Pretty in purple and oh so elegant, Chris and Morgan’s Stones River Country Club wedding is an absolute beauty. From Morgan’s cascading ballgown to the flawless florals, and the vintage police car (that Chris so graciously escorted his bride out of — such a gentlemen!) the details of the day were a perfect reflection of the two of them. Since they met while dancing at a wedding so it was only fitting their celebration included a lot of it! Enjoy the highlights of their day in these photos perfectly captured by Amanda May Photos below!
Morgan + Chris
Stones River Country Club
6.8.2019
From the photographer: This couple may have gotten married in a church in Murfreesboro, but the bulk of their day was spent at Stones River Country Club. I’m so very thankful for this because Stones River Country Club offered a variety of portrait options while it rained outside. It also provided an awning to pull a car under to load and unload plus tons of great tree coverage that, during a drizzle, acted as a giant umbrella for the whole group. You’ll also notice that most of Morgan’s photos were taken inside. There was a beautiful window with a neutral backdrop that I used for a lot of the morning. Then, the foyer to the main building had two grand staircases that offered a beautiful composition. Of course, I can’t forget that trusty awning that not only allowed for outdoor portraits, but also protection from the rain as we loaded all the bridesmaids into the right cars. fully, though, by the time we got from Stones River Country Club to the church, it had stopped raining, and it didn’t rain again until after dark.
This change in weather allowed for two of my favorite parts of the day. 1) The bubble exit from the church. I love when couples do this because it makes for really adorable pictures. It also is daylight still and has better lighting. Plus, you have ALL your guests participate before they consume any alcoholic beverages at the reception ;-). 2) Their vintage police getaway car. I have photographed a ton of cars in my day, but never a vintage police car. With the siren in tact might I add. Morgan and Chris did not do a first look, which meant they rode separately with their bridal party to the church. Afterwards, they obviously wanted to ride together but didn’t have a car. In comes the vintage police car. It not only transferred them from ceremony to reception, but it also acted as a great prop for both the videographer and myself. One of my favorite portraits from the day is Chris helping Morgan out of the car once they arrived at the reception.
How did you meet?
From the groom: We met at a wedding, With the help of my aunt and her mother whom were neighbors for years. They found just the right time in life to introduce us to one another. I hooked her with some high level ”hitch” like dance moves and closed with a middle school style slow dance. Unfortunately, I was living in California and my now wife was and always will be a Tennessean. After thousands of frequent flier miles and a 25th birthday in Vegas together I was hooked and couldn’t not be with her. I packed up and flew to Nashville one last time….. on her birthday… not a surprise that would be rude????
What is your proposal story?
From the groom: Well this was a tough one, my wife and I had made a bet on a very inebriated October night in a kitchen at a friends party. We both knew we wanted to be married and I had even pre-purchased the ring months before I had moved across the country. In my mind we were as good as married minus a question, a party and a few signatures. The bet was simple, a bottle cap and a trash can about 30 feet away. If I flip it in I would be proposing by the end of the year. If I missed well then better luck next year. She agreed to the terms, but didn’t specify on distance, so I spin moved to the can and dunked that cap like Kobe would.
The fix was in and the clock was ticking. So what does a future son-in-law do when asking a Tennesseans father for permission to marry his daughter? He buys him a six pack of PBR and meets up for a Vols basketball game. The Vols lost, but I won. He had a request that he and my future mother-in-law could watch from a far as I proposed to his daughter. I agreed and we shook on it. That wasn’t a problem for me because we were about to get engaged on the 50 yard line at Neyland stadium and they can pick any one of the 100k seats to watch from.
Unfortunately my wife knows me best and had one request of her own. “Nothing big, just us, please keep it intimate.” Fine. So I scrambled and botched the time table made by the bet and three holidays later it was January with an impatient girlfriend so I held out until January 27th which was anniversary of when we first met. I organized mom and dad to meet us at the beautiful veterans bridge overlooking downtown Nashville, and little did I know the whole family agreed to hide further down the bridge and watch us get engaged. So after some sweating and some rambling and some promises to love and to hold I got down on a knee and most importantly she said yes.
Tell us a little a bit about your wedding (your vision, color, style, and location choices).
From the bride: It was very important to me for us to get married in a church, so we got married at First United Methodist Church. It was a church that I grew up going to and we had recently started to go together and enjoyed it. For the reception I wanted it to be indoors because Tennessee weather is too unpredictable. Stones River was a perfect location to set up my dream romantic, classic wedding. Our color theme were purples and greenery. Purple has always been a favorite color of mine and it was easy to go with a lilac to go with our spring/summer wedding.
Tell us about your attire choices.
From the bride: I went dress shopping with only one idea in mind. I wanted a backless dress. The look of backless has always been beautiful and elegant to me. Chris got to pick out the suiting with my help of course. It was important for him to feel confident in what he wore on our very important day.
What was the most important to the two of you while planning? Was there anything that you chose to splurge on or skip?
From the bride: We both grew up with moms who had houses filled with pictures. It was very important to have this day documented. Amanda was a perfect fit to getting everything we wanted and all of the important moments. I didn’t really look at it as splurging because I love pictures, but my dad who was footing the bill definitely thought so.
What were your favorite parts of the day? (memories and stories)
From the bride: I think one of the best moments was after we walked down the aisle and through the bubbles being blown by our loved ones and we got into an old school police car. We made it. We were married. Everything was going so smoothly and we finally got some alone time to just soak in what happened. The getaway car was a last minute scramble that ended up being so perfect and unique. That is all thanks to my brother-in-law for putting that together when our original plan fell through.
Tell us about your wedding flowers.
From the bride: I love love love flowers. I worked with our florist to make sure we had them throughout our day and they went perfectly with our color scheme.
Tell us about your wedding cake.
From the bride: I teach Pre-K at an elementary school and one of the kids grandmother has her own bakery. Her gifts for birthday/Christmas/end of year were her delicious cupcakes. So it was a no brainer to me to have her be our baker. We had cupcakes for our guests and a simple single tier cake for us to cut.
What did you do for favors?
From the bride: I wanted to do something unique so I turned to Etsy. I found these super cute coasters that said “please don’t take my drink I’m dancing”. I thought these were perfect since Chris and I met at his cousins wedding while dancing.
Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.
From the bride: I am not super crafty, so Etsy was my best friend during planning.
Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?
From the bride: The beading on my veil came from my mothers wedding dress. The seamstress did an amazing job.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
From the couple: This is your day. Don’t let anyone get in the way of that.
Congratulations Morgan and Chris! Your day at Stones River Country Club is a dream! And special thanks to Amanda May Photos for sharing this awesome day with us!
