Country-Loving Couple Hollie + Dusten Share Their Loveless Cafe Wedding

Friday, March 4, 2016

A light-hearted, fun celebration that showcased their country roots remained at the forefront as Hollie and Dusten planned their Nashville wedding.  Those two goals are easy to make happen in Nashville with our rustic venues, Southern food, and incredible natural beauty.

Their wedding was perfectly planned... that was until the groom got stuck in Canada.  You have to read all about their wedding story!

Hollie + Dusten
Wedding Date: April 11, 2015
Ceremony + Reception Venue: Loveless Barn
Guests:150
Budget: $30,000 – 40,000

Wedding Team

Planner | Bride
Photographer | Erin of The Collection Photography
Gown | Arzelle’s Bridal 
Bride’s Accessories | Bracelet from maternal grandmother
Men’s Attire | Ralph Lauren
Hair + Makeup | Jon Alan Aveda Salon in Bellevue, TN
Stationery | Bride via Wedding Paper Divas
Catering, Rentals, + Lighting | Loveless Cafe
Cake Artist | Gayle Howard from Yaya’s Cake Shoppe
Floral Designer | Floral Expressions by Cindy
Ceremony Musicians | DIY
Reception Musicians | Pink Cadillac 

Wedding Details

How would you describe your style as a couple?
Dusten and I both love the classic rustic look.

How did you incorporate that style into your wedding (e.g. décor, colors, details or even picking the venue)?
As stated above, my now-husband and I love the rustic look, and wanted to give it a classy twist.  All things burlap and mason jars combined with a perfect Southern atmosphere.  We both have roots from the country with me being raised on a cow farm in rural Georgia and him being a good ol’ country boy from a wheat and grain farm in Manning, Alberta.  We wanted our wedding to portray that about us in a classy way.  The soft colors and vibes provided by our wedding party along with the legendary barn venue provided by Loveless perfectly personified our style.

What was your favorite aspect of your wedding?
THE FOOD.  Loveless is, of course, known for their wonderful Southern cuisine, which was a bonus for the many Canadians who attended that had never had the chance to experience a nice Southern-themed meal.

Where did you splurge?  Where did you save/DIY?
Splurge - definitely the venue.  I could cut corners just about anywhere, but the most important aspect to my husband and me was showing our guests a good time.  We had visitors from as far north as Manning, Alberta and as far east as Adana, Turkey.  While a usual wedding is the bride and groom's day, we knew we wouldn’t be completely satisfied unless all of our guests had a time they would never forget.  Not only that, but by using the Loveless Barn, all the catering and decorating was taken care of in one place.  There wasn’t all that, “Oh my gosh, I have to run to the caterer,” or, “I have to go across town to meet my decorator!”  My husband and I went maybe a total of two times to sit down with the events manager at Loveless who gave us our options on everything.  All we had to do was point and say, “I want that!”  The amount of stress relief I had by using an all-in-one venue was worth the cost!

Also, the entertainment.  Pink Cadillac was phenomenal.  They engaged with the audience and kept the party going.  I highly recommend a live band for anyone who wants interactive and live entertainment at their wedding.

As far as DIY and saving, I went with smaller, freelance vendors for all the other things in my wedding.  My florist was a lady who works from home, and who had done one of my boss’s wedding flowers.  She was fabulous.  It was so low key and easy.  The same goes for my cake artist.  My guest book was a canvas picture of a tree from Etsy that guests marked with their fingerprints.  My bridesmaid bags were cute necessities from Target.  The bridesmaids’ and my shoes were flip flops from Old Navy.  My motto: The simpler the better.  I wanted to preserve that good old simplistic, Southern rustic feel.

Now that the wedding day is over, is there anything about your planning process you feel you could have done differently?
My wedding was unique in that my husband almost didn’t make it back in time for the wedding.  Long story short, he got stuck in Canada, and we had to cancel our wedding a week before the big day.  Somehow, a miracle happened, and he got back 3 days before so we were able to pull off the wedding of our dreams.  There are so many things I wish I could have done differently (like not cancel my wedding and then have to reinitiate the whole process again), but I truly believe everything happens for a reason.  I had an incredible team of support from my family, friends, and vendors, so, honestly, with the way things turned out, I wouldn’t change a thing about the wedding day.

What words of advice do you have for couples in the midst of their planning?
1. Don’t let your husband get stuck in a foreign country a week before your wedding.  The stress will make you throw things.  Haha :)
2. Don’t get consumed in the planning.  I know it’s your wedding, and it’s a big deal, but you can easily get sucked in and stressed out about small details that your guests will never even notice.
3. Make decisions and stick with them.  Don’t visit other vendors after your choose one, and don’t visit other potential sites after you have already put a down payment somewhere else.  It will drive you nuts.  Enjoy the process.  It really is special.
4. Only you will know if something goes wrong the day of your wedding.  Everyone is having such a beautiful time, they won’t notice that there aren’t enough napkins on the table or that your hair is falling down on one side.  So, take a deep breath, let it go, have a cocktail, and enjoy the heck out of your special day.  It only comes around once (hopefully!).

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

Spectacular Wedding at East Ivy Mansion Celebrates Beautiful Couple’s Love and Culture

Friday, February 19, 2016

Paige Brown Designs seems to have come out of nowhere and created a beautiful wedding factory full of elves.  Seriously.  Every wedding that Paige touches is breathtaking.

She attracts couples that are unafraid to let her design magical weddings, full of sparkle, shine, and color.

Take Saida and Kenny.  Their wedding really requires no intro.  They are undeniably a beautiful couple, but there's so much more to love about their wedding: décor, photos, food, culture, tradition, attire, colors, drapery, venue (East Ivy is one of our favorites)- even their cake is understated and elegant.  Their wedding wasn't just wonderful to behold; they were clearly enjoying every moment.

We'll shut up and let the absolutely incredible, artful photos speak for themselves.  Oh, and Saida was nice enough to share the details so, after you swoon, circle back and read about her day and top-notch team.

Saida + Kenny 
Wedding Date: September 5, 2015
Ceremony + Reception Venue: East Ivy Mansion
Guests: 120
Budget: $40,000 – 50,000

Wedding Team

Planner + Floral Designer | Paige Brown Designs
Photographer | Stephanie Sorenson
Videographer | Peerless Weddings
Gown | 1st dress: custom gown, 2nd dress : Oleg Cassini
Veil | Custom by Jaxie Bridal
Men’s Attire | Street Tuxedo
Bridesmaids' Attire | Glitz
Hair | John Lane Studio
Makeup | Charlene Northington
Stationery Menu Cards | Print Pray Love  
Caterer | A Dream Come True Catering
Cake Artist | Devyne Delights
Reception Musicians | Premier DJ
Rentals | Liberty Party Rental
Lighting | Nashville Audio Visual

Wedding Details

How would you describe your style as a couple?
We both love fashion, and we wanted our wedding to be stylish, but remain timeless.  It was important for me that our wedding have aspects of my Swahili culture.  Our wedding favors were custom-print African bags made by a family friend in Malindi, Kenya.

Where did you get your inspiration?
I did have a Pinterest board for inspiration, but a lot of ideas were what had I envisioned in my head.  My planner, Paige Brown, did a wonderful job of making it all come together so beautifully.

How did you incorporate that style into your wedding?
We wanted a venue that was intimate and different from the typical wedding venues.  The historical East Ivy Mansion was exactly that!  We loved that it was intimate, but still spacious, giving our guests a feel that they can just walk around the grounds and take in all the beauty.

Our colors were gold and purple because we felt that these colors were regal.  We wanted our wedding to have a royal, but not stuffy, feel, since it was held outdoors.

What was your (or your guests’) favorite aspect of your wedding?
The entire day was a magical experience and one I can never forget!  The music was also important because we wanted to be sure to incorporate both of our cultures. The DJ did a great job playing American, African, and Arabic music for everyone to dance to.

Our guests loved the photo booth.  Everyone enjoyed getting in there and taking pictures.  It was also a great additional wedding favor.

Where did you splurge?  Where did you save/DIY?
We are both big foodies, and we wanted to have extremely tasty food.  We took some dishes from some of our favorite local restaurants and had A Dream Come True catering remake them as our dinner entrée.  We also wanted the eating to be a fun experience, so we had two chef-manned stations.

We saved money on transportation, since our venue allowed the option for us to get ready there and also stay the night.  We didn’t find it necessary to have transportation.

Who were your favorite vendors and what made them exceptional? 
My planner, Paige Brown, really helped in taking care of so much for the big day.  She was always available and made me feel like I was in good hands.

Stephanie, our photographer, was a no-brainer for us to work with because she did our engagement photos.  We knew our pictures were going to come out exceptionally great!

Now that the wedding day is over, is there anything about your planning process you feel you could have done differently?
There isn't much I would change about the planning process, other than maybe to enjoy it more.  Time goes by so fast, and before you know it, the wedding day is here!

In one sentence, what words of advice do you have for couples in the midst of their planning?
Remember that this day should be a reflection of your love for each other, so never lose sight of that!

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Posted by Ashley King | Filed under: Multicultural, African-American weddings, Real Nashville Weddings, 0 comments »

Megan + Michael’s Elegant Ceremony Transitions to Party at Marathon Village Wedding

Friday, February 12, 2016

A decade after meeting, Michael and Megan tied the knot, inviting their wedding guests to a Nashville wedding that included many of their loves: the color navy, handpicked cheeses, and the letter ‘M’.

Their wedding day - from ceremony to exit - completely embodied their shared history in a very elgant, detailed way.  On every turn, there is something great to love about this wedding and luckily we were able to ask the bride all about her big day!

Megan + Michael
Wedding Date: June 6, 2015
Ceremony + Reception Venue: Marathon Music Works
Guests: 230

Wedding Team

Planner | Firefly Events
Photographer | Evin Photography
Videographer | With this Ring
Gown | Olia Zavozina
Garter | DIY
Veil | Mother’s veil
Earrings + Necklace | Stepmom
Sash | Bride designed
Bridesmaids’ Attire | Convertiblewrapdress.com
Hair + Makeup | Amy Lynn Larwig
Stationery | Designs in Paper
Caterer | The Chef and I
Cake Artist | The Cupcake Collection
Floral Designer | Vintage Florals
Ceremony Musicians | Ipod
Reception Musicians | Hightone Entertainment
Rentals | Southern Events
Lighting | Nashville Audio Visual
Transportation | Matchless
Rehearsal Dinner Location | Mere Bulles

Wedding Details

How would you describe your style as a couple?

Laidback, carefree, and practical while having fun all at the same time. We wanted to have an elegant ceremony that transitioned easily to a party atmosphere for the reception. We both wanted to have fun and celebrate our marriage with all our family and friends that had traveled near and far to Nashville while keeping it classy.

Where did you get your inspiration (for decor, style, colors, etc.)?

Picking the colors came easy since we both love the color navy. We included pinks and gold after navy because they went together well and could be easily incorporated into invitations and decorations. Neither one of us wanted our wedding to look or feel stuffy so we worked with our planners to bring an “Awe” factor without people feeling like they had to sit up straight, not make a noise, or tuck their napkin in their shirt. We wanted to show people a good time and that’s what we did.

How did you incorporate that style into your wedding (e.g. décor, colors, details or even picking the venue)?

We really wanted to capitalize on both our names beginning with the letter M and our last name being Mason. Designs in Paper created a nice M that would go on many of our paper goods including the pretty stickers they made to go on our mason jar favors filled with navy/pink M&M’s. We used mason jars during our sand ceremony which kept things traditional but also fun. Marathon was a great venue to have our ceremony and reception not only because it had a big M on the wall behind the bar but it had so many opportunities for decorations and was a great atmosphere to have fun in. Everywhere you turned we wanted to show a little hint of us and our story. For example, I went to school 600 miles away from Michael in Wisconsin which is known for their cheese so we had a cheese table with cheeses I brought back from Wisconsin.

What was your (or your guests’) favorite aspect of your wedding?

I think everyone enjoyed the convenience of having both the ceremony and reception in one place. With Marathon we were able to have a classy ceremony while having a reception that was gorgeous and still a party atmosphere without having to change locations. Our flip provided our guests with more time to talk, dance, eat, and relax.

Where did you splurge?  Where did you save/DIY?

We splurged on photography because we wanted to make sure we had fantastic photos of our most precious day. Evin Photography does such a great job in capturing the moments of any occasion and that's exactly what she did for our engagement shoot and wedding day. Our wedding day went by so fast and the pictures let us remember every little thing from that day that we may not have seen originally.

We saved on our table card holders which my bridesmaids helped me make. I couldn't find any decent holders that weren't outrageously expensive so I got supplies to make them. We made them out of little door knobs, alligator clips, and ribbon. They went well with the decor and were exactly what I was looking for.

Who were your favorite vendors and what made them exceptional?

Our favorite vendors were Evin Photography and Firefly Events. Evin Photography provided great service, professional products, and genuinely cared about all our special moments. Firefly Events were there every step of the way from our first meetings with vendors to sending us off in our grand exit. They made everything work seamlessly and let us enjoy our day without worrying about anything. We are so grateful to them!

Now that the wedding day is over, is there anything about your planning process you feel you could have done differently?

Nope. Our day was perfect and we wouldn't change anything.

In one sentence, what words of advice do you have for couples in the midst of their planning?

Always remember the reason you are getting married and don't stress about little things. You're getting married to your best friend and that's pretty freaking awesome!

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

Stephanie & William Host Modern Wedding at Historic War Memorial at Legislative Plaza

Friday, January 29, 2016

With the help of the Details by Margaret team, Stephanie & William delighted their Nashville wedding guests with an elegant wedding in the heart of the city.  Their modern aesthetic against the historic War Memorial landmark paired surprisingly well, as did the neutral colors, and strong architectural elements at every turn.

This was a couple that knew exactly what they wanted and their assured styled say it all.  They were also confident in their venue and wedding team, and let the pros take care of the day.  And really, what can go wrong when you have the groom's grandfather officiate?  Talk about a perfect start.

Enjoy their story and perfect pictures today!

Stephanie & William
Wedding Date: May 30, 2015
Ceremony Venue: War Memorial Plaza (Legislative Plaza)
Reception Venue: War Memorial Auditorium
Guests: 250
Budget: $60,000 – 80,000

Wedding Team

Planning & Floral Design | Details by Margaret
Rentals | Liberty Party Rentals
Photographer | Katie Painter Photography
Videographer | Dallas Wilson Video Productions
Gown | Amsale Couture/Bridals by Lori
Bride’s Accessories | Bridals by Lori & Family Jewelry
Men’s Attire | Ike Behar
Bridesmaids’ Attire | Jenny Yoo Bridesmaids
Hair & Makeup | One10
Stationery | Fine Stationary
Caterer | Loveless Cafe
Cake Artist | Frosted Affair
Ceremony Musicians | Nashville Chamber Platers
Reception Musicians | Chris Weaver Band
Lighting | War Memorial Auditorium
Rehearsal Dinner Location | Nashville City Club
Tent | Classic Party Rentals
Valet | Stewart Parking Solutions

Wedding Details

How would you describe your style as a couple?
We love neutral colors and clean lines.  We love modern style, but not over-the-top modern.

Where did you get your inspiration (for decor, style, colors, etc.)?
The colors were basically black and white, which is what I love to wear and decorate with.  I wanted a clean, white ceremony and a romantic reception.  We did not have many flowers, but the calla lilies popped in the photos, it was perfect!

How did you incorporate that style into your wedding?
As my mother would call it, “lots of clean lines.”  We used lots of white outside with drapery for the ceremony and lots of black inside.  The city setting fit our style!

What was your (or your guests’) favorite aspect of your wedding?
Our guests loved that Will’s grandfather was the officiant.  They also loved the location.

Where did you splurge?  Where did you save/DIY?
We splurged on location, photography, videography.  All things everyone would remember!  We saved on food: Loveless was amazing and reasonable.

Who were your favorite vendors and what made them exceptional?
I think all of our vendors were great!  Once we made decisions on things, it ran very smoothly. 

Now that the wedding day is over, is there anything about your planning process you feel you could have done differently?
I think almost every bride could say they should not have worried so much during the planning process; it all works out!  I really loved every aspect of our wedding, and we were (for the most part) on top of the planning.  I wouldn’t change a thing!

In one sentence, what words of advice do you have for couples in the midst of their planning?
Choose a couple things you really want and be flexible on everything else.

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