Alicia & Lee's Classic Nashville Cheekwood Wedding
Q. For the groom - what do you admire most about your wife?
A. The first words that come to mind when asked this question are kindness, patience, and love. Alicia's ability to display these at all times to not only me, but everyone that she meets is incredibly admirable. She has a way of making everyone feel comfortable and at peace in her presence which is rare and inspiring. She also has a pretty great sense of humor which always gets to me.
Q. For the bride - what do you admire most about your husband?
A. Lee has this genuine, good nature that is undeniable and allows him to connect with others effortlessly. He loves people and treats everyone he meets with such kindness and respect. He is a very good friend and cherishes his friendships and relationships.
Q. What made you choose your ceremony or reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you?
A. We had a lot of out of town guests, so we wanted to have our wedding somewhere quintessentially Nashville and fun for our guests to visit. Cheekwood is such a Nashville treasure, and the First Learning Center was the perfect size and layout for our wedding. It was so cool that the Bruce Munro exhibit was happening at the same time, and one of the light installations was in our cocktail hour space!
Q. What is your most memorable moment from the wedding day?
A. Alicia: I will never forget the surreal feeling of walking down the aisle. After all of the planning and preparation, it was finally time to marry Lee. Walking in with my Dad with the organ playing, there was so much excitement and joy, but mostly I felt completely present and peaceful. Lee: This one is easy. There were so many amazing moments throughout the entire day, but when the doors opened and I saw Alicia walking down the aisle to marry me...best moment of the day. best moment of my life.
Q. What was your favorite part of the ceremony?
A. The entire ceremony was so special and memorable. Rev. Margery from St. George's gave the most beautiful homily - the way she tied in the readings we chose, her own wisdom and advice, and pieces of our story was incredible. It was surreal standing in front of all our friends and family giving our vows. We were expecting to be nervous but there were no nerves. Our favorite part of the ceremony, though, was after we said our vows, and Rev. Margery read a series of prayers over us with the entire congregation joining in saying "Amen" after each prayer. It was very powerful.
Q. What was your favorite part of the reception?
A. Our first dance was incredibly fun. We chose "Islands in the Stream" by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers and had so much fun dancing to it in our beautiful reception space, with everyone cheering. We also just loved watching all of our friends and family have a blast on the dance floor late into the night with the band and all of our fun props.
Q. Any advice to current brides planning their weddings? What would you recommend they focus on/prioritize?
A. We had a pretty traditional wedding, and I would say to other brides to embrace the fun traditions like having a wedding party, doing a first dance, etc. You don't realize how much you will enjoy and cherish these moments until you are the one doing them
Event Coordinator: Fran Grote
Venue: Cheekwood
Reception Lighting: Bright Event
Caterer: Clean Plate Club
Wedding Cake: Dessert Design
Florist: FLWR
Getaway Car: Matchless
Rentals and linens: Please Be Seated
Makeup/Hair: Kris Miller Artistry
Band: 30 Vice
Tent: Chattanooga Tents
Drape: Quest
Trolley: Hello Trolley