Sweet Pastel Pink Garden Wedding At The Cordelle in Nashville
Romance isn't just blossoming in this sweet pastel pink garden wedding at The Cordelle in Nashville, it is full out blooming in all it's glory! Katie and Stuart are the picture of a beautiful couple in love and we are head over heels in love with their big day celebrating that love! Plus Katie gave us the inside scoop on her wedding planning process as well as some adorable behind the scenes bloopers that will make the whole day memorable and so fun to talk about for years to come!
So dive on in to this fabulous Fall wedding day and don't forget to check out the full gallery! We have many more inspiring photos to share with you thanks to the talents of Christy Wilson Photography. Oh and don't miss their budget breakdown, it's a good way to gage how much you might spend on your best day ever!
Wedding Magic and Memories
From the Bride: There's something about the magic of a wedding. As a little girl, I always dreamed of being a bride wearing a beautiful white gown with the man of my dreams at the end of the aisle looking at me like I'm the most beautiful princess he'd ever laid eyes on. Fast forward a few years and in the summer of 2016, Stuart (the man of my dreams), got down on one knee with tears in his eyes asking me to be with him forever. After that moment, I knew the exact wedding that I wanted. I wanted the day to be magical, full of laughter, and full of love.
The only thing that went wrong (which I can actually laugh at) is when all the wedding party was finished walking down the aisle, my dad and I were sitting upstairs in the bridal suite just chatting and waiting for someone to come get us to start heading downstairs. We started to hear the song we were supposed to walk down to and the owner of the Cordelle's actually came upstairs and said "I think that's your cue" and we both look at the same time and rush down the stairs (without tripping) and the best part about that moment was my dad holding the back of my dress so I wouldn't fall. I will always remember that moment for as long as I will live! Thank you daddy for always being my favorite "spur of the moment" guy.
A true testament for BHLDN
The next step in planning our wedding was my dress. I searched online at stores for a dress that was truly unique, inexpensive (because holy cow can dresses break the bank when it comes to weddings!!), and that was just a total 'Katie' kind of dress.
I remembered someone telling me about Anthropologies Wedding Line called 'BHLDN' (pronounced beholden). I set up an appointment and invited 7 of my favorite and important ladies in my life to join me. I loved every single dress that I laid my eyes on in that store...all engaged ladies out there, you HAVE to check it out! I remember trying on about 7 or 8 dresses and loved them all. Deciding on the right dress wasn't as tricky as I thought it would be because I went to the store with one beautiful dress in mind. It was really easy to say yes to the dress and ordered it right there in the store. The awesome thing about BHLDN was that from the day I ordered my dress to the day I received it in the mail was 10 DAYS. Yes ladies, only 10. I had to have it altered by my lovely aunt so you have to find an alteration place that does it for you but it is so worth it!
Fresh Decor & Unique Desserts
As far as desserts went, we decided we both did not want a cake or anything considered traditional at this point. Number one, they cost a boat load and yeah sure, they can look super pretty but we wanted something more unique (and cheaper). We decided to go with something that gave us the most memories over the years because nothing bad happens when you have a good old s'more in your hand! We were very happy with that dessert decision.
I knew I wanted peachy colors, deep burgundy, and lots of eucalyptus...I'm kind of obsessed. That's when I found Elizabeth Earnest Florals. I wanted someone who could bring non-traditional to the table and might I say, she definitely delivered. On the wedding day I found out she arranges flowers for the show 'Fixer Upper' on HGTV and was slightly freaking out
Battle Of The Bands
The band's name is WAKER also known as KOA before they changed their band name recently. They are graduates of Belmont University in Nashville, TN, and my best friend Taylor also went there so that was the connection we had to consider them performing at our wedding.
We had gone to battle of the bands one year when I was visiting and they were the winners of the whole contest-for those who don't know, Belmont University is full of incredibly talented individuals striving to live their dreams as performers-so for them to have won this contest was a big deal! The members of WAKER are young and full of life and can really put on a show. They learned a few songs to play for our wedding day about a month before and the absolutely killed it. In fact, they were so good that my grandma (she's young and hip I promise) was standing front and center obsessing over them. We were so grateful to have them at our wedding because Stuart and I love concerts and music so that played a huge role on our big day. No offense to DJ's, but live bands are so much more fun and lively!
Planning & Budgeting Advice
Be open minded, be yourself, stay positive, and don't get side tracked by anyone else's expectations. Since when did we start caring about other people's expectations? It only makes you a worried, sweaty, bridezilla mess and trust me, that isn't the prettiest look.
On my wedding day and even during the planning, I tried to be as positive as I could just in case something didn't go as planned. I think it's really stressful to be worried about anything at all on your wedding day since you're getting married to a man who loves you-why should anything else matter besides the I-do's because that's truly the only reason that matters! In the end I was really thankful that I didn't let anything affect me and I was truly able to sit back, relax, and spend my wedding day with the ones who cared about me and that I loved the most.
The breakdown of our budget was really fun to go through since my hubby is really great with numbers-VERY thankful for that quality in him.
Venue: $4,800
Wedding dress: $1,400
Makeup: $70
Photographer: $2,000
Florist: $2,000
Band: $3,300
Wedding planner: $730
Catering: $1,900
Dessert (S'mores): $250
Drinks: $300
Stuart's Suit: $346
Bridesmaid's Gifts: $125
Grooms men's Gifts $195
Invites (I designed and printed) : $56.97
Rehearsal Dinner: $1,000
Wedding Rings: $900
Rentals: $1,400
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- Wedding Photographers: Christy Wilson Photography
- Band: Waker
- Dress & Apparel: BHLDN
- Event Planning & Design: B-Golden Events
- Flowers: Elizabeth Earnest Florals
- Groom & His Men: Express Men
- Rentals and Transportation: Grand Central Party Rentals
- Venues & Officiants: The Cordelle