Under the definition of darling, you’ll most certainly see reference to this Nashville fête by Love is a Big Deal. It’s darling I tell you – so darling that darling doesn’t even cover it. It’s country and chic, southern and stylish, rustic yet refined – and it’s all completely perfect. With the Historic Cedarwood not only playing host to this lovely affair, but also helping to dream up the design, and Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence crafting some of the prettiest invites I ever did see – this couple’s darling day is just simply…perfect. See it all here!
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From the Bride… When Ruben proposed, we knew wedding planning was truly going to be our first big adventure together. We had five months until we deployed to Afghanistan for a year. Our first major decision was location. I grew up in Wisconsin, and Ruben was a city boy from California. We decided on a “destination wedding” in Nashville, where we met and fell in love and where we were going to begin our lives together. After looking around at venues, we fell in love with the beauty and amazing staff at Historic Cedarwood. The location was perfect, just outside of downtown Nashville and set out in a secluded area in Whites Creek. We knew it was the perfect canvas for creating the rustic chic day of our dreams. The Cedarwood team was absolutely amazing and helped us coordinate every detail of our day through countless emails and photographs sent between Tennessee and Afghanistan. I also had an amazing experience with the design team at Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence in designing our custom invitations. In choosing our wedding date, I poured over the farmer’s almanac, looking at which date would most likely be dry and sunny and not too cold. The team at Lucky Luxe incorporated this detail by creating a custom envelope liner from a page from an old farmer’s almanac.
The day of the wedding was an absolute dream come true. Every detail came together in the most amazing way. It was beyond our wildest dreams. The Cedarwood staff, especially Linda and Christa, made sure every detail was taken care of, which allowed Ruben and I to focus on each other and enjoying the day with all of our family and friends. Josh and Meg Souder of Love is a Big Deal Photography captured every detail and emotion of the entire day. Some of my favorite shots were from our “first look” session prior to the ceremony. It was a quiet time for us to enjoy each other before all of the craziness began. We also got photos of Ruben receiving his gift, a Caesar Guerini shotgun which was Ruben’s dream. I know there aren’t many weddings where the groom gets a shotgun, but man was he excited. The pictures of us with the shotgun are some of my favorites. Neither Ruben nor I are particularly photogenic people. I am the queen of squinting and Ruben gets distracted and tends to stare off in photos. Josh and Meg immediately put us at ease because they do not pose photos. It was like hanging out with friends. I don’t think it’s normal to laugh as much as we did when we hung out with them. They definitely helped keep our nerves at bay and helped capture some of the most amazing photos. Our family still raves about what a great time they had with Josh and Meg in the crazy booth and on the dance floor.
After our honeymoon, we had a chance to look at our guest book, which had polaroids of our guests posing in front of a chalkboard with messages and words of advice written in the margin. My niece Emily and Ruben’s sister Jessica were in charge of the book and did an absolutely amazing job. I don’t know if I cried or laughed harder going through the messages. The entire wedding was so personal and had every detail I imagined executed to perfection. Even more important was the memories of love and happiness with each other and our family and friends that we will share for a lifetime.
Wedding Photography: Josh + Meg Souder of Love is a Big Deal / Wedding Venue, Event + Floral Design: Historic Cedarwood in Nashville, Tennessee / Wedding Cake: Patty Cakes / Cider Donuts: Evans Orchard / Transportation: Matchless Limousine / Wedding Invitations: Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence / Calligraphy: Holland Wilson Calligraphy / Custom Map: The Wandering Whale / Guest Book: Modern Shabby / Programs: Designs in Paper / Wedding Dress: Jim Hjelm via Faccio Bridal (615-778-9437) / Veil: The Red Magnolia / Hair Fascinator: Anna Panik / Bride’s Shoes: Valentino / Hair: Jenna Al-Hayek of Salon Atash / Makeup: Lisa Johnson of Brides by Lisa