on a couch, some people paint—I make a bouquet. It’s guaranteed to lower my blood pressure and let me slow down and just be creative and artistic. Some of my favorite bouquets from this past year were the ones I made for Kristin Kaplan & her wedding party last September. Everything came together and was so perfectly coordinated—and full of color, texture, and depth. I like to think of my bouquets as little works of art—and it’s such a beautiful thing to see a perfect bouquet come together that is absolutely redolent of the bride’s style.
What is your service philosophy?
First and foremost, I’m a perfectionist. While I can admit (freely) to being a bit type-a, I think that this serves my brides in the best of ways. I take their wedding day as seriously as though it was my own, and I expect nothing short from all of my team members. I believe in providing my brides with the very best level of service, with complete and utter attention to detail, flawless execution, and a commitment to using only the highest quality materials.
What are your strengths compared to others in your category? / Why should a bride hire you?
I think that perhaps my biggest strength is that I put a lot of myself and the love for what I do into every event that I’m part of. I think it’s important to create a relationship with my bride and her groom—so that I can truly know them, their tastes, and more importantly—their vision for their day. I feel that if I don’t have that personal, real connection that I’d miss out on a detail that I know they would delight in. Details are something I take VERY seriously (just ask my design team members and planners that have worked with me in the industry—I make nothing short of three “final review” trips around a reception setup to make sure that everything is absolutely perfect, and I’ll stare at a table to find out what is “missing”). I believe that brides can always trust that I’ll be a million-percent committed to everything looking as fabulous as possible.
Who are your 5 favorite Nashville wedding vendors – helpfulness, professionalism, style?
Kristin Kaplan, Simply Stunning Events—amazing to work with, super-attentive to detail and a perfectionist like me, I love working with Kristin because I know she can always get the job done with class and style!
Chef’s Market: Delicious food and endless style. There’s a reason that they are so hot in Nashville—it’s because they are awesome!
Nashville Event Lighting: I have watched Blake and his company go from a few can lights to an entire lighting production, and I couldn’t be more proud to have watched the evolution. They are excellent from design to customer service, and always a pleasure to work with.
The Bride Room (TheBrideRoom.com): The ladies at the bride room have a genuine love for all that they do, and they work with brides to help them to find THE dream dress. They are so kind, so conscientious, and so wonderful that I recommend them to every bride I speak with that has yet to find her gown or her bridesmaids’ gowns.
I must confess—we are so lucky to have so many wonderful photographic professionals in our community that I can’t just pick one, I have to pick several of my favorites, all for their genuine personalities, attention to detail, and excellence: Donald Yeager Photography (my fiancé and talented artist behind the lens); Kristyn Hogan, lifestyle photographer (Sweet beyond compare and amazingly talented); The impeccable McLellan Style (MeLellanStyle.com) (wow is all I can say!), and I could literally go on for days…
Who do you recommend when you’re not available/not a fit?
I recommend Melissa with Vintage Florals, A Village of Flowers, Fresh! by Carry Ann, and Rhonda Patton of Rhonda Patton designs. I try to give brides a few referrals so that they can synch creatively and on a personal level with their designer.
What do you read/watch regularly to stay on top of wedding/event trends?
I’m in love with Martha Stewart, have been forever, and so M.S Weddings is a staple of my reading materials, as well as other regional & national wedding mags. I follow Style Me Pretty, Southern Weddings, and a variety of other national & local wedding blogs, tivo all the wedding shows, and read a lot of different bridal blogger posts to hear from brides about what trends they are following.
What trend do you love?
I love that brides are willing to experiment and mix-and match with fun and funky containers, found objects, et cetera—this is a very Style Me Pretty inspired trend and it’s a lot of fun to come up with fabulous components that integrate together but are all unique. We participated in a shoot styled by Opulent Couturier’s Latrice at Front Porch Farms with Kristyn Hogan, lifestyle photographer. It was great to embrace the rustic, vintage feel with many different containers—from mason jars to antique-inspired tins.
Is there a trend that you hate?
I don’t really hate anything – I am always open to experimenting with something new and different, and even if I might not think it’s my innate style, I like the challenge of trying something I might not gravitate to naturally. I think that my main peeve is seeing certain things get overused and overdone, which is a natural occurrence because brides are presented with ideas that seem unique to them but may be something I’m doing every weekend. I take these occasions as an opportunity to provide a new twist on something that is tried & true and make it different and fresh
Is there a trend that you are glad is gone? The only trends I’m glad are gone are trends that tell the same color story. For a long time, Tiffany Blue & Chocolate Brown, Colbalt & chocolate, and green & white were really big color schemes, and it got challenging to keep coming up with fresh & new ideas—I love that we are starting to see more bold and creative mixes of colors, like Vibrant orange & blue & grey, or color palettes that embrace a range of colors—these are the most exciting to work with, so I like any opportunity to get out of the good ol’ tried and true.
Which trend are you sad to see leaving the wedding scene? I admit that I’m sad that very few brides want to do a “traditional” white wedding. An all white wedding is such a unique & thrilling challenge as a designer—selecting flowers that integrate together to provide visual depth in an all white scheme is so much fun, and I look forward to that coming back in once again. One day.
What are your favorite wedding websites?
ABG is one of my faves, of course, as well as Style Me Pretty, Wedding Bee, Southern weddings, etc etc—I prefer blog-based sites with editorial content, because I feel you get so much more out of them. My newest neatest wedding find is shoesofprey.com, where you can custom design your own shoes (for your wedding or whatever else).
Advice for brides?
I’m getting married next June, so I can say completely that brides—I know what you are going through. That being said, as both a bride and a vendor, my biggest pieces of advice are as follows: 1. Hire only vendors you like: Don’t let price or style be your only deciding factors. Make sure that you have a connection & relationship with the people you are hiring. It’s important that you feel completely confident and assured that you have people working for your wedding that you honestly trust and respect and know they feel the same way about you. 2. Read your contracts: Yeah. It’s not fun, and you may have to get out a dictionary to understand some of the terms, but read through and know what you are agreeing to… it will prevent you heartache and confusion—and don’t work with a vendor that says they don’t “need” you to sign a contract. That’s a red flag. 3. Hire a wedding planner: I think this is maybe the most important thing you can do. The savings and benefits of a wedding planner will offset the investment in having one—and the less stress and relaxation you’ll experience is worth their weight in gold. 4. Do what you want. Who cares what anyone else says, what your mom thinks is pretty, what your bff tells you is the “thing” to do… it’s your day. Own it. I hear so many brides say “But, I don’t want to hurt so-and-so’s feelings,” or “Well, my dad is paying for this so he gets to decide.” Advice is great, and contributions to your day are wonderful, but at the end of your day—it’s yours. Don’t have regrets, make decisions that you love and can live with, and everyone else that loves you will understand. No one’s going to resent you for having the wedding day you want to have, don’t be afraid to speak your mind.
You can see more of Brocade Design Arts' work and get some fabulous ideas for your wedding flowers on their website!
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Posted by Tabitha |
Filed under: Details, Design & Florals, Inspiration & Trends, Luxury Wed Finds
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Thursday, September 30, 2010
I love love love getting questions from brides and lately they've been really good ones too! Today's bride Q&A features three emails I've received for showers, invitations and bathrooms! It's never a dull moment and I love helping you find solutions to your questions so keep the emails coming!
Halloween themed bridal shower for an engaged couple
Question from bride's friend: "I'm throwing a couples shower that will be Oct 30th. Due to a last minute change in venue (it was going to be at a sports park with volleyball games and burgers not it is going to be a someones home), I'm back at square one for planning. The bride is wanting the couples shower to be a Halloween costume party as well. Do you have any post or resources that comment on how to bring the two together. I'm out of creative ideas."
Answer: I directed her question to Sarah Goude of Regalo Design, one quick thinking planner...
Have each couple who is invited, dress up like a Hollywood couple. Additionally, you can have them dress as a famous music duo or things that go together such as ketchup and mustard or salt & pepper. However, if you want it to be “relationship oriented” as in a “couple’s shower”, I would suggest just sticking to celebrity or Hollywood couples. Have fun this Halloween and get creative with your couples shower.
For the rest of Sarah's answer, visit the Regalo Design Blog!
Ashley adds: Be sure to also check out hostessblog.com. It's THE ultimate source for party inspiration. I found these cute Halloween decor ideas for your party's inspiration.
http://www.hostessblog.com/2010/09/diy-happy-halloween-dessert-table/
Port-o-potty to rent
Question from Annie, an ABG bride: Do you have any recommendations for companies we can hire that rent out portable (port-a-potty) units for weddings? We are doing a wedding at a farm and need to rent a few. What are your recommendations?
Answer: Thanks to Twitter and our always proactive bridal community, we got Annie her answers and it looks like there are several options in town for mobile restrooms!
Kellie Bryson of The Bake Shoppe said, "Stewarts in Murfreesboro has a whole portable toilet division. I use them whenever I need that service. They also have good pricing on the toilet trailer. Because they have a service, they can pump themselves so that saves some. They have regular ones that have handwashing option as well. Sounds like I know too much about potties." Shannon Murphree Bates of Chef's Market recommended Music City Tents & Events (MusicCityTents.com) and Mary Alice Sublet of A Delightful Day suggested giving Classic Party Rentals (ClassicPartyRentals.com).
Beverly Rader King recommended Southern Events restroom trailer. This would be our choice too!
Affordable custom wedding Invitations
This is more so a review (and a great review at that!) from one of our ABG brides. Allyson loved her experience with Prim and Paper and sent us an email raving about this local stationery vendor. We love when brides are pleased and just had to share her enthusiasm with you.
"Just wanted to share with you the a-maz-ing paper vendor for my wedding, who I haven't seen featured here (or anywhere else) before: Prim and Paper in downtown Franklin. I found them because Melissa, the owner, goes to my parents' church; she must be the best-kept secret in the business because I've never seen her on these blogs!
I had to give her a shout-out because pretty much everything she does is custom, and her prices are incredible. Our save-the-date postcards cost less than a dollar each, and they included several pictures from our engagement session! I'm in the process of creating my invitations with her now, and she has just been phenomenal showing me all the options and keeping the price within my budget. She also doesn't limit you to lots of restrictive rules about how many invites you have to order...for instance, I'm ordering normal invitations for in-town guests, and pocket-fold invites for out-of-town guests because they need more information. Melissa is totally willing to do this, and will order whatever random amount of each that you want. Since she puts the invites together on her own, she doesn't have to charge you a ton like some invitation companies who order already-made invitations for you do."
Allyson's Save the Date
Allyson said, "I found Prim and Paper through my mom. I picked my design by flipping through tons of books with examples of invitations that Melissa has designed before. I saw the tree design on another invitation, but wanted to change the colors of the tree and the invitation itself, and the type of paper it was printed on. I also wanted to make it a pocket-fold for out-of-town guests. We did a bunch of proofs with several different variations of colors and design with the tree, different fonts, etc. until we ended up with the final product. It turned out really well! Also I should mention that Melissa has another lady working at the shop named Tracy who's also fantastic."
Tracy and Melissa of Prim and Paper were so nice to answer my questions when I asked them a bit more about Allyson and her experience with them. They said that thanks to her organization and flexibility and fun personality. They were able to create her invitation within the time frame she needed them and were able to stick to her budget. Allyson's invitations were "cocoa with a burnt sugar backer and her invite was done on an ecru linen card stock. She liked the tree motif and the subtle earth colors were perfect for her November wedding. She chose thermography printing for the invite only, which saved time and money."
LOVE the pockets on these invitations! Photos courtesy of Kristen Steele Photography (KristenSteelPhotoraphy.com)
Thanks so much for sharing Allyson! We wish you all the best. Thanks also to Prim and Paper (PrimandPaper.net - website coming soon!) for sharing your pictures. For more invitations and examples of their work, you can visit Prim and Paper on Facebook (facebook.com/primandpaper), or stop by their shop at 400 Main Street in the heart of Historic Downtown Franklin.
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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide |
Filed under: Advice & Planning, Bridal Showers, Luncheons, Parties, Invitations & Paper Goods, Luxury Wed Finds
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Tuesday, September 7, 2010
We love real weddings where pretty much all the vendors are ABG favorites. Why? Because we know they will deliver above the bride's expectations and create a spectacular wedding - from design to photography. Today's real wedding couple really made full use of the fabulous resources we have here in Nashville and had a wedding day that was just simply beautiful. Photographed by Kristyn Hogan, lifestyle photographer, here is a look into a lovely summer wedding at the Governor's Club. It's filled with the most delightful details. I LOVED the bride's shoes. Enjoy!
Real Wedding: Leigh & Mica's Southern Summer Wedding at The Governor's Club
Bride ~ Leigh from Madisonville, KY
Groom ~ Mica from Austin, TX
Aug. 7, 2010 at 6:00pm
Ceremony and Reception at The Governor's Club, Brentwood TN
Guests ~ 110
My wedding style? Casual and fun
My wedding colors and why I choose them? Purple and green. We were going for a colorful, summery feel.
My wedding theme? Southern
Wedding wow factor? Our venue - Pleasant Hill mansion at the Governor's Club is beautiful.
Wedding favors? Individually wrapped monogram cookies. Heba from Dream It Up Cookies did a great job designing them to match our invitations. dreamitupcookies.blogspot.com
Personalized touches? Mica and I have a pug. He couldn't make the trip with us to Nashville, but we found ways to include him in our wedding day. For example, instead of a traditional ring pillow, ourring bearer carried a stuffed pug with rings tied to its collar. Mica and I also used pug salt & pepper shakers to designate our seats at the reception instead of place cards.
We also personalized our ceremony music. Mica walked down the aisle to a string version of Don't Stop Believing, by Journey, and I walked out to a string version of Time After Time. Our recessional was In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel. We love 80s hits!
Gift for bridesmaids? Bridesmaids - jewelry boxes from Z. Gallerie, sparkly bottle openers, also from Z. Gallerie, and metallic gold wristlets
Groomsmen? Beer glasses, personalized bottle opener/key chains, and coolers
Most special moment for me? Definitely the vows. We went with the traditional vows, and I'm so glad we did. It was by far the best moment of the day for me.
My wedding team:
Planner - Mary Alice from A Delightful Day did an awesome job!
Cake - The Bake Shoppe did our wedding cake and our groom's cake. Both were beautiful & VERY delicious.
Florist - Enchanted Florist. Caprice is amazingly talented and lovely to work with.
Caterer - In-house catering at the Governors Club. The food was delicious! I wanted a very Southern menu, and they did a great job fulfilling my requests for things like sweet potato casserole, mac 'n cheese, and fried okra.
Photographer - Kristyn Hogan, lifestyle photographer. The photos I've seen so far are beautiful!!
Invitations - Minted - minted.com They have great customer service.
Dresses - I bought my dress, the bridesmaid dresses, and the flower girl dresses at bridal boutiques in Austin, Texas.
Music - Cosmo Creations. Brent did a great job! cosmocreations.com
Draping - Blue Nova Designs
Specialty Lighting - Nashville Audio Visual nashvilleaudiovisual.com
Leigh + Mica's wedding team, including A Delightful Day + Kristyn, in action!
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My favorite wedding vendors - I highly recommend all of the vendors listed above.
What I would do differently if planning again? I would send someone out the week before the wedding to drive the route from our hotel to the venue to make sure there were no last minute problems. All of our guests were from out of town, and we found out the night before the wedding that the road between our hotel & the venue was closed. I don't live in Nashville, so I had no way of knowing this in advance. Apparently, our venue manager had known about it for months but didn't bother to tell me. This caused me a LOT of unnecessary stress the day before my wedding, as I tried to figure out how in the world to tell 110 people that the directions I'd painstakingly written and mailed to them in their invitations were not in fact going to get them to the venue.
Also, if your venue has its own tableclothes, make sure they go all the way to the floor. We used the Governors Club's linens, and we didn't find out until the day of the wedding that they didn't go all the way to the floor. I don't think our guests noticed, but my mother was horrified.
Biggest waste of my wedding budget? I honestly can't think of anything that was a waste of time or money. Everything we put into planning this wedding was worth it. 
I will point out a potential waste of money that I avoided - rented table runners. I was quoted $345 to rent 16 table runners. I bought them online instead for less than $60. The quality was great and the color was perfect, so I was really happy with that decision.
Best value for the service/product? Definitely the lighting. The specialty lighting really added a lot to our reception, and the price was very reasonable. We used Nashville Audio Visual and they did a great job.
Neatest wedding find? I LOVED our invitations. I felt like they perfectly represented the theme and tone we were going for. We used a firefly & mason jar design by Minted.
Advice for Nashville brides - I have a tip for brides - Don't forget to pack flip flops to change into for dancing during the reception! I loved my wedding shoes, but towards the end of the night my feet were killing me! Other than that, my only advice is to enjoy it. It goes by so fast!
Thank you Kristyn Hogan, lifestyle photographer for the gorgeous wedding pictures and special thanks to Leigh and Mica for sharing your wedding day with us.
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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide |
Filed under: Luxury Wed Finds, Real Nashville Weddings
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Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Weddings The Bridal Show was a treasure trove of great Nashville wedding resources. While there were many amazing showcases from vendors we know and love (which we will share later this week), there were a few that stood out as our absolute favorites! They caught our attention (which is sometimes hard to do). These 5 wedding resources were creative, new, exciting and would make incredible additions to your Nashville wedding.
My Lady Dye - myladydye.com
Just when you think we've seen all you can do with paper, a young, hip and innovative company like My Lady Dye comes along and shows us there are no limits to creativity. Look at these festive, fun ideas! We love the paper cones, love the circular fan monograms that you can hang or use as table numbers, and all the custom, personalized creations they have. Everything from My Lady Dye is 100% custom and couture.
Place cards, save-the-dates, gift tags... oh my!
Versatile styles unique to each bride.
SunnyBand - sunnyband.com
The smiling gal you see is Sunny who started SunnyBand. Her company specializes in custom headpieces women and brides. If you're boisterous and bubbly just like her you could opt for a grand faux peony piece like she has on to really make a statement, or you can opt for some smaller, more subdued pieces if that's more your style. Whatever it is, SunnyBand is worth checking out for a fun bridal shower theme with your girls or something to change into for the reception, or just to wear whenever!
Fantastic Flipbooks - fantasticflipbooks.com
This booth has had wedding enthusiasts in Nashville all abuzz since the show - what a great favor idea! Get your guests (or yourself) in the costumes and props they provide, start having fun in front of the camera and merely a couple of minutes later, walk away with your own flipbook of everything you just did on camera! The instant production factor is huge! Fantastic Flipbooks will keep your guests entertained for hours and you can join in the fun too!
Southern Events Restroom Trailer - southerneventsonline.com
Gone are the days your bridesmaids have to hike up their pretty dresses and feel about in the dark to go to the restroom. No more port-a-johns at weddings for us! This trailer makes some hotel restrooms look blah with the wood cabinetry and modern sinks. Best part? It's air-conditioned AND has a flat-screen TV in each one!
His 'n hers! I love how you can use your foot to flush this.
The Collection {Wedding Photographers} - thephotographycollection.com
Last but not least, we're excited to give you a sneak peek at The Collection, who made their debut at the bridal show. It's a team of photographers handpicked by Whitney and Peter Carlson (Dove Wedding Photography) to bring a variety of creative, talented photographers to Nashville brides. We are so excited about them joining the wedding community!
Their booth was so welcoming and the beautiful pictures made it feel like you were stepping into a home.
We really felt these vendors stood out as something new for Nashville. But, there are many more bridal show resources to share this week so check back tomorrow and don't forget to visit all these vendors to learn more about what they have in store.
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Posted by Tabitha |
Filed under: Invitations & Paper Goods, Luxury Wed Finds, Wedding Resources
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