Knoxville Tennessee Wedding
Katie and Ashley’s Tennessee wedding is the perfect marriage of vintage and creativity. We love the bud vases hanging in front of the frames, the peony bouquet, the apothecary-inspired centerpieces… We could go on and on! Naturally, we have to mention the couple’s too-cute-for-words Boston Terriers as ringbearers. This is one gallery you won’t want to miss. Thanks to Tara and James of Dixie Pixel!
From the bride, Katie: Ashley set the tone for the wedding after an amazingly romantic proposal — he tricked me into thinking I was going to a tapas restaurant called A Proposta (which, by the way, is Portuguese for “the proposal,” and doesn’t even exist in Tennessee!). I had no clue that he was actually taking me to the Bleak House, an antebellum mansion built on the banks of the Tennessee River. He had friends set out several tiny votives, sprinkle rose petals around, and set a table with a bottle of wine and a piece of tiramisu with a heart carved in it. He got down on one knee, asked me to marry him, and — when I said yes — we danced together to the song that later became our first dance at the wedding (“Let It Be Me” by Ray LaMontagne). I really wanted to carry those romantic overtones on through the wedding.
Additionally, after blog stalking numerous blogs (Ruffled, primarily), I really started to love the vintage feel of various weddings I’d seen. We both decided that incorporating vintage elements with an overall romantic theme would be the type of wedding we really wanted to have.
I wanted the ceremony to be relatively formal, yet somewhat non-traditional (we wrote our own vows, incorporated handfasting into the ceremony, including our Boston Terriers as honorary canine attendants, had excerpts from Sandol Stoddard Warburg’s “I Like You” read aloud, and had an Apache prayer read aloud before we were announced as husband and wife). We wanted the reception to be relatively laid back and fun, and we wanted the whole fête to be reflective of us –and I think we achieved that! 🙂
Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Planning a wedding is a LOT of work! The best way to manage it is to break it down into several smaller pieces, and handle them that way. I had a little under a year to plan, but knew that there was a lot to be done. It seemed to be easier and less daunting when I set a goal per week. Also, I think it’s really neat when your wedding is reflective of you, the couple, rather than a stack of etiquette books. Ashley and I worked very hard to ensure that the wedding really felt like us. We’re goofy, fun-loving, sweet people, and we wanted that to come out in our wedding details. From the polaroid camera to the photobooth to the costumes/props, our wedding felt like, well, us. 🙂
View all photos from this wedding
Wedding Songs:
Bride’s processional: “At Last,” Etta James
Recessional: “All You Need Is Love,” The Beatles
First Dance: “Let It Be Me,” Ray LaMontagne
Father/daughter dance: “Stand By Me,” BB King
Grandmother/grandson dance: “Stardust,” Nat King Cole
Be sure to watch their video…you’ll love their sendoff!
Wedding vendors (Knoxville, TN):
Reception Venue: Maple Grove Inn / Wedding Photographer: Tara and James of Dixie Pixel / Wedding coordinator: Suzan Bowman and Vicki LaFollette / Floral Designer: Whimsical Gatherings / Rehearsal dinner flowers: Lisa Foster Floral Design / Invitation and Save-the-date Designer: Hello!Lucky / Program designer: Fourth Year Studio / Ringbearer bowl: Paloma’s Nest / Ceremony dress: David’s Bridal / Reception dress: Dolly Couture / Chiffon petticoat and wedding veil: Colleen Moore / Bridesmaid’s dresses: Jasmine B2 / Cake Designer: Magpies Bakery / Cake toppers: thedaintywoods and concarta / Lighting, String Trio and DJ: Ogle Entertainment and DJ Jake James / Solo artist: Robinella / Videographer: Nathan Hinckley at Milestone Pictures / Web stream: GX Media / Rentals: All Occasions Party Rentals / Dog handler: Dog Training in Your Home / Wedding favors: made by groom’s cousins / Handfasting stole: made by groom’s aunt and sister / Wedding hair and makeup: Belleza Salon and Spa / Bride’s earrings: Adorn Brides / Dogs’ collars: SillyBuddy / Dogs’ embroidered hearts: Beantown Handmade / Dress hangers: Lila Frances / Bouquet charm: Princess Allure / Sweetheart Table Garland: Paper Polaroid / Mr. and Mrs. Chair Signs: William Dohman / Ceremony and reception signs: True Connection
So sweet and looks like it reflects your style very well! I love the Bostons as a part of your wedding. We too have two Bostons but I’m not sure the Catholic Church would approve of our two “children” at our ceremony!
What a fantastic wedding video! Really showed how fun this couple is.
@Melissa–how sweet that you have your own Bostons! We knew from the start that the girls (as we call them) had to be apart of the wedding day. That was somewhat of a search criteria when we were looking at sites, actually! 🙂
@Gina–Thank you! 🙂
Oh my Gosh! This wedding video is simply AMAZING!!!! I didnt really think i would want a videographer for my wedding. But once i saw this i cant imagine my day without one! This is is wonderful! Thanks for sharing this!
@Skye–Definitely do videography!! Ashley and I didn’t think we wanted to do videography but, after watching our videographer’s work with other couples, we KNEW we had to do it! It’s great that, whenever we decide to start a family, we can show our children and their children (and so on and so forth) what our wedding was like. Definitely recommend it! 🙂
What a beautiful wedding! I love the feel of this and that your style seems so perfectly incorporated into the day. And your dress! Gah! Love it. I also feel a little bridal kinship, our recessional was “All You Need is Love”, our first dance was Ray LaMontagne (a slowed down version of “You Are The Best Thing”), and my Dad and I danced to “Stand by Me”!
Great shots of a gorgeous day! Absolutely LOVE the Bostons… I had that breed all my life growing up. Your personalities definitely shine… awesome!
@Caitlin–that’s awesome that we picked similar songs! We wanted to do something a little different, you know? Thanks for the comments! 🙂
What a gorgeous wedding! beautifully styled and sooo much fun! I made the bouquet charm and just love seeing it in this gorgeous wedding!!!
Such a perfect and dreamy wedding! The videographer did an outstanding job and your reception seemed to die for! One giant party! sooo fun!
Again, your wedding was gorgeous! I love all of the details that went into the planning. I had so much fun through the process of planning and making your cake topper . Now that I am seeing these pictures and I got to watch the video, I enjoyed it even more.
You two look like such a great and fun couple. It really showed through your big day. SO SO happy for you guys 🙂
-Chelsea
@Akemi–Yes, we definitely had to have our dog-ters in the wedding! We actually hired an obedience trainer prior to the wedding to make them a bit more…ummm…ruly. 🙂
@Sarah–We looooooved the charm! It really just made the bouquet perfect! 🙂
@Shelby–THANK YOU!!!!!
@Chelsea–Thank you! Glad that you got to see the big picture! 🙂
This is so fantastic I can’t even stand it!!!! What were those things in your sendoff? Were they paper bags? I want them for my wedding soooo badly!
beautiful video! thanks for sharing. I love you post! 🙂
I love this wedding. The centerpieces are darling and the polaroid line is just perfect.
@Lauren–Thank you!! The bag looking things are actually wish lanterns! Super fun send-off! 🙂 You can find them at https://www.wishlantern.com/. 🙂
@Leslie–Thank you! Our videographer is amazing! 🙂
@Jen Rea-Thank you!! Lots of blog inspiration went into this one! 🙂
This wedding is so stunning! I love the wedding dress and the cute little cupcakes! They must have a very amazing time there at the wedding!
Thank you, Jen!!! 🙂 We had a blast, honestly!! Which is precisely how we wanted it to be! 🙂
Katie,
This is exactly the vibe that I want for our wedding! What is the large fixture behind you and Ashley during the ceremony? I love it !
Wow, Beautiful.. Thank you for sharing this.. Great shots of a gorgeous day
This wedding was beautiful. I really appreciate their attention to detail and the creativity, particularly in the center pieces (the grass and the Iris Cloves vintage container). These items really helping to pull off an old-school vintage feel.