If you’ve been looking around my website you may have seen that the historic homes of Nashville are some of my favorite wedding venues. I love the beauty of the grounds as well as the museum aspect, which gives guests plenty to see and do on site. Nashville is home to many destination weddings, and guests will travel from far and wide to see the town. Guests love weddings held at some of the big tourist spots that they might not otherwise have discovered on their own.
So, Krysta and Joe‘s wedding at Belle Meade mansion was one of those perfect weddings at a perfect Nashville venue. The property provides tours of the home as well as beautiful walks around the grounds and several shops for souvenirs. Wedding ceremonies are typically held in the carriage house, while the reception is held in the barn. The entire area is covered and connected, which is perfect for those rainy days like we experienced at here.
It can get rather dark in the carriage house, so string lights are a big plus. Belle Meade uses Bright Event Productions for lighting, and they are very familiar with the space and with what works well there. But if you’re on a budget then you can open the barn doors for a view of the garden as a backdrop to the ceremony.
Since we’re talking of gardens, Belle Meade has some beautiful garden spaces that are great for first looks and couple photos. If your wedding is on a rainy November day like this wedding, then you may consider some of these cute clear umbrellas, which made for some great pictures by John Myers Photography.
After the ceremony, guests were given cocktail hour to hit the bar or wander the property. Many guests love to take photos in front of the mansion, which is so big it’s difficult to get it all in one photo.
For the reception, Joe chose a live band for music instead of a DJ. Krysta and her mom organized lots of little details with family photos covering the venue.
For flowers, we decided to stick with the Southern mansion theme for the floral design. We selected white garden roses and dark green and brown magnolia leaves for centerpieces that look like they were foraged straight out of a Southern lady’s garden (I sourced them legally instead of cutting out of the neighbor’s yard, I promise.)
After partying with the band for hours, the night ended with cake cutting and an exit with glow sticks. (No sparklers in a 200-year-old barn, please and thank you.)
“Kelsey is wonderful! She took care of everything the month of our wedding to take the stress away from me. The day of the wedding ran so smoothly! Kelsey also made the floral arrangements and bouquets and I couldn’t have been happier with how everything turned out.” – Bride Krysta on The Knot
Thank you to the following vendors for working with me on Krysta & Joe’s Southern romance wedding.
Venue – Belle Meade – Instagram @bellemeadeevents
Planner & Florist – Kelsey Gray Events – @kelseygrayevents
Rentals – Liberty Party – Instagram @libertypartyrental
Lighting – Bright Event Productions – Instagram @brighteventproductions
Bakery – Dulce – Instagram @dulcedessertsnashville
Photographer – John Myers Photography – Instagram @johnmyersphotography
Live Music – Emerald Empire Band – Instagram @emeraldempireband
Caterer & Bartender – Sandra’s catering – Instagram @sandrascatering215
Officiant – Sensational Ceremonies – Instagram @sensationalceremonies
Hair & Make-up – Dry House Salon – Instagram @thedryhousenashville
