Wedding Alternatives: For nontraditional brides

When discussing this month’s column, Carla and I talked about what we would do differently if we were getting married today. We’re happy to report that aside from a few minor things, neither of us would change anything about our weddings.

Planning a nontraditional wedding is so much easier now than it was when we were both planning nine years ago. It would have been nice to have sites like Pinterest back then — you would be surprised by how little we had available on the Internet!

Given the fact we didn’t have a whole lot to reference online, we both did pretty well combining traditional and nontraditional components into our weddings. I had a beautiful destination wedding in Jamaica. Carla and her husband had a traditional wedding and fantastic dinner with their families, and then changed into jeans and headed to a friend’s bar to celebrate the night with the rest of their friends, complete with karaoke.

We wanted to give you some alternatives to those time honored customs and give you some ideas of where you can find unique wedding flare right here in Nashville.

The Décor

When it comes to planning a wedding, two sites a bride must have in her bookmarks bar are Pinterest.com and 100LayerCake.com. Pinterest — also available as an app — is a virtual collection of incredible inspiration boards. When you sign up for a free account, you can add your own boards to collate all your online wedding finds. 100 Layer Cake is a genius online marketplace where you can buy anything from silver plated centerpieces to secondhand wedding dresses.

The Dress

Wedding dresses are such an investment. And — let’s face it — they’re kind of impractical since you only wear them once. We both bought designer dresses for our nuptials; I wore a Monique Lhuillier and Carla donned a Jim Hjelm. If designer is not in your budget, you can find beautiful vintage dresses from Closet Case Vintage (closetcasevintage.com) for a fraction of the cost.

Consider splurging on a dress you can actually wear again. We headed to Ivey in Edgehill Village and spoke with Store Manager and Stylist Katherine Mez. She pulled a gorgeous metallic Nicole Miller strapless dress that would make a beautiful wedding dress. Change up the accessories and that dress can easily go from wedding to fancy cocktail.

Speaking of accessories, we are in love with this horseshoe necklace from Honey and Marrow, which you can find online or at Ivey. Did you know in England it’s tradition for the bride to carry a horseshoe in her bouquet for good luck? We think wearing one around your neck could be extra good luck!

The Cake

It seems rare that a wedding cake is ever actually wedding cake these days. Cake pops from Nashville Cake Pops are making their mark in the dessert scene. Another idea for your guests is Jeni’s ice cream. With their eclectic flavors, your guests will surely enjoy this special treat. And if you still want a cake, what goes better with cake than ice cream?

The Food

Channel your inner hipster and opt for a food truck for your wedding food. Two of our faves are Mas Tacos and The Grilled Cheeserie. Yum, yum and more yum. Your guests would be thrilled to taste either one of these local savory delights.

Event Planning

If you’re looking for a truly unique wedding experience, let the team from dandyLion Events handle your special day. Lindsey Huddleston is an event planner with an unconventional attitude when it comes to wedding planning. If you can dream it up, Lindsey and her team can plan and execute it.