What's Trending? Wedding 2017

THE LOOK
Modern & Industrial Vibe
We’ve seen a little bit of the more modern and industrial look come in at the tail end of 2016. Couples are anticipated to include a mix of metallic and whites into their color palate to achieve this look. Incorporating softer, brushed metallic metals like copper, bronze, and rose gold will be much more popular. Holding receptions in warehouses with an industrial vibe paired with modern décor is a combination made in heaven. 

Florals
In 2017, the floral trend will shift more towards natural looking arrangements and decor. Lush garlands of cascading blooms have been a booming trend as of late. Whether they are used as tabletop runners, replacing centerpieces and traditional runners or adorning ceremony altars, these garlands of greenery create a natural and romantic focal point. Additionally, brides are choosing natural blush tones and succulents to round out their floral arrangements. This trend is absolutely stunning. 

THE MEAL
Comfort Foods & Family Recipes
This trend has been slowly making its way to the top of couple’s wish lists for their receptions. Incorporating foods that the couple grew up on is becoming increasingly popular on wedding menus as it is a way to make the event even more personal. If you love your grandmother’s meatballs or your dad makes the best fried chicken, we’re seeing couples bringing those recipes to their caterers to craft a meal around these favorites. Not only are the family’s recipes being brought into the big day, but we’re seeing more and more receptions where the bride and groom’s families are making all of the desserts. Whether it’s a plethora of pies or a variety of cookies, this trend is sure to hit the spot.

Local Booze Selection    
With the growing hype of local craft breweries and distilleries, couples are choosing to include a taste of their wedding city into their receptions. Whether that’s creating a signature cocktail using liquor from the area or offering a beer flight of local selections, this is a trend that adds in a little local flair for your guests to enjoy. Especially here in Nashville, TN, we have quite the selection to choose from!

THE CEREMONY
First Looks
I love that couples are shying away from the traditional and embracing the first look. To me, it creates such an intimate moment for the bride and groom before the ceremony where all eyes are not on them. It allows the couple to get rid of a lot of the nerves they may have about not seeing each other before they are walking down the aisle. Not only all of that, but it makes for some stunning and heartfelt photos too! Some of my favorite wedding photos are those taken during a first look. 

2017 is shaping up to be one trendy year for weddings! Looking forward to seeing all of these in the weddings here at The Hermitage!

Wedding Advice From a Recent Bride

Hello! My name is Chelsea. I’m with the events staff here at The Hermitage. I absolutely love working on the weddings here and am so honored I get to be a part of so many. On April 2nd I reversed my usual role and got to be the one walking down the aisle! I had the wedding of my dreams, and I wanted to share my wedding planning experience as a bride with you!

Hardest/Easiest Part of Planning

Hardest-

• Deciding on a general direction- Let’s be honest, there are SO many cool ideas out there. You should have seen my Pinterest board. It was a hodgepodge of beautiful randomness. I didn’t know if I wanted a rustic, boho, or a woodland feel. It just gets overwhelming. I say this to encourage you to sit down with your fiancé and decide on what kind of wedding you want. What kind of feel do you both want? What is representative of you two? Decide on a theme--a point in time, a painting, a movie, something. Find photos for inspiration, get creative, and then run with it.
• Keeping up with all of the details- Lists will become your best friend. They’ll be on legal pads, post-it notes, voice memos, and the occasional text to yourself. The minor details seem never ending. How do you want your napkins folded? What will you be using for a send-off? Where are guest favors to be placed? The list goes on and on. However, as your big day gets closer the list will get shorter and shorter… I promise!
• Seeing the big picture- Sometimes it’s difficult to see how everything is going to flow or look together. No matter how many times you layout all of your décor on your living room floor it is still difficult to envision how your guest sign-in table is going to look with linens, flowers, candles, and all. Just relax and trust your planner to have it all come together!

 Easiest-

• Having a planner do the big stuff- A planner will save you so much time and more importantly, stress! They will make hotel blocks for your out-of-town guests, create all of the floor plans, and will organize the ever so frantic bridal party to make sure everyone walks down the aisle at the right time (That’s some sort of magic if you ask me!). They will also set-up and tear-down all of the décor that you brought. They’re there so you can enjoy your wedding day with your loved ones and not have to run around worrying about the little things. This is the time to focus on yourself and the next step you and your fiancé are about to take, not on how many seconds should pass between each bridesmaid walking down the aisle.
• Vendor meetings- No need to stress! These are so much fun! Whether you’re trying food, playing with table settings, or talking with a photographer or DJ, this is your time to reveal to them what the wedding of your dreams looks like. Have any questions or possibly odd requests? Do NOT be afraid to ask. You’d be surprised what certain vendors are able to tailor. Let them know what is important to YOU because each bride likes to emphasize different aspects of their wedding.
• Budgeting (can be stressful, but it is easy when you’re on top of it!)- Don’t be afraid to shop around for vendors and get quotes. Plus, you’ll be able to see who fits your wedding style the best. If I could only give one piece of advice it would be to decide on your top 3 most important parts of your wedding and splurge on those. If you are dreaming of pretty flowers and greens, then do it! There are corners that can be cut in just about every category. And when spending keep everything logged, keep every receipt, and don’t impulse buy. Little things add up quickly and you don’t want to be left with a bunch of unneeded items.

Head Table- Why not sit in throne chairs and drink out of brass goblets?! Oh, and you can't have a royal table without a garland!

Mistakes I think I made during planning

• Time management- Do not, I repeat, DO NOT wait until right before the wedding to get “small stuff” done. If I could go back I would have had everything done at least 3- 4 weeks out. But of course I was still making my guest favors the night before…oops! Granted, I didn’t have the help I needed until everyone was in town to help me out, but I did think that I had a lot more done that I actually did. I guess I bit off a little bit more than I could chew. Thankfully, I had some amazing people to help me get everything together without being crazy stressed!
• Choosing vendors that I really didn’t trust- The bottom line is don’t choose to work with someone if you don’t trust them completely. You will waste time worrying and trying to micromanage what they do. Know that it’s okay NOT to book after a vendor meeting. And don’t just book because they are a family friend or gave you a good deal. You want to trust your vendors in full to provide the best service for your big day!

Favorite aspects of your wedding

• The guests- After plus ones we only had 85 guests and it was PERFECT. Originally we made a long list that included long lost family and friends to people we got to know at our gym. The both of us then sat down and decided that our criteria was that we will not invite anyone that we wouldn’t take out for coffee. Sure, we ended up running into some people that we marked off of our list, but we still had no regrets. It made our wedding intimate, loads of fun, and not to mention cheaper!
• Make it personal- Do not be afraid to do something different! We started off our ceremony with a “warming of the rings” where our rings were placed inside a wooden box and were passed around for our guests to see and to put their wishes, blessings, and prayers over. I’ve had people continuously commenting how unique and sweet of a gesture it was. And now looking back my fiancé and I are so happy to have been able to involve our loved ones in our ceremony.

Escort Cards- We had table "animals" rather than table numbers. Our guests loved finding out which animal they were going to be at for the night!

What I wish I would have known

• Some little things just don’t matter- At the end of the day it’s about you and your husband. No one is going to remember every little detail. For example, last minute we decided to not drape the doorways at our cocktail hour to save some money. And you know what?  I never caught a glimpse of my cocktail hour! And the while planning the whole time I was very adamant on draping those doorways that I would have never seen. If I knew this little thing wasn’t such a big deal I would have never been so hung up on the drapes (see what I did there). But seriously, focus on the bigger things that you find truly important.
• How fast it goes by- Oh my, your wedding day is over in a blink of an eye. My final advice would be to enjoy every moment of it and please, please, please if you’re going to splurge on anything, splurge on an amazing photographer! You will have these photos for you to remember this quick, but special day for the rest of your life. Make sure that it is captured in the best way possible. It makes all of the difference.

Table Setting- I love a colored table cloth rather than sticking to a traditional ivory. And I couldn't resist these wooden chargers!

Featured Wedding on Burnett's Board

We're so happy to see the Martel's beautiful, Americana wedding featured on the wedding blog, Burnett's Boards! 

I can wax poetic about about how stunning Hermitage weddings, are but a picture is worth a thousand words. You can check out the article and tons of photos here!

Photo by Abigail Bobo Photography

If you'd like to see more photos of this gorgeous wedding, make sure you check out our earlier blog about Stephanie & Alex's wedding here.

Featured Wedding: Stephanie & Alex

I love a good theme, and Stephanie and Alex’s rustic Americana theme is one of the loveliest I’ve seen. Not to mention that there’s no better place for an Americana wedding than the home of 7th President, Andrew Jackson.

Stephanie and Alex held their ceremony in the historic Hermitage Church and the reception at the Cabin by the Spring, both of which are on the grounds of the Hermitage. There is some seriously clever and imaginative styling that went into this, and the bride executed it herself. Once you see the photos below I think you’ll want to join me in giving her a standing ovation.

Three cheers for Stephanie & Alex!

Credits:

Photography by www.abigailbobophotography.com

Florals by Green Finch Floral Design

Catering by Two Fat Men Catering

Rentals by Liberty Rentals

Music by Premier DJs and The Hogslop String Band

Top 15 Wedding Photos of 2014 at Andrew Jackson's Hermitage

This has been our best year yet for Weddings at Andrew Jackson's Hermitage!! Congratulations to all of our lovely couples! We would love to share all of your amazing photos but we decided to pick what we thought were the top 15 photos!

Like what you see? Book today!! www.hermitageevents.com 

Coming in at #15...

Hannah & Ben celebrated their love by finally tying the knot after dating for over TEN YEARS!!! Congrats!!

They held their ceremony at The Church and reception was held at Tulip Grove Mansion. 

Photography by: Anya Harden

#14

Emily Hicks looking gorgeous in The Garden.

Photography: Cynthia Michelle

#13

Jodi looking stunning in The Church!!

Photography by: Scoobie's Photographic Images

#12

This gorgeous couple was so in love! Congrats Jamie and Ben Flick! Their ceremony and reception was held at Tulip Grove Mansion.

Photography By:Exposures Fine Photography

#11

What a romantic groom photo of Michael at Tulip Grove Mansion. Kendra was a lucky bride...He was also a lucky groom...Keep scrolling...

Photography by: High Gravity Photography

#10

We love how fun this photo is! The Hermitage transportation system, GOLF CART! Congrats to Skyler & Jay!

Photography by: Blue Dahlia

#9

Gorgeous bride Kendra by the back porch of Tulip Grove Mansion! She is glowing, and I don't mean from the candles!!!

Photography by: High Gravity Photography 

#8

Cristina and her beautiful bridesmaids out back at Tulip Grove Mansion!

Photography by: Dani Rose Photography

#7

Megan and her father sharing a beautiful father daughter dance. His face is priceless!!

Photography by: Justin Wright 

#6

Megan and Justin walking off from just saying 'I Do' to go on a fairy-tale horse and carriage ride! Their ceremony was held in front of the Cabin by the Spring, with reception to follow. 

Photography by: Justin Wright

#5

Courtney sharing a beautiful moment with her new step daughter! They both looked like princesses! Congrats Courtney & Jeb!!

Photography by: Bree Marie Photography 

#4

Stephanie & Daniel cuddling under a cozy quilt, made by Dan's mother. She HANDMADE all of the decor for their wedding and it looked stunning with an old southern feel. Congrats again guys!

Photography by: High Five for Love 

#3

What a great way to capture the exposed brick of The Church, the bridal party, and our NEWLYWEDS!! We love this picture!! Congrats to Mary Alice & Will!!

Photography by: Emily Lester Photography 

#2

This picture was SO close to winning first place! Look at all the love AND BUBBLES!! We love a bubble send off here at Andrew Jackson's Hermitage and this one was done right! Congrats to Laura & Andy!!

Photography by: Christen Jones

#1

All of the pictures from this year were amazing but this one stole our hearts! The cotton field at The Hermitage has never looked so beautiful!! Jennie and Jeremy are so in love and we wish them the best! 

Photography : Kristin Sweeting

Thank you all for choosing to spend the best day of your life with us at Andrew Jackson's Hermitage!

*some wedding photos were not submitted for use*