My heart is constantly torn between classic southern elegance and casual quirky fun. And that's why Alex + David's engagement shoot with SheHeWe Photography is making me swoon! The couple chose two locations – the classic War Memorial and the casual Corsair Distillery… and both show a different side of who they are as a couple. I love how in our interview below, Alex describes her wedding style as "Audrey Hepburn meets Dolly Parton" and that's totally the feel I get from their engagement shoot as well! Scroll down to read out interview with bride, Alex and see all their gorgeous photos!
Alex + David
Engagement Shoot
SheHeWe Photography
Alex: David and I had been dating about 3.5 years before we got engaged. From day one, we knew it was right but we took our time and enjoyed just being together before sealing the deal! It was November 2016 and was traveling home late Friday night after spending a week in Denver for work. When David picked me (and my very overweight suitcase) up from the airport, I noticed he was still dressed in his nice work clothes, which was peculiar since the first thing he does when he gets home is change. But let’s be real, I’m a terrible flyer and was exhausted from spending 2.5 hours clutching the airplane armrest like my life depended on it, so I didn’t really think much about it. At the time, we lived in a condo in Green Hills (on the third floor – yikes!) and my super sweet boyfriend, turned fiance, now husband, lugged my suitcase up the stairs for me. He handed me the keys to unlock the door and when I opened the door it took me a minute to take in the scenery. He had decorated the console table behind our couch with 4 dozen red roses and rose petals, had electronic candles “burning” and a pretend fire crackling on the TV. To which I responded, “aww, babe, this is so thoughtful of you. What a nice welcome home!” Our little 6 lb. long-haired chihuahua is our child and the poor thing gets locked in “kitchen prison” whenever we leave the house. He was bouncing furiously behind his baby gate on his little back legs and as I went to pick him up, I noticed he had on a baby tuxedo. As he was smothering me in puppy kisses, in my sweetest baby voice, I inquired about his little outfit to which David responded, “Alex, why don’t you take a harder look at the table.”I stood up (dog in hand) and looked on the table to find the most beautiful rose gold, pear-shaped diamond ring I’d ever seen. It was absolutely perfect. I quickly began to ugly cry (there’s photographic proof that will never see the light of day) and David nervously says, “you know, you can put it on” to which I replied, “OR you can put it on me!” He got down on his knee, slid the beautiful ring on my hand and we took our first official family selfie and blasted it out to all of our family and friends!
Alex: We welcomed about 200+ guests at our wedding on Dec. 2, 2017!
Alex: We operated on about a $30-40k budget for our wedding. People aren’t kidding when they tell you a wedding isn’t cheap! You add the word wedding in front of anything and it automatically tacks on a few hundred (if not thousand) dollars. We used the $30,000 as a guide and made sure we had a miscellaneous line item in our budget for any unexpected expenses.
Alex: We had the crééòme de la crééòme of a wedding team! Wedding planner extraordinaire (and saving grace) – Millie Mathis, Southern Touch Events, Ceremony Venue – Belmont University’s Janet Ayers Chapel, Reception Venue – Cannery ONE (ask for Caitlin if you choose this venue, she’s a rockstar!), Caterer – Bacon and Caviar, Cake – Dulce, Florist – Rebel Hill, Photography – SheHeWe Photography, Hair and Makeup – Madison Hardy Dennis, MDH Beauty and Nashville Wedding Stylist, Design – Amanda Mazzo, Mazzo Media, Rentals – Music City Tents & Events, Transportation – Matchless Transportation and FADDS Party Bus, Vocals and Musical Directors – Mike Farris and Bart Walker, Reception Entertainment – Nashville Party Authority.
Alex: We had three goals for our wedding:(1) Good food (2) Great & memorable music (3) Let loose and have fun! David is very simplistic and likes the masculine look. If I could describe David’s taste in 3 words, they would be: leather, raw wood and navy. With me, it’s all about the sparkle and glamour! Our wedding was a great blend between down to earth and with a slight influence of Dolly Parton meets Audrey Hepburn.
Alex: How genuinely happy people are for you. We were surrounded by the most loving, caring and thoughtful family and friends throughout our entire engagement and it means so much to have that level of support when you’re starting your marriage. Oh….and the politics of the invite list. That is one aspect of wedding planning we don’t care to re-live!
Alex: The anticipation. Planning a wedding brings people closer together and it was so awesome having both of our families involved in the process. It’s such an exciting time and when we reflect back, every ounce of stress we felt was totally worth it.
Alex: We did a dual location for our engagement photos! We started at War Memorial in a more formal setting and then moved to Corsair Distillery in Wedgewood Houston to celebrate our mutual love of bourbon!
Alex: I’m a native Nashvillian (also commonly referred to as a unicorn) and David’s originally from Bowling Green, Kentucky. We love the architecture of War Memorial and the significance it holds as a Nashville landmark and we’ll, you can’t be from Kentucky and not love bourbon!
Alex: Our photographers were incredible. David and I are pretty introverted, especially when it comes to being in front of a camera, and they made us feel so comfortable. But more importantly, they were able to truly capture our personalities through the photographs. We couldn’t have chosen a better team!
Alex: Remember to live in the moment throughout your entire engagement and wedding because it’ll be over in a flash! We wish we could go back and relive the entire thing because it all happens so fast you forget to cherish and reflect on every moment during your special time.
Thank you to SheHeWe and Alex + David for sharing their engagement shoot with us! Be sure to check out SheHeWe’s portfolio here and also follow them on Instagram!
