Tennessee Weddings

We’re going to bring a little glam and glitz to your Wednesday afternoon!  This awesome Knoxville wedding by Dixie Pixel Photography is full of funky, unique decor, dripping with shimmery, metallic details and bursting with phenomenal DIY crafts made by this creative bride and her friends.  And be prepared to be blown away by the most gorgeous custom Lazaro gown in the sweetest sherbet hue.  Click here to see even more in the full gallery!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Dixie Pixel Photography…Adam & Jennifer were married in Krutch Park, which is a public park located right in the heart of downtown Knoxville.  Jennifer’s sherbet Lazaro was custom from Lazaro himself, inspired by the Spring Dior Line! It was a sweet ceremony followed by a reception at a local Art Gallery (The Emporium) also located in the heart of downtown Knoxville.

Jennifer did a lot herself (with the help of her bridesmaids), including the programs & designs.  ALL of the paper flowers on the chuppah and hair accessories were made by Jennifer.  Jennifer’s bridesmaid, Deanna, assembled the flower girls’ dresses.

Ceremony Venue: Krutch Park / Reception Venue: The Emporium / Wedding Photography: Dixie Pixel Photography / Catering: Earth Fare / DJ: Ray Adelman of Old City Entertainment / Floral Design: Whimsical Gatherings / Make-up: Casey Moore / Veil: White Lace and Promises / Wedding Dress:  Custom Lazaro via Bridals by Lori (Atlanta) / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Jewelry:  Heirlooms / Garter: Custom Linda Caldwell / Wedding Cake: Local Baker, Kingston, TN / Groom’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse / Groom’s Shoes: Vans via Journey’s / Bartender: Palmer Mason of Surin of Thailand / Rentals: Rothchild’s / Bridesmaid Dresses: Max & Cleo / Chuppah: DIY / Flower Girl Dresses: DIY

Mmm… we’ve got a sweet, southern wedding on the agenda today. And it is filled with the most romantic Memphis details. Perfect way to start your morning. You can almost feel the southern hospitality, courtesy of the event planners & designers, Southern Event Planners. Every image from Christen Jones Photography has a hint of “Y’all come back now, ya hear?” tucked inside the insanely gorgeous affair. And I haven’t even touched on that dress yet. Just click here for the gallery. You’ll thank me later.

From Southern Event Planners … Guests traveled from all over the country to be a part of Amanda and Erik’s wedding day. They were greeted at the hotels with goodie bags that included a bunch of Memphis favorites: GooGoo Clusters, Goody’s Powder, Elvis Postcards, Jelly Krimpet TastyKakes, an itinerary of the wedding, and brochures from local museums and tourist attractions.

Amanda and Erik met at a sushi restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada where they both lived. A year and a half later, Erik proposed at the top of the Stratosphere…or as they like to call it “the top of the world.” For their wedding, they knew it would be a requirement to incorporate the elements of Las Vegas. Amanda grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and that’s where she wanted to be married. Planning this wedding from afar was nothing new to Southern Event Planners, and the details were quickly worked out in the first few visits.

It was important to Amanda and Erik that the adult guests of their wedding could enjoy the celebration, so they hired an event sitting service to watch the children. The sitters brought activities and gift boxes for each child, and the parents were free to have fun!

The ceremony was held in the Japanese Garden overlooking the lake at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. A guitar and violin duo serenaded the crowd as the family and bridal party entered and took their places. Amanda looked stunning and overjoyed as she made her way down the aisle to her future husband. One of Amanda’s closest friends sang “Songbird” as the flute and guitar accompanied her, and there was not a dry eye in the house! After being pronounced “Mr. and Mrs.” by the officiate, guests made their way inside to Hardin Hall.

Blue lighting, candles, and elegant place-settings topped with a California Mixed Greens Salad greeted the guests as they entered the room. Soft music was playing and the atmosphere was very cool and relaxed. Guests sipped on cocktails as they found their seats. Amanda made real casino chips into escort cards! She printed labels with the guests’ names and table numbers and stuck them on the chip. She purchased custom shot glasses that housed glittered bonbons, and the escort chip was laid on top of the glass for each guest! On each table, a picture frame housed a photo of the casino and the corresponding poker chip. Guests had fun calling out their casino names and helping each other find the tables.

Amanda and Erik were soon announced into the reception, and the dances begun. Their first dance was a medley of songs, but little did the guests know…they had a second choreographed dance planned! The reception carried on as planned with a Father/Daughter Dance, Mother/Son Dance, and dinner. Wedding guests feasted on two buffet stations: a Jersey station (for Erik’s personality) and a Southern station (for Amanda’s personality). Hand rolled sushi, mini cheese-steak sandwiches and stuffed manicotti were among the groom’s choices, while grits, fried green tomatoes, and catfish bites with hush-puppies were among the bride’s requests.

After the champagne toast and cake cutting,  Natalie Cole’s voice began the first verse of “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love).” Amanda and Erik waltzed across the dance floor to each other and guests clapped and shouted when they realized what was happening. This was their second surprise dance for the guests. All of the events of the night were captured on video and edited together with footage from the rehearsal dinner the night before. A few minutes before the grand exit, Amanda and Erik invited their guests to huddle around the projection screen to watch a recap of the wedding events. The videographer did a wonderful job with the same day edit!

After the video, sparklers were lit outside as the bride and groom made their way to their waiting towncar. It was truly a day they will never forget!

Photography: Christen Jones Photography / Cinematography: Daybreak Cinema / Flowers: Deedra Stone Designs / Event Design: Deedra Stone Designs and Southern Event Planners / Event Planning: Southern Event Planners / Ceremony Location: Memphis Botanic Gardens, Japanese Garden / Reception Location: Memphis Botanic Gardens, Hardin Hall / Invitations: RSVP Stationers / Dress: Alfred Angelo / Catering: A Moveable Feast / Transportation: Tennessee Limo and Cline Tours, Inc. / Event Sitters: Elegant Event Sitters, Inc.

We are interrupting (or more like prettying up) your lunch break with the most darling Music City fête by A Delightful Day Event Planning. You don’t mind a little interruption, do you? How could you when it looks so darn lovely? Pops of pretty yellow and loads of southern charm apparently makes for a whole lotta pretty! Don’t forget – there is even more from Chris & Adrienne Scott, Photographers in the full gallery!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride…From the moment Jeff and I got engaged, “operation wedding” was underway…from stocking our house with any and all wedding magazines to perusing blogs for inspiration, and building my own wedding planning portfolio of ideas, we kicked it into high gear. From our love of throwing parties and entertaining friends and family, Jeff and I had an exact vision of what we had envisioned our wedding looking like…timeless, understated elegance with classic tones of black and ivory with a fun summer punch of color, a perfect bright and bold yellow that screamed happiness and fun. I was even more thrilled to see how enthused Jeff was to participate…mostly for the food and cake I do believe, as he left other details up to the pro’s—my Mom, Mary Alice Sublett (our fantastic wedding planner, and me).

The background for our wedding was Scarritt Bennett Wightman Chapel, a historic church set on Vanderbit’s campus in the heart of Nashville. Unfortunately, with a waiting list for what seemed to be a mile high, we booked our wedding date 16 months in advance so we could have a summer wedding with plenty of time to plan and not stress. For our ceremony, we wanted a service focused on love, faith, and our friends and family. My favorite part of our ceremony was when our pastor asked for our bridal party to surround us and pray for our marriage, then followed in the Lord’s Prayer. It was just a small detail that had such a profound impact on us and I’ll never forget the emotion that came over me standing there with the most important people in our lives reading our vows to one another…a day every girl dreams of.

Then the real party started—we hired a local trolley to usher our bridal party around town complete with cocktails and music to get the reception underway. Once we arrived at aVenue, we were announced and everyone started to let loose to the musical stylings of Scat Springs Band—a local favorite around town for any and all Motown music. For me, the reception was like seeing a masterpiece complete for the first time. aVenue is a warehouse that was renovated as an event venue—think exposed brick, hardwood floors, and very simple. However, once our team of vendors worked their magic, it was a completely different atmosphere…romantic with lots of ivory chiffon fabric draping from the ceiling to the floors, market street lights and up-lighting to create depth and light, a custom gobo featuring our monogram as the backdrop on the stage, and gorgeous florals with different centerpieces on each of the tables for an eclectic feel. And the chiavari chairs, I could never forget the one thing I begged to have…they were perfect. The transformation was complete and it was the wedding I always hoped for.

Before Jeff and I were ever engaged, I just “happened” to stumble upon Joni AKA Chocolate Butterbean through a wedding website. As soon as I ventured to her website which showcased her gorgeous invitations suites and custom wooden signs, I knew I wanted her to design our invitations. This was the most important detail to me of our wedding, as to me the save the dates and invitations set the tone for your event. Not only did she design the most gorgeous and vintage-style southern suite I had ever seen, but she helped create a custom monogram for us to use on a number of items (invitations, napkins, gobo for the stage, etc) and it’s something we can keep forever.

As both Jeff and I were raised in Tennessee, we wanted to incorporate southern traditions into our wedding as much as possible, but with a twist. From a Jack Daniel’s groom’s cake to placing Tennessee-branded products into our out-of-town guest bags including Goo Goo Clusters, Spirit of Nashville postcards, and homemade Tennessee jam cakes, we wanted to provide our guests with little indulgences to make their stay more comfortable.

Looking back, our wedding was everything I had ever hoped it would be, and much much more. It was perfect and it made me know that 16 months of planning had paid off…the fun, the stress, the crazy and hectic scheduling—I wouldn’t change it for anything as I know it was the single most important day of our lives. Being able to throw a fun celebration for our friends and family was just icing on the cake!

Good morning, SMPers and welcome back to another wonderful Wedding Wednesday!  Yep, that’s right.  Today’s the day we say goodbye to those mid-week blues and hello to a morning, noon and night filled with EIGHT gorgeous weddings absolutely guaranteed to inspire.  And we have quite the lineup for you lovelies today… from traditional stunners to vintage soirees and everything in between, we’ve totally got you covered.  So, be sure to visit the galleries of each and every one of these fabulous fêtes for even more wedding goodness!

Up first is a backyard Tennessee affair by Ulmer Studios that has simply melted my heart with its charming DIY details and sweet, Southern charm.  And with the uber-adorable bride and groom crafting each and every moment of the big day themselves, it would be impossible not to fall head over heels for this vintage chic meets rustic affair.  From the ceremony benches to the pinwheel bouquets, their personalities are shining through every darling detail… and I can’t think of a better way to start the day.  Click here for even more.

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride… We had so much fun using our hobbies and talents to make our wedding so “us.”  We knew from the beginning that we wanted every detail of our day to be a reflection of our passion for each other and for projects (we have some pretty talented family members and friends, too, who helped us immensely with all of our projects!).

Our reception took place in the exact location where we got engaged seven months before, and at our ceremony, guests sat on benches handcrafted by my lovely husband from tree stumps and gorgeous reclaimed wood. I made my own bouquet as well as my bridesmaids’ bouquets and the groom’s and groomsmen’s boutonnieres with paper pinwheels, twigs, wheat and twine. Barn wood was something of a theme, used for everything from signage to the table (also made by my husband) off of which we took communion during the ceremony. The groom also made the wooden cases for the water & soda displays as well as the casing for the restrooms that were outside. We kept things vintage/rustic with flowered table cloths, vintage blue glass mason jars, a table full of homemade pies, and a fabulous blue velvet couch as a prop for photos that we now use in our apartment.

Our invitation was the product of the talents of a friend, who sketched the tree, and a family member with a graphic design background who put the drawing and the words together. We are so in love with the way it turned out, and we were incredibly excited to give our guests a first glimpse of our wedding through our awesome invitation! We couldn’t have had a more perfectly fitting wedding, and we’re so thankful for the wonderful memories!

Wedding Photography: Ulmer Studios / Wedding Venue: Private Residence / Bouquets + Boutonnieres: Maria Teige of JM Handmades / Wedding Dress: BHLDN / Make-up Artist: Amy Lynn Larwig

Get ready to fall in love ladies and gents, because this next little number at Historic Cedarwood is going to pull every ooh and ahh out of you. The first ooh with be the bride’s fluffy blush-hued bouquet, followed by an ahh from the sweet hanging roses, and then another ooh from the groom’s seersucker bow tie and cotton-filled boutonniere – and that’s only the first three pictures from Souder Photography. I’ll leave of the rest to you – but don’t forget there is more to ooh and ahh over in the full gallery of images!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride…Jason became a “hero” to me even before we officially met.  While at a college hangout at the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, TN, Jason noticed my unease with unwanted attention of an older patron.  Although we had never met before, Jason immediately walked up and hugged me, saying  ” I have not seen you in forever!” Situation solved. I loved his modern day chivalry. We began dating that night and now we are married!

We fell in love with Cedarwood on our first visit to the property, there was snow on the ground but we could visualize how spectacular it would look in July! It had the perfect casual elegant setting that we were looking for in Nashville. The inspiration for my wedding style was southern elegance. I found my bridesmaids dresses before I found my dress, so once I found my dress I was able to decide on a color theme for the wedding. I decided on classic light colors like blush pink, gray, and fawn, because I felt like they would compliment each other the best. Also, I knew that our flower arrangements would be stunning and I didn’t want to take away from their beauty.

We were married at First Lutheran Church in downtown Nashville where Jason and I were the 5th generation in his family to be married there dating back to the early 1900’s.  I wore my grandmother’s broach on my wedding bouquet, and also I wore my grandmother’s pink wedding dress when I left the reception. It is 55 years old and still fabulous! We decided to keep our honeymoon a secret from everyone, so at our reception we announced that we were going to Hawaii and Disney World to our family and friends.

It is true what they say, it is all a blur at the end of the day! I loved our wedding ceremony, it was flawless and incredibly romantic. The moment the trumpets started and I started walking down the aisle, I just knew it was going to be a perfect day and I was marrying my prince charming! I remember the moment I received my bouquet, it was exactly what I had wanted. It was the perfect touch to my wedding ensemble. Jason and I have a basset hound named Humphrey, and we decided to have him in some of our photos at the beginning of the day! He is our baby, so that was special to us.

Jason and I decided to have our grandmothers, Joan Cullum and Yvonne Barber, make our wedding favors! My grandmother’s specialty is peanut brittle and Jason’s grandmother’s is pickles, so for a month before the wedding they were making these delicious treats. We put them in mason jars, they were just adorable.

Wedding Photography: Souder Photography / Floral Design: Karen Wright of Cedarwood Weddings / Event Design + Planning: Cedarwood Weddings / Invitation Designer: William Arthur / Wedding Cake + Desserts: Patty Cakes / Groomsmen Attire: Bittner’s Nashville / Wedding Gown: Oscar de la Renta via b.Hughes Bridal / Wedding Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Bridesmaid Jewelry: J.Crew + Kate Spade / Pearl Stud Earrings: David Yurman / Bride’s Hair: Escape Spa / Ceremony Location: First Lutheran Church of Nashville / Reception Location: Historic Cedarwood / Ceremony Wedding Director: Sandra Audd / Reception Director: Christa Harris / Ceremony Music: Wedding Musicians Company / Reception Music: Wedding Musicians Company + Shareen and the Kings

I’m loving so many of the details in this wedding, but my absolute favorite has got to be how the couple displayed their love letters to one another while the groom-to-be was serving over in the Middle East in a large, old window for all their guests to see. Bridal Blueprints did an incredible job of infusing their romantic love story throughout the reception and kept the decor green and re-purposed many items to keep the overall cost down which is always a good thing in the wedding world! Ulmer Studios snapped all the pretty images and there is so much more waiting for you in the gallery.

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Bridal Blueprints…The bride’s color palette was navy, mustard/gold, lavender and ivory. Since we were working on a budget, we had to get creative when it came to decor items.  We wanted to bring in a lot of personal details to the wedding – primarily the couple’s love story.  The groom had been in the Middle East since early last year, met his bride on a brief trip back home here, they kept in touch through letters, email and Skype – he sent her flowers on a weekly basis.  He proposed to her ‘unofficially’ over the summer when he sent her to Genesis Diamonds under the premise of picking up a watch he had ordered.  When she got there, the salesman told her to pick out which ring she wanted.  The groom came home for a week of leave in October, where he went home with her to meet her family.  During a family photo session, the groom proposed to her in front of her whole family.  Because of the dangerous situation the groom is in (his job is basically what the guys in the movie the Hurt Locker did with bombs), they went ahead and got married at the courthouse. Their real wedding was the one at Carnton in June.  We wanted to share their story, and did so by using the letters they sent to each other as part of the decor.

I tried to ‘upcycle’ as many things as I could do bringing in a green, environmentally conscious element as well.  All of the fabric flowers and pennants were made from old sheets purchased from Good Will.  The window was taken from an old house in Franklin.  Rather than using a ton of flowers, we went with fabric flowers for centerpieces and attached them to twigs from dead branches in my yard.  The glass vases were all old jelly, spaghetti sauce, pickle, salsa jars.  Rather than renting new dishes, the bride collected vintage china plates from yard and estate sales and thrift stores. The guests were also invited to sign these plates & will serve as the couple’s Guest Book.   The bride’s bouquet was made primarily from her grandmother’s vintage brooches – they served as her ‘something old’.   All of the drinking glasses were mason jars that were fitted with tags for guests to write their names on and claim for the evening.  The suitcases used as the altar were from the bride’s family and supported memorial candles in honor of the bride’s grandmother and the groom’s sister.

Wedding Photography: Ulmer Studios / Wedding Coordination: Meredith Zeller of Bridal Blueprints / Caterer: Bacon & Caviar / Ceremony + Reception Venue: Carnton Plantation / Entertainment + Lighting: Ross Hill / Event Rentals: Music City Tents & Events / Floral Design: Melissa Marie Floral Designs / Hair: Bryan Wood of Salon Capelli / Linens: Connie Duglin / Make-up: Andrew Pentecost

I am filing this wedding away in my “the most adorable couple of all time” file. Because, well, they are. And this wedding? Equally adorbs. With just three months to plan because this darling duo were expecting a sweet little addition, all the details came together as though they had years to plan. Sweet little nods to the bride’s job as a librarian, a heap of southern style and so much vintage goodness you will most certainly squeal – wherever you file this wedding by Lovebird Style, you will most certainly want to stash it away for a rainy day. The prettiness in this post is so perfect you will want to pinch its cheeks, and you can do just that in the full gallery of images!

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From Lovebird Style…When Chelsee and I met, it felt like old friends meeting over coffee.  As she described her wedding ideas and all the things she wanted to incorporate on her special day, her wedding personality was easy to “see.”  Since Chelsee is expecting, we really only had a solid three months to plan together and we worked hard at finding ways to bring her vision to life.  You may have seen Chelsee on American Idol this past season.  She’s a Nashville singer/songwriter but works as a librarian by day.  So we decided to incorporate a bit of a literary theme into the decor by using old books, a library card file guest book and garland made from book pages.  She loves things with history, so we also wanted to use her eclectic collection of doilies, lace, antique mason jars, vanity trays and other vintage pieces as table centerpieces.  My favorite detail was the dessert table which showcased a gorgeous cake, individual banana puddings, homemade pies and donut holes in a vintage suitcase as the grooms cake.  The muted color palette that we chose really gave the whole affair a romantic touch.  It was a magical evening and everyone kept saying how “Chelsee” everything was!

Event Design + Coordination: Lovebird Style / Photography: Souder Photography / Flowers: Artisan Flowers / Venue: Traveller’s Rest Plantation & Museum / Rentals:  Southern Events / Catering: Jim ‘n Nick’s Bar-B-Q

Good morning, SMPers and a happy Wedding Wednesday to you!  Yes, it’s that very special day when we cure your mid-week blues with a whole lot of gorgeous in the form of seven (SEVEN!) lovely soirees simply brimming with pretty, pretty inspiration.  And since we know you L.O.V.E Wedding Wednesday just as much as we do, you’ll most definitely want to spend some time in each and every amazing gallery, where there is SO MUCH MORE wedding goodness to be had!  So, let’s get started, shall we?

Up first in our lovely lineup is a fabulous DIY affair by JCE Photography.  Crafted entirely by the gorgeous (and oh-so-talented) bride, this vintage chic stunner is boasting a pretty pink color palette, adorable bird cages, one giant ampersand (LOVE) and a $5,000 budget.  Beautiful and budget friendly?  Yes, please.  See even more of this pretty affair in the gallery!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride… Our wedding was held at a historic plantation home in Spring Hill, TN called Rippavilla. The theme was very vintage-chic, and girly! Vintage was my theme for planning the wedding, that is why I went with floral touches, bird cages, and a lace wedding gown. We used lots of pinks and whites. We used peonies, and LOTS of flower petals. My bridesmaids wore one-sleeved long flowy, watermelon pink dresses. We were on a TIGHT budget of $5,000, not including the dress which I got for a steal at only $800.00 AFTER tax and alterations. I did EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING myself. I spent countless hours researching. It was well worth it because we saved tons of money, and had a beautiful wedding!!!

Wedding Photography: JCE Photography / Wedding Venue: RippaVilla Plantation / Wedding Dress: Allure / Bridesmaid Dresses: Morilee / Caterer: Andrea, Breaking Bread / Florist: Tom Harmon / Cake + Cupcakes: Tammy Pierchoski

The bride wore white, and so did the rest of her Nashville wedding. She bedecked the whole affair in a gorgeous blanket of white, burlap, and bling, and oh. my. goodness. It is perfect. The whole day was planned, coordinated, flora’ed by (and took place at) Historic Cedarwood, and looking through all the fantastic images from Mary Rosenbaum Photographs, I can just tell it was a day built for total romance. I’m loving every single little detail, but the thing I can’t get past? All the white. I love a brave bride, and this bride’s bravery paid off – the color palette is beyond amazing. Dreamy. Perfect. Click here for more!

Cedarwood has a historic Old South look and feel (it was built in 1835). Since moving to the south, Chris and I have fallen in love with “Southern Culture” and we wanted our guests (mostly northerners) to ‘feel’ the south at our wedding.   Cedarwood was perfect, and they are also amazing wedding stylists and designers, so we knew we could rely on them to help us create a memorable affair with a mix of southern comfort, shabby chic décor with a touch of glam.

I knew right off the bat I did not want a lot of color present on our wedding day.  I love white, how the color conveys bridal and all things wedding.  Plus white is simply classic.  I felt I would never look back on my wedding pictures with disgust about my color choices if I kept my look classic with a twist.  Adding bling as a primary décor theme to the wedding made sense as well, I absolutely love sparkle.  In my wardrobe, home décor, jewelry choices… the more bling the better.  Around that time, I began to see burlap showing up in more décor stores and the Cedarwood design team helped me build this concept of burlap and bling – a mix of the natural burlap element and bling to dress it up a bit.  This established our styling and I began to get really excited about our décor choice.

The venue and flow of the evening truly defined our wedding day as unique.  Hosting a non-traditional, outside garden ceremony, cocktail hour in a barn, toasts on the front lawn of an antebellum style home was different.  I wanted there to be surprises for guests, such as finding their seat card on yarn hanging in the barn.  Providing a “shabby chic photo booth” set up as guests arrived to have their picture taken in lieu of guest book will hopefully be remembered as a unique experience.

There are so many wonderful memories from our wedding day.  In retrospect the heat of the day and the cicadas (although somewhat bothersome the day of) provided memories we will cherish forever.  Being that over half of our guests came down from northern states, the southern heat and cicadas were interesting talking points for guests after the big day.  We was so worried about the cicadas upon hearing they were taking over Nashville during the spring/early summer of our wedding however they provided nice background noise to our ceremony and one even landed on my dress!  Chris did a great job removing the cicada without worrying me. We also cherish the memory of our first dance under a beautiful chandelier with all our friends and family looking on.

Photographer:  Mary Rosenbaum Photographs / Ceremony and Reception Venue:  Historic Cedarwood / Floral Designer: Cedarwood Weddings / Event Designer/Planner/Director: Cedarwood Weddings / Invitation Designer: Designs in Paper / Cake/Desserts: Patty Cakes / Limo: Matchless Limo / Catering: A Dream Come True Catering / Wedding Gown Designer: Marisa, Faccio Bridal / Hair and Makeup: Angelica Smith, Style Kitchen / Groom and Groomsmen Attire: Joseph A Banks / Bridesmaid’s Dress Designer: Jim Hjelm, Faccio Bridal

Your Friday is about to get off to the prettiest of starts thanks to Garrett Nudd Photography. A heart-fluttering, image-saving, inspiration overload type of a start. Because this down on the farm fête is be-yond beautiful. Just be-yond. With its serious southern style, boys in bow ties, blushing bridesmaids, hors d’oeuvres amongst the horses, and a bride as beautiful as they come – it’s easy to see why I think this Friday’s forecast is mostly darling. Not to mention you still have time to enter that lovely Loeffler Randall shoe giveaway on SMP New York Weddings! Winners will be announced this afternoon, so while you wait to see if you have a new pair of shoes to claim, enjoy your pretty Friday by indulging in this wedding’s full gallery of gorgeous images!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride…My family moved to a small town outside of Chattanooga, TN shortly after Brandon and I started dating.  And, as fate would have it, Brandon was starting nursing school in TN at the very same time! Throughout the past 6 years, Brandon and I shared many special memories on my family’s farm. Whether it was sitting on “our little roof” watching the sunset, skipping rocks in the pond behind what would someday be our ceremony site, or learning how to dirtbike in the very field in which we got married, memories of special times were everywhere to be found. So, in our minds and hearts, we knew that picking a location for the wedding would be simple. Not only did it fit our desire of having a rustic yet elegant wedding, but it was home. And, as the very true saying goes…”there is no place like home!”  Our desire was that our guests would enjoy the serene surroundings while feeling relaxed, comfortable, and most importantly “at home.”

When it comes to decor, I have always been attracted to the “shabby chic” style, incorporating the elegance of crystal chandeliers, vintage china, and crisp white linens with burlap, hay, and rustic galvanized decor. What better location to put our vision into action than in our very own barn. With the added expertise of our family friend and professional designer, Jodi Brewer, our farm was transformed into a southern wedding dream. Jodi has been an interior designer for many years. Her vast talent combined with creative ideas made for unique and beautiful decor.

Like many weddings, ours wasn’t without a tiny bit of drama. Just two months before our wedding, the Southeast was devastated with major tornadoes…many of which came within just a couple miles from our home. Homes were destroyed and some people even lost their lives. While our farm suffered from the loss of several trees and broken fences, we were truly spared from the brunt of storm. I have friends who lost everything. Going through this experience while planning a wedding allowed me to place everything in perspective.  I learned that more than anything, my God, my family, and my friends are something I could never do without. With such tremendous help from all of these people, we were able to get our farm back in shape in just a few short months. July 3rd is a day that will forever hold a special place in our hearts. It is a day of cherished details, of family and friends, of the comforts of home, and most importantly of the love Brandon and I will forever share.

Venue: Private Residence / Event Design: JL Brewer Designs / Catering: Events With Taste / Floral Design: Humphreys Flowers / Wedding Photography: Garrett Nudd Photography / Wedding Videography: Tim Cofield / Music: Forte Strings / Wedding Cake: Kimmee’s Cakes / Cake Topper: Baumbirdy / Program Fan: Bama Jammer Incorporated / Dress: 2 Be Couture via Ever After Bridal & Formal Wear / Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade / Headpiece: Untamed Petals / Bridesmaid Dresses: Ann Taylor / Groom + Groomsmen Suits: Express / Groom’s Bowtie: Lumina Clothing / Groomsmen Tie: J.Crew / Ring Bearer Bowtie: Crewcuts / Ring Bearer Suspenders + Shorts: Jacadi Paris / Flower Girl Dress: Joan Calabrese / Flower Girl Headpieces: The Jenny Lynn Collection / Hair: Hair Benders International / Make-up: Dani Carpenter / Favors: eBee Honey / Calligraphy for Invitations: Kate Smith Letters

Oh be-still my vintage, lace loving heart, this photo shoot designed by Cedarwood Weddings is absolute romance perfected. From the crochet doilies hanging from twine and adorning pillows, to the lace wrapped candles, to the amazing displays of peonies, ranunculus, and spray roses, this photo shoot, captured by Ace Photography is quickly becoming a fast favorite. Oh, and I would totally love to see someone incorporate those darling little place settings tied with herbs and tiny flowers into their tablescape. I could go on and on about this one, but I’ll stop so you can get over to the gallery and see all the beauty and inspiration that’s waiting there for you.

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Cedarwood Weddings…Dramatically set against verdant natural landscapes, the bride’s Vera Wang ball gown epitomes style and sophistication.  Coral Charm Peonies, Ranunculus, Majolika Spray Roses, Astilbe, Stock, and Pink Bruina create a romantic bridal bouquet adorned with hand-made crocheted lace flowers, vintage lace wrap and a Milk Glass and Aurora Borealis Rhinestone heirloom brooch. Vintage accessories, like the bride’s hat and gloves, add a dash of southern chic. The groom looks like a true southern gentlemen in gray linen and watermelon bow tie, sporting a bold peony boutonniere.

An artisan made altar with reclaimed barn wood, antique door and bed post draped with fresh flower garlands is surrounded by hay bales with lace and burlap pillows for a Tennessee hilltop ceremony. Custom designed burlap and lace flower basket and ring pillow add an extra dose of adorable.

“Southern Supper” with elegant place sittings at one long table on the farm meadow are dressed with heirloom china, silver candelabras, lace wrapped candles and vintage milk glass overflowing with luscious fruit, herbs and flowers. The menu features local Southern fare such as fried chicken, black eyed pea salad, shrimp and grits and turkey and dressing roulades. A pie buffet, cupcakes and wedding cake in three separate locations infuse the celebration with sweetness, and a sweet tea bar including fruit and herb varieties along with bourbon mint julep tea is as southern as it gets.

Sunset in an antique wood row boat and vintage lace ‘after dress’ and parasol, and the grand farewell in a vintage Jaguar are unforgettably romantic.

Photography: Ace Photography / Venue: Historic Cedarwood / Florals, Decor + Event Styling: Cedarwood Weddings / Catering: Copper Kettle / Wedding Cake: Royal Icing Custom Cakes / Cupcakes: Cupcake Collection / Pies: Flourgirls / Linens + Rentals: Music City Party Rental / Vintage Jaguar Limo: Matchless Limousines / Invitations + Paper Goods: Designs in Paper / Bridal Gown: b.Hughes Bridal / Tuxedo: Street Tuxedo / Flower Girl’s Basket + Ring Bearer Pillow: Handmade by Cedarwood Weddings / Ceremony Altar: Custom artisan crafted using reclaimed barn wood, antique door and bed posts / Make-up + Hair: Artistry Spa Salon / Models: Jenna Peck + Travis Byous via Models, Inc. / Officiant: Ralph Griggs of Nashville Wedding Minister

Tennessee will always have a special place in my heart – not only because I happened to grow up in that pretty little place, but I also think some of the most darling weddings come out of the Volunteer State. Perhaps that sounds a bit biased since I spent so many years in the Country Music Capital, but all you have to do is take a look at this sweet as can be, DIY affair by Smitten Photography and you will see I am just stating the cold hard facts. It’s as darling as they come and there is even more in the full gallery of images!

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From the Bride…We got engaged Dec 11th and shortly after that booked the main essentials: church, reception venue, photographer, caterer, and band. We knew that we wanted no more than a 6 month engagement and picked June 11th as our date. We both wanted to get married in a church and wanted our reception indoors. We had envisioned a rustic, antique look with a warm and inviting atmosphere. The church was gorgeous as is so we decided to utilize simple, yet distinctive touches to bring in our own personalities to the sanctuary. We made burlap cones that held wildflowers and hung on the pews. We made a cross out of vine branches from a vineyard to be placed on a table in the front of the church. We put together candle vases with stick accents for the window decorations. We made moss letters (J & L) to hang from the church doors. We used a significant amount of burlap to help emphasis our rustic theme. Instead of handing our programs, I made a chalkboard program for all to see as they entered to church.

We both love the outdoors and wanted to incorporate that idea indoors by using wildflowers, tree stumps, tree limbs, trees, etc as decorations. Over the six months we collected tree stumps off the side of the road or from friends. We used the tree stumps as table tops that held wildflowers, ferns rested on top of them, and we carved a heart with a L & J in the center of it.  We filled mason jars with peas, sand, and various beans to add a splash of woodsy color to the room. We planned to hang tree limbs from the ceiling, which would hold hanging mason jars with candles in them. We created five trees that were cemented in a bucket covered with burlap, which we decorated with lights and yarn balls and cardboard birds that we had made. Luke & I love Christmas lights and candles, so we collected them and then placed those within our wedding ceremony & reception (we hung lights from the ceiling, up poles, and on the stage). The walls were enhanced when we bought some old doors and ladders that we hung string up between them with photos. We put together a hors d’oeuvre table. My mom and I made majority of the decorations and had a lot of help setting them up by our gracious friends and family.

Wedding Photography: Smitten Photography / Wedding Dress: Pronovias / Bride’s Shoes: Steve Madden / Bride’s Sandals: TOMS / Bridesmaid Dresses: Watters / Flowers: Always in Bloom / Rehearsal Dinner: Cool Springs House in Crocket Park / Ceremony Location: Vine Street Christian Church / Reception Location: Jamison Hall at the Factory at Franklin / Catering: Stove Works in the Factory at Franklin / Wedding Cake: Diane Dougharty / Band: The Reliance Band

We are going to head off into the land of inspiration for a bit with a photo shoot inspired by golden summer soirees out in the open air. Brooke Boling, photography extraordinaire, teamed up with Lauren Ledbetter for a homespun take on country nuptials. This ode to honey is filled with organic elements, perfectly crafted details and yummy baked goods galore. Check out the gallery for more honeybee inspired bits and we’ll be back in just a bit with a buying guide perfect for infusing your day with sweet, steal-worthy details.

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From Brooke Boling…Our concept was based around “American Honey.”

We LOVED all the DIY touches including the chalkboard and reclaimed wood “Spin for Your Supper” Wheel (to select your entree) and the family recipe card favors. I loved the Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat beer and the Jack Daniel’s Honey Mint Juleps with organic wooden stirrers.

Other details included invitations marked “spread the love” with flower seed packets, the homemade chalkboard table centerpieces filled with peonies and roses, tons of amber-colored votives, a ribbon ceremony backdrop, Southern Comfort cupcakes and perhaps the best part of the whole wedding…a pie making station!

Photography: Brooke Boling / Event Design: Lauren Ledbetter + Brooke Boling / Location: Pontotoc Farm, Franklin Tennessee / Flowers: Lilac / Invitations: Lauren Ledbetter / Cupcakes: Gigi’s Cupcakes / Pies: Kt + Ro Homemade Pies / Dress: B. Hughes Bridal / Bridesmaids + Flower Girls: Bella Bridesmaid Nashville / Jewelry: Diana Warner New York / Shoes: Target / Aprons: Ice Milk Aprons / Men’s Attire: Street Tuxedo + Dapper Dean / Hair + Make-up: Sherita Leslie / Burlap Decorations: Funkyshique / Honeybee Boutonniere, Crinkle Fans, Flatware Bundles and Silhouette Plates: BHLDN

It is not very often that a wedding stops me dead in my blogging tracks but this backyard ditty has done just that. It’s both a gorgeous display of wedding goodness and sweet, sweet home cooked details almost too perfect to be real. Austin Gros captured this adorable couple and their equally adorable big day and all of it has us dreaming of lovely summer soirées. The flower (yes, the really big, really gorgeous flower), the personalized mason jars, the food truck, we’ll take it all. Welcome to Monday lovelies. Now how about starting things off right with a pretty party in the full wedding gallery.

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From the Bride…When I think of our wedding day it plays over in my mind like an old black and white movie… like a rerun I must have watched a hundred times when I was growing up.  I hear the song “home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero’s on repeat… with the lyrics “home is wherever I’m with you” ringing like a bell over and over again.  With my fiancé at the time, now husband, being a musician, our “home” was different every weekend depending on where he was playing that night.  So as you can imagine, trying to research, create, plan, and organize the perfect wedding for us was difficult yet rewarding for us all at the same time.

I would start by saying we love all things vintage, the older the better in my book. The rustic-vintage-DIY style was a no-brainer.  I spent more hours than I care to mention researching various unique ways of turning traditional wedding ideas into something that reflected “us” in the best ways possible. We wanted our guest to feel at home and comfortable, kind of like they were at a big family party or a picnic. The look that we aimed for was simplistic, handmade, and whimsical.  Since, our wedding was outside in my now new parent-in-laws beautiful backyard, this wasn’t hard to accomplish.  Our ceremony was probably the simplest aspect of the entire wedding.  We decided on the park in the center of the neighborhood.  It had a circular meeting area in the middle, surrounded by tall trees, with stone seating all around it.  Our families were seated around us, his on one side and mine on the other.   It was just us and the preacher, no bridesmaids or groomsmen.  Following our short but sweet ceremony, our guests released butterflies as we walked back down the aisle & then we paraded down the street with our “Just Married” banner waving in the air all the way to the reception site where we greeted all our guests before heading off to take pictures.

Throughout the wedding process there were three things that I was definitely sticking to my guns on.  The first was our pictures, and there was no one who could capture and truly represent “us” better than our photographer Austin.  His style and what we had envisioned was spot-on.  Next, was our caterer, and for us, a food truck was a must!  I just absolutely love the simplicity and relaxed feeling they bring to an outdoor wedding.  It allows people to come and go with ease with a hint of excitement like kids flocking around an ice cream truck.  To make a long story short, when Taylor (my handsome husband) proposed to me, it caught me off guard so much I actually turned and said, “I am really in the mood for some chips and salsa” before I even realized what just came out of his mouth.  Of course I would say something like that!  So, when we found that Moe’s Southwest Grill had a food truck that could not only cater but would set-up a huge salsa bar as well, we knew they were the ones for us.  Lastly but most importantly were the flowers.  I am obsessed with wild flowers!  I’m a firm believer in you can never have too many flowers.  When in doubt, more flowers!  With our budget we knew that ordering in bulk from Sam’s was going to be our best option.  I highly recommend looking into Sam’s if you haven’t already.  They truly exceeded our expectations.  The “thrown together look” of wildflowers in mismatched vases is a favorite of mine and we made sure these covered all the tables.  The imperfection was so uniquely beautiful making each arrangement very distinct in its own way.

Wedding Photography: Austin Gros / Day of Coordinator: Cari Moretz of Socially Circled / Catering: Moe’s Mobile / Flowers: Sam’s Club / Bouquet and Boutonniere: Making Arrangements / Butterflies: Fragrant Acres Butterfly Farm / Wedding Cake and Pies: Piece-a-Cake Bakery / Wedding Invitations: Baumbirdy / Veil: Velvet Owl / Guest Book/Fingerprint Tree: Bleu De Toi / Just Married Sign: Celebrate With Fun / Venue: Private Residence / Utensils: Birchware.com / Dress: Claire Pettibone via Dream Bridal / Makeup: Darin Wright of Elea Blake Cosmetics / Paper Bags: Scrap Bits / Print: Joceybella Designs

I’d like to think that if this wedding were an inanimate object, it would be a beautiful handmade quilt. It’s full of vibrant color, adorable horsies, and such great DIY details, that I just want to wrap myself up in it all day long! And it just so happens to be designed by Cedarwood Weddings and photographed to perfection by Krystal Mann, so you know you’re gonna wanna pin these pretties! There are just so many adorable ideas to take away from this one so grab your cup of coffee and stay awhile, won’t you? I’m sure your boss will totally understand that you just had to, had to, hit up the gallery to see every last inch of this wedding in lieu of getting to work on time!

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It was important that our wedding have a relaxed elegance, that our guests felt comfortable and personally connected to the celebration, and most crucial, that it expressed our personalities. Finding a historic venue with both a stately plantation house and a vintage red barn was perfect for us. Ever since childhood I’ve been obsessed with horses. Thanks to my grandfather I was able to enjoy horses even though I never had my own. When Aaron promised to buy me a horse on our second date, I knew he was ‘the one!”  Aaron and I wanted our wedding to be personally unique, and when I mentioned my passion for horses and my horse memorabilia and folk art, Cedarwood designers incorporated my collection into décor and even arranged for real horses to be on the property on our wedding day! It was my dream come true and added so much excitement to our day.  Our favorite wedding memories are taking photos with the horses after the ceremony, and our guests feeding them apples during our cocktail hour in the barnyard.

Our ceremony was a natural rustic wonderland set in an open meadow surrounded by a sea of emerald green and wildflower styled florals and beautiful Monarch butterflies. To enjoy the outdoor beauty of this historic farm, we set up a campfire styled lounge area for guests to gather at sunset. Aaron’s family traditionally surprises each bride and groom with home baked cookies from secret family recipes, and our cookie buffet took up two rooms!  We made cookie bags featuring the vintage Howdy Doody horse show advertisement, so the cookies represented both our families. We incorporated other unique vintage pieces in our decor, like my flash cards, an antique stencil garland and a vintage horse figurine my mother found for our cake topper!

Our time capsule ‘guestbook’ is something we are so excited about opening on our five year anniversary to enjoy the notes and well wishes guests gave us on our wedding day.  Reception styling was country chic – a bit vintage/rustic using milk glass, burlap and fabric napkins hand made with retro tablecloths, yet elegantly pulled together with sophisticated florals. I adored my bridal bouquet by Cedarwood designers – a free styled mix of French lilacs, peonies, Queen Ann’s Lace, Ranunculus, Freesia, cream stock and Asters.  Heirloom pearls (handed down from my grandfather to grandmother to mother to me) and my Great Grandmother’s cameo locket on my bouquet kept me focused on the new branch Aaron and I were adding to our family tree, and getting to dance at my wedding in cowboy boots was a childhood fantasy fulfilled.  The day was simply magical and even though a random cold front moved in for one day that dropped the temperature 20 degrees, our hearts were on fire all night long.  Our wedding was a perfect fit for us, and a perfect day.

Wedding Venue:  Historic Cedarwood / Flowers, Design and Event Planning:  Cedarwood Weddings / Wedding Photography:  Krystal Mann / Officiant:  Mary Griggs / Ceremony Music:  Rob Higginbotham / Caterer: A Dream Come True Catering / Wedding Cake:  Patty Cakes / Wedding Invitations:  Designs in Paper

Some weddings were meant to be photographed and admired for hours upon end and honestly that’s what I’ve been doing with this little Nashville soirée. We’ve had a love affair all afternoon and I’m finally, finally ready to share my wedding crush. Captured by the insanely talented Austin Gros whose photographs are the epitome of GORG, this day is filled with details that are simple, paired down and undeniably pretty. And then there is the whole Monique Lhuillier corset moment that the bride is having. Total perfection. Have your own love affair with all the fabulous details here.

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From the Bride… Planning a wedding is a special celebration for the bride, and a learning process for the bride and groom, filled with incredibly happy times, as well as times of realization. For example, when you realized buying stamps would cost more than your veil, or realizing your planners got you confused with another bride and suggested that at one point you wanted your programs printed on giant fans! Through tremendous loving, a lot of laughing, and numerous conversations centered around improving communication, we were able to create a day, a scene, a moment of pure happiness that we felt portrayed who we were, what we believed in, and how we plan on living our lives as we move forward together.

My dress was Monique Lhuillier, purchased from The Bride Room.  The handmade corset goes by the name “Meringue,” “silk white embroidered chantilly lace embellished corset” as described by the designer. Through the process of planning and the challenge of keeping “the dress” a secret we referred to “her” as “Meringue” as if we were speaking in code! The brooch was love at first site. It was given to me as a gift from Lance the night before our wedding, I had been talking about how beautiful it was for months, and it was a perfect match for “Meringue!”

The bow ties were purchased at Levy’s. Lance and I originally chose the standard tie in the material of our choice, but Lance later returned to Levy’s with his parents and decided to have custom bow ties made using the same material as the original tie. They were the talk of the night and something Lance and his friends have already worn again since that day!

I am a Mississippi girl and, when choosing my caterer, I was taken by Catherine Bowling-Dean, who welcomes you into her work space, sits with you as you argue over twice baked potatoes or mashed potatoes, and hand writes all your choices on a yellow legal pad then ask for you to sign the bottom! It was perfect. She is straight forward, affordable, &  includes the cakes in the deal! I decided to use 6 vintage cake stands with solid white 8 inch rounds placed on each, while for Lance we asked Catherine to make a traditional chocolate cake with chocolate covered strawberries. My two older sisters and family friends stayed up late the night before the wedding making mini golf cupcakes to place on the groom’s table to represent his interest! They were adorable and perfectly to scale, thanks to my sister the architect!

For wedding favors, a donation was made by Lance & I to a foundation very close to our hearts, Hands and Feet Project, the donation was made in place of purchasing wedding favors to hand out to guest! Cards informing guests of this donation, as well as information on the charity were placed throughout the venue.

Wedding Photography: Austin Gros / Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier via The Bride Room / Wedding Ceremony & Reception Location: Villa Toscana via Vacation Rentals by Owner / Brooch: Paris by Debra Moreland / Bow Ties: Levy’s / Hair: Jill Scissom of The Hair Salon / Floral Design: Branches / Catering & Cakes: Me and My Tea Room Catering / Cake Topper: DEARJES / Band: Kadillacs / Wedding Favors: Donation to Hands and Feet Project / Ring Bearer Pillow: Nana Montana Studio / Guest Book: Parkside Harmony / Mustaches: Perfectionate / Lanterns: Bragging Bags

This Lakewood bride caught the planning bug during her engagement and, after seeing all of her remarkable DIY projects, I say more power to her!  The invitations, flowers, photo booth wall, favors…yep, you got it…all made by the hands of this creative bride and groom.  And, by the look of it, they had a great time cutting, arranging and crafting !  Almost as great of a time as they and their guests must have had at what looks like a blast of a wedding photographed by Swept Away Studios!  Click here to see even more!

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From the Bride… As a sometimes overly-organized, stickler for plans, detail-oriented math teacher, I’m pretty sure my friends and family worried that I would be uptight and anxious on our wedding day. With eighteen full months to plan our homemade affair, Dustin and I spent countless hours researching, crafting, planning, creating, revising and envisioning what we wanted our wedding to look like, taste like and feel like for us and our guests. Up to the day before and even the morning of our wedding, we were cutting, arranging and crafting details.  My promise to myself was to not let anything that may, or would, go off kilter get to me on our wedding day. By keeping that promise to myself, those little mishaps turned into funny anecdotes and there wasn’t a minute I didn’t feel like my smile would rupture from overuse.

Sure, there were tears that moment before my dad walked me down the aisle when I held the locket in my hand that dangled from my bouquet as a reminder that my little brother was watching us from heaven or when Dustin and his mom danced to “In My Life” and his dad and my mom both stood there with tears over what the song also meant to them in their lives. Those tears, though, were out of sentiment and love.

Dustin and I met about six years prior to our wedding at a friend’s wedding, but living across the country from each other prevented us from beginning a relationship. After two years, Dustin returned to our home state of Florida and our chemistry bonded us together. We were the perfect pair and found ourselves inseparable. When Dustin applied for Optometry school in Memphis, Tennessee, we decided to make the move together. We became engaged while living the Tennessee life, but knew our wedding would be in our hometown in Florida. Planning a wedding from another state has its own set of challenges, but we made it work. We painted the vision of our day in golds, creams and pear greens and infused details of pears here and there.

With a limited budget and an overabundant desire for the day to be our kind of perfect, we took on all the details of the day ourselves. From the very first Save the Date card to the flowers, program fans, ceremony wording, seating postcards, table arrangements, boutonnieres, pear butter favors, thumb print guest tree, cut-out photo wall and beyond, we made each and every part ourselves. I can remember spinning around during our first dance and focusing in on my parents’ glass lanterns in the center of each table with all of our ideas arranged around them and thinking, “we actually pulled this off and it is so beautiful to me.”

My favorite detail would have to be our seating cards that mimicked vintage post-cards with our own travel adventures on the front and a message to our guests regarding our journey of love bringing us to this point on the back, each addressed with their name. Dustin built the huge boards where we strung the cards and I can only hope that our friends and family enjoyed finding Cozumel or the Ocoee River as they meandered to their tables.

After dancing through the night, our guests chose a vintage matchbook from a vase reading “find your perfect match” that they used to send us off from a sparkler lined balcony. For me, I found my perfect match in planning and now I’m itching for a reason to plan someone’s shower, a party, anything! Even more so, I knew that the happiness I felt that entire day was the kind of happiness that comes from somewhere deeper than perfect cupcakes and starting the ceremony on time…it was from my love for Dustin.

Photography: Swept Away Studios / Event Design & Coordination: DIY, The Bride & Groom / Floral Design: DIY, The Bride & Groom / Wedding Ceremony & Reception Location: Hollis Gardens / Wedding Invitations & Paper Goods: DIY, The Bride & Groom / Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal / Photo Wall: DIY, The Bride & Groom / Thumb Print Guest Tree: DIY, The Bride & Groom / Favors: DIY, The Bride & Groom

Picsee Studio, who has one of the cutest names in the biz by-the-way, sent us this Tennessee charmer, and we’ve fallen for the sweet and beautiful bride, the cowboy groom, and the love that just bounces off of them. A product of an overly talented bride, this DIY wedding features great handmade details. Read that? Handmade – as in you can gather lots of inspiration from this one! Gather away, and hop over to Picsee’s blog when you’re ready for more!

From Picsee Studio … We adore this bride and groom! We fell in love with them from the very beginning and still get teary eyed when we go back through their wedding images. Brandi is a school teacher and is super crafty. She is used to doing a lot of DIY projects for her classroom and that spilled right into her wedding details.

The ceremony and reception both took place at the Allandale Mansion – a historic home converted into a public venue – and every detail was festive and fall inspired. The “first meet” was beautiful, the ceremony was unbelievablely emotional, and the reception afterwards was a happy blur of cake, dancing, bubbly, and laughter. Everybody had a fantastic time, and the BIG love these two share simply overflows when they’re together.

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I met Tony in a college class. He was a real, down to earth, feed the cows before class, cowboy.  After going for a ride in his farm truck, I knew it was love. Who could ask for more?

For us, being outside with our dogs enjoying the fall is our favorite. Getting married outside in Tennessee’s amazing autumn weather was obviously an easy choice! Other than an outdoor wedding, lace dress, and cowboy boots, we were up for just about anything.

We wanted a laid back feeling for our guests. I am such a fan of creative DIY work, so I searched and searched the net for inspiration. I have to say, my guest book/tree was by far my favorite idea of the wedding. After choosing my ivory Jim Hjelm dress (which I had them alter a bit), Corral boots, and handmade jewelry, I was set.

My sister-in-law is still in disbelief at me; cool and calm under pressure on my wedding day. I was so excited to be married, that I didn’t really care about most everything else. Well, other than food! Our awesome caterer made us a basket full of our favorite picks. We had a midnight picnic in our hotel room.

The weather was perfect, my make-up was still shine free by aisle time, and the groom was amazing….what more could you ask for?

Photography: Picsee Studio / Flowers: Connie Timmons / Ceremony Location: Allandale Mansion / Reception Location: Allandale Mansion /Grooms Cake: Rebecca Grizzle / Wedding Cake: Unique Cake and Catering / Dress: Jim Hjelm

It’s Monday again, time for another week of lovelies here at the LBB Blog. And to start us off, we have the loveliest of all the lovelies. Seriously, I’m all a flutter over the beautiful succulents, the bohemian bride, the vintage groom, and the sweet color palette. And that vintage red truck? Forget about it. Smitten. Kristyn Hogan was the lens behind this Nashville photo shoot, designed by the provenly talented Cedarwood Weddings team. Our swoon meters are so far off the charts over every single piece inspiration in this shoot, and there is a lot. Dance your little fingers on over to the gallery for more!

From Kristyn Hogan, the photographer … We were going for soft, passionate, carefree, earthy wedding inspiration. A down to earth afternoon affair with whimsical bohemian touches – handmade vintage ribbon garland, teacups, bird seed, clothesline, lace, fresh florals, an old Chevy truck, tree swing, flower halo and a couple in love. The bride wore a soft pink and ivory Magnolia Pearl dress with vintage boots and the groom wore authentic vintage attire including a silk bow tie and rustic vest.

Cedarwood Weddings handmade many of the details in this shoot. Garland made from vintage lace, hand stamped ribbon, burlap and ribbon garland used between two trees and on the back of the vintage Chevrolet with tin cans. Antique silver and mismatched china tea cups were filled with succulents, moss, ranunculus, peonies, heather and wax flower. The ring presentation was on a vintage crocheted lace heart.

Photography: Kristyn Hogan / Venue: Cedarwood / Florals, Styling and Tabletop Décor: Cedarwood Weddings Design Team / Attire: Gypsy Chic & Magnolia Pearl / Invitations: Megan Swilley Invitations

Yesterday was a big day at SMP with the launch of our oh so fabulous local blogs! We could not have been more excited to see those beauties hit the Internets!  So worthy of two exclamations in a row. Well today is just as exciting because we have a Wedding Wednesday lineup that is sure to knock your socks off. Seven weddings and seven galleries full of images equals one glorious day. Just another pretty day at Style Me Pretty!

Why not start this pretty pretty day with another take my breath away wedding from Watson-Studios. Not only am I am member of their fan club, I am the also the president (hope that’s OK Natalie and Dan). Seriously, I love their get to the core of the couple way of capturing the day. And with a couple as darling as this one, the end result is a wedding worthy of hours spent oogling over the gallery of images.

Click here to see the entire image gallery!

From the Bride… I am a very sentimental person, and I love my family and all the traditions we continue to pass from generation to generation. I wanted a morning wedding because that is the time of day my parents and my grandparents got married. I loved the idea of having the young children and the older adults being able to really enjoy the reception, too, instead of having a party that went late into the night.

After deciding to have a morning wedding, I wanted to stick with the traditions my family has used for generations, but also make it personal at the same time. Since my grandmother, mom, sister, aunt, cousins (most of the women on my mom’s side of the family) have been married in my home church, Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church, I knew I wanted to have a formal, traditional church service there. Some of the important smaller details were the kneeling bench in the church, the diamond broach, the silver candelabras at the cake table, and the cake topper.  My great-grandmother, “Mimi,” actually did the needlework on the kneeling bench at our church.  All of the girls since my great-great-grandmother have worn her diamond broach on their wedding day.  I did not have a place on my dress for it, so I wore it on my bracelet.  The two larger silver candelabras on either side of the cake have the initials “MB” engraved on them. The candelabras were given to Mimi when she was married with her first and middle initials “MB” (Marion Bidwell was her full name). When my parents named me Molly Blane (Blane was a family name from Mimi’s side of the family as well), Mimi gave the candelabras to my parents to give to me when I got married. The cake topper has also been used by all of the girls since Mimi.

Caleb and I chose for the guys to wear morning suits, just as my parents wore in their wedding. I liked how old-fashioned they looked. I also wore a dress that Mimi made out of ribbon to my bridesmaids luncheon.

After making sure to include all the traditional details, we also wanted to make our wedding personal with “Caleb and Molly” details. For our first dance a cycling friend of Caleb’s performed a song that he had written.  The song says “Will you dance with me, Molly?” and it has always been “our song.”  Also, we spend a lot of time biking and playing outside together.  Caleb is very into cycling, and has slowly gotten me into it. We knew we wanted to ride away on a tandem bicycle. I did not want a themed wedding, but if there was one detail that truly inspired the feeling I wanted to capture for our day, it was definitely that red tandem bicycle. We tried to use it as a small motif with the save-the-dates design, and also used it a design of it on the candy bags.  It was also really important to get some photos of us on the bicycle, and those are definitely some of my favorites from the day.

Wedding Photography: Dan & Natalie Watson of Watson-Studios / Wedding Ceremony Venue: Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church / Wedding Reception Venue & Catering: Maple Grove Inn / Bouquets & Reception Floral Design: Clay Pots Floral Events / Ceremony Floral Design: Family & Friends of the Bride / Bridesmaid Dresses: Amsale via The Bride Room / Bridesmaid Jewelry: J.Crew + Anthropologie / Wedding Dress: Casablanca Couture via White Lace & Promises / Morning Suits: Men’s Wearhouse / Wedding Invitations & Programs: Larry B. Newman Printing Company / Save-the-Dates & Candy Labels: Doodle Pad / Cake: Esther Kant of Sweet Manna / Wedding Ceremony Music: Celebration Strings + Dr. Eunsuk Jung / Wedding Reception Music: The Wooten Brothers