St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner and today I'm bringing you one of the most elegant green weddings I've ever seen! If there is one way to incorporate the color of the year into your wedding this year, take some tips from Sara + Mitchell. Their sweet southern destination wedding at The Fontanel in Nashville was every bit of elegant! The couple wanted to give their out of town guests a great introduction to Nashville through their wedding details. With The Fontanel emulating such rich country music history to the Goo Goo Cluster favors, the thought Sara + Mitchell put into their big day created an experience each guest will not soon forget! Take a look at their photos by Alex Thornton Photography below to see each and every detail of their day…
Sara + Mitchell
The Fontanel Mansion
10.1.16
110 Guests
Wedding Team:
Photography | Alex Thornton Photography
Venue, Food, Planning | The Fontanel Mansion
Florals | Beth Black (mother of the bride)
Wedding Dress | Potomac Bridals
Menus | Wedding Paper Divas
Paper Goods | Paper Studio NY
Wooden Place Cards | The Wood Shape Store
Bride's Shoes | Badgley Mischka
Earrings | Kate Spade
Bridesmaid Dress | Alfred Angelo
Robes | The Fancy Pigeon
Hair Stylist | Kim McClure
Makeup Artist | Sara Hardy
Groom's Suit | Express
Cake | Wolfe Gourmet Cakes
Rentals | Liberty Party Rental, Music City Tents and Events, Over the Top
DJ | All the Lights DJ, Cliff Nelson
Officiant | OJ Aldrich
Tell us about your engagement!
Sara: We have always been intentional in our relationship. Marriage was something that we talked about very early on and frequently throughout our relationship. For almost the whole year before we got engaged Mitch had been fake proposing to me. So at this point he had been pretty good at keeping me on my toes with the whole proposal. The Monday before Christmas, Mitch proposed (for real this time!) at the park in St. Armands Circle surrounded by all the amazing Christmas lights and decorations. After the proposal, Mitch had organized our closest friends at Daquiri Deck for a surprise engagement party!
What was the vision for your wedding?
Sara: Ultimately we wanted our wedding to be classy and elegant without feeling stuffy. All of our guests were from out of town so we also really wanted to give them the opportunity to experience Nashville and country music history. In an effort to give them the best of both worlds we planned a “Big City and Big Country” weekend. Friday night we had a welcome dinner for everyone at the Johnny Cash Museum downtown just steps away from the honky tonks on Lower Broadway. Then for the big day we took them out to Nashville's country side to the Fontanel Mansion which just exemplifies Nashville history. And what is more warm and cozy than a log cabin?
Can you share any special moments or highlights from your wedding day?
Sara: We had such a wonderful day with so many priceless memories so it is difficult to pick just one. I loved that we were the last ones to leave our wedding! We chose not have a planned exit so we could have the opportunity to say goodbye and thank you to every loved one who made our weekend so very special. We also both have a little bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) so we wanted to be a part of the reception all night. We actually ended up being the caboose of the very last group of friends to leave the venue!
What are some tips you can share with other brides planning their weddings?
Sara: Find a venue with an amazing team. The best decision we made was booking The Fontanel – Jade and Mary are unbelievable. Our wedding was a destination wedding – we planned the majority of it from Florida with only a few trips to Nashville! They were amazing guides to helping us find and organize our vendors for the weekend. We developed such an awesome friendship with both of them through the process.
From the photographer, Alex Thornton: Sara and Mitchell are an almost-impossibly-sweet couple who love everything about Nashville. From country music to Tennessee cooking, Nashville is in their bones. Though they reside in Florida, their dream was always to get married in our wonderful town. The Fontanel was a perfect venue that met all of the couple's wedding day needs. They got married on October 1, 2016, a day that provided warm weather and a comforting breeze. Sara and Mitchell picked a beautiful shade of dark green, accompanied by white, black, and gold for their wedding day color palette. The couple had a first look, where they embraced, shed tears, and spoke of how lucky they were to have found one another. The ceremony took the guests through the story Sara and Mitchell's meeting and falling in love, and every person in attendance could feel that this union was nothing short of amazing. The reception was both fun and romantic, and the joyous occasion continued throughout the night.
Thank you so much for sharing Sara + Mitchell's beautiful wedding with us, Alex! You can find more of Alex Thornton's work on her website here and also be sure to follow her on Instagram here!
If you liked Sara + Mitchell's wedding, be sure to check out Heather + Greg's wedding at The Cordelle.
