Monday, October 18, 2010
Tennessee really is a beautiful state. This time of year, it's especially gorgeous with all the colors of nature just brightening up the landscape. We're so lucky that we have many great outdoor venues at which we can celebrate our wedding. Southall Eden is one such venue that offers you the option of bringing your vows outside to be exchanged under a tree, or set in an awesome barn loft.
If you are a bride seeking a wonderful wedding venue, here's all you need to know about Southall Eden, our wedding venue of the week.
Contact Info
Name: Southall Eden
Website: southalleden.com
Address: 3270 Southall Rd., Franklin, TN 37064
Area of Town: Leiper’s Fork
Main Contact: Shannon O’Kelley
Phone Number: 615-775-4080
Email Address: Shannon at southalleden dot com
Overview of Venue
Southall Eden is a 5 acre farm located in the rolling hills of middle Tennessee, just two miles from the picturesque village of Leiper's Fork and minutes from historic downtown Franklin. Its hillside setting offers views of the rolling pastures and horse farms, while its 1904 farmhouse and turn of the century barn create an authentic farm atmosphere. Its rustic charm makes it a perfect location for those seeking a natural yet elegant setting for their wedding.
Year your business was established: 2009
Your motto/philosophy: It’s YOUR big day. Create the wedding you’ve always dreamed of, and your guests will love it too.
Payment options accepted: Cash, check, credit card (with small processing fee)
What options does your venue offer?
~ Ceremony? yes
~ Reception? yes
~ Showers? yes (30 person minimum)
~ Parties? yes (30 person minimum)
~ Guest Accommodations? no
What type of room(s) is available?
This is an outdoor venue. Some couples use a tent for their event, while others chose an open air setting. The big red barn can be used for ceremonies, receptions, or music and dancing. The Party Shed and Pavilion are also available for buffets, dancing, and lounge seating.
How many people can you accommodate?
Tent or open air without flooring- 250
Tent or open air with flooring- 400+
Seated barn loft dinner- 75
How many events do you take per day? 1
Is outside alcohol allowed? Yes. We do not charge a corkage fee.
Is an on-site event coordinator available? Yes
What is your pricing model? The property is $2,500 for Saturdays and $2,800 for holidays.
We also have an inventory of specialty décor items that are available for an additional cost.
Which bride budget do you serve? Moderate and Luxury
How far in advance should a bride book your venue? 9-12 months
When is the initial deposit/final payment due? 50% deposit to reserve date, 50% due 60 days prior to event
What else should brides know about your venue?
We only do a limited number of weddings at the farm each year, but we also offer all-inclusive rehearsal dinner packages in the barn for couples who are not able to have their wedding here. In addition to this, we rent out the farm on an hourly basis for bridal portraits and/ or engagement photos. Our paperie can also design custom invitations and accessories for your wedding regardless of where you are getting married.
This is a private residence, so an appointment is always required and tours are available for serious inquiries only.
What makes your venue so unique? What do you pride yourself on?
We are fortunate to be located in exclusive Leiper’s Fork, known for its beautiful horse farms, celebrity homes, and charming art galleries. The area is ideal for couples wanting to give their out of town guests a true Tennessee experience. We pride ourselves on creating a setting that has rustic charm, but that also lends itself to classy, upscale weddings. The venue is a constant work in progress, with new features being added all the time. We are also constantly adding to our inventory of carefully selected rental décor items.
A simple burlap runner completes the table setting.
For "budget savvy" brides, what's the one thing you think should always make it into a budget?
No matter what your budget is or where you get married, hire a good wedding planner! If she does her job well, she will be able to do everything from prevent headaches and unnecessary expenses to advise on how to avoid family drama. Many people think that wedding planners are a luxury, but this is simply not true. Even though they are an additional expense, a good planner will be able to use her knowledge and contacts to save you money in so many other areas that she may pay for herself. Having a planner doesn’t mean you have to relinquish control of your wedding and not have a say in the creative process. It simply means you have someone working FOR you who does this every weekend and will think of all the things that you don’t. And believe me, there will be many things you don’t think of.
What advice would you give to brides on the wedding planning process in general?
Don’t sweat the small stuff! Too often brides let themselves get so stressed out about all the little details of their big day that they forget the reason for occasion, which is YOU ARE GETTING MARRIED! By all means choose a venue you love, choose good quality vendors you can rely on, and hire a fantastic photographer to capture it all so that your grandchildren can enjoy the photos 100 years from now. But through it all, keep in mind that the absolute most important decision you will make is choosing your groom!!! If you make a good decision there, everything will fall into place
You can follow Southall Eden on Twitter, or show them how much you love their venue by liking them on Facebook! Visit the Southall Eden website for more information and to schedule your appointment for a site visit with Shannon O'Kelley.
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Posted by Tabitha |
Filed under: Wedding Venues and Locations
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Wednesday, September 22, 2010
We love kicking off the week with new things! Nashville Event Space recently relaunched their website - it's better categorized, more informative and a lot easier for you to browse and find the answers to your questions. Just to be sure you make full use of all the links and areas on the site, I spent a few minutes chatting with Mindy Dees, Nashville Events Space's Director of Marketing, to get the insider's look into what to look out for on NashvilleEventSpace.com.
Unique - Metropolitan - Wedding Venues - Nashville Event Space
A wedding reception setup at aVenue
First thing I asked is why the rebranding? Mindy tells me,"The website was re-branded a couple of months ago. I had our tagline, "Unique Metropolitan Venues" included in our logo. I wanted the site to be unique, modern and urban feeling where brides and people could scroll around at their leisure and be well informed. I wanted it to be easier to find information with this new website and to make sure that it’s educational and tells people what we do."
Things To Know
The first place Mindy pointed out as an important link was "Things to Know"
Mindy: This is where to start, it's things we want people to be aware of, like how we try to keep our policies the same at all our spaces. This link will let brides know what our policies are, what they can do, what caterers they can use and questions like that. A policy most people aren't aware of is that in our spaces, our customers get to provide their own alcohol which is a huge money saver. They’re not limited to vendors or design choices. And we don’t restrict much of anything approved caterers, as long as most vendors are licensed and insured.
One thing Mindy relayed, that I think is a huge plus, is the fact that brides and events are not limited to specific load-in times. That makes it so much easier for your vendors to drop off rentals, flowers and you can get there in plenty of time to get ready. Another plus? Your event will be the only event that's happening that day so no worries about having to wait for someone else's ceremony to end before you can get in there. That is HUGE.
Educating brides - Services
Mindy: N.E.S. does event design . We’ll work directly with vendors to work on the ideas and if what the brides want. We are here for guidance, not to dictate on what they should or shouldn’t do.
"A lot of people thought we were a search engine." When Mindy told me this, I was a little surprised but I can see how that happens. People thought Nashville Event Space was where you could fine a listing of event spaces in Nashville! So that was another factor behind their rebranding. Nashville Event Space takes a team approach to event planning and design which they do very well either within their own venues or at outside locations. The website gives you a look into the clear aspects of what they do, and how each team member contributes to making an event a success. Click here to meet the N.E.S. team!
Mindy: We want people to know that we are a venue management firm and event design firm. We provide choices that brides and our clients can customize - it’s your blank space. We’ll guide you, or work with your planner to guide you or if you're more hands-on, you can guide yourself and we will accommodate what you need within our policies. One of our team will be on site to make sure everything goes smoothly. Brides have a lot less to worry about when we’re involved in the planning even if they have their own planner we have an operations person to take care of the details.
Inspiration
The gallery of events on the site features weddings, social and non profit events and music industry events. Mindy encourages us to check out every gallery, not just the weddings, to see the various uses of the venues and how each event they've done there is unique.
Mindy: Take a look at the designs from other sorts of events on the site. Brides are starting to lok in the Music Industry gallery for additional inspiration. Inspiration is from everything and we want people to get the full picture of what can be done in the space and we don’t want them to feel pigeon-holed ever.
It's all about your vision - the N.E.S. team will work with you or your planner or your vendors to ensure everything is done to your desire.
Mindy: It's about flexibility and personalization, the bride pretty much has 100% creative control. One bride in January is a skydiver and her inspiration is her hobby so her colors come from her pack and chute. They took the pulls on her chute as her inspiration. Give us an idea of what looks like what you want to see at your wedding and you will see it at the venue.
Nashville Event Space Blog
With regular updates, the N.E.S. Blog is not to be skipped over. You'll find more inspiring real weddings and see each event from the team's perspective.
Mindy: We want the site to be inspiration driven where people could look at several different weddings, different events and even events that we’ve done at other locations and to get ideas to what they can do. The blog focuses on our team and our planners, and we try to focus on the work we've done at other venues as well.
From the time I spent browsing on the site, it looks like they've achieved what they set out to do! Definitely take a tour around, check out the different links, look at the gorgeous pictures and you might just find the perfect venue for your wedding with Nashville Event Space!
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Posted by Tabitha |
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Friday, September 10, 2010
Ashley and I took the afternoon a couple of weeks ago and drove the scenic route on Highway 70 out to Cajun Lake Lodge's open house. The weather was starting to get cooler, thankfully and it was the perfect day to be outside and out west as the sun set. We got to say hi to the lovely Paula Eleazar Johansen who owns Cajun Lake Lodge and met her fabulous family. The lodge itself is a lovely, rustic venue for weddings and is great if you're an outdoorsy bride looking for a destination locale without having to leave Tennessee.
The Guest House is a fully-functional house with a bedroom, bathrooms, full kitchen and a recreational area. There's also tons of parking. When we arrived, there were already plenty of people and cars but we still could find a good spot.
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Pool table and fireplace for some R&R. For the boys - a bar and some salt hockey in the basement.
They had really fun, antique decor in the pavillion which is a large, open space enough for a band in the corner, a buffet set up and a bar. The rear of the pavillion extends out for extra room.
It has a really nice, laid back atmosphere.
That fleur de lis was hand-carved into the watermelon.
The pool looked so inviting with tons of areas to lounge or play.
Cajun Lake Lodge is about 45 minutes from Nashville but once you are there - you and your wedding party can spend the entire weekend celebrating as there is plenty of space and lots to do. It would also be a great option for a bridesmaid getaway since it's much closer than Gatlinburg. Give their outdoor wedding venue website a look for more details and contact Paula to learn more!
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Posted by Tabitha |
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Friday, August 20, 2010
Happy Friday everyone!
We hope you've enjoyed our recap of Nashville Premier Bridal Show as much as we did visiting with the vendors and finding new ones to share with you all. Today's final installment of the week covers fantastic wedding cakes from our top Nashville bakers, caterers that get our appetites revved up and new wedding venues for Nashville brides!
CAKES
Signature Cakes by Vicki
The first booth we noticed when we walked into the hall was Signature Cakes by Vicki. Ashley and I get really excited when we see her cakes. They are, to say the least, works of art. Almost sculptural, how painstakingly detailed each cake is covered with sugar flowers that look almost real and ribbons that look like they're actually made of silk. They're exquisite in taste and look and are just irresistable.
Those aren't real flowers, but sugar flowers hand shaped and made by Vicki.
That green ribbon just softly cascading down the sides of the cake and the details - amazing!
The Bake Shoppe - TheBakeShoppe.com
Absolutely just swooning over The Bake Shoppe's cakes. And not just because of how good they taste but also at how stunning they are! Their cakes were very contemporary, set up in a dessert buffet style by color scheme. Yellows, purples and greys - three fabulous colors for Fall each a complement to the next. My favorite? The low, round cake with the grey applique. I get so giddy when I look at it!
Bright, festive bursts of yellow! Also that cake stand is so pretty!
I'm in love.
Each color had variations: cupcakes, smaller cakes and taller cakes in the same scheme.
Crumb de la Crumb
Still absolutely giddy over cakes, Crumb de la Crumb's booth was also surrounded by sample seekers and, just like us, awestruck passers-by. Their style is classic, very posh cakes with a few more contemporary ones in the mix.
Ashley's fell in love with the cake on the right. It was simple but had touches of bling.
I love the square cake - the dots look like pink champagne bubbles!
Cakes By Rebecca - CakesByRebecca.com
It's such a skill to decorate cakes. And to cover them with such ornate details is cake decorating at a whole other level! Cakes by Rebecca blew me away - from the sugar flowers to the patterns to the shape of her cakes! So pretty! And it's so simple but isn't that chocolate wafer cake so fun!
Interesting how the white cake to the farthest right has a slightly taller top tier - that difference in proportion makes it stand out!
WEDDING / EVENT CATERING
Bucca di Beppo - bucadibeppo.com
Um, have you had their tiramisu? SO good! If you want to feed your guests hearty, delicious Italian food either for your rehearsal dinner or wedding, do consider Bucca di Beppo in Cool Springs.
Down South Delights
We just heart Down South Delighs Catering - long-time friends of ABG, we had to stop and say hi and check out their stylish tablescapes. Catering companies have also taken on the role of decor and event design that incorporates food into the overall look more so than just shoving it onto chaffing dishes to look so out-of-place.
VENUES
We came across a few new venues that look really promising. It's nice to know that venue options are increasing beyond the usual places, as much as we love all those places! A change of scenery, a different back drop, that all gives brides a chance to really flex their creativity muscles and gives them a great chance to achieve their vision for their weddings.
Kings Chapel - KingsChapelLife.com
Historic King's Chapel, just 15 minutes from the Cool Springs area boasts beautiful, free open space. The chapel itself has a beautiful interior that's classic chapel that could lend itself to a really romantic ceremony. Gorgeous hardwood floors, wooden pews - it's just screaming to be decorated with flowers. They now also have a clubhouse that has a state-of-the-art kitchen for your caterer to work from, and the clubhouse itself is perfect for dinners and wedding receptions.
Picture source: KingsChapelLife.com
Photo source: Joy Marie Photography
Cajun Lake Lodge - CajunLakeLodge.com
Located in Burns, TN Cajun Lake Lodge is a "unique event venue and country getaway" near the Montgomery Bell State Park. So you know it's going to be really picturesque out there. You could have your wedding by the lake out in the open, or you could use their pavilion for an indoor set up. It looks like it could be a lovely place for a garden party wedding. (Pictures from CajunLakeLodge.com)
CJ's Off the Square and Southern Events
I have a feeling classic red is going to be a big color for weddings. CJ's Off the Square and Southern Events (SouthernEventsOnline.com) shared a booth and decorated a table in a stunning country-chic theme. Very summery, beautiful colors, with little birds and gerbera daisies for accents. It was visually wonderful and such a great sight with which to end our day at the bridal show.
Lillie Belles - LillieBelles.net
Lillie Belles in Franklin has created a one-stop-shop by teaming with Garden Delights for event coordination and florals, Sara Gibbs Studio for photography, cakes by Classic Cakes and catering by Constant Craving Caterers. This ensures a full-service venue for your event or wedding!
Cakes by Classic Cakes
What a day! We had a blast; the show just proved to us that we are surrounded by wedding professionals galore. Do you think there are any we might have overlooked that you thought is worth mentioning? If so, share your favorites in the comments section below.
Have a great weekend everyone!
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Posted by Tabitha |
Filed under: Cakes & Catering, Wedding Venues and Locations
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Monday, August 9, 2010
If you are looking for a rustic, spacious wedding venue far removed from busy highways, streets, and neighbors - Front Porch Farms is THE place for you. I'll be very honest, on my drive to the farm - I was thinking - 1) this is far and 2) this is out of the way. But, when I arrived, I forgot about the distance and was in complete awe. And, that's why so many Tennessee brides fall in love with FrontPorch upon their arrival.
When I visited their Open House, I met so many brides who had just booked the farm as their wedding venue and were back to see it again. They loved that instead of noises, eyesore buildings in sight, neighbors, and busy intersections - the farm offered true seclusions and picturesque views of our lovely montaineous Tennesee landscape. It was a perfect "look and vibe" for their wedding day and I soon started to agree! And while I have never been a country-seeking girl - at one point, I started envisioning how even I could thoroughly enjoy this spectacular serene place for an event. Yes - me, the ultimate city girl!
FrontPorch Farms is truly a special place. Kathy + Brian Best, the owners and operators, have given this jewel a lot of love and have spared no attention to detail.
Special thanks to Kathy for inviting me to see her amazing wedding and event farm and to McCoy Made for capturing my visit with vibrant photographs! I'll let the pictures tell the story.
I love, love, love the swimming pool.
Event florals by The Enchanted Florist, always lovely, creative and dazzling. I love Caprice, the owner and lead designer of Enchanted.
My favorite aspect of the farm was the enormous balcony, which overlooked the area pictured above. Situated off the bride's room, the balcony is the perfect hideaway for a bride and her bridesmaids as the guests arrive. Perched above the ceremony location, you can enjoy the pre-ceremony time with close friends, watch everything as it unfolds with plenty of space. I envision having food, drinks, and girl talk on the balcony as you enjoy and prepare for your big moment. And, the view is breathtaking! There's nothing more peaceful.
The balcony is about the same size as the porch pictured above. I fell in love with both - what creative things you could do with these unique spaces!
The florals and decor were from Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton's engagement party, which was hosted by Front Porch Farms the evening before. Their engagement party took place in the tented pavilion. Don't you love the willow lanterns? The lanterns can be rented from Nashville Event Lighting.
Front Porch Farms has a vast inventory of shabby-chic decor items to complement the farm's look that are available for you wedding day.
There is a separate house for the groom and his boys!
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Chef's Market catered the event and offered a smorgasbord of delights - from banana pudding and tiramisu to fried mac n' cheese and fried green tomato sliders - comfort food for a cozy venue!
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The bride's room which also serves as the couple's suite after the wedding.
As Hillary (of Brocade Design) and I drove home from the farm, I realized that the ride wasn't as far as I initially thought. And, it dawned on me that there was NO traffic during 5pm drive to the farm. But, I guess that's what makes this place so special - it's location is far enough from the busy world but accessible enough for your wedding guests to get there without traffic, even during rush hour. Plus, once your guests arrive - they will truly forget about any doubt they had about the drive and every lasting memory will be positive.
If you are a bride seeking a serene, outdoor, spacious wedding venue - be sure to put Front Porch on your list before making a final decision. I love Front Porch, Southall Eden and Cedarwood - all great farm wedding venues - all with distinct styles and offerings. So, be sure to include all 3 on your short list of wedding venues.
Open House Event Details:
Venue/Decor: Front Porch Farms
Photography: McCoy Made
Floral Design: The Enchanted Florist
Food: Chef's Market
Specialty Lighting: Nashville Event Lighting
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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide |
Filed under: Luxury Wed Finds, Wedding Venues and Locations
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