Queens, every now and then we'll get clients that I genuinely form a deep connection with. Abby and Paul happen to be two of those people, so when their vow renewal date slowly arrived I was crawling out of my skin with excitement to see them both get the day that they truly deserve.
*Note: All pictures featured in this article are courtesy of the super talented Charlie from Colleton Photography.
You've heard us talk to Abby on the podcast/blog before ( click here to watch or listen ), but the story of the evolution between these two incredible humans is nothing but inspiring. Once on the brink of divorce, Abby and Paul reconciled and dove deep into their faith to save their marriage. Through this reconciliation period, Abby reached out to me to see if we would be willing to help plan their vow renewal, and I don't think I've said yes to a client as quickly as we did with Abby and Paul. During our initial consultation and throughout the planning process Abby and Paul have been nothing but gracious and hospitable not only to me, but with every vendor we worked with to make this incredible afternoon happen. I'm not joking when I say they were both dream clients that instantly turned into life long friends. It was nothing short of an amazing experience and I'm so lucky and blessed to be able to work with such outstanding individuals.
So let's deep dive into some details about their dreamy vow renewal. This event was very low stress - the couple wanted to split their ceremony and reception up to two separate locations: the ceremony was to be held at their local church while the reception was to be held at the couples gorgeous property here in Tennessee.
I've done about three weddings ( including my own ) now at Renovation Church and the location pretty much speaks for itself. It's a gorgeous small little chapel nestled in our sleepy town of Gallatin, TN. The staff at the church were amazing at accommodating and performing the vow renewal! Renovations team also assisted us with lighting, music and performing one of the most beautiful and light hearted ceremonies I've ever seen. Set-up wise our team didn't have a ton to do, we stopped by the chapel the day before to re-arrange some chairs and to drop off some decorative supplies. Day of, we dropped by the chapel early to spruce some things up before "go-time". Everything timeline wise was a breeze, it was truly a awe-inspiring ceremony !
After the ceremony, guests were ushered back to Abby and Pauls property. We lined their driveway with astonishing Edison bulbs and guests were able to choose whichever table they sat at thanks to our open seating plan. I know there's a lot of controversy surrounding open seating, but I highly recommend it! All guests were able to find a place to sit with the company of their choice, and it was honestly fun watching people move from table to table to catch up with one another. After they found their seats, we opened up the buffet line to some delicious catering by Red Rooster Cafe. The cupcakes and cake were astounding thanks to Dreamy Confections LLC ,who literally makes the best cakes I think I've ever tasted in my life. Our timeline for the reception was very straight forward - guests were allowed to park, find a seat and eat immediately. This structure helped to fuel the relaxed environment Abby and Paul were hoping to and successfully accomplished. Abby also had a section set aside specifically for the kiddo's and provided them with endless entertainment in the form of a mechanical bull, which was not only hilarious but it kept the crowd entertained for hours. It was also very important to Abby to honor her late son, Chris, with an absolutely stunning memory wall on one of her back porches. I cried like a baby once it was completely set up, if you have a loved one you would like to honor during your big day I highly recommend setting things up the way Abby did. Not only was it gorgeous but it provided guests with the opportunity to spend time with and to make memories with Chris. It was absolutely stunning, I literally have chills as I write this. Timeline wise, we did not have a formal entrance announcement, cake cutting or first dance and honestly - it was amazing to not have the additional pressure of "knocking out the timeline" before everyone could party down. Please enjoy the below slide show!
This vow renewal will forever be in my top 10 favorite events of all time lists. There's something to be said about having time to just be with your family and friends, and Abby and Paul accomplished this successfully by not packing their timeline with a ton of expected wedding traditions. Watching them interact and have fun with their guests was totally amazing! Non-traditional events are always my favorite because I love to see how creative our clients can be with a timeline, and needless to say this one blew me away. We really hope you enjoyed reading the finer details of this event!! If you have any questions you know where to find us queens, happy wedding planning!
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