Wedding Planner + Recent Bride Share Tips for Planning an Incredible, Destination Nashville Wedding
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Dave and Blair's wedding was featured on Wedding Chicks earlier this year. I later learned that their wedding was inspired by their fair-themed engagement photos and took place at Nashville's Houston Station.
Dave and Blair are well traveled and reside in Los Angeles, CA. Of all of the places they've lived, they choose Nashville for their wedding this year. Nashville is becoming a sought after, destination wedding location so I reached out to Blair to understand why they choose Nashville, how they planned a wedding from hundreds of miles away and how she and her wedding planner, Emily of Simply Yours Wedding and Events designed a wedding with such a personal feel.
Keep reading to enjoy a few photos from Blair and Dave's Destination Nashville wedding and to learn how to plan your Destination Nashville wedding.
All wedding photos by Austin Gros.
How would you describe Blair and Dave?
Emily (Wedding Planner): Blair and Dave love the color and fun of life. They really enjoy being on a constant adventure together. They've lived all over the country for different reasons. Their roots are in the South which is part of why they wanted to get married here in Nashville. They have that sweet Southernness about them but also have knowledge and excitement about other parts of the country. They love life, love each other, and love living life together.
Being from Los Angeles, why did you choose Nashville for your wedding?
Blair (Bride): Nashville has a special place in our hearts! Dave grew up in Nashville, and we still have important family and friends there. We also knew we’d have friends coming from all over the country: he went to school in NJ, me in Georgia, we met in Chicago, I’ve lived in Boston, DC, and NYC, and we have family in NC, VA, PA, AL, GA, IL, KY, and more. Practically speaking, Nashville made sense, and we knew our friends would have a great time visiting. But, it was more than that. We absolutely adore that city. It’s the perfect combination of everything we love! It’s urban, but has a smaller-town feel with a strong sense of community. There are skyscrapers and urban landscapes, but in the midst of that you have beautiful parks like Percy Warner and neighborhoods where people actually have yards and trees! There is a lot of urban culture and diversity, but at its core, Nashville has a southern soul with all the good things that brings. It’s kind of like us in that way, we have lived all over the country (currently in CA), but we have southern souls that always draw us back.
On planning a destination wedding
When planning a wedding remotely, how did you make sure out of town guests were accommodated?
Blair (Bride): Both Dave and I set up travel deal alerts on various travel websites (I like Kayak!), so that when good flight deals showed up, we could let our friends know. A lot of friends from Chicago ended up getting Southwest flights for $80-$90 round trip during a big sale they had. If people are coming from far away, they appreciate when you show concern about their budgets! Another big thing is getting good hotel deals (which again, helps tremendously if you have a planner), and considering things like: distance from venues, and do they have hotel shuttles that will take them to your venues, etc. It’s also good to try and think through if you have friends that will be coming alone who could share rooms with other friends in similar situations—helps them save money! The welcome bags are key, we wanted to make SURE they knew how much it meant to us that they were willing to travel all that way to celebrate with us. Also, make directions to rehearsal dinners, churches, receptions, really clear so that out-of-town guests aren’t running around lost and stressed in a city they don’t know well. I asked Emily to double-check directions I got on Google maps, because again, it helps to have an insider who can tell you the best routes.
Emily (Wedding Planner): With lots of out-of-town guests, book hotels early; pay attention to what's happening on your wedding day. Avoid major Nashville events because it's a nightmare getting hotel rooms 3 months before events like football season for Titans/Vandy games, country music concerts, hockey/Predators games, etc. These could be fun for your guests to do but they might also make it harder for them to get from place to place in traffic or to find an affordable good place to stay. Check the convention bureau. Closer to your date, check for events that might impact traffic.
What advice would you give brides looking to plan their wedding from another city?
Emily (Wedding Planner): 1) You must hire a team that you trust and then trust them - She never met Hillary of Brocade who did her floral design, but Hillary really got Blair. After speaking with me and reading info that Blair provided, Hillary made her own twist on Blair's style. Blair's flowers could not be more perfect. When planning from another city, you have to have a lot of faith in your planner and the vendors that you choose because you are not getting to know the people very well other than email.
2) Know your priorities upfront - Where do you want a say and when do you want your vendors/planners to decide? Do you want a say in things that require tastes - like cake and catering? Do you want to see the venue in person? If so, you will need to plan to travel to the Nashville. Can you come to town? When? If not, most things can be mailed - like swatches and linen.
3) Plan in advance - Blair mailed a lot of things in advance that could not easily brought on the plane. If you are driving to the wedding, also think of what will fit in your car. Talk to your planner, designer to see if you can send them all of your Etsy crafts, etc. Blair's photo booth was entirely DIY. All props purchased from Etsy. She had the items mailed directly to me and I stored them until her wedding. Blair found a dress in Atlanta and left it in Nashville at an alterationist versus flying it to and from California. Think through all of the elements. Communicate with vendors, particularly planner on how things will get from A to Z.
4) You need a planner. You need feet on the ground; someone who knows the city, people, vendors, and is going to help you, even when it comes to directions to and from your vendor meetings. A planners knowledge will be more than what you can find online.
Blair (Bride): Hire a planner. End of story. Period. Done and done. I was working full-time out in California, which is two hours behind Nashville, making it really difficult to catch vendors at the right time and organize everything. I also didn’t know the city super-well, and I needed someone who could steer me in the right direction when it came to the best florists, photographers, lighting, rentals, etc. It just would’ve been too much without Emily! You need an insider who knows that city well.
How did you find Emily to plan your wedding?
Blair (Bride): We made a special trip to Nashville to look at venues and try to get some things quickly taken care of (we only had 4 months to plan!), and one of the places we visited was Houston Station. Emily was there setting up for a wedding for that evening, and immediately I loved the design. Since she was there, we thought we’d ask for her opinions on two different venues we were considering, and she was so kind, patient, and gracious! I knew I liked her right away, she just has that effect on people At the time, I was thinking to myself “Surely I don’t really need a planner,” so I took her business card and we went on with our day. Boy was I wrong! Probably less then 2 weeks later, I realized how overwhelming this was, and how much I needed help, so I called Emily to talk details. The rest is history! Best wedding decision I made, seriously. I tell people all the time, if you spend money on ONE thing, get a great planner.
Emily (Wedding Planner): They literally ran into me at a wedding that I planned at Houston Station. They were in doing a tour of the space and we ended up talking forever.
What were your wedding priorities?
Blair (Bride): My priority was that it felt personal, and that when people came they would feel 1) loved and that they were a part of our story (because they all were in some way shape or form—we are big on the importance of community) 2) they would come in and say, “this is so Dave and Blair” I also just wanted people to be able to relax, have fun, and celebrate in our joy with us! I didn’t have specific priorities when it came to details, at least at first. I’m more of a “big picture” person—so I knew how I wanted it to “feel”, and I had ideas, but I definitely needed Emily to fill in the details
Emily (Wedding Planner): I would agree. 1) Personal touch - I remember when we were on the phone and we were trying to figure out who they were as a couple. I started presenting additional options based on their engagement pics - a lot came from the pics. I said, "What if you did something like an ice cream bar, root beer floats." Then it dawned on her that their wedding should be symbolic of them. At first it was about what she saw on Pinterest, Etsy. But then she realized it should be more about them versus what they saw elsewhere.
2) Fun time for guests/family - Blair wanted her family and out of town guests really enjoy themselves. It was her mom and cousin's birthday so she wanted to do something fun to thank them for sharing their day with her. She was intentional about representing who they are as a couple, but also wanted to be sure guests knew their presence was appreciated. One way she did this was through great welcome bags. She put a lot of thought into designing perfect bags for her family friends. She also had a vintage popcorn machine from Houston Station which was such a fun element. It was right by the photo booth and people were there all night long. She had Maggie Moos Ice Cream Bar to give guests a fun taste of summer, also a big hit as was their coffee room. Blair and Dave choose a great DJ and stayed on the floor all night long which encouraged guests to do the same. They kept dancing and so did everyone else.
For their first dance, they chose a song by Bryan Adams that has a harmonica solo in middle of the song. Dave whipped out a harmonica and started playing and the bride just started laughing. It was so sweet - such a funny surprise. It was funny and so personal.
Blair and Dave's wedding inspiration board
What inspired your wedding's design?
Blair (Bride): So many things! I love color, always have, so I was drawn to colorful weddings. We both are pretty playful and laid-back, so we knew a formal style wedding wouldn’t be for us—we wanted something that felt casual, relaxed, and just screamed “fun!” When we did our engagement pictures, we ended up doing a lot of them at a place out here called the Balboa Fun Zone, which is essentially a mini-amusement park. We had such a blast there, and that’s what really sparked the initial idea of doing a spin on a “carnival” theme.
Tell me about your engagement session and the elements from the session that were incorporated into your wedding?
Blair (Bride): Our engagement pictures were taken by one my best friends, who happens to be the most incredible photographer, Michelle Scott of Michelle Scott Photography. We absolutely loved how they turned out...and since they had that carnival, fun vibe to them, we had to use them. Emily had the great idea to use them in the hallways as a design element, by blowing some of them up and hanging them with ribbon on the walls. We also used them throughout the venue on tables, etc (i.e. they were perfect for the candy and popcorn table!).
Blair and Dave's engagement photos by Michelle Scott Photography
In what ways was an "Nashville" incorporated into the theme?
Blair (Bride): Yes! In our welcome bags that we gave to out of town guests, we had RC Colas and Moon Pies, tips on our favorite places in Nashville for them to check out, and little jars of jam from Loveless Café. People loved that! Our music playlist was filled with many old-school country songs that we loved growing up. And Houston Station in and of itself has Nashville history, along with the music café inside. We also made sure to have some Tennessee Titans gear in our DIY photo- booth (Dave is a HUGE fan!)
Emily (Wedding Planner): Invitations were designed by Rachel Jasper. They were a twist on the Hatch Show Print style; they complemented the fair theme. From beginning, the invitation captured the essence of Nashville, established that the wedding would be very Southern and Nashville.
What did you love about the wedding's design?
Blair (Bride): EVERYTHING! Oh my gosh, I don’t even know where to begin! It just all came together so beautifully! I loved that the carnival theme turned out colorful and fun, but also beautiful, elegant, and subtle at the same time. I’ve seen many weddings online that go over-the-top with bright colors or a carnival theme, and I didn’t want that to happen. Emily did an incredible job with that aspect of taking my vision and making it come true perfectly! Some of my favorite things were: the pinwheels in vintage mason jars as table centerpieces, the vintage popcorn-maker that greeted our guests, the mustache table cards, our incredible sweetheart table complete with scrabble place cards designed by Emily, the root beer float and ice cream bar with striped straws, the pinwheels tucked into the bouquets, and Hillary’s floral magic all over the place! I also loved the chalkboard signs for the bar and the photo-booth that you did. Honestly, it was just perfect. I wouldn’t change a single thing!
Emily (Wedding Planner): I had so much fun putting their wedding together. Blair and I would get on the phone and it was so much fun to being so creative and it was very different than anything I've ever done. I haven't even put their folder together because of how much I loved their wedding. I especially liked decorating the entrance hallway at Houston Station. I love that Houston Station lets us hang stuff. I created 3 picture displays to put up their engagement photos along with brightly colored ribbons. I liked their candy bar and popcorn bar which brought in the fair food theme. The mustache look is really popular now but at that point, it was new and fun for me.
I loved watching Blair get excited by finding silly little things like vintage popcorn bags on Etsy and then pinwheels that could be created from any paper, which she used for table decor.
It was such a fun experience and really out of my box. I love Southern rustic but this wedding was totally different and I was excited the entire time we planned. It helped that Blair was too, which was really fun for me as a planner because she was so giggly on the phone. Blair also let me invest in their relationship as well as her creativity. I love walking my brides down the aisle when I've gotten to know their love story.
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