Nashville Event Collective: A Collaborative Group of Wedding Professionals in East Nashville

This past fall, I had the privilege of visiting with the Nashville wedding professionals at Nashville Event Collective. Their cute and modern digs in East Nashville is a collaborative office space for all six professionals who each specialize in a certain area in the planning process! Who are they? Abigail Volkmann PhotographyFanciful InkLaurie D'Anne EventsWhiskey TeacupThe Interior Maven, + Anchor Films. Put them all together and what have you got? An incredible wedding! But when all of us got together we had an incredible time of fellowship and fun at their studio space. We sat down, had some snacks (Five Daughters Bakery is right around the corner!) and said cheers to their new venture. Plus, we chatted about each of their wedding businesses – from custom designed cake toppers to cinematic weddings, we all learned a lot by the end of the night! And since we covered so much in the time we were there, we'll make this post a two part series! Today we'll see what Fanciful Ink, Laurie D'Anne Events and Abigail Volkmann Photography are all about accompanied by the beautiful photos Abigal (the NEC founder) took!

Meet Abigail Volkmann Photography

Abigail Volkmann Photography is a boutique photography company that specializes in capturing the light, love, and life of her clients. Telling the love story from the beginning is what she loves. She starts with the engagement session and then gets to watch the story unfold through the wedding day, pregnancies, celebrations, and milestones. It is a magical journey captured a tenth of a second at a time. 

Abigail: I founded NEC in April of this year. It was actually a dream coming to fruition for me. I wanted to create a place where a couple could go and plan their entire event. It has taken time to get the right collection of professionals, but that is because I knew it was important to find vendors that have the same level of expertise and professionalism as I bring to my company. I also have to give a shout out to my “OG,” Laurie Montgomery with Fanciful Ink. She has been with me from the beginning, if she had not given a resounding yes and encouraged this vision when I first presented it to her, I don't think NEC would exist today. It was the start of just exemplifying this is a group of professionals who support NEC and each other. It is truly amazing to see this dream come true with the most perfect group of people.

Abigail: I have been a full time photographer for 12 years. I started my photography career working in commercial and advertising photography. I worked with companies such as Simon Malls and Sports Illustrated. I had a photographer friend who started photographing weddings and said how much he enjoyed it. I thought I would maybe shoot a few weddings on the side, so I gave it a try. For me, it was one of those things where I didn't know that I didn't love what I was doing, until I started to photograph weddings and realized it was truly my passion.

 

 

 

Meet Fanciful Ink

Fanciful Ink offers completely custom wedding stationery, placing pride and emphasis on creating something to fit a couple rather than the couple selecting something pre-designed that may not reflect the overall look of their special day. Color, details and typeface are all carefully thought out for each couple. I want them to walk away knowing a special piece of artwork was made just for them!

Laurie: After starting out designing for couples I knew and loved, I realized that I wanted to approach my clients with the same amount of care and love. A wedding day and all of the moments leading up to it are precious, though many instances can be stressful. I want to provide a relaxing space for couples to know that they are taken care of and are special to me and my business. I love making new connections with them and forming relationships. My husband and I actually ran into a couple at a restaurant recently whose invitation suite I designed. We had dinner with them and thoroughly enjoyed it! So many couples spend hours and money on each detail of their wedding and that very first detail that the guests will see is their wedding invitation or their Save the Date. It sets the tone of the wedding and shows guests what to expect. I want guests to immediately know if your wedding is formal at an elegant mansion or a rustic backyard casual ceremony just by pulling that invitation out of the envelope.

Laurie: I love illustrated elements! I like to encourage couples to think about little details to tie everything together. If they are using a particular flower, I will draw that out and incorporate it throughout the design. Since barn weddings are so popular, I love to draw out the barn where the wedding will be. I have even included a sketch of a couple's dog into their RSVP card! I incorporated the stained glass ceiling design of Union Station for my own wedding invitations. Getting couples to think outside of the box as far as what they can pull into the design of their stationery is fun and allows them to realize that the sky is the limit and they really can have a design that fits them perfectly.

 

Meet Laurie D'Anne Events

Laurie D'Anne Events is a luxury wedding and event planning company. Founder Laurie Hardman is the lead designer and planner. As an event designer first, Laurie revels in fine lines, strives for harmony and balance, and relishes in the heightened senses. She has been designing and planning events for over 9 years, primarily in the Nashville area and has had clients that are across the US both. She thoroughly enjoys all types of events, including corporate and social event planning. When it comes to weddings we offer everything from Full Planning and Design to Partial Planning. Everything is customized to what is most important to the couple. Laurie says. “I love the building new relationships, creating lasting memories for each my clients”

Laurie: We joined Nashville Event Collective to partner with other great talents. In our business I typically handle most all of the elements of the event. Working together in the same space as other amazing, talented partners makes the planning process so much more convenient. We can meet with brides as a group and they can get several elements checked off their list all at once. Laurie D'Anne Events offers a full service package called “The Limo Ride” where the planning process is seamless. The Collective was the perfect fit for us and the vision of the future of the company. Wedding planning can be stressful so having a place where the brides can relax and enjoy the planning is terrific!

 

Laurie: I have always loved weddings. I joke, though it sounds cliche', I love, “LOVE” . I love seeing people in love. I love the relationship of the human spirit engaging with one another. Weddings are such a monumental moment in a person's life. They are filled with so many emotions and I love helping to make that day all that a couple has dreamed it would be. It is as once in a lifetime event. When I started in designing and producing events, I had a special ability to make people feel comfortable and to help balance out all the unknowns in planning an event. Because of this I was handed most of the weddings in the company was working for at the time. And so the more weddings I helped create, the more I loved doing them. Soon, I became the Director of Wedding and Events. We do plan all types of events but I have a special love for weddings.

 

I'm so happy that all of these incredibly talented professionals were able to spend some quality time with Nashville Bride Guide! You can find Nashville Event Collective on Facebook here. Also make sure you follow them on Instagram here!

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow with more vendor interviews and a video by Anchor Films!

All photos by Abigail Volkmann Photography.

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