BTS | Amy + Noah’s Wedding in Leiper’s Fork,TN

The very moment I got the inquiry for this wedding in early 2017, I knew it was going to be something special. I got butterflies reading about the intention for the destination weekend and knew from the beginning our philosophies aligned perfectly. Finally, nearly two years after we started planning this celebration, Amy and Noah’s wedding is live and featured on Over the Moon and in our gallery!

Amy felt like a kindred spirit from the beginning. She was a handbag and accessories designer living in New York (originally from LA) and we bonded over our love of discussing design. I remember being really into clutches at the time and sitting at dinner passionately (lol) discussing my likes and dislikes of my current bag to someone who I knew understood it. It almost felt like she was living a life I could see myself living in another lifetime.

I flew to New York solo to meet her in person for our inspiration session when Kit was four months old. It was the first time I had left him overnight and to be perfectly honest, I felt like I was in and out of a daze the whole time. There were many moments I felt like myself again – independent and talking life, design, and weddings, just like I had done for the majority of my adulthood with the exception of the prior four months. That trip was a blessing.

We met at her lovely Greenwich Village apartment for her inspiration session and then to her favorite neighborhood restaurant, Tartine, for dinner, which was also the place her and Noah got engaged. I loved having the opportunity to meet her in her bubble – guard down and learning who she was from the very beginning. She wanted something timeless, delicate, lush, elegant, modern, and a teeny bit rustic to be true to the venue. See, perfectly aligned.

Throughout our year of planning together, we spent a lot of time putting Amy’s very specific vision into action. I loved how detailed she was about the wedding design — my clients have ALWAYS been specific, but this time it was different. This was someone who always had to be very detailed (as an accessories designer) and even though it sometimes took me a minute to understand exactly what she had in mind, it was so life-giving watching the process unfold, especially to me – an artist battling post-partum depression. This opportunity allowed us both to use our gifts and strengths to create this really special temporary installation that would be remembered by each person who attended very differently.

The true nature of art, right?

We curated every single detail – from the type of mini champagne bottles we served on the shuttles from Nashville to Leiper’s Fork to illustration by Noah on the cocktail napkins to the type of soap (Aesop) and tampon holder in the restroom trailer. We learned the process of creating custom hand blocked linen tablecloths for the reception. We learned that the only place to get the specific kind of farm tables that were perfectly right for the setting were actually located in California, so we had them trucked across the country. Even the place settings were hard to find, so from California they came too. We custom designed all the stationery which was inspired by the flora and fauna at the wedding location. We VERY specifically picked each item for the welcome box based on color, scale, texture, and the overall look and feel. Every single detail in the wedding was truly Amy and Noah – to tell a story of their relationship – where they had been and where they were going.

Now, speaking of families, where do I even begin with how much we adore(d) theirs? Because the wedding was to take place at Noah’s parents property in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, his mother, Lisë became our property manager who we lovingly referred to as Boots on the Ground. During and by the end of the wedding, she became a great friend. And to make it even more special, Noah’s father officiated the wedding. Amy’s mother, Deborah, became someone we loved and looked to for advice when we couldn’t make a final decision. And, sometimes, as mothers often do, she had even better ideas than the both of us. I even got to visit their home in LA, which I will tell you about later. All this to say, since wedding planning ended, we do miss talking to them often!

The photo below was from my very first site visit to the property – in the exact spot they would be married exactly one year from their wedding day! No matter the season, those two poplar trees stood strong.

Last February, I flew to LA to be with Amy and fam to stuff invitations with them at Amy’s family home. While in town, we visited Theoni in Beverly Hills to finalize our rentals and went to Amy’s custom dress fitting at Martha Medeiros. They even took me to a roof top dinner where we could see a magical view of the city. Being with them and seeing LA from their perspective was insightful and so memorable for me! I even documented it by taking a blurry pic of my foot before I walked inside their house on invitation stuffing day. This was unintentional, but I loved scrolling my phone and finding it, haha!

We LOVED working with Theoni and their team in California. I can’t wait for my next opportunity to use their beautiful collection of rentals.

We wanted guests to experience the magic of the entire property, so in order to get to the ceremony site in the woods, they walked down a winding path, across a bridge, and meandered through the trees until they got to an open clearing. This custom built bridge, made of materials from the property, was one of my favorite things about the wedding, and we loved being able to finally walk the path at our last site visit last spring.

So now, getting to the wedding weekend…there were so many fun, crazy, overwhelming moments. I’d say the trickiest was coordinating the logistics of shuttling guests two days in a row from downtown Nashville, but Melissa mastered it. Below are some of my favorite behind the scenes photos from the wedding set up/weekend. I’ll never forget this one!!

Prepping flowers in the Airbnb.

Our Sperry tents all the way from Charleston!

Assembling their custom cocktail hour bar.

Grace and Jourdan and our fleet of golf carts.

How we sat for a team lunch break that day, I’ll never know.

Our lovely bride at her bridal brunch at the Loveless Cafe! We made flower crowns for everyone who joined.

Our lovely bride at her bridal brunch at the Loveless Cafe! We made flower crowns for everyone who joined.

Our photographer, Tec Petaja, taking some photos in the creek before guests arrived for the welcome dinner, Cocktails in the Creek!

Guests swapped out their shoes for wellies to stand in the creek for cocktails. Love this blurry pic I took as I was quickly walking from one place to another 🙂

Food being prepped in Heirloom Fire‘s outdoor kitchen. They cooked out of this spot for the entire weekend!

Calligraphy food labels from my gal, Rachel Fisher Calligraphy.

S’mores for dessert!

Grace and I wizzing around on our golf carts….

Good morning, Sperry!

My floral team created something really beautiful that weekend. They stood out there through a storm finishing it up. Such dedication and so appreciated.

This arch, built from materials from the property, still stands in this spot today. Our groom’s mother came the morning of the wedding and threw rose petals there as a sign of love and good luck.

I can’t even being to express gratitude for all the vendors, friends, colleagues, and family who helped us with this wedding. My team pushed through some tough moments, really made me proud and I can’t wait to do one like this with all of them again.

To see the entire gallery of my favorites, click here.