Beautiful Nashville Wedding by Elliott Events & Embassy Suites!

We are so lucky to be able to work with fun brides and creative vendors who can help us bring their vision to life. I'm really excited to be able to share some pictures with you from the wedding of Crystal and Demetrius, who held their wedding ceremony and reception here with us at the Embassy Suites Nashville. Check this out!

All flowers, decorating, and coordinating was done by Elliott Events, and let me just say...Tiffanie and her crew are great to work with! If you need help bringing the design of your wedding together, look no further. You can read their blog post about this wedding here.

***Also, I just learned that Elliott Events is currently offering a FREE lighting package with dance floor gobo (like in the pic above) to all new 2012 bookings. Amazing! Call Tiffanie at 615-485-2193 and tell her you heard it here! ***

Happy Wedding Wednesday!

REAL NASHVILLE WEDDING: Laura and Rick -- Florida, Dolphins, and the Engagement That Almost Didn't Happen

BRIDE: Laura


GROOM: Rick
WEDDING DATE: May 21, 2011


WHERE ARE YOU BOTH FROM ORIGINALLY?: Laura is from Wisconsin and Rick is from Tennessee.


WHAT DO YOU DO?: Laura works in accounting and Rick works in IT.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TOGETHER?: 9 years

HOW DID YOU MEET?: (Laura) We met at Blockbuster -- he was an assistant manager and I was a lowly worker-bee. It was NOT love at first sight for either of us. We actually didn't like each other much, but that obviously changed!

WHAT'S YOUR ENGAGEMENT STORY?: (Laura) We were on vacation in Florida with some friends. Among all the activities we had planned, I had planned on swimming with the dolphins because it was something I'd wanted to do forever. Our friends took pictures of me and the dolphins with their camera. Later in the evening, before we went to dinner, we decided to walk down to the pier to take some pictures. We were walking back, and the camera bag was slung over someone's shoulder and accidentally fell into the water. Everyone starts to panic, and I think it's because of the camera, but I had no idea that Rick had hidden my ring in the camera case and everyone knew he was going to propose, so everyone thought the ring was gone! They were able to fish the camera out, and after dinner we took a walk on the beach. It was then that Rick got down on one knee and grabs my hand, and he had the ring in his other hand. The first words out of my mouth were, "Are you serious?!" I honestly thought he was playing a mean joke on me until I saw the ring in his hand and started crying. So that was my most perfect day ever!

WHAT ARE YOUR WEDDING COLORS AND/OR THEME?: Black with yellow, orange, purple, and pink

IS THERE A DETAIL ABOUT YOUR WEDDING THAT YOU CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR GUESTS TO SEE?: My dress. The beadwork looks like Cinderella's carriage.

IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIAL YOU'RE DOING TO PERSONALIZE YOUR EVENT TO MAKE IT UNIQUELY "YOU?": Probably the music. The rest was very simple and traditional.

WHAT'S SOMETHING YOU'VE LEARNED AS YOU'VE BEEN PLANNING YOUR WEDDING?: Get a 12-month planning book and follow it, but don't get ahead of it. Also, get a day-of coordinator, whether it's someone you hire or a friend / family member.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD?: We would highly recommend Embassy Suites to anyone! Everything we were promised was delivered, and it was an all-around enjoyable experience.

REAL WEDDING: Jenna & Christian -- Sunshine, Birds, Flowers, and a Light-Up Dance Floor

THE BRIDE: Jenna is an Operations Assistant at The Background Bureau, and she is originally from Owensboro, KY.

THE GROOM: Christian is a Project Analyst at The Nielsen Company, and he is originally from Monticello, KY.

TOGETHER FOR: 2 1/2 years

HOW DID YOU MEET? They went to U of L together. Christian was working the front desk at a dorm on campus, and Jenna was there to meet a friend. They all went out to dinner that night, but Christian and Jenna never stopped talking to each other.

YOUR FAVORITE STORY ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP: One Easter, Christian found out Jenna had never been on an Easter egg hunt. Jenna came home to find the door to her living room locked. When Christian let Jenna inside, he informed her that he had hidden Cadbury creme eggs around the apartment. They always try to find creative ideas like this to surprise each other.

YOUR ENGAGEMENT STORY: Christian got down on one knee to ask Jenna after a candle-lit breakfast.

WEDDING DATE: June 9, 2012

WEDDING COLORS OR THEME: Navy, Yellow, and Hot Pink. They'll focus on sunshine, birds, summer, and love.

IS THERE A DETAIL ABOUT YOUR WEDDING/RECEPTION THAT YOU CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR GUESTS TO SEE?: The light-up dance floor!

IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIAL YOU'RE DOING TO PERSONALIZE YOUR WEDDING/RECEPTION TO MAKE IT UNIQUELY "YOU?": [Jenna] We're personalizing a lot of different things about our wedding. My dress has been called "SO YOU" by every person who's seen a picture of it. We'll have memorial candles for our lost loved ones. The light-up dance floor is a must because we both like to dance so much. And since our monogram is a T, we're toying with the idea of including tea and teapots or teacups in some way, possibly as a favor.

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU'VE LEARNED AS YOU'VE BEEN PLANNING?: [Jenna] The wedding is just one day; the important thing is the life you build together AFTER the wedding.

[Christian] Some things are insanely more expensive than originally planned while others are ridiculously more cheap than imagined.

ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES?: [Jenna] Focus on the marriage, not the wedding. It's not worth it to go into debt for one day of your life.

[Christian] Keep your future husband in the loop.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD?: [Christian] Don't forget the reason for your wedding in the first place.

New Wedding Blog Feature! Announcing REAL NASHVILLE WEDDINGS at Embassy Suites!

If you're a regular to the world of wedding blogs, you know that lots of bloggers occasionally feature "real weddings" to give brides and planners alike some inspiration and ideas about what's popular for weddings. While I enjoy reading these and looking at the pictures as much as the next gal, I do sometimes find it frustrating because I wonder how "real" some of the features are. Too often there is little explanation about the people themselves or all of the work that went into their event. Or it is quite apparent that their "budget" is limitless, which is not something to which most of us can relate.

I decided today that OUR brides should get some internet love and attention, so I'm going to start a new blog feature for REAL NASHVILLE WEDDINGS at Embassy Suites! I have the great pleasure of working with some wonderful couples on real weddings all throughout the year, so it's time you met them too! Check back soon for the first installment, and keep an eye on our Facebook page and Twitter for updates. We're looking forward to showing you how Weddings Are Sweet at Embassy Suites!