Tennessee Garden Wedding With a Green Bridal Skirt

I have to say that there’s really nothing quite like fashion-forward, sartorially-chic brides that push the envelope, and Jenna fits that bill quite well. When Dixie Pixel‘s grand images of her in her green bridal skirt popped up, I knew we had something quite special here! Coordination was one of Evan and Jenna’s must-haves for their big day, so enlisting Southern Bliss Weddings to orchestrate all of the fine details was necessary and speaking of fine details, Megan Connors Floral and Styling worked wonders all over this event, from the bride’s bouquet to that astounding barn ceiling. Wait until you see THAT doozy.

From the bride, Jenna: Evan and I both love the rustic barn feel and the space that acreage provides. We knew from the beginning that we wanted an outdoor wedding with as many rustic elements as possible. We also agreed that we wanted items to have a special meaning, hence the doors from Indiana (his home state) and the lavender from my dad’s farm in Oregon. We asked a close friend to officiate the ceremony which could not have turned out any better. Our goal for the wedding was to create an intimate event for close friends and family that felt like an upscale backyard party.

Evan and I really wanted to stay with the rustic-chic look throughout the wedding but we were also careful to add some glamour to the barn atmosphere. Our color scheme included cream, hunter green and gold. Because the wedding was outdoors we wanted to really reflect the colors of the property while throwing in small pops of color for added brightness.

Oh the DIY projects… where do I begin? We had more than a year to plan our special day so a majority of the projects for our event became DIY. I designed and printed all paper elements (invitation packets, menus, thank you notes, etc.). Evan is a fantastic woodworker and I wanted his craftsmanship to be highlighted throughout our wedding. When he first took me to his parents’ home in Indiana, we found an old barn on his Uncle’s land with which I immediately fell in love. The barn was falling down and no longer of use to his Uncle’s farm so we asked permission to strip the wood for use on a later, and at the time unknown, project. The reception bar was built from barn wood we stripped in Indiana. Evan also built the ceremony backdrop and large double-door entrance using doors we found in an old antique shop in Indiana.

All of the wedding signage was built/stained/created and written by me. The lavender used to fill our “toss bags”, placed at the table settings and randomly stuck throughout the wedding decor was lovingly trucked back to Tennessee last September when we made a cross-country road trip to my dad’s home and lavender farm in Oregon. The cornhole boards were purchased unfinished and I completed them by staining and adding a gold H monogram. Evan created the ball jar lights from old canning jars we found while antiquing in Knoxville and Indiana. Lastly, many of the antique elements scattered throughout the wedding were purchased by Evan and myself while antiquing in Knoxville and Indiana (glass jugs, antique boxes, rustic letters, etc).

Our florist Megan, of Megan Connors Floral Design and Styling, really hit this event out of the park. She took the ideas I didn’t even know lived in my head and made them come to life. My bouquet was, in my opinion, one of the most fabulous arrangements I have ever seen and did you SEE what she did to the barn ceiling? Her style and creativity lead to the perfect amount of floral arrangements without overpowering the natural beauty of the venue.

A Bold Berry-Colored Vallejo Wedding

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Take your time and enjoy the process… and the correct vendors are EVERYTHING. Having vendors (photographer, caterer, florist) that I could count on really made the planning process a breeze. Because I trusted and valued their opinions I gave them some general guidelines but they pretty much were able to have creative license with everything. Another must for couples planning their wedding: A COORDINATOR. Amanda Graves with Southern Bliss Weddings was my lifesaver many times during the year we planned. Lastly, I would remind couples that this is THEIR day. Try not to get caught up in the “they invited us so we have to invite them” mess that sometimes comes with weddings. The whole point is to celebrate your love and the entire day should be exactly how you both imagined.