First it was the old Southern mansion that caught my eye, and then I started oohing and aahing over the Brides’s gorgeous gown. But then I saw the bridesmaid dresses and I’m just going to officially declare this wedding a winner. The whole soiree is a breath of fresh air, captured by Glass Jar Photography and with Bright Event Productions, every moment shined. Join me in the fan club right here!
From Glass Jar Photography… Jess and Grayson both work in the music industry in Nashville and wanted a lovely floral with vintage elegant toned wedding, and they nailed it.
Loads of classic and antique design elements all around an old Southern mansion near Nashville, TN.
A totally in love couple, with a ton of great design and styling ideas for anyone looking for an elegant and timeless toned wedding.
From the Bride… We wanted our wedding to be a celebration of our relationship and all of the things it is: full of unique beauty, brimming with old-fashioned-meets-modern romance, sweet and a little bit wild, dreamy-eyed for days gone by balanced with our joy for now and tomorrow – all framed by the people we love and cherish most.
We know our love story is the only of its kind, and we wanted our wedding to be the same way. Relationships and romances are like fingerprints; no two are the same. Grayson and I wanted to put our unique stamp on our wedding by not following any specific rules while still sprinkling in traditional rituals and elements as we wished. Nashville and the surrounding areas have a multitude of wedding venues, but Grayson and I were initially unsuccessful in finding the place that was perfect for us.
However, we soon got word of a new venue, Ravenswood Mansion, just south of Nashville in the idyllic rolling hills. The historic venue, built in 1825, wasn’t due for restoration completion until a month prior to our wedding, but we took a gamble and set our date. We wanted unique and we got it: we were the very first couple married at Ravenswood.
For aesthetics and creative direction, we turned to the brilliantly talented Janna Brown of Janna Brown Design Co. (who also happens to be my sister). Her taste and style are flawless, and we trusted her to take our ideas and run with them. She listened to what inspired us, what we were drawn to and considered all of the outside elements. Her professional expertise and creative ideas not only guided the overall creative direction for the day, she made it a truly personal and touching experience for both us and our guests. In addition to providing/styling all of our props and vintage rentals, Janna surprised us throughout the wedding day with gorgeous details and touches that we could never have imagined. Her vision and coordination with Kara Anne Paper for calligraphy and signage created some of the most memorable touches of the day. She created a hand-drawn crest for our wedding day of Ravenswood Mansion that appeared on cocktail napkins, hand-painted cookies and more. In addition, Janna and Kara created a “logo” of our two beloved dogs—Buddy and Linus—which was found on custom koozies and more hand-painted cookies. To name the multitude of elements such as these that Janna Brown envisioned and executed would be impossible. I’ll just say that she far exceeded our wildest dreams for a wedding day ripe with beauty, styled
to the nines and attention to detail at every turn.
Janna also worked with Lauren Atkinson of LMA Designs to create floral designs and tablescapes that were out of this world. Lush, wild, organic and romantic, they were inspired by an Arizona-meets-Tennessee muted color palette and anchored by a variety of succulents, Juliet David Austin
roses, dahlias, olive and eucalyptus branches. To add more texture and contrast, my bridal bouquet featured king proteas. Lauren has a fantastic eye for detail which yields her extraordinary arrangements, and we can’t recommend her highly enough.
Our photographers and videographers, Glass Jar Photography, are visionaries and have phenomenal talent at capturing light, emotion and moments. We had already worked with them for our engagement session, and they felt like old friends from Day 1. We can’t say enough about how Whitney and Bethany not only saw the beauty of the day and all of the moments that stitched it together, but they were able to translate it into a medium that we will be able to treasure forever.
One of the most interesting, fun and lovely aspects of our wedding day was our cookie table. Grayson grew up in northeast Ohio community in which weddings were always celebrated with a fabulous cookie table. The cookie table at a northeast Ohio wedding is twice as important as a wedding cake and so much more delicious. It’s a tradition that’s said to originate in northeast Ohio/southwestern Pennsylvania by Eastern European, Italian and Greek immigrants who wanted to bring a taste of the homeland to the New World. At our wedding, the gorgeous gourmet cookies were all homemade and brought by family and friends.
My dress, the two-piece Giuliana corset and skirt by Monique Lhuillier, was my dream dress, and I couldn’t have been happier with how it tied all of the elements of the wedding together in its mix of traditional and modern design. For my bridesmaids—my sister and two sisters-in-law—I asked them to choose a dress in a shade of champagne that reflected their personality best. I wanted them to feel comfortable, beautiful and be able to wear the dress again. They chose beaded dresses in a variety of styles from Adrianna Papell and Sue Wong. Grayson and his groomsmen wore dark grey, slim-cut suits and champagne neckties to compliment the ladies’ dresses and the overall wedding color palette.
We were truly pleased with all of our vendors: Katie Choma of Always Inspired Events was a fantastic day-of coordinator; Five Senses Catering provided an absolutely delicious dinner and impeccable service, Bright Events Productions delivered top-notch lighting, Jake Burton Entertainment kept us entertained and dancing into the night, and Leslie Ellis made us feel beautiful with her hair and makeup talents.Grayson and I knew while planning our wedding that every couple wants their wedding to be beautiful, go smoothly and be absolutely memorable for the bride and groom as well as family and friends. We were no different in that regard, but we did want to have ours be uniquely ours. We had a wedding day that was all of those things and so much more thanks to all of the people mentioned above, as well as our families and loved ones. It was a celebration in every way and will live on for decades in our hearts and memories.
Photography: Glass Jar Photography | Event Styling: Janna Brown Design Co. | Floral Design: Lauren Atkinson | Wedding Dress: Ben-Amun By Isaac Manevitz | Cake: Frosted Affair | Invitations: The Paper Place | Jewelry: Ben-Amun By Isaac Manevitz | Catering: Five Senses | Hair And Makeup: Leslie Ellis Hair and Makeup | Lighting: Bright Event Productions | DJ: Jake Burton Entertainment | Wedding Venue: Ravenswood Mansion | Day Of Coordination: Katie Choma, Always Inspired Events | Rentals: Janna Brown Design Co. | Sound: High Tone Entertainment