Congrats Kim and Giles!! from Weddings with Reese

Monday, May 26, 2008

Happy Memorial Day! It's party time! Today's my day's 65th birthday party (festivities end tonight but have been going on since Saturday) plus Memorial Day (yippee) plus our SATC party taking place this Friday. It's one happy week of celebrating.

Before I turn the computer over to Corinne, our guest blogger, I want to thank the Holiday Inn in Brentwood for a wonderful Sunday birthday brunch yesterday.

 We had a small, private gathering of 15 family members for my dad and the food was amazing! Apparently - one of the top chefs at The Palm has joined the staff at the Holiday Inn. This could be rumor, don't know. But the food was soooo good. The room was so intimate and private and the service was impeccable. The Holiday Inn is great little find - right off the interstate 65 (near new Target) and close to everything! If you are looking for a bridal shower spot or an affordable but really nice engagement party venue - give them a call.

Ask for Freda - she was our amazing contact and really took care of us. Everyone is still raving about the food and my family can cook (except for me) so that means a lot.

Today's Guest Blogger: Weddings with Reese, Nashville Wedding & Event Planner http://www.WeddingswithReese.com

I have been looking forward to this wedding ever since I met this wonderful couple! Both Vandy trauma nurses, they honestly are so in love it is ridiculous! Their wedding took place at Kim's mother's beautiful house in Gallatin this past Sunday afternoon, May 18. There was a great turn-out of about 65 and it was a wonderful, casual and intimate wedding. The ceremony took place in front of the house and the reception took place in the back. After some initial fears about rain (Kim, don't lie, I know you were freaking out!) and some reassurances by me (the weather predicting wedding planner) we pulled it off without a drop of rain! Ok, ok, it rained for 10 seconds about 10 minutes before the ceremony, but other than that, it was perfect! One of my favorite parts was that they had Cracker Barrell cater, as that was where the couple had their first date!! How appropriate!

I could not help but take a picture of this GORGEOUS bouquet by Enchanted Florist! I am partial to callas myself, but this is amazing.

These sweet little arrangements were on each table and on the guest book table as well.

Kim and Giles decided to have these Koozies as favors to match their spring/outdoor, casual scene, and they were a hit!

The color scheme was bright and cheerful, apple green, sherbet pink, and bright orange. It fit perfectly into the scene and we brought the pool into the picture by adding a ton of pink rose petals (which of course blew all to one end, but still remained a great touch). Linens by BBJ Linen ; Rentals by Liberty.

The fabulous cake was done by a family friend, and I know the couple could not have been happier with the turn out. It was delicious and fit perfectly in with the theme! Congratulations to Kim and Giles and I hope you guys have an amazing TWO-WEEK honeymoon (note the jealousy!!) It was a pleasure working with you guys! OK, I'm off to bed! I am now 30 weeks pregnant and still feeling the pain from yesterday! One more wedding to go before the baby comes! Today's Guest Blogger: Weddings with Reese, Nashville Wedding & Event Planner http://www.WeddingswithReese.com (As Corinne mentioned, she is pregnant and totally left out links to the vendors involved in this great spring wedding:). Who did the flowers? Inquiring minds want to know. I'll reach out to Corinne later to get more details and will update. For now, email her to learn more about her service or the vendors she used. Preggie amnesia.)

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Posted by Ashley King | Filed under: Real Nashville Weddings, Wedding Planners & Coordinators, 0 comments »

A Really Unique Nashville Wedding: Designing Love

Monday, May 19, 2008

A month or so ago, I hung out the Amber and Mary Alice of A Delightful Day. They shared details about a wedding that they would never forget - a day that was rainy and muddy but amazingly unique and beautiful. I told them I just had to see this wedding because the bride had a very distinct theme and I wanted to see how it all came together.

 I love their little details. I feel like I know this couple without ever meeting them!

Here's a recap on their wedding...

Today's Guest Blogger: A Delightful Day, Nashville Wedding & Event Planners http://www.ADelightfulDay.com

Hi all! This is the long awaited recap of the Katz wedding that we had back on March 15th at her parents beautiful home in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee. Their house was an old plantation style home set on spacious land surrounded by hundreds of trees, and on this day surrounded by love of their friends and family. We had a wonderful time bringing the vision of Elizabeth to fruition on a rainy spring day. The plan was an outdoors ceremony on the front lawn of home and a cocktail hour and reception in the tent. However, mother nature had a different plan. But, we're planners and our job is to be flexible. So... after change of decision several times, we decided on the ceremony in the cocktail tent and then on to the reception. In the midst of it all, the rain didn't damper the love that Elizabeth and Matt have for each other as it was celebrated on that day. Here are some wonderful pictures by Josh Reeder that captured who Matt and Elizabeth are.

This first pic is to show you how muddy it was that day! This was the aisle runner after the ceremony was over and 125 people trampled over it getting to the reception. Good thing we laid it down at the last moment for the bride to walk on!

These adorable shoes show the unique and creative side of the bride. It's these touches that really create an event all your own. Her gorgeous dress was covered in taffeta rosettes from the famed Kleinfield's bridal in New York.

These polaroid's were taken throughout the night by the bride's sister, capturing all of the guests that were present and some candids as well.

The adorable favors that were created by the bride and groom were displayed for guests at the end of the night to take home with them. They created buttons with the motif that was used throughout the whole wedding, a tattoo that both the bride and groom have, chocolate bars with personalized wrappers, and records of various artists that the bride and groom created the covers for.

This adorable cake featured Elizabeth's woodland theme with small plastic deer and mushrooms created in fondant by the always talented Bake Shoppe's lead cake designer, Amy. The cake plateau was created by the bride's mother from a tree stump that had fallen during the tornado's back serveral months ago. She covered it in a clear coat and it was PERFECT!!!

The Respectables provided the fun entertainment for the evening as well as the incredible lighting that was featuring branches throughout the tent provided by Bradfield Event Lighting.

The gorgeous florals were created by The Tulip Tree in Belle Meade.

The picture perfect shot of the happiest and most in love couple that we've ever worked with! Congratulations Elizabeth and Matt and we wish you many blessings! Thanks for allowing us to be apart of your day!

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Posted by Ashley King | Filed under: Real Nashville Weddings, 0 comments »

An ABG Bride Gets Married!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Aleesha was one of the first Nashville brides to register on ABG and also attended our 27 Dresses event. Aleesha got married this past weekend! Rhonda Patton Weddings was the event florist and was there to capture many of Aleesha's amazing details. These aren't the official wedding pics, but I simply couldn't wait to share...

Guest Post: Rhonda Patton Weddings is a Nashville-based, event floral designer.

I am so excited that Roderick and Aleesha tied the knot yesterday. They are such a beautiful couple and I absolutely loved working with them. Roderick and Aleesha are such a classy couple and their wedding was a perfect reflection of their personality. So here's the 411...

Roderick and Aleesha tied the knot at the Hilton Garden Inn ballroom with an inspiration by Tiffany theme. This theme was perfect being that the ballroom is chocolate and blue...and a little bit of bling to top it off made this wedding "AB FAB" (absolutely fabulous)!!!!

The staff was amazing and I especially want to give a shot out to Larry Manghane and his staff. Larry is the director of sales and was extremely pleasant to work with. Not only did Larry keep everything in check but the bubbly wedding planner, Mary Natalie Hester of Weddings by Mary Natalie was there to make sure everything was executed in a timely fashion. Natalie was hilarious... I just loved working with her. She was such a sweetie and is truly a passionate planner with 10+ years in the industry, she didn't miss a beat. Photographer Tara Harper captured some amazing photos of Rod and Aleesha. I can't wait to see them!!!

The total WOW FACTOR of the night was a Tiffany boxed shaped wedding cake by the impeccable designer of Tea & Co.

The bride's bouquet was an elegant array of cream roses accented with crystals tied with cream midori ribbon with a crystal embellishments.

The bouquet was a nice compliment to her dress and did not overpower the detail of the dress.

The centerpiece was composed of hydrangeas and roses to accent the chocolate iridescent pin tuck linens from Southern Events. The tables were accented with Tiffany blue boxed favors and blush pink menu cards.

I love the color palette of Tiffany blue, cream, chocolate and blush pink as the accent color. The bridesmaid wore duponi silk chocolate and carried a pink rose bouquet.

This wedding was personalized with personalized rhinestone letters on each favor box and customized hanging "J's" from the mirrored areas. The bride and groomed loved these "J's" specially customized by Rhonda Patton Weddings and better yet...they can add them to their home decor.

The cocktail bar was stunning- consisting of raw shrimp and various dipping sauces. Such a classy way to display your dipping sauces...

Aleesha and Roderick marveled their guest with such classy elements. I truly wish them the best. Best wishes to Mr. & Mrs. Jones. (Contact Rhonda Patton Weddings for photo credits and for a consultation.)

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Posted by Ashley King | Filed under: Florals, Details & Design , Real Nashville Weddings, 0 comments »

Ashley and Jordan: A Nashville Bride’s Story

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Check out this amazing wedding story, as told to me by Ashley, a Nashville newlywed. Her photographer was Dove Wedding Photography so you know the pics are 2-die-4. I also love her simply elegant cake!

My Wedding Story: Bride - Ashley McKinney; Groom - Jordan Allen; both of Murfreesboro, TN

My Wedding Details Date: July 28, 2007 at 7:00pm Ceremony location: North Boulevard Church of Christ Reception location: Stones River Country Club # guests: 250-300

My Wedding Style Timeless, classic and elegant My wedding colors and why I chose them? It was a black and ivory wedding, very appropriate for the 7:00 pm wedding. Think candlelight. Our accent color was a celadon green; sort of a bright celery color. I chose the black and ivory because it is so classic and chic. It was straight-laced with a romantic, candle lit experience. I didn't want the colors to be something I would look back and say, "What was I thinking?!" or for people to look at the pictures and tell what decade the wedding was. That's where we got classic. My wedding theme? Well, we had a lot of monogrammed things, which I love! I don't think brides should use their married monograms before the wedding so I made sure that on my wedding day, there was plenty of our combined monogram. My wedding wow factor? Our guests loved the intricate details of everything from the aisle runner (of course monogrammed) to the hotel guest baskets. Our favors went over very well also. The kids table was a hit for those who utilized them. My wedding favors? I had antique candy jars filled with a variety of colors of candy. Since everything was pretty much black and ivory, this was my chance to be cutesy in a classic way. Guests had mini black with white polka dot bags to fill with the candy selection of their choice.

My personal touches? The hotel guest baskets had monogrammed notes; we had a monogrammed aisle runner (Ivory with black AAJ); monogrammed guest book, which was on a monogrammed table runner (a gift from the florist); our cake was monogrammed; and the stickers to enclose the favor bags were monogrammed.

We also had our Christian faith incorporated into the ceremony. Our minister began the ceremony by sharing our testimonies with the guests. He then shared our stories of how the Lord led us to one another. We chose to not have a unity candle, and we took communion as we knelt at the altar. My gifts: Bridesmaids: black and green Swarovski necklace and earring sets; Groomsmen: monogrammed cuff links; Jr. Bridesmaids, Attendants, and Flower Girls: pearl necklaces and bracelets, personalized notepads. Ring bearer: harmonica. Most special moment: Walking toward Jordan. I was so nervous of all the people looking at me. I didn't know if I was to look at them or what. Then the best advice was given: The moment is about the bride and groom. Don't think about all those people. This is about you and him. It's your moment. So I watched him as I was escorted by my father to the end of the aisle. It was beautiful. My heart was beating so fast yet it was such at peace. For the kids: At the reception, we had kids tables. The tables were child-sized with chairs to fit. On the table we had white butcher paper for them to draw on and color. Their centerpieces were colorful metal pales filled with crayons and fruit roll ups. We also had color sheets and puzzles for the kids to have as entertainment. The children also had their own buffet, which was located near their table. The buffet boasted chicken fingers and french fries with fresh fruit. My Wedding Vendors Planner: I planned the event myself! I loved every stressful minute of it! I did get assistance from a cousin, who is a coordinator in Atlanta, GA. Photo: Dove Wedding Photography... VERY creative and professional. Cake: The Bake Shoppe in Nashville, TN Invitations: This was our invitation from The American Wedding. I saw it in ModernBride. Dress: My dress was purchased at The White Room in Lebanon, TN. I saw the dress on theknot.com and fell in love. I wanted to wait and see what else was out there, but nothing compared! My mom and I spent 5 Saturdays looking around Nashville and Murfreesboro, and nothing was as good as the gown I had seen online. I did a search and found that only The White Room carried this particular designer. We went for a Bellissimo Couture trunk show, and met the dress designer. We purchased the dress the same day. The bridesmaids and flower girl dresses were Bill Levkoff, also purchased from The White Room. Rings: I got Jordan's ring from Blue Nile. He purchased my ring from Bell Jewelers in Murfreesboro. Music: Our piano player was William Richardson from Murfreesboro. Our violinist was Susan Daniels, also from Murfreesboro. Food: We used the caterer at the Stones River Country Club. Great job! Flowers: Tom's Florist in Smyrna, TN, and they were great! I met with Becky (the owner) for a total of about 10 hours to plan the flowers and arrangements. They were there the entire day of the wedding... they delivered and set up. It was exactly what we wanted!!

My faves:

• DEFINITELY Dove Wedding Photography. I realize how blessed we were with Whitney and her team when I look at others' pictures. The talent that Dove has is evident throughout all 1700 wedding pictures.
• Stones River Country Club
• The White Room, Lebanon, TN
• William Richardson, pianist and Susan Daniels, violinist

My Wedding Rewind What would I do differently? I would not be so adamant about some things and that would allow more time and finances for others. Best value for the service/product? My fave vendors deserved all that we paid. I would definitely not choose another photographer, ever! Neatest find? Etiquette!! I loved reading about what to do depending on the time and setting of the wedding. I loved it so much that I have helped with planning and solely coordinated others' weddings since my own. I love to share what I've learned with others!! Weddings are a VERY special event, nothing to be taken lightly.

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Posted by Ashley King | Filed under: Photography, Real Nashville Weddings, 1 comment »