A Charming Southern Wedding: Jill & Chris - October 24, 2009

I'm so excited to finally share this wedding with you! Jill & Chris and I had over a year of anticipation (and lots of fun) to plan their wedding at Belle Meade Plantation on October 24. To show you the great time we had during the process, I'll share this snippet from Jill's blog during her planning:

When we first met her we walked out of there and Chris said "sold!" And that was exactly the way I felt. She is so laid back and easy to talk to . . . exactly what we need!

I think the point I knew it was a perfect match was when she asked if we had a vision or "theme" we wanted for the wedding. I looked at Chris (as I did on many of the questions once I had exhausted my choice of words - about 5) and as he tried to describe our taste including the words "sophisticated hillbilly" she started laughing and put a big star next to it on her paper. She said "Well if I ever lose our vision I will refer back to this!" :-)

I'd had some doubts about if I was doing the right thing . . . is the extra work and stress worth the money we would save doing it ourselves? What would people think? Well, I got over that really quick after our meeting last night! I walked out knowing 100% we made the right decision. She met with us for an hour and a half discussing our thoughts on how we want everything and started to plan the timeline of the wedding and reception. Most importantly I think is that Chris and I both walked out excited about the wedding and not stressed. If she has the ability to do that at every meeting and get things done I am all for it! 

While the "fun" part of wedding planning is so creative and enjoyable, what Jill describes above is really my main goal. I want you to feel relaxed and taken care of during the process, as if I'm here to throw a party in your honor that you get to simply walk in and enjoy!

The intimate ceremony was held just before dusk in the Boxwood Garden for her 100 guests, and officiated by the always wonderful Ralph Griggs. If I do say so myself, these were the cutest flower girls and ring bearer around! Their enthusiasm turned into running down the long aisle and everyone loved it. We also served hot chocolate and hot spiced tea in the garden as guests arrived to combat the chilly air!

(This is one of my favorite pictures ever, by the way.)

To achieve their look and feel, the Carriage House at Belle Meade was a perfect fit. It has a rustic, country feel without taking it as far a renovated barn. Her color scheme was black, white, and red with a Baroque pattern that was echoed throughout the event.

To honor their Kentucky heritage, we named the tables after past Derby winners, and each guest received a commemorative 135th Anniversary Derby glass - conveniently in our color scheme!

The menu was Buttermilk Dipped Fried Chicken, Slow-cooked Southern Green Beans, Homemade Mac 'n' Cheese, Corn Bread and Biscuits, and even Banana Pudding in mini Mason jars for the groom!

One of my favorite parts of the whole day was how were were able to take the graphic from their custom invitation and use it on the cake - amazing job, Jay!

Jason Middleton of Middleton Entertainment did a great job keeping the dance floor full - and playing lots of Neil for Chris, of course! - and we had a great moment with Jill's grandparents who'd been married the longest and shared some sweet and humorous advice with the newlyweds!

Here are few more of my favorite shots, taken by the incredible Peter and Whitney of Dove Wedding Photography. I was so happy to finally have a wedding with them! They even got a shot of these rehearsal dinner invitations at Jack's BBQ we made for them from their engagement shoot!

Thanks Jill & Chris for such a fun experience working with you and your families - wish we could do it every year! :)

And always, a huge thank you to our wonderful vendors who make all of this a reality:




Photography: Dove Wedding Photography

Florals: Jimm Wright Designs

Rentals: Southern Events

Lighting: Nashville Event Lighting

Officiate: Ralph Griggs, M Th.

DJ: Middleton Entertainment

Guitarist: Rob Higginbotham, Nashville Wedding Guitarist

Cake: Maples Wedding Cakes

Catering & Bar: A Catered Affair

Custom Socials: Williamson County Weddings Boutique

Transportation: Music City Bus

Makeup: Amy Lynn Larwig

Rachael & Rusty - October 3

The first weekend of October is officially my favorite weekend to have a wedding at CJ's, or in Tennessee for that matter! The weather is always great and we're just starting to see the very beginnings of fall. So I was thrilled that one of my favorite clients coincided with my favorite weekend! Rachael was so great to work with - a ball of energy and great taste! I especially knew we'd have some magic when I connected her with Caprice at The Enchanted Florist - I was sure they'd be a match, and they simply loved working together!

We also were lucky enough to meet Brooke Rainey, a friend of Rachael's, who shot their wedding. She's a talented up and coming photographer and we'd encourage you to visit her site to see more! http://www.brookeraineyphotos.com/

Enjoy! You can see more in their slideshow here - http://brookeraineyphotos.com/RachaelandRusty/.

Amy & Ken - September 19

Enjoy this slideshow featuring fantastic pictures by Silent Light Images taken at the wedding of Amy & Ken on September 19 at Cheekwood Museum & Botanical Gardens. We at WCW are great admirers of the gorgeous grounds at Cheekwood and always look forward to doing weddings there. The grandeur of the estate just can't be beat!

Scott & Suzanne - September 6

We were delighted to host and coordinate the wedding of Scott & Suzanne at our intimate boutique venue, CJ's Off the Square, on Saturday, September 6. We'd been working with Suzanne for over a year to plan their wedding, from her Save the Dates and Invitations down to the details of the day like Custom Napkins and a gorgeous color scheme of Seaside Blue and Chocolate Brown.

Enjoy these great photos by Marcia and Cade at Inara Studios - a great photography team new to us that we hope to work with again soon!

Wedding & Reception Location - CJ's Off the Square
Photography - Inara Studios
Catering - A Catered Affair
Wedding & Groom's Cakes - Maples Wedding Cakes
Rentals - Southern Events
Lighting - Nashville Event Lighting
DJ - Middleton Entertainment
Transportation - At Your Service
Invitations, Save the Dates, Custom Napkins, Programs, Accesories - Williamson County Weddings Boutique

Cade caught me in a laugh while cutting the cake - he and Marcia are a ton of fun! We love to keep it light here at WilCoWed - and check out my J Lo headset! :)

Ellen & Brandon - August 9, 2008

CJ here with the latest news and inside look at what is new and exciting from Williamson County Weddings & Events. August has been a surprisingly busy month for us here at WCW: In addition to four weddings, we also have an album launch party for artist Chris Tomlin on the calendar as well as preparation for the Enchanted Bride show at Cheekwood coming up on Sunday, September 7. Check back on our blog for more photos from our August events as well as what is new from the WCW crew.

Here is an inside view of my most recent event, a wedding for clients Ellen and Brandon on August 9, 2008. I just loved this couple - laid back and excited about a fun, relaxed but formal wedding and reception for 250 of their closet family and friends. Many of their friends and family were from out of state so the pressure was on to show some down home TN hospitality. The ceremony was held at St. Rose Catholic Church in Murfreesboro, where Ellen & Brandon now call home after relocating to TN from Ohio.

Ellen & CJ get ready for the moment of truth.




Ellen chose bright, bold summer colors to compliment and black and white polka dot theme. Every aspect of this wedding revealed a part of Ellen & Brandon’s personality. The beautiful colors were playful and elegant. Each bridesmaid carried a different, monochromatic bouquet and the groomsmen wore coordinating ties and boutonnières.

The reception was held later that evening at the Marriott Hotel, Vanderbilt. The polka dot motif was continued with the use of black and white paper lanterns hung over the dance floor and stunning centerpieces of yellows, blues, oranges and greens. Ellen & Brandon wanted their guests to feel as lucky as they were and placed lottery tickets at each place setting to kick the night off with lady luck. The delightfully dotted wedding cake was a traditional white cake and served along side strawberry and chocolate sheet cakes created by The Bake Shoppe.

The moment dinner service was complete, Jason Middleton of Middleton Entertainment really got the party going by playing some of the bride & groom’s favorite songs as well as crowd favorites all night long. I can’t remember when I saw the dance floor so packed! Ellen, a graduate of University of TN, had to have a rowdy rendition of “Rocky Top” to satisfy her newly found TN roots. There was some serious stompin’ matched only by the enthusiasm of the Ohio State fans (Brandon’s alma mater) when “Hang On Sloopy” came on. We had so much fun planning this event with Ellen and Brandon over the past several months…it is hard to believe it is over!

Thanks to the following vendors for making this reception such a success for Ellen & Brandon: Michael Howard Photography, Southern Events, Nashville Event Lighting, Middleton Entertainment, Eye Design Florist, The Bake Shoppe.