Our rehearsal dinner at The Cordelle was the perfect start to the best weekend of our lives. The venue is located just minutes from Broadway in Downtown Nashville. I fell in love with the charm of the the Victorian home built in the 1800’s that features a beautiful loft style bridal suite upstairs. My mom, maids of honor and my mother-in-law and I spent most of our day there getting ready and talking about the weekend ahead. It was so nice to spend some quality time with them before everyone arrived. 

My in-laws, Kim and Ken Premo, did such a wonderful job planning every detail of the night. I am truly so lucky to call them my family. Because we had so many guests at our wedding (over 300), it was really nice to have a more intimate night with some of our closest friends and family. From the rehearsal to the wedding, we wanted every detail of our wedding to feel personal to us and our relationship. It was very important for us to honor our loved ones in Heaven so we set up a table full of picture frames and candles. It was a great reminder that they were all there with us in spirit. We worked with 12th Table to create a cozy yet elegant sitting area for our guests with a dark blue velvet sofa, gold accented cocktail tables and more. Another detail worth mentioning would be the gorgeous florals from Enchanted Florist. We used the same florist for both our wedding and rehearsal so that they felt cohesive without being too similar. Since we kept a neutral color pallet for the wedding, it was fun to incoporate some pops of light blue and lilac into the rehearsal. 

Some highlights of the night were the touching speeches given by Cameron’s dad Ken, his best friend Michael, my two maids of honor Cookie and Holland and my matron of honor Ambie. They have all known us throughout different phases of our nine year relationship, so it was really special to hear all of their unique perspectives. I met Cookie in middle school, Michael in high school and Holland in college and Ambie was there the day I was born. Looking back, the speeches were some of the most memorable and meaningful moments of the whole weekend. 

Cookie incorporated something totally unexpected into her speech. We have known each other since fifth grade and used to pass notes in history class. We would come up with silly poems, taking turns writing each line. (Normal, right?!) I had completely forgotten about this and had no idea she had saved any of them. The poem started out silly and lighthearted, but as she kept reading, everyone in the room shed a tear. It foretold our friendship would last through all of life’s obstacles and was a sweet reminder of how much life we have experienced together. 

Cameron gave the last speech of the night. He spoke beautifully about our relationship and how we have grown together and in our love over the past nine years. What happened next left everyone speechless. 

Cameron asked me to come up and stand next to him. He began talking about my great grandmother Darcy who was the backbone of our family and truly meant the world to me. She passed away a few years ago, but Cameron always made it a point to visit her while I was at college in Mississippi. Unbeknownst to me, he asked for her permission to marry me on one of those visits. Keep in mind, this was about three years before he actually proposed. She gave him a beautiful diamond necklace to pass along to me when we got married. 

Needless to say, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. The craziest part is how similar the necklace looks to my engagement ring. In fact, everyone asks if they were made by the same designer.  Cameron had never seen the necklace until a few months before the wedding. It was definitely one of those “you’re exactly where you’re meant to be moments” that I will never forget. 

Thanks so much for reading! I can’t wait to finally share the full details of the wedding day with you all next week.

Xo Hunter

Venue: The Cordelle

Photography: Killian Rose/Teale Photography

Catering: Flavor

Florals: Enchanted Florist

Day of Coordinator: Ashley Porter / Posh Occasions

Rentals: 12th Table

Place Card Calligraphy: STudioist

Hair: Katie Archer from Parlour 3

Makeup: Kimberly Stinchcomb from Parlour 3

Jewelry: Lindell Jewelers

Dress: Sherri Hill