A Tented Reception by the Tennessee River with Colombian Flair

Both Will and Natalia are architects and have a clean, natural, effortless style that they wanted reflected throughout their wedding day. With Whitney Bowman Events at the helm, the look was achieved through loose, organic neutral florals, heavy greenery, natural textiles, simple and modern paper goods, and the beautiful backdrop of the Tennessee River.

Will, born and raised in Alabama, and Natalia, born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, met and fell in love in Auburn, Alabama, where they both attended graduate school. Will and Natalia tied the knot in the backyard of Will’s parent’s house on the Tennessee River. They opted for an intimate ceremony with only 50 or so of their closest friends and family, followed by a larger dinner and reception. They wanted their wedding day to be about family and the merging of two special cultures. Guests traveled from literally all over the world to East Tennessee, many for the first time to the United States, to come together and celebrate their union.

For her big day, Natalia wore a dramatic strappy, open back gown with hand-embroidered florals by Alexandra Grecco.

The mother and sister of the groom wore custom dresses from Nardos Design.

For his attire, Will sported a custom tuxedo from Shaia’s in Birmingham.

Guests enjoyed a true East Tennessee dinner from the lovely Chef Bonnie Moore while Cortadito serenaded in the background. As dinner ended – in true Latin form - a spontaneous dance party broke out to the festive Latin tunes.

The ceremony was in the courtyard of the picturesque estate, adorned with with beautiful blooms, lush greenery, and wildflowers that looked to be naturally growing from the pea gravel. Dinner was under the stunning 100+ foot Sperry sailcloth tent erected on the front lawn. Greenery and wildflowers covered the space, from the ceiling to the stage to the floor. As guests entered the tent, they were greeted with spectacular views of the Tennessee River as they proceeded to the escort card display of Colombian made Iraca Palm fans directing guests to their tables, a nod to Natalia.

Cortadito, a Latin band from Miami, provided the ceremony music. After dinner, guests were treated to a surprise concert by Will's favorite - St. Paul and the Broken Bones - who brought the house down. A celebratory fireworks show ended the incredibly special night. Will and Natalia exited to a sea of sparklers in one of Will’s dad’s prized Aston Martins.

The couple worked with Loly Orozco from the Little Postage House on their custom save the dates, wedding invitations, wedding website and day of stationery needs. "Will and Natalia envisioned a modern design that embraced a simple elegance, so we focused heavily on typography, negative space and the layout to create a modern invitation suite," Loly Orozco says. To incorporate warmth, Loly used a gray and natural color scheme throughout the designs. For the envelope liner, Loly used illustrations of leaves from an Elm tree that stood in the courtyard where the ceremony ultimately took place. As a native Spanish speaker herself, Loly created a Spanish version of the invitation suite for the foreign guests, created bilingual day of items to translate the ceremony and menu, and created a dual-language wedding website that would be accessible to all guests. The Little Postage House also created welcome gifts for guests that were curated to include local items from the area.