Amy and Chris planned a southern destination wedding in beautiful Nashville!  The couple hailed from Los Angeles and landed in Tennessee where they wanted to give their guests a true ‘experience.’

Both Amy and Chris had roots in Tennessee, Amy shared their story with us.  “Chris and I are both from Tennessee (just outside Nashville).  I moved out to LA for college and stayed here.  I ran into Chris almost 15 years later when I was home visiting for Christmas.  We started emailing, then talking on the phone, visiting, and he moved out to LA a few years later.  Getting married in Nashville was perfect, because (1) we each have friends and family there; (2) we also have a lot of friends and family in Virginia (so it’s not too far for them); and (3) all our friends from LA (and other non-Southern locales) were excited to check out Nashville – and a lot of them made the journey.  We all stayed in downtown Nashville and hit the honky tonks each night.  Everyone loved that you could walk out the hotel door (the downtown Hilton) and have so many options for restaurants and bars.  And they loved that there was live music everywhere – even at the airport – and that Tennesseeans are so nice!”

To get the guests excited, the couple sent out a cityscape themed save the date with coordinating invitations to follow.

They pair selected the rustic Fontanel Mansion for their nuptials, the perfect backdrop to host a Nashville themed fete.

At the ceremony, Amy’s sister was the officiant.

Such a sweet color palette!

We asked the bride and groom about their favorite moments from the day…

Amy’s favorite moments:  ”(1) walking down the aisle with my Dad (who is a Retired Army Colonel and wore his old dress uniform for me) and seeing Chris and all of my friends and family smiling at us; (2) our “private moment” after the ceremony – the caterer set up a table for us on a private balcony with champagne and samplings of all of our delicious food – it gave us a moment to take it all in; (3) leaving the reception under a canopy of sparklers on a red carpet to our very cool “getaway car,” that was stocked with champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries.

Chris’ favorite moment:  “He loved the sparklers and the down home food (and his dad – a Retired Army General – also wore his uniform).”

Then it was indoors for a rustic woodsy reception.

For wedding favors, custom stamped mason jars served up delish drinks!

For dessert, a tribute to another love of the groom!  ”Chris had an Alabama Crimson Tide groom’s cake (red velvet with buttercream frosting).  He was born in Tuscaloosa, where his dad was going to college (at Alabama), and his whole family are HUGE Bama fans.  In fact, since I wanted to get married during football season, I had to clear the date with Chris’ family.  Fortunately, 9/8/12 worked out since Bama was playing a scrub team.  That said, the game WAS on at the venue before the wedding.”

The couple opted to cover the pool to create a modern dance floor beneath the skylight ceiling.

“Nashville is an amazing place to get married and such a fun place for out of town guests to visit.  While it was challenging to plan a wedding from across the country, my vendors – in particular Hillary Yeager of Brocade and Erin Lee of the Collection - were wonderful resources for me and made the planning so much easier.  I am so happy that my wedding day was everything I dreamed of – I wish I could do it again!”

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

Destination Wedding Photographer: The Collection

Wedding Vendors: Location: Fontanel Mansion, Caterer:  A Dream Come True, Florist and Invitations:  Hillary Yeager at Brocade Nashville, Cake: Dulce Desserts, Videographer: With This Ring Wedding Films, Getaway Car: Matchless Transportation