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Get Your Wedding Song Inspiration from This Music Loving Couple’s Nashville Wedding at The Cordelle

March 12, 2019 | Junebug Weddings

Katy and Bryce’s wedding at The Cordelle proves that there are so many ways to create a magical ambiance for a wedding that goes way beyond traditions and decor! The music-loving couple made sure each part of their special day included sentimental songs that not only set the mood but also represented their relationship. Aside from the killer playlist, though, their day-of coordinators Lulu & Mayme made sure the day flowed seamlessly and the floral design Daily Bloom Floral added a moody touch of autumnal hues that complemented the modern vintage venue. From the first look to the garden ceremony to the tambourine grand exit, Swak Photography captured every moment of this Nashville wedding beautifully!

The Couple:

Katy and Bryce

The Wedding:

The Cordelle, Nashville, Tennessee

The most important part of the wedding planning process was to ensure every aspect of our wedding really represented us as individuals, as well as a couple. We want to remember our wedding day as a day that was entirely us. The music we chose played a big part in that. Music is a big part of our lives and we wanted to remember the feelings we had more than anything. Not to say our wedding wasn’t visually beautiful, because it was thanks to all of our amazing vendors! But we can’t wait to be old and hear one of the memorable songs we chose and instantly feel how happy we were at that moment.

The most memorable part of the day for both of us was the ceremony. The ceremony was special for obvious reasons, but I think combining all of the different elements really made it amazing! Listening to our friends play our favorite songs live while I walked down the aisle was priceless. We also really lucked out with the weather considering it was late November in Nashville. That’s always a gamble when deciding to have an outdoor ceremony. All I can say is have a backup plan in case of bad weather! Luckily we didn’t have to use ours because it ended up being 64 degrees and sunny. Everything else from the flowers, having all of our friends and family there, speaking our vows to each other was all just perfect. How we felt during the ceremony is something we can never forget!

Our bridal party processional song was “Mystery of Love” by Sufjan Stevens played live by some of our amazingly talented friends. This song was played while the bridesmaids walked down the aisle. We both fell in love with the movie “Call Me By Your Name” during the wedding planning process and Sufjan Stevens is one of our favorite artists. It’s a song that hit us hard when we first heard it, especially because it represented such unconditional love in the film.

 

The song that I walked down the aisle to was “Holocene” by Bon Iver, also played live by our friends. Bon Iver is a band that we both loved before we met and continues to be one of our favorite bands of all time. “Holocene” in particular has a beautiful instrumental introduction to the song that was perfect for the bridal processional. Plus it made everyone cry so it represented what we were feeling in that moment perfectly. 

Our recessional song was “Lisztomania” by Phoenix. The beginning of the song has a really exciting vibe to it. We listened to this album a lot when we first started dating, so it just felt right. 

Just take it one day at a time. We didn’t have a wedding planner, so our wedding was planned entirely by us while also both working full time. You can do it! The first step for us was to get organized and do one thing at a time. We first focused on the big things like venue, photography, DJ, rentals, and florals. Once you have all of your major vendors booked, it’s all the details from there. Start early! The wedding planning process was a collaborative effort for us so the last thing we wanted was to be at each other’s throats during the process. I believe starting early and not feeling too pressured about time alleviated a lot of the stress. One of our favorite parts about planning together was when we were deciding on the music. We would just sit in our living room together and listen to our favorite music. It was something we hadn’t done in a long time and we had forgotten how much we loved doing that.

Our first dance song was “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star. We discovered each other both loved this song when we first started dating. It’s just one of those songs that makes you feel something deeply. When we came across it during the planning process, it was sort of a no brainer.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Swak Photography
Day-Of Coordination – Lulu & Mayme
Venue – The Cordelle
Floral Design – Daily Bloom Floral
Catering – Thai Esane
Cake – Nashville Sweets
Bartending – The Fox & Bar Cocktail Club
DJ – Jared Foldy
Stationery – Minted
Wedding Dress – Rue De Seine via The Dress Theory Nashville
Bridal Accessories – Veiled Beauty
Bridesmaids’ Apparel – The Dessy Group
Groom’s Apparel – Indochino
Groomsmen’s Apparel – Generation Tux
Rings – Consider the Wldflwrs and Etsy
Rentals – Liberty Rentals

 

Congratulations to Katy and Bryce, and a big thanks to Junebug member Swak Photography for sharing this incredible celebration at The Cordelle! Want to see more music-focused wedding magic? This Oklahoma Ranch music festival was wedding was a total lovefest – literally!

 

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After Considering Venues All Around the World, This Couple Decided on Gorgeous Hotel San Cristobal for Their Destination Wedding

March 11, 2019 | Junebug Weddings

Set it the quaint Mexican town of Todos Santos that provided access to beaches and galleries, Lisa and Sam’s wedding at Hotel San Cristobal was the epitome of a dreamy destination wedding! The crisp, eclectic venue was the perfect backdrop for their intimate day and required almost no additional decor to make it look and feel stunning. The tropical-inspired floral design by Pina Cate featured vibrant pops of coral, orange, and pink, and the bride’s Karen Hendrix Couture gown was the perfect combination of beachy and chic to match the vibe of the entire day. Los Ébano photography did a truly brilliant job capturing every angle of this beautiful destination wedding!

The Couple:

Lisa and Sam

The Wedding:

Hotel San Cristobal, Todos Santos, Mexico

Sam is Australian and I am American, but we’ve spent time living in both countries with family and close friends spread all over the world. We always knew that we’d have a destination wedding and we had a long list of potential wedding venues: everything from Hawaii to eloping in France. We even considered our favorite local Mexican restaurant. That was when we realized that there were only a few things we wanted at our wedding: good food, good drinks, and good people. Anyone who knows us knows how much we love tacos and margaritas and we couldn’t imagine anything better than having those on the beach at our wedding. 

We spent a long time looking at hotels and resorts in Mexico, but we really wanted an intimate location and small wedding. Hotel San Cristobal is absolutely stunning and far away from the crowds of Cabo in a small artistic town called Todos Santos. I think one of my girlfriends said it best: “If there was ever a place that embodies Sam and Lisa, then this is it!” (Spoken with a margarita in hand, of course!) It really was the perfect place for us: there were great beaches for Sam and his mates to go surfing, eclectic shops and art galleries, and fantastic restaurants close by. But most of all, we felt completely relaxed at the hotel and could focus on spending time with our families and friends, and each other.

From the groom: My favorite part of the day was just before Lisa walked into the chapel. I was standing up the front waiting for the processional music to start and I remember just feeling so insanely happy. It was perfect: I was surrounded by all my best friends and my family, everyone looked so happy and amazing in their wedding outfits, and I was just about to see my bride enter the chapel in her mystery wedding dress. I wasn’t nervous at all, just so happy and centered. Lisa said that it was like time stood still and I think that’s true. We’d done it! We’d planned this occasion and asked everyone to travel to Mexico and here they were! All just as excited about our wedding as we were.

Our ceremony was hand-written by Sam and our officiant, our close friend Amy. They each spent weeks crafting the 30-minute ceremony, which was full of fun stories, memories, and personality. It wasn’t overly religious, but it was spiritual. Amidst the personalized ceremony, we wanted to make traditional vows.

Being photographers ourselves (and shooting countless weddings over the years), we knew what we did and didn’t want. Mostly, we wanted intimacy and a stress-free celebration. We skipped so many of the “traditions” that just didn’t resonate with us (formal invitations, wedding favors, cake cutting) and focused on spending quality time with each other and our guests. Knowing that we had somehow pulled off a week in paradise with all of our favorite people, the rest didn’t seem to matter.

Our #1 piece of advice is to find a venue and vendors who you love and then trust them completely. Let them shine! Our coordinator at Hotel San Cristobal, Judy, did absolutely everything for our wedding. We didn’t fuss about rentals or extra vendors – we just embraced what was already there and trusted her to organize everything. When I found our florist, Pina, I told her to “do whatever she wanted” and her work was more magical than I could have ever imagined! 

We didn’t worry too much about the color palette because Hotel San Cristobal was so beautiful. I always envisioned a wedding venue that did the work for us. Aside from the flowers and our reception tablescape, we didn’t add anything to the already-perfect venue!

We realized pretty quickly that we couldn’t do everything ourselves. There were some things that just needed to be handed off to other people, who could find a solution faster. We also realized that it wasn’t a burden, but actually a privilege for your friends and family to feel even more involved in the day. 

From the bride: Walking into the chapel was by far my favorite moment. In my memory, I looked at every single person in the chapel – those who have shaped our lives so significantly – and then my eyes landed on Sam standing so calmly at the front. Time somehow stood still and flew by at the same time! I also really enjoyed our reception. We sat at long, family-style tables and it just felt like the best dinner party! We were passing around dishes of the most amazing food, laughing at speeches and stories of the week and watching the sunset over the ocean. It doesn’t get much better than that!

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Los Ébano
Venue – Hotel San Cristobal
Floral Design – Pina Cate
Wedding Dress – Rue de Seine via The Dress Theory
Dress Alterations – Karen Hendrix Couture
Bridal Accessories – Portmanteau
Groom’s Apparel – J. Lindeberg and Knot Standard
Rings – Zappacosta Jewels

 

Our biggest congratulations to Lisa and Sam, and a special thanks to Los Ébano for sharing this gorgeous Hotel San Cristobal wedding with Junebug! Now let’s keep that wanderlust going with our list of the best destination wedding location for 2019!

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This DIY Dairyland Wedding Brought the Natural Beauty of Washington Indoors

March 10, 2019 | Junebug Weddings

Get ready for this Dairyland wedding to melt every single piece of your heart! From handmade garlands to hand-painted wine bottles to the ombre napkins, there wasn’t a single element that Rhyss, Andrew, and their loving family and friends didn’t touch. The copper and navy color palette alongside all the natural greenery was a breath of fresh air and made the venue feel like an indoor garden. Those elements, combined with the vintage furniture rentals, took the style factor off the charts! Most importantly, though, Rhyss and Andrew’s love for each other and for their guests was overflowing from beginning to end, making this one of the most emotional, heartfelt, and joyful celebrations we have had the honor of publishing! We have to give a shoutout to Carmen Lopez Photography for capturing it all with such care and love.

The Couple:

Rhyss and Andrew

The Wedding:

Dairyland, Snohomish, Washington

We wanted our wedding to be a reflection of us: Andrew being a down-to-earth and a relaxed person while, me, paying attention to the details and aesthetics. So, I think it really translated well as we both listened to each other. Everyone had a great time partying and looked great!

There was a moment just before when the ceremony started where Andrew and I were sitting by our grooms’ party room alone with one of our family friends. It was the moment where Carmen sneakily captured Andrew and me crying and holding hands by a sofa. We were just taking it all in. Our family friend was reminding us how lucky we were, not only as a gay couple but because of all the hardships we endured together and all the support we have. We had to make a lot of sacrifices during our long-distance relationship between Vancouver, BC, and Seattle, WA. So, for us, the whole moment finally meant we were going to be together.

Almost everything from our wedding was a DIY project! It was all possible with the help of our amazing family and friends, and it was overwhelmingly humbling for both of us to have this much support. Our aunts arranged our flower bouquets and one of our aunts officiated the ceremony. Our sisters were our event planners, our friends helped us spray paint over a hundred wine bottles, and our awesome grooms’ party moved tables between the ceremony and reception in their dresses and suits! Even most of our decorations, aside from all the amazing vintage rental items we got, were all DIY and budget-friendly. From cutting garlands, handwriting all the tile “place cards”, and creating ombre napkins, it was really amazing to have everyone come together and help us.

Processional – “Like Real People Do by Hozier
Grooms’ Entrance – “West” by Sleeping at Last
Recessional – “Wildheart” by Bleachers
First Dance – “Home” by Edward and Magnetic Zeroes (Lucas Fogale Version) 

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Carmen Lopez Photography
Venue – Dairyland
Floral Design – Colibri Blooms
Catering – Cabbage Patch Restaurant and Catering
Cake – Coyle’s Bakeshop
DJ – DJ Justin
Videography – Moonstruck Pictures
Stationery – Minted
Hair Styling – Aurelio Ayala III
Rentals – Vintage Ambiance

 

Congratulations to Rhyss and Andrew, and a huge thanks to Carmen Lopez Photography for sharing this unforgettable Dairyland wedding with Junebug! For more wedding bliss at this Washington venue, check out this chic neutral Dairyland wedding!

 

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