When it comes to weddings, there are some factors out of our control and Mother Nature is one of them. But impending rain doesn’t mean smiles turned upside down, and this gorgeous Bride is the perfect example for taking stormy skies with a grain of salt. Cedarwood Weddings are pros at handling anything and a few drops here and there are nothing to fret over. Kelsey Combe and Little Josh Productions captured it all, from the Designs In Paper creations that set the scene and the beautiful bridesmaids in Jenny Yoo to the sparkler send off. See it all in our VAULT this way!
[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/141729246 600 338]
From Kelsey Combe Photography… Cedarwood was a dream come true. When I got the call from a dear family friend to shoot her wedding in Nashville, a destination location for me, I jumped for joy at the opportunity. The ladies of Cedarwood are extraordinary. They take the visions of brides and they RUN with it. They turn childhood dreams into reality and then some. Everything was so carefully styled, so curated, no detail left undone. And rain? Who cares. Cedarwood will provide the umbrellas and even change the schedule around to accommodate being able to hold an outdoor ceremony. And when it rains anyway, they will help everyone put up their umbrellas and enjoy the view.
And then, let me just gush about the bride, Carey, for a moment. She was in a stunning, perfect, intricate Vera Wang gown. Her hair was perfectly done – her makeup simple and lovely. And that girl just didn’t care that it was raining. During the ceremony, she happily laughed as the rain fell. She embraced the day and made sure the weather didn’t control her. By the end of the night, the bottom of the dress was caked in a layer of dark Nashville dust – but it was the best worn dress and happiest bride I’ve ever seen.
From the Bride… Kyle and I met at Vanderbilt University after locking eyes at a mutual friend’s dinner party. While he hails from the suburbs of Louisville and I grew up in Boston proper, we were immediately drawn to each other and found ourselves staying up until the early hours of the morning watching CMT while Kyle sang questionably into my ear. Upon graduation, Kyle moved to Boston for law school, and I excitedly joined him a year later. Chicago called to Kyle post law school and I again followed him.
While we love each city we have lived in and shared together, Nashville was ultimately the city where we met and fell in love, and the city that still holds a big part of our hearts. So with that easy choice out of the way, it was time to select a venue. Both of us grew up camping and experiencing the outdoors, so we wanted to include an element of that in our wedding day. When we saw Cedarwood for the first time, we were both blown away. We loved the rolling hills, the at-home feel, and how each corner afforded a new vantage point. Once the venue and date were selected, it was time to pick a photographer, a videographer and a band. Each of these held significant importance to us so we researched for months to ensure we were exhausting our options and finding the ones that we knew would capture who we were as a couple. The videographer came first – Josh Curd of Little Josh Productions. We met him while in Nashville and we knew right away he was the one for us. He is friendly, relatable, hard-working and passionate about what he does. The band came next. Lovers of Texas Country and Classic Rock, we wanted a band that could play a variety of classics but we had a few songs on our “must play” list and one more complicated requirement that held us up a bit – a fiddle player (“If you’re gonna play in Texas, you gotta have a fiddle on the band,” right?). We eventually found Edsel West and they were everything we wanted – a little bit of country, a little bit of rock and roll and a lot of fun.
The photographer was the hardest part for us (read: me). I had a very specific look I was going for and was looking up every Nashville photographer I could find. The whole time, however, I had a very specific person in mind whose style I was trying to emulate. Ultimately, I realized – why am I not asking her to see if she’s willing to travel to Nashville? Not only is Kelsey Combe one of the most talented and breath-taking photographers I have laid eyes on, but she just so happens to be someone I grew up with in our small, close-knit summer community in Northern Michigan, and I loved the connection that was able to bring to our Nashville wedding. Kelsey was almost, if not just, as excited as we were about this newfound professional relationship and as you can see from the photographs, we could not have picked a better, more professional or more genuine photographer. What a team we created!
The day of our wedding was a magical, mystical, and misty day. Cedarwood went above and beyond to bring our dreams to fruition. Being in the interior design business, I was meticulous about little details and didn’t want anything overlooked. Details I thought may be missed, Cedarwood caught. Colors, textures, and scents were mixed together to create an absolute dream day. Dressed in Vera Wang with my hair and makeup done by Toni Ann Christian Moss, I finally felt like the woman who was about to become Mrs. Elder in a few short hours.
Rain sprinkled our ceremony and then splattered our dinner, but everyone danced on, embracing the beautiful backdrop under a white tent and twinkle lights and everything Mother Nature created for us. Friends and family came from all over, with no more than two guests local to Nashville. We were eager to show our guests the city we had fallen in love with and Cedarwood was the perfect place to encapsulate the Southern charm we love so much. The team at Cedarwood cannot be exceeded. From the white golf umbrellas on hand for rain, to the ease and flow of the day, the Cedarwood team knows what they are doing and they do it with excellence. My mother, sister and I did not feel an ounce of stress that day and that would not have been the case without the team we had created behind us. Thank you to everyone who made our day what it was. It was the best way we could imagine celebrating our new life together.
[dotted]
Photography: Kelsey Combe Photography | Cinematography: Little Josh Productions | Floral + Event Design: Cedarwood Weddings | Wedding Dress: Vera Wang | Cake: Patty Cakes | Invitations: Designs in Paper | Bride's Shoes: Valentino | Bridesmaids' Dresses: For Her And For Him | Catering: Chef Christopher | Hair + Makeup: Toni Ann Christian Moss | Band: Edsel West | Groom's Attire: Hugo Boss | Groomsmen's Attire: The Black Tux | Ceremony Music: Violinist Rebecca Baumbach | Transportation: Anchor Tours | Venue: Cedarwood Weddings | Maid Of Honor Dress: Jenny Yoo