It's very rare that a wedding venue can take on an iconic status, unless of course it's a famous hotel in somewhere like New York, LA, London, or Paris.
But Cedarwood in Nashville, Tennessee gets it so right with every single wedding, that it's fast becoming a legendary place to get married (even over on this side of the Atlantic!)
When we see the word ‘Cedarwood' in our inboxes, we know it's going to be something gorgeous, and with Amanda Suanne Photography in the mix, it's bound to be even more special.
Heather and Michael's wedding was just that, impeccably stylish and utterly charming, with thoughtful touches at every turn.
Lashings of blooms in pinks, corals and cream set the tone for this flower filled day. While sweet chalkboard signage, family photos, and homemade favours, gave the elegant venue a homely feel.
Exquisite food, fabulous cocktails, Southern pies and a cigar station (nice touch!) took the casual affair to a whole other level.
And at the centre of it all, this wonderful, couple, Heather and Michael, lapping up a day that was quintessentially them; personal, chic, and utterly gorgeous…
Wedding Day Snapshot
Words To Describe Our Wedding
I absolutely loved Cedarwood from the moment I laid eyes on the gorgeous property. The natural beauty of the historic home and peaceful meadow swept me away and had me dreaming about my wedding day!
My husband and I, both from the South, wanted to expose our “Southern roots” while treating our guests to a grand affair. Cedarwood offers both Southern charm and upscale elegance. I knew immediately this was the place I wanted to marry Michael.
In three words? Romantic, Rustic Elegance, Timeless
The Attire
My wedding gown was exactly what I had imagined. I knew I wanted an ivory gown with lace. I was able to combine different aspects of several gowns I liked at Modern Trousseau to arrive at my custom gown.
I love that the lace added elegance to the upper portion of the gown while the lower portion was playful and breezy.
The vail was long with lace trim that matched my dress.
My bouquet was dreamy! I chose vintage peaches and cream roses, peaches and cream tulips, antique romantic and coral charm peonies, blush roses, ivory roses, ranunculus and peonies, lamb's ear, seeded eucalyptus and succulents. The bouquet was gorgeous and the perfect mix of elegant and earthy.
The bridesmaids wore beautiful coral chiffon dresses from J.Crew in the style they chose. The maid of honor wore a blush chiffon gown in her style of choice from J. Crew.
The flower girl wore an adorable handmade ivory and lace dress.
The bridesmaids' bouquets were ivory peonies, roses and ranunculus with blush roses, seeded eucalyptus, lamb's ear and coral hypericum berries.
The groom and groomsmen wore dark grey suits with ivory shirts and light grey ties. The guys wore dark brown wingtip shoes. We wanted the suits to be simple yet stylish. The pocket squares were vintage with a coral, ivory and light blue floral pattern.
For the boutonnière we chose succulents with coral hypericum berries for a pop of color.
The Palette
When we decided on a Spring wedding I knew I wanted the color palette to be soft, romantic and rejuvenating.
I love the freshness and elegance of coral, blush and gold together.
Loving all things rustic, vintage and lace really inspired the style for the wedding. We wanted the ambience to be relaxing yet chic and timeless.
The Arrival
Around every corner there were personalized details!
We had so many guests compliment the amazing job Cedarwood‘s design team did infusing every ounce of our day with special touches reflective of Michael and I.
On arrival guests signed a customized hand crafted chalk drawing of the places Michael and I had traveled including were we met and were married.
Guests were then led around the front of the historic antebellum home were they were offered water with orange slices. The front of the house was decorated with fresh flowers and a lush floral “H” for our last name hung from the balcony.
The Ceremony
The ceremony was held in the beautiful green meadow. The altar was decorated with fresh blush, coral and ivory flowers.
The aisle was carpeted with blush and ivory roses. We used wooden stumps draped in vintage lace with gold lanterns and peonies and roses in antique vases along the aisles. We had a guitarist and violinist who played the wedding ceremony music.
The processional music included “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles and “When You Say Nothing at All” by Alison Krauss.
My husband wanted me to enter to a more traditional song so we chose the “Bridal Chorus”. We wanted a unique alternative to the traditional unity ceremony so we chose to nail a wooden box time capsule.
My husband made the wooden box using barn lumber from my father's farm which is special to us.
During the unity ceremony the musician's played Elvis's classic “Can't Help Falling in Love”. The recessional music was “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles.
The Photography
Choosing a videographer and photographer was very important to us because that's all we have left to remember the day.
We chose Matt G video and Amanda Suanne Photography because they did an incredible job capturing the story and emotions through their video and pictures.
The Cocktail Hour
After the ceremony the guests were treated to a cocktail hour inside the barn. The barn is spectacular at Cedarwood.
The entrance of the barn was decorated with white drapes and a large floral wreath in coordinating colors hung from the front.
The barn walls were decorated with gold vintage mirrors. Fresh flowers adorned wine barrel tables. A collage of pictures of Michael and I hung in the barn for guests to view.
Beer, wine and hors d' oeuvres (open faced mini BLTs, pepper jack cheese paired with blackberries and strawberries) were served while a live bluegrass band played music.
Two reasons we loved this idea. First, it allowed us to finish up pictures at sunset. Second, it allowed us to mingle with the guests before we were seated for dinner.
The Reception
The reception area was beautifully decorated. It was so romantic and charming. Candle chandeliers provided a dim glow throughout the seating area.
The dance floor was decorated with string lighting and a vintage chandelier. The bridal party table was a rectangular wooden farm table decorated with a gold shimmer table runner.
The table centre-pieces were lush blush, coral and ivory peonies and roses placed in vases that were wrapped in a coral and ivory fabric.
The flower arrangements were placed in vintage wooden crates at the center of each table.
Also on the tables were mason jars trimmed with gold accents that held single stem peonies. The guests sat at round tables covered in ivory tablecloths with coordinating gold shimmer runners and flower arrangements similar to the bridal party table.
Gold chiavari chairs with ivory cushions were placed at each table.
Our first dance was to “You Are the Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne. My Dad and I danced to Tim McGraw's “My Little Girl”. Michael and his Mom danced to The Beach Boys' “God Only Knows”.
We had a cigar bar with a couch and chairs set up on the upper patio. My husband selected a cigar choice from a local cigar shop in Nashville. That was a highlight for most of the men at the wedding!
We also had a photo booth area with a life size cut out of Michael's brother. We had various party hats, glasses, boas, mustaches, etc available for everyone to use.
During the reception Michael and I took a private moment to release a sky lantern from the meadow.
We ended the evening with a sparkler farewell from our guests and leaving in an antique silver Jaguar.
The Refreshments
We chose a formal sit down meal with our guests. The food was absolutely phenomenal. The dinner began with a fresh strawberry field salad.
Entree selections included petite filet with Jack Daniel sauce and rosemary chicken. The sides included twice stuffed new potatoes and grilled seasonal vegetables.
What is a southern celebration without a pie? So, for the dessert we chose mini pecan and berry pies for the guests.
The cake was a four layer round cake. The layers were Italian creme, carrot, piña colada and red velvet. It was decorated with ruffles and coral charm peonies topped with wooden carvings of our home states with our initials. Patty Cakes did a wonderful job. The cake was delicious!
We chose beer from Yazoo, the groom's favorite local brewery. We chose wine from Arrington vineyard, my favorite local winery.
Special Memories
A few details were very dear to our hearts.
My husband chose American flag boots and socks to show his patriotism and support for his brother. He was unable to be at our wedding because he was on deployment in the US Navy.
Michael's mother created a life size cut out image of his brother so we could take pictures with him at the photo booth. He turned out to be a hit and everyone wanted a picture with him. By the end of the night he was on the dance floor with us!
Our favors were homemade honey in mason jars from my sweet grandfather. The jars had personalized tags saying “Meant to Bee” tied around them.
My grandfather has been raising honeybees my entire life.
We used a blue vintage suitcase belonging to my late grandmother on our entrance table to collect cards. We also had a heirloom family picture table with fresh flowers and gold accents.
Our wedding day was more beautiful and fun than we could have ever hoped for! It was a perfect spring day with refreshingly warm sunshine!
Our favorite memories from that day are countless. We are so blessed and grateful that we were able to spend the day with those we love the most.
We were able to share the BEST day of our lives with closest family and friends surrounded by beautiful Cedarwood.
Isn't it just beautiful, the floristry is just incredible (and how delicious does the food sound – we're hungry at the thought of it!).
Thanks so much to the team at Cedarwood, the fabulous Amanda Suanne Photography, and of course Heather and Michael for sharing their stunning Southern wedding with us.
For more wonderful weddings, check out Rustic + Chic Real Weddings.
