A Boho Musicians' Wedding at Barn in the Bend in Nashville, TN
Kia Ora means “Welcome” in the New Zealand culture. Kia Ora to the blog of Rachel and George’s bohemian folk inspired musical wedding at Barn in the Bend in Nashville, TN. I don’t think that’s how that phrase is actually used, but you get the point.
Kia Ora means “Welcome” in the New Zealand culture. Kia Ora to the blog of Rachel and George’s bohemian folk inspired musical wedding at Barn in the Bend in Nashville, TN. I don’t think that’s how that phrase is actually used, but you get the point.
These two musicians from opposite sides of the world met on tour a few years ago. The timing wasn’t quite perfect then, but the next time they would see each other, the rest would be history. As you can imagine, with a background in folk music and string instruments, their wedding was nothing short of upbeat rhythm and poetic lyrics, and guest appearances. In fact, their ceremony featured several musical acts including George’s own parents. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as they had each member of their wedding party witness and sign their marriage license, promising to keep the two of them accountable in their commitment together, and supporting the couple through anything.
Later at the reception, the toasts and speeches made by their dearest ones had everyone cracking up with laughter and tearing up with love and joy. These are often times some of my favorite moments of the day. The thoughtful words, the meaningful anecdotes and well-lived memories - by the end of it, I feel like I’ve known you forever. Afterwards, line dancing was the name of the game as the crowd surged the dance floor and the musicians hopped on and off the stage providing the entertainment.
Scroll through to the end to see another beautiful blogpost of this couple in their pre-wedding elopement!
Venue | Barn in the Bend
Wedding Planner | J Bennett Design
Rachel and George held a private elopement just a few weeks before their big wedding! Click below to see the quaint ceremony in their river-side cottage.
Are you envisioning a bohemian wedding like this one? I can’t wait to hear your wedding vision!
A Winter Wedding Bash at Patten Chapel and Church on Main
Some weddings just stick to you like feathers and glue. Whitney and Reece’s Chattanooga, Tennessee wedding is one of those. Maybe it isn’t the wedding. Maybe it’s the two of them, actually.
Some weddings just stick to you like feathers and glue. Whitney and Reece’s Chattanooga, Tennessee wedding is one of those. Maybe it isn’t the wedding. Maybe it’s the two of them, actually.
I couldn’t wait to capture their love story. We’d met for beers, we’d had an incredible summer engagement session in all of Chattanooga’s iconic locations since they had moved here from Alabama. I knew on the day of their nuptials, it would be filled with beautiful love (I mean look at these two), impeccable style, and a down and dirty good time. We had high expectations, so to speak.
They exceeded all of them.
It was a blistery and rainy January winter wedding. So you know I loved it. The girls got ready in an East Chatt Airbnb, where Whitney blew everyone away in her Lela Rose gown. She and Reece shared a first look in the gardens at Patten Chapel with Whitney wrapped up in an heirloom fur shawl. Patten Chapel was decorated minimally with candles and classic white blooms and greenery - leaving the architecture to wow their guests.
After she and Reece sealed the deal with a kiss, we hopped in Chattanooga’s free shuttle to hitch a ride over to the Church on Main, where they’d brought in a band, a caricature artist, black leather couches for an ultra modern statement, and Wildflower Wedding Planning ramped up the party with glow sticks and foam lights. There was no shortage of fun and dancing, and so many ways for their guests to be involved in the experience of their contemporary classic winter wedding!
Ceremony Venue | Patten Chapel
Reception Venue | Church on Main
Wedding Planner | Wildflower Wedding Planning
Videographer | Cinderella Photography
Gown Designer | Lela Rose
Bridal Boutique | Kelly’s Closet
Hair Stylist & Makeup Artist | Blow Out Co.
Bridesmaid’s Dresses | Vera Wang
Like this wedding? Check out another rainy winter wedding below!
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Lookout Mountain Engagement Session
Bella and Matt made this really easy for me, even driving in from Atlanta for their session. They said they wanted mountain views, so mountain views there were - we even got way lucky with the tow planes flying over head! We ran around the mountain top, twirled on the curving roads, and snuggled in summer wildflowers. I don’t think there’s a better recipe for a perfect Tennessee engagement session!
Love stories and engagement sessions are my favorite thing to photograph.
There. I said it.
Now, let me explain. This is where we get to know each other. I get to hear about your love story, how you met, how you fell in love, how you adopted a puppy together, how the proposal happened, and the wedding planning is going. All the good stuff. This is where you get comfortable, better understanding how it feels to be in front of my camera, having clearer expectations of what wedding day might be like. This is where I get to observe what kind of couple you are - if you’re flirty and cute, if you’re serious and steamy, if you’re playful, or if you’re a bit intimidated by P.D.A., if you’re cool with my potty mouth, or down with the N.W.A., or if you know all the Hogwarts houses. This is when all that magic happens.
Engagement sessions also give us more control. We get to pick where we want to shoot, we get to figure out what sort of vibe we want, what clothes would work best (always a big fan of neutrals and earth tones, or pop of flattering color like the red is on Bella’s skin tone!), and if there’s anything of big time importance you want to include and why (like your pup or the location where you met, or playing your favorite Super Nintendo game). It’s way less stressful than wedding day, and often times way more creative, and even better light.
Bella and Matt made this really easy for me, even driving in from Atlanta for their session. They said they wanted mountain views, so mountain views there were - we even got way lucky with the tow planes flying over head! We ran around the mountain top, twirled on the curving roads, and snuggled in summer wildflowers. I don’t think there’s a better recipe for a perfect Tennessee engagement session!
Historic Tapoco Lodge Wedding in North Carolina
This is it, guys - Justin’s very first solo wedding! After shooting with me for the last 4 years, we finally felt it was time for him to strike out on his own. I think he killed it, personally! Allowing Justin to book weddings on his own has been such an exciting new experience, and has created room for us to grow in ways I never expected to. We love shooting together, of course, but when an amazing couple like Abby and Dom reaches out and tells us that it just has to be us who photographs their wedding, and I’m already booked - well, it was the perfect excuse to jump all in! Since Justin has shot by my side for so long, I knew he’d be able to emulate my shooting style, not to mention, he’s got a winning personality that charms the wedding party and guests! I am so proud of him, and stoked for all the growth he’s made since shooting this fall wedding in North Carolina!
Abby and Dom are an incredible couple. He’s from England, which makes him that much cooler. Plus they met on a recreational soccer team in Arizona before moving to Chattanooga, Tennessee together. They had friends and family from all over the world join them to celebrate their nuptials in western North Carolina. I still can’t get over Dom’s suit or the gorgeous jewel tones of the bridesmaid dresses! Oh, and they’re fellow Potterheads! Basically a match made in heaven over here for us, and I’m so glad they trusted Justin to capture their wedding for TEP!
Venue | Historic Tapoco Lodge
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Romantic Ridge Rose Wedding in Georgia
When I first toured Ridge Rose (formally Candlelight Ridge), it was quickly apparent it was unlike any other wedding venue here in Chattanooga, TN. Which meant that any wedding there would be unlike any wedding I’d photographed before here in the south. As an advocate of the nontraditional and the little bit weird and unique, I couldn’t wait to capture that wedding. Fortunately, I wouldn’t have to wait long.
Enter stage left: Haley and Travis: fellow creatives, lovers of the outdoors and of all things intimate, romantic, and doin’ it for the feels. Yep, the precise couple to shake it all up!
We could not have gotten luckier. It was the kind of spring day where the sun warms your skin, but you have to stay close and cozy when the light fades and the wind picks up. The quaint English-style cottage made for the most lovely of wedding suites. Haley could not have looked more angelic than if she had fallen to earth that same day. And next to Travis, these two looked as though they had just stepped out of a magazine.
There was no shortage of happy tears - from the first look, to the vows, to the speeches. They danced their first dance as they receded back down the aisle - nontraditional and a little bit weird and unique, definitely one of my favorite moments of the day. As the creators of the Flikr Fireplaces (go check these out! You’ll want one!), each table beneath the boho rustic tent was lined with the personal fireplaces so each guest could warm their hands and toast their marshmallows. They danced and lip-synced the night away beneath the stars, surrounded by their most loved ones, what I would call - The Perfect Wedding Day.
Venue | Ridge Rose
Gown | Stella York
Bridal Boutique | Ever After Bridal
Design + Rentals | The Copper Quail
Cake Designer | Blue Willow Bakery
Makeup Artist | Gabriella Bordo
Jewelry Designer | Spectrum Handcrafted Designs
Groom’s Suit | Blue Suit
Fireplace Favors | Flikr Fireplaces
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A Rainy Chattanooga Wedding at The Edwin Hotel
It was February 2019. It had rained for 11 weeks straight. The rivers were flooded. The birds were waterlogged. There was no end in sight. Their guests would have to arrive by rowboat.
Okay, okay - it wasn’t quite that dramatic. But it had been raining for almost 3 months straight, and the river really was flooded. It made for the most glorious, overcast, foggy, moody wedding vibes. I loved every minute of it. The Edwin Hotel with it’s modern retro decor, complete with record players, wall murals, blue velvet chaises, and leather armchairs only intensified the intimate and cozy nature of a Saturday trapped inside by weather.
Candace and Kyle exchanged private vows inside The Whiskey Thief lounge, after sharing a first look where Kyle was floored by just how beautiful Candace was in her Hayley Paige Lulu gown. Tears, hand-holding, and soft smiles and laughs as they shared privately everything they loved about the other and whispered promises and vows overlooking downtown Chattanooga, while rain splashed against the windows. Just thinking about it gives me chills - so romantic.
The ceremony was held inside, and followed by a reception full of dancing, Hutton and Smith brews, King Cake, and eventually two photographers who left their car keys and camera gear inside the honeymoon suite right after the bride and groom had locked themselves away in that room… ask me about that story in person *sheepish grin*. I don’t think it could have been a more perfect rainy wedding! Thank you Candace + Kyle for having us there to capture it and celebrate with you!
Oh hey - side note! If you book your wedding with The Edwin Hotel, ask about having your ceremony on the Walnut Street Bridge! This was C + K’s original plan, but obviously the weather refused to cooperate!
Creative Team |
Venue | The Edwin Hotel + Whiskey Thief
Gown | Hayley Paige
Florals | May Flowers Chattanooga
Entertainment | Scenic Event Solutions
Groomsmen Socks | Handup Gloves