When the wedding planner gets married | Part 2: The Decisions
This is Part 2 of our “when the wedding planner get’s married” series. Click here for Part 1: “The Preparations”
THE DECISIONS:
In making the big decisions, being a planner and having the ability to read vendor contracts with ease was super helpful. Not gonna lie there. But not all decisions were easy! Here is a look into our decision making process:
THE DATE
We chose Sunday, March 19th, 2023. You read that right. A SUNDAY. We chose this for many reasons:
I’m in the wedding industry. I didn’t want my industry friends to have to choose between a paying gig on a Saturday and attending my wedding.
We had a large wedding and we wanted to do a welcome party the day before so we didn’t feel the pressure of saying hello to every single human on the wedding day. It’s a lot easier for folks to get to a welcome party on Saturday, then it is on Friday when you aren’t competing with as many work schedules.
Many of our guests were out of town. They’d have to take off a day of work anyway, so why not Monday, instead of Friday and then we can save a few $$ by hosting our wedding on a “off peak” day.
We chose March as it’s not a busy season for weddings therefore as a wedding planner, I would not be busy.
I also knew that March would not be as busy for our vendors, so we had more selection options and our vendors were *FRESH*. They were not burnt out in the wedding season grind and I felt that not only we enjoyed ourselves, but our vendors could have a nice, maybe not as exhausting, time.
In reflection, I would totally host our wedding on a Sunday again, and I LOVE that we have something to look forward to in what is normally a super dull month. Except for the fact that we always slightly conflict with March Madness, beyond that, it’s the best.
THE VENUE
The venue decisions was pretty straight forward for us. We had a lot of criteria to match that whittled down the venue options very quickly.
My mother wanted us to get married in Nashville proper. Not any other county but Davidson.
We were expecting up to 200 people. Looking for larger capacity.
I did not want to move locations for ceremony and reception- I wanted everything in one place.
I did not want to have to deal with a rain plan. I wanted a ceremony and reception location that would be the same, no matter the weather (#EASE)
TGT will not participate in any weddings on plantations or other historically cruel venues.
I did not want to get married at a venue with exclusive vendors. I have so many friends and I wanted to be able to use them! (Therefore, hotel ballrooms were out).
With that, we were down to two venues in Nashville. The other, my sister-in-law got married at 1 year ago, so there it was…. Our venue: Saint Elle. She’s a beaut. I’m so happy we got married there (for all the reasons above!)
THE VENDORS
I love all my friend-ors in town and I wanted to show EVERYONE off. I also wanted to involve my incredibly talented friends however they were willing, but didn’t want to take advantage of anyone and really wanted to make sure everyone could still party! In choosing the vendors, I let Tom take the lead since he has opinions as well and doesn’t work in the industry. Tom and well… our budget.
Catering - South Fork Catering Co. These guys ROCK. We wanted a local faire without being BBQ and they brought it. Being from a former farming family, my husband loved how they could trace ingredients back to specific farms in the area and we loved showing that off on our menus.
Florals - Sunburst Florals. I’ve now known Sam for many years (she is a manager for TGT!) and it’s been a joy to watch her business grow in the last few years. We are so aligned in vision and style I knew she’d be my gal to go green and tropical all the way!
Hair + Makeup - One10Beauty. Beauty is NOT my thing. It is One10Beauty’s thing. Whenever I’ve worked with this crew, they have it handled and on lock, so I knew I’d be in good hands with ANYONE from their team, which is exactly what I did. I just said- hey. Schedule me with anyone.
Photographer - Madi Flournoy Photography. I’ve been in love with Madi since I first saw her wrangle a huge extended family photo session back in 2018. I love her demeanor, she can get shit done (which is needed with my crew) and I’m obsessed with her photos. You’ve got to love your photographer as a human because they will be in your face all day. And I love Madi.
DJ - Russ Pollard. I had a lot of asks. A lot of WEIRD asks. And I knew that Russ was my guy to handle all these requests gracefully. I’ve always loved Russ’ wedding demeanor (able to make announcements without being too in your face) and I knew my guests would love him and the dance party too.
Print Materials - My very talented sister-in-law rocked it! Hoorah for talented family and delegation!
Video - My very talented friend Drew Maynard shot just the ceremony as that’s just what I wanted! Posterity. Get those vows on FILM.
Cake - Bourbon Baker. My very talented friends (whose children were also the flower girl and ring bearer) pulled out all the stops! I again said, do whatever, and they DID IT. And it tasted so good!
Transportation - Joyride. They are not just for Nashville tours around town! They are the most affordable transportation option as well for getting our guests to and from the venue. And they hung out an hour later than needed at the end of the after party, just cause they rock.
Lodging and Farewell Bagels - Waymore’s. Y’all I couldn’t speak more highly of this crew! They swooped in and saved the day when our original hotel closed mid-planning. They are right in the middle of East Nashville so all our favorite spots are walking distance and they have a lovely lobby/bar/restaurant for all our family and friends to hang out at and catch up.
Photo Booth - Nashville Photobooth Co. Our sweet friends at NPC gifted us a photobooth for our wedding and it was a HIT. We used it as our guestbook as we wanted something that we could look at with fondness in future years and giggle. We love the photos and our friends.
Rehearsal Dinner + Welcome Party - Martin’s BBQ Joint. I can’t get over how much of a deal Martin’s is. 1- they are so centrally located in town for any guests that are mid Nashville touring and want to stop by a welcome party. 2- they are SO affordable and so accommodating to all hopes/dreams/etc. 3- the space is gorgeous and customizable. 4- BBQ Duh. We loved hosting our rehearsal dinner for 50 and then opening up an air wall to expand the space for welcome drinks with our full guest list with a cash bar.
Rentals - Curated Events. Chelsea and the team at Curated crushed it. I was pretty darn picky about chairs and napkins, and going into the Showroom was such a great experience. Chelsea was also the tiebreaker between my mom and I so that was a blessing.
Ceremony Arch - Blue Fish Event Rentals. I’m not a floral gal. I’m also not a religious gal. I needed something to get married in front of though. So when I saw Blue Fish’s “sunburst” I knew it was perfect for us!
Lighting - Renowned Event Design. RED showed up in a big way. They have been a JOY to work with always, and the bang for your buck is so onpoint. But when the team at RED offered me ADDITIONAL disco balls to make my tropical disco dreams come true, I straight up cried. I appreciate them always.
Officiant - My aunt! She marries everyone. She will marry you too if you want.
After Party - Sid Gold’s Request Room. Everyone talked about how lovely our wedding was. But EVERYONE talked about how awesome our afterparty was. We’ve got a lively bunch of friends. Musical, theatrical, and Sid Gold’s piano karaoke bar was the BEST place for everyone to show off their skills. We ordered pizza from our favorite local place Pinky Ring. We lined up a few of our friends to get the karaoke cue started, and it was off to the races. They ended up staying open an hour later than planned cause it just rocked.
Saxophone - Al Cutri. Getting a traveling sax for our reception was my rock that I was going to die on. I love sax. I love interactive musicians. All our favorite songs have sax. I knew having a collab with a DJ and a Sax man would just CRUSH. But gosh darn if it wasn’t hard to find. I almost lost this vendor plan due to “Ease” but “Fun” prevailed and after searching and searching- I found Al, Al found my vision, DJ Russ Pollard was on board, and we were off to the races. So glad Al was with us on wedding day!
Coordinator - The Get Together Events Co. Of course I used my team! I love this crew so much and couldn’t image having anyone else there. We of course made sure there was plenty of time to party too.
Neon Signs - Goodner Supply. “Goodner Vibes Only” sign, tabletop neon lights, and the photo booth background were all made by my husband Tom. And in the year since, we’ve decided to open up shop! So you can shop all his goodies here at Goodner Supply!
THE WEDDING PARTY
Whether to have a wedding party or not seems to be a great debate for many of our clients. Yes, wedding parties add another level of coordination and expense, but hot damn we couldn’t imagine having our day without our people by our side. Tom and I both have fierce friend groups and we love these folks immensely. These people were our support and party and cheerleaders for the months leading up to our wedding and we wouldn’t have chosen it any other way.
Some things that were important to us regarding our wedding party
Dudes in the classic tux. Everyone looks good in a tux.
Gals in black dresses. Everyone looks good in a black dress of their own choosing.
No siblings in the wedding party. Our siblings didn’t NEED to be in our wedding party. They were siblings and that’s special in itself. Wedding party was just friends.
We didn’t need it to be even in number on either side. It was, but it didn’t have to be.
They sat down when it came for wedding time. Tom and I are grown ass adults making this decision, so when it came time to do the marriage thing, we held it on our own up there.
THE ATTIRE
What to wear on my wedding day was one of the decisions that was giving me the most agita. I’ve never been a stylish gal (my favorite thing to wear are dresses that don’t touch my body, or black). And I’ve never had the best relationship with my body.
So when it came to wedding dress shopping, I kept it small and safe. I went to David’s Bridal one time with my best friend just to see a white dress on me… a practice run. (and found some nice things) And then when it came to go-time, I kept my appointments small and safe- my mom, my mother in law and my eternally stylish sister in law.
I ended up finding my dress at The White Room in Lebanon, TN. The dress is part of the store’s own personal brand. Too many choices overwhelms me and The White Room has a wide variety of styles so I pretty much knew I was going to find a dress there and not shop around. (#EASY). The White Room is where many dear friends and family had found their dresses so I felt it was a trusted source. (#INTENTIONAL)
Not only did I find dress #1, I found dress #2. (all under budget!). I’m a big fan of the “reception dress” change, cause why the hell not.
Dress #1 was a ballgown, with a textured top and pockets. #EASY
Dress #2 was a glitter ass disco ball. #FUN
My Dresses = Perfection.
Earrings were Hushed Commotion. Again, I knew I would get my jewelry with these pals. Trusted source and beautiful.
Along with the attire, I had conversations with members of my family and friends about weight talk throughout the wedding planning process. It would not happen. I was not going to be #sheddingforthewedding. I did not weigh myself and I did not start on Ozempic (as one well-minded family member suggested to me before my wedding). I just wanted to feel good in my body.
I did get a spray tan. Cause I was getting married in a vitamin D-less month.
Regarding Tom’s attire, Tom wore a tux- cause… damnnnn boy.
Come back tomorrow for Part 3: Decor + Timeline
Lauren Schaefer Goodner is the founder of The Get Together Events Co. your month-of wedding and events coordination company, offering affordable services and peace of mind to New York, Nashville, Chicago and beyond.
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