Classic Elegance at Fountainview Mansion With Garden Vibes
Being from the south, I did not want a southern wedding at all! I wanted something that was very classic, timeless and stood out from everybody else’s wedding in Alabama! We went with a very Italian/French garden vibe as our theme, so everything was very modern, very polished and nothing was rustic or traditional.
My favorite place in the entire world is Cheekwood botanical park in Nashville, Tennessee. We always loved being there and one weekend I planned a business trip to go up to Nashville and my brother and now sister-in-law wanted to come with us! I didn’t think anything of it because my parents were back at home and he knew that I wanted my family to be there when he proposed! So we spent the day walking around Nashville, doing the scooters and all of the little things you do in Nashville, and I could tell that he was super nervous the entire day, but my sister-in-law and brother didn’t seem like anything was different! So we go to Cheekwood and as we’re walking around, I keep noticing that he is super nervous! I heard my brother say, "Blake, can I borrow the camera?" So I thought he was going to try to take photos and when we got to the bottom of the wishing well, I saw this entire layout and realized that he was proposing to me! When he got down on one knee, he asked me to marry him and the first thing I said to him was are you sure? We laughed and cried and I said yes! I heard a ton of people cheering and when I look back, it was my childhood best friend, my parents, and also our family friend who also is a videographer! So, he got the entire thing on video and in photos!
Again, I did not want anything to look very southern! The only thing that I wanted to be southern was the size of my hair and curls! I personally had three different outfits for the day, and in total had five outfit changes between my rehearsal dinner and my leaving exit! For the rehearsal, I wore a two-piece Giovani set with a rhinestone crop top and white flare pants. For the rehearsal dinner, I wore an ASHLEYlauren one-shouldered ruffle white jumpsuit. My ceremony dress was a huge, and I mean huge, white ball gown with a sweetheart neckline and 1 million sparkles that followed me everywhere! My second gown was originally made for an Atlanta housewife for the show and an event in 2020 but it got canceled! It was definitely a party dress. It was a bodysuit with a skirt overlay with a corset top draping and sleeves that were off shoulder! I wore it with Jimmy Choo's that looked perfect! My entire branding is pink, so to leave our wedding, I switched again into an all pink sequin blazer set with a party pony and my wedding shoes which were pink Manolo Blahniks.
Guests loved starting the evening with passed hors d'oeuvres included shrimp cocktail in martini glasses and grilled cheese and tomato soup shooters and finishing up with late night pizza. The two signature cocktails included the Tiny Tequila (cranberry syrup, grapefruit juice, lime juice and tequila) and the OVO Classic (orange Half Wheel, orange bitters, smoked peach puree, orange rind and bourbon).
It was all about understated elegance with an all-white look. The ceremony space achieved this vision by completely draping off the space in crisp white fabric. Chandeliers lit the way down the aisle, which was also made white with flooring. The aisle was lined with lush white blooms at the end of each row of gold chivari chairs. More arrangements would be carried through to the altar, adorning the all white asymmetrical backdrop that was a fun modern touch. The reception featured more white draping and chandeliers amongst hanging floral arrangements cascading down. A huge white bar surrounded by several different lounge seating areas was at one end of the reception space and the stage was at the other with a white dance floor in the center. Guests would enjoy dinner on the lawn of the mansion before heading in and snagging a cozy spot in one of the beautiful seating areas or having fun on the dance floor.
Sonshine Cakes made a stunning 6 tier all white classic wedding cake that was then adorned and topped with florals.
My brother got ordained specifically for our wedding! Blake and I are currently not a part of a church, but are very very strong and our faith and we really wanted somebody to marry us who was a part of our relationship from the beginning!
My favorite part of my wedding was the fact that Blake and I did not see each other nor talk to each other the entire day until the moment I walked down the aisle! It was something I always wanted to do - and knew that people do first looks all the time, but I wanted it to be so emotional, so raw and real when we saw each other!
Another favorite part of the day was to see everybody’s reactions and the emotion that everybody felt! From my bridesmaids seeing me for the very first time in my dress, which by the way nobody had seen my dress but me and my mom and my sister-in-law, to seeing my mom‘s reaction, my dad‘s reaction, my little brother‘s reaction (which was the best), and of course my husband Blake's reaction!
