amy24This wedding is so different than anything I’ve ever done!!  David and I shot this wedding in downtown Nashville and it was a ton of fun!!  The bride and groom were all about the downtown Nashville atmosphere and music, a natural fit for the groom, since he is a singer/songwriter/musician! The bride and groom have lived in Nashville a couple of years and adore the city life!  They wanted lots of pictures downtown with the action on Broadway Street and we also roamed around doing so many fun shots along the “Johnny Cash wall” and the Shelby Street Bridge! It was truly southern from the Hatch Show themed press products to the Edison bulbs, the cotton boutonnieres, boots, jeans and vest, to the brides bouquet being wrapped with fabric from her granny’s vintage hat and pinned with her granny’s broach!

How would you describe your wedding day? I would describe our wedding day as rustic, “Nashville” and “music-centered” with a “hatch show” theme to go along with our love for old country, western style! I had an amazing wedding planner that made many of our wedding design dreams reality, along with a little bit of DIY! I had ALL design elements done by friends.  For favors we gave our guests CDs that I made, which featured songs by our singer/songwriter friends; along with koozies that were designed by one of my bridesmaids! Also, every person who sang or played an instrument during our ceremony and at our reception were close friends of ours that we hand picked for their specific role!

Amy & Shawn worked with the very talented Sara Fried of Fete Nashville who helped make their wedding day dream come true!

amy1amy2amy3amy4What is your fondest memory of your wedding day?  Honestly, for us it was the entire ceremony. I know most people say that part passes quickly, or that you forget those details, but every little detail of the ceremony involved people that are so special in our lives. From having our good friends sing during the processional & recessional to having Travis marry us. It felt like time slowed down during the ceremony for the only moment in the entire day (especially when Shawn tried to kiss me in front of everyone BEFORE the vows!)

amy5Groom, how would you describe your bride?   Amy is beautiful, inside and out. She’s strong, determined and driven. She’s a planner and likes to know the details of every aspect of our lives. She is ambitious and a hard worker. She always puts 110% into everything she does whether it be her job, learning a new skill (like cooking;) or just having fun. She is also very adventurous. She loves to travel and experience new things whether it be camping or visiting a new city. She’s an animal lover. She loves to relax and chill out just as much as getting decked out for a night on the town. She’s a lover of fashion and enjoys trying new styles. She loves God and has faith which to me is the most important thing. I love that we share our faith together. Amy is quick to forgive and quick to love. Of course nobody is perfect. Amy has her little flaws just like anybody but even with the little flaws she’s just perfect for me. I love her and feel so blessed to have her as my wife.

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Bride, how would you describe the groom?Shawn truly is my other half! I’m in awe of his talent & I’ll always be the biggest fan of his music & career. He’s the creative & spontaneous side to my analytical & planned nature. From the beginning, I felt like he was the first person to really “get” me. He’s the one I want to come home to at the end of the day, the one I want to continue traveling the world with, the one I laugh with, and the first one I run to when I have something exciting to share. He supports me in whatever I put my mind to. He’s my best friend & I can’t imagine my life without him in it.

amy10amy11amy12If you did a “first glance”, are you glad you made the decision to do so? Why?   I’m very glad that we chose to do a first glance! We chose to do it outside in a really public area, which made the moment even more fun with passersby & random strangers stopping to congratulate us. I like that it took a little of the pressure off the ceremony as well. And because we did pictures before the ceremony, we were able to sit downstairs privately for dinner while our guests were having cocktail hour. Without doing the “first glance”, we wouldn’t have gotten to spend those first few minutes alone as husband & wife.amy13How did you meet and how long did you date? Tell me your love story.We met on October 11, 2008 at the Alabama National Fair. I (Amy) went with my younger brother & neighbor to see Rodney Atkins perform that night. I had a thing for collecting set lists after shows, and the guitar player happened to be the only band member still on stage when I walked up to ask for one. As he signed the set list, he wrote his myspace address on it & told me to let him know next time I was in Nashville because he’d like to take me out to dinner! (I still have the set list & love to laugh about the myspace pickup line!) We stayed in touch while I was still in college in Troy & became really good friends. We would go on dates when I visited town, but remained friends for a few years. I moved to town permanently in May of 2010 and by the fall we realized that we were pretty inseparable. The rest is history!amy14amy15amy16amy17amy18amy19amy20amy21amy22amy23amy25amy26amy27amy28amy29amy30amy31amy32amy33amy34amy35amy36amy37amy38amy39amy40 (1)amy40amy41amy42amy43amy44amy45amy46amy47amy48amy49amy50amy51amy52amy53amy54amy55amy56amy58amy59amy60amy61amy62amy63Our favorite detail of the wedding was:  Amy – How the entire day involved so many of our friends! We were able to feature talented musicians during the ceremony, we were married by a man whose kids I used to nanny & who have become like family to me, the amazing reception band were all great friends (the drummer was a groomsman!), & our talented photographer as well (awe, she is so sweet!!).   Shawn – The lighting. From the beginning we wanted something different & wanted to use edison bulbs as art in the venue & our planner made it happen!amy64Describe your favorite thing(s) about your reception:   Everything! Music, food, & family/friends. Through the entire wedding planning process, we both kept saying that we just wanted it to be fun. We wanted people to come to town & feel like they really got a true “Nashville” experience. I honestly feel like because of our awesome planner every little detail came together to create the perfect night. The food was great! We got to showcase our talented friends & one of our favorite cover bands in Nashville. And all the people we love from across the country were together in one place!amy65amy66amy67amy68amy69amy70amy71amy72amy73What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life?We’re just looking forward to continuing to experience life together! Shawn will be back out on the road with Kelleigh Bannen promoting a new single & I’ll be back to work at NTS. We’re planning to start house hunting again soon and kids are definitely in the future plans, but our pit/lab fur-baby is enough to handle for a while!

Amy & Shawn – you guys rocked!! I will be forever thankful that David and I captured these amazing memories from your wedding day, we had a blast!  I hope that every time you look at your wedding images, there are sweet memories that bring a smile to your face! Hope to visit Nashville and hang out with you guys again soon!  Best Wishes and keep loving each other with that amazing love and keep God first in everything you do!

To see more fun from Amy & Shawn’s special day, click HERE!!  And pay special attention to the 1st song in the slideshow…. that is an original written by Shawn and a friend and it’s Shawn singing!!!

Planner: Sara Fried with Fete Nashville | Ceremony Venue: aVenue | Florist: Caprice with The Enchanted Florist (This florist was also the florist to Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert’s wedding!! cool!)  | Wedding Cake: Wanda Shaver | Caterer: The Chef & I | Rentals: Visual Elements  & Music City Tents And Events  | Lighting: Bright Event Productions | Band or DJ: Heath Haynes & The Hi-Dollars | Special Details (reception favors, etc):  CDs- NTS ProMedia; Koozie’s- F&E Sportswear; Graphic Design- Chase McGowin; Posters- J&J Printers | Bride’s Gown: Anna Maier – Ulla Maija from The White Room in Birmingham, Alabama | Bride’s Shoes: Michael Kors | Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist: Katie Russo Beauty  | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: For Her & For Him | Groom’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse  | Invitations designed by Chase McGowin | Additional Vendors:  Ceremony Singers: Susanne Mumpower Johnson, Kelleigh Bannen, & Ik Ben featuring Scott Hylbert, Brian Hylbert, and Charlie Degenhart.