The Smart Bride: A Workshop

Before you attend your first bridal show or hire the wrong wedding vendor, check out The Smart Bride: a Wedding Planning Camp designed to help you get smart! AshleysBrideGuide.com has teamed with recent Nashville brides (like me!) and wedding pros to equip you with secrets, insider tips and advice that will save you money and your sanity.  Registration is free for a limited time so reserve your seat today. 

The Smart Bride is a 4-week wedding planning workshop designed to help you get smart!  Expect candid conversations with local wedding pros and recent brides at The Smart Bride camp to help you avoid common mistakes. Registration is free for a limited time so reserve your seat today! 


Don't miss out on this incredible, FREE opportunity to plan a better wedding. Sign up here!

On Waiting and Patience

Big Spoon and I are still waiting on the DVD of our wedding day from our professional photographer, but our images are up online. Although I have enough pictures from family and friends to illustrate the remainder of our budget reviews, our vendor reviews and our wedding day recap, I would rather use at least some of the pro pictures we paid for and do things categorically.

We are contracted for a DVD of our images plus a custom album with 300 prints. Until I get both of those things, I don't feel comfortable proceeding with most the posts I have drafted. I don't feel like it is my right to pull those pictures out of the gallery and use them on our blog, although I'd really, really like to. When I have the images in my possession, I can use them here and credit them to our photographer.

But I really don't like waiting .... Big Spoon knows me as probably the most impatient person he's ever met. Patience is key and silence is your best friend in these types of situations. I've learned that the hard way more times that I care to tell you about. Fingers crossed that it is in the mail as I type because I really need to get started on a photo book and scrap book.

My wonderful family and friends have provided us with over 300 pictures from our wedding weekend, some of them as good or better than the professional photos (yes, I just said that.) My younger sister/MOH, my mother-in-law, my father's ex-wife (and mother of my older sister) as well as our fantastic caterer and a few friends have been so sweet to provide us with all the photos they snapped! And we are so very grateful for that.

I picked up our wedding day footage and highlight reel from the lovely Naomi yesterday at lunch. Again, something we got on an incredibly small budget and are pleased with. She did a great job and at some point, I may post it depending on how Big Spoon feels about it. 

I'm really excited to share our budget recap and vendor reviews with you in hopes that it helps some couples make educated choices while planning their own budget and/or Nashville area weddings! Stay tuned!

Vendor Spotlight: Artisan Flowers

via Artisan Flowers

What happens when one of your best friends from your first graphic design job branches out into the world of floral design during your engagement? You get really friggin' lucky, that's what!

via Artisan Flowers

Please welcome Artisan Flowers to my arsenal of vendors/friendors who are starting new businesses in the wedding industry. I really enjoy collaborating with folks like Jasmin, Sarah Mallory and T30SB because, like myself, they enjoy working with brides, helping people problem solve and love this niche of the creative industries.

Jasmin has a blog and will be adding to her portfolio over the next few months. I'm very excited to see how my flowers turn out as we are using muted but lush fall colors that don't scream pumpkins and hayrides. Don't get me wrong, I love the fall. It's my absolute favorite time of the year. However, I didn't want our wedding to have the "typical" fall look. She plans to use red spray roses, hypericum, bear grass, ivy, Ivory roses, red roses, khaki roses and cinnamon roses. I love roses and I'm not ashamed of that.

We'll hang my hand-made & hand-dyed coffee filter pomanders around the venue as well! We'll be making those on Sunday with a few other wonderful friends who have offered to help me wrap up the wedding projects.

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend, everyone!

Vendor Spotlight: Something Old Designs

Although I've already featured Sarah Mallory and her rockstar alterations skills, I'd like to introduce you to her new business venture, Something Old Designs.

Who wouldn't want a personal stylist for their wedding day? Someone who is solely responsible for making sure your dress is perfect, pressed and take care of any last minute "mishaps"? I know I do because my dress is a huge pain to get into! Enter Sarah and Something Old Designs. Sarah is an experienced clothing designer who has come up with the next-best-thing in wedding services: concierge service! She will come to you to do your alterations, custom design your dress or re-design your mom's wedding dress to fit your modern tastes! Something Old also features custom jewelry design, bridesmaid's dress re-design and many other services.

Go check out Something Old Designs and look for my post-wedding review of Sarah's concierge service! If you'd like to see some of Sarah's work in person, join her on Sept 11 for Nashville Fashion Week where her Spring 2011 collection will debut.

Vendor Spotlight: TruLu Couture

Let no one tell you that blogging is a waste of time. I've met so many wonderful ladies just by writing about our engagement and wedding planning journey. One that I always enjoy running into the the uber-stylish and talented 30 Something Bride. Thank goodness for Louise! She took a very big project off my hands - my wedding veil!

I'm happy to announce that I will be sporting a TruLu Couture original veil and a hair toy on my wedding day! I had the best time brainstorming with Louise and trying on veils to create my look. She's even incorporating a brooch I purchased on Etsy into my hair toy for the reception. I'm super stoked to see the finished product.

So what is TruLu Couture? Custom bridal veils & accessories and ...

"TruLu Couture has been an evolution of thought and design over the last decade or so. Refusing to be a part of  the nameless, thankless and penniless masses of fashion designers, Louise followed a completely different path of creativity that has finally led her to this particular doorstep. As with all things Louise does, this too will evolve. Come along for the ride, won't you?"

You may not see my veil for a while, though, because T30SB is in the process of moving. Away. Sniffle. But, you will see tons of pictures later!  If you are still in need of a veil for your big day, do yourself a favor and check out TruLu Couture! You'll have the satisfaction of knowing that your product is hand-made, one-of-a-kind and in support of an artist and her small business venture. Not to mention, who wants to wear some Made in China mass produced crap on your head on the biggest day of your life?

Vendor Spotlight: Sarah Lindsey Mallory Designs

{photo via SLM Designs on Facebook}

I'm thrilled to introduce you to a fabulously talented designer - Sarah Mallory! She is a multi-talented, Nashville-based clothing designer & alterations specialist as well as the owner of several clothing lines including Gent Custom Menswear, Stoned Designs and Sarah Lindsey Mallory Designs.

 {photo via Couture Fashion magazine}

She has been featured in the online women's fashion magazine Couture Fashion and just happens to work on clothing for the lovely and famous Dolly Parton. So, she's kind of a rockstar in and of herself.

I met Sarah through Krista of Becoming Mrs. Dial and I am so glad I did! She will completing the alterations on my wedding dress. Although it was hard to leave my dress (it's been upstairs since August 09) ... I know that it is in really great hands. Sarah is friendly, skilled and passionate about what she does. It goes without saying that I am super excited to be working with Sarah.

If you are looking for wedding dress, bridesmaids dress or other alterations and custom clothing design, email or message me for Sarah's contact information!

My Friend is Awesome

Today, I got a text message that contained the picture below. My sweet friend Jasmin is already working on ideas for our wedding flowers, and although these aren't exactly the varieties or colors that we are using,  it looks great! She's working really hard on making our vintage Anchor Hocking bud vases for the reception look amazing and she's full of ideas.

I'm super excited about visiting Rose Mont Mansion later this month with Jasmin and Margaret, our coordinator. I'm hoping to get lots of details worked out and I'm certain they'll both have great ideas.

Guess What!?

Hey, guess what? Our musician friend who had to drop out of our wedding to go to another is back! We found out over the weekend that the other couple had to move their date. We're so stinking excited! We'll still be renting a speaker from our coordinator though (just FYI if she happens to see this post).

In other news, we've ultimately decided against including kids in the wedding ceremony. It's just easier for everyone. Kids are still invited to the wedding, however.

Look for a DIY post geared toward the guys later in the week! Hint: it's ridiculously easy and personalize-able.

Rehearsal Dinner Venue Booked .... Mostly.

Although Big Spoon's parents have been very proactive with planning the rehearsal dinner they so generously offered to pay for, they are at a disadvantage because they live in Colorado. With so much time to plan, we were more than happy to help plan rehearsal dinner. So on Saturday, Big Spoon and I took a drive out to Hartsville, TN to visit Tully's Bistro and discuss having our rehearsal dinner there. 

Backtracking for a moment, I'd like to discuss why we did not opt to have rehearsal dinner a mere block away from our venue at Monell's. After some discussion at Christmas about the limited restaurant choices in Gallatin, Big Spoon's mom contacted Monell's. They have a location just a few blocks down the street from Rose Mont Mansion. Now, I'm sure their food is great- they have a great reputation- BUT they require a 25 person minimum for a rehearsal dinner. I simply do not understand this. We aren't asking for special treatment, we just want to make a reservation. We could show up unannounced with 20 people and they wouldn't refuse to seat us because we have less than 25, so why demand that we have 25 for a rehearsal dinner? It would be much worse on their staff if we just showed up, right? (That's rhetorical, I waited tables and I know the answer is YES!)

Additionally, they wanted to charge $25 a person for this event. WTH? Seriously? It's southern cooking severed family style. What reason would they possibly have to charge us $25 per person for something I know my mom makes better. Just to put it in perspective, the amount of money Monell's wanted for the minimum pp requirement is 35% of our budgeted reception food/bev cost.

 Now, back to the venue we DID choose ....

I probably would have not known about Tully’s Bistro if we hadn’t been watching Tennessee Crossroads on PBS one Sunday morning. They did a feature on Chef Tully and it got me really interested. Not only is it 20 minutes away from our venue, it’s also 20 minutes away from where I grew up. I love to see good things like this happen to small towns, and trust me, Hartsville is a very small town. Tully’s Bistro is located in a beautiful historical home in the main part of the town, which is in keeping with our “historical home” wedding. You can read all about Chef Tully’s education, food and events at the restaurant website.

Our appointment was at 10am and although the chef had forgotten our appointment and was heading toward Nashville, he postponed his meeting and came to talk to us. He was patient and we didn’t feel as though he was trying to rush through.

We had never been there before, so we let him lead us through the menu design. We decided on a of shoulder cut, glazed tenderloin with caramelized apples and spices, a chicken option, fresh vegetable mix, assorted breads and mini desserts and non-alcoholic drinks. We will have our rehearsal dinner in the upstairs portion of the restaurant.

Grand total: $15 per person. A 20 minute drive equals better food, better communication and willingness to compromise, better price. Chef Tully treated us to a wonderful lunch, printed us a quote before we left and sent us on our way feeling really good about this decision. We talked to Big Spoon's parents about it later on that day and they seemed excited about it as well. We are looking forward to receiving the contract info this week so we can lock in our date.

Ashley's Bride Guide Keeping Nashville Brides in the "Know"

I love Ashley's Bride Guide.

What's that? Well, just the most comprehensive source for Nashville and Middle Tennessee-based weddings there is! No joke, no one is going to help you more along the way than Ashley. Not only does she run a killer, newly-designed and super easy to navigate website, but she is also a very sweet person who has a genuine interest in helping couples have memorable, stress"less" and fabulous weddings! We know first hand how very awesome she is!

Whether you are a newly engaged bride or area vendor, Ashley's Bride Guide is a must-read source. Here's a short list of my personal reasons for loving this site:

• Great Events - I attended a free event hosted by Ashley's Bride Guide and several Nashville vendors in August 2009, where I met tons of lovely brides-to-be as well as our caterer! Fun and informative. Ashley has the DL on all bridal-related events in Nashville, like the Elegance Bridal Gala last summer or the HER Nashville Bridal Brunch that is coming up this Sunday!

• Bride & Vendor Blogs - Looking for real people who are planning weddings? Check out the entire section of wedding blogs! (toot! toot-ing my own horn here. Big Spoon Little Spoon is featured on this page)

• Great Savings - Ashley has a page full of vendors who give discounts for just mentioning Ashley's Bride Guide. How awesome is that?!

• Tons of Inspiration - Just one glance at her new Inspiration Gallery and you'll understand why this is such a helpful source. So many blogs out there have great inspiration posts, but you can't find images and ideas quickly while sorting through hundreds of posts. Inspiration Gallery = Problem solved.

Tell your friends. Tell your friend's mother's engaged niece. Ashley's Bride Guide should be your first stop on the wedding planning express!

Every Last "Detail"

Once upon a time, Little Spoon and Miss Jasmin began planning their weddings together ...They were three weeks apart. I was going to be Miss Jasmin's bridesmaid and Miss Jasmin would be floral artist extraordinaire for us.

Like many plans, things changed. Miss Jasmin decided that having a wedding in her native state of California would suit her nicely. I was very sad because, being my wedding year too, I have no extra vacation time to get to a remote location in NoCal. I struggled with what to do for weeks and finally told Miss Jasmin that I might not make it and in a gesture of fairness, asked Miss Jasmin if she still wanted to make beautiful flowers for our wedding.

And she does! Whew! I'll keep you updated on how things unfold, but in the meantime ... on to the announcement ....

Big Spoon and I talked for several weeks about the possibility of not being at Miss Jasmin's wedding, during which the idea surfaced that we should hire a wedding coordinator. Big Spoon was not on board at first due simply to the question of "they're going to do what for how much? Um .... " There's a lot more to it, but we'll skip along.

After contacting several reputable planners and companies, I narrowed it down to my top three and met with each of them within a week. All are delightful, lovely women who are excellent at what they do. It mostly came down to a gut feeling (and the budget) that Margaret of Details by Margaret was the best fit for us.




I first met Margaret at the Elegance Bridal Gala back in August 2009. We immediately clicked and I entertained the idea of a coordinator for a little while, then realized that we didn't have the budget for it. I won a set of customized wine bottle labels from her and that kept us in contact up to this point.

August was a long time ago, so I met up with Margaret again and instantly remembered what I liked so much about her - she's very proactive, has a "can do" attitude and goes above and beyond because she truly enjoys helping budget brides. We are so excited to be working with her and I'm happy to eat my previous words.

As of now, we're going over the budget for this service. However, I'm hoping some of that my budget estimates are overestimates (perhaps the stationery?), and I can shift some money around to cover at least some of the cost of coordination.

Hermitage Bakery

Big Spoon and I had a cake tasting at Hermitage Bakery today during which we reserved our date and discussed our wedding cake.

I drive by the bakery every morning on my way to work and it was a matter of calling and asking for a price late last year. After we decided to go this route, I realized that part of my problem with the exorbitant prices some vendors charge for wedding cakes is due to the fact that I just want a plain cake. No fondant (um, ew!), no fancy-smancy decorations - plain ivory cake.

The "look" for our wedding cake is based on this picture. It will be a three-tier, ivory cream cheese frosted cake with a cream/gold ribbon. The top and bottom tiers will be traditional white wedding cake, the middle tier will be chocolate.

They are very easy to work with and have reasonable delivery rates, although we have opted to pick ours up the day of rehearsal because we have run of the reception hall and kitchen. That saved us $50! Also, we lucked out by scheduling our consultation today because, although they have not changed their prices in 14 years, they are in fact about to change their prices.


Needless to say, it's exciting to have another check on the planning list and enjoy the delicious cake samples we brought back with us.

We're "Delight"ed

Remember the Engaged Nashville event I blogged about here? I walked away from that event with some major caterer envy. Luckily for us, our original catering option fell through and I contacted Rita Rowland of Down South Delights. She is super easy to work with and her food is simply delicious!

From her talk at Engaged Nashville to our first meeting, I had a great feeling about Rita and her team. She was willing to work within our budget, offer suggestions and answer a multitude of questions.  Not to mention she is just a delight to be around!

Big Spoon and I talked through and submitted a menu to Rita and we just returned from our tasting tonight. Just, wow. The food is even better than I remember! We are oh, so happy with this vendor choice and thus, we put a deposit down tonight to reserve our date.

Also, for the benefit of Tennessee/Kentucky brides, I want to note that Rita offered us an all-inclusive price. Read: no fees. I hate fees and it's almost comedic there are so many of them for the most ridiculous things! Again, we are very pleased :)

Bloggy Facelift

Instead of doing important chores on Friday, I decided to finally give our blog a facelift. I kept it clean and simplified the colors used as well as changed the code from a solid line to these dashed lines I'm so fond of. I designed a new header and profile badges (above) for Big Spoon and myself.

I also need to credit the banner picture: it is one of our many gorgeous engagement pictures by the talented Derek Lee. If you are still looking for a photographer, please check out his website! He is a lot of fun to work with. 

Diamonds & Pearls

I was supposed to go to "Veil Night" at Arzelle's tonight, but something about this weather made me want to come home and watch a movie ... maybe sip some hot chocolate! I knew that Big Spoon wouldn't be home from work for awhile, so I headed out to our jewelry store instead.

I say "our" jewelry store because I can't imagine ever using another one as long as we live here! Wholesale Jewelers in Hermitage is stellar.

I have a nearly broken string of pearls that my parents gave me the day I graduated High School. Needless to say, no matter how inexpensive they were, they have sentimental value to me. They are freshwater pearls, not even beaded like the good stuff, but I want to wear them on our wedding day. The jeweler cut me a great deal on having them re-strung and while I was there, I sold some old yellow gold pieces I've held on to for a decade. Who says old high school boyfriends aren't good for something? I made $20 to apply toward my necklace repair. Yay!

My wedding dress is beaded with rhinestones and pearls. Pearls are my birthstone and definitely a favorite of mine - timeless and classic. I'm so excited to have them fixed and someday, hopefully, pass them along to my daughter or grand daughter.

Venue Reviews, Part 1

Today, I'd like to wrap up my thoughts on some of the venue's that I have looked into this week for our 2010 wedding. I'll talk about the ones I've visited and some I didn't and why. I hope this helps someone out there looking for a great place for their ceremony or reception.
Click here to expand and read reviews.

Hermitage Golf Course
Old Hickory, TN 37138

This is by far the nicest looking golf course I've seen to this point. The Future Mrs. Smith had her ceremony and reception here in September, which is how I found it. Kara Torphy is the special events coordinator and she is wonderful to talk to. She shoots straight and answers any and all questions. She seems to be a great person to work with and coordinate wedding details. I especially liked their garden and gallery. You can rent all their spaces (minus the course) for $2500.

Pros: There are two built-in rain plans.
Cons: You can only use an outside caterer if you pay a buy-out fee.

Hazel Path Mansion
Hendersonville, TN

If you are looking for an all-inclusive historical venue on the north or east side of town, this might be the place for you. Located in the heart of Hendersonville, this mansion has really been kept up. It's gorgeous on the inside, with numerous chandeliers and rooms to use for the wedding party, buffet line, etc. They will also work with you if you do not want a package.

Pros: It rivals many other historic mansions in beauty and price.
Cons: You must tent the reception. Tables & chairs not provided if you don't go with a package.

Timothy Demonbreun House
Nashville, TN

This is by far one of my favorite finds. The owner is an ancestor of Timonty Demonbreun and named the B & B in his honor. If you are interested in a more intimate gathering with great anemities, contact Richard Demonbruen. He is so very pleasant and helpful. They sell alcohol at cost, can handle the catering (because they are a B&B) and also have wedding weekend packages.

Pros: Lovely place and lovely prices.
Cons:  No Sunday weddings. (Which was the downfall for us).

Baber House
Gallatin, TN
  
If I could do this thing over again, this would be the first place we would have looked at. I think my heart was set on a Nashville venue, but 45-minutes outside of Nashville, this place is this gem. I've never been there, but I've driven by it for YEARS on the way to my hometown and had no idea it was used for special events. The pictures are breathtaking - an old historic home meshed with contemporary styling. We were really disappointed to find that this venue is booked for our wedding weekend. They only book one wedding per weekend, which could be a pro I guess.

Pros: It's gorgeous and the price is fantastic!
Cons: They are BOOKED. Our date plus two back-up dates for 2010 are already taken.

The Great Cake Debate

My last post about cake involved a faux cake DIY project. In thinking about all of the DIY projects that I have planned for the next 12 months, some of them had to go away - this one in particular.

My ideas about wedding cake and its importance to our wedding vision has been a hot topic of conversation since our engagement trip. Big Spoon and I both agree that it is not a high priority: its just cake. People eat it (and usually not all of it). How disappointing to purchase a $400 cake and half of it go to waste! However, I've had some reservations (and fear of regret) about not having a "real" wedding cake.

I decided to call around for prices on my lunch break Friday afternoon and found a bakery close by that seems promising. During our weekly "wedding talk" on Saturday, I discussed with Big Spoon that in the way of stress and time, it makes sense for us to consider adjusting this category. We discussed logistics of each plan and prices. I proposed that although the former plan is budget savvy, it's not stress-savvy.

After talking, we decided to visit the bakery and ask a few questions. We both left feeling confident that this decision is close to being final. And if felt great! There has been something nagging me about it forever - and suddenly, that feeling was gone. I felt like another piece of our planning puzzle fell in to place.