We understand that while many of you have been supportive of our decision to keep our day to ourselves, there are some out there wondering why we opted out of a big hooray. We discussed, extensively, whether or not we wanted to have a wedding. It was a little back and forth for a while, but then we just realized that all of the reasons we felt like we should have one, weren't ours. At the end of the day, the only thing we wanted was to be married and to enjoy our day with each other. We realized the idea of a very simple, "I just can't wait any longer" moment was so fitting for us. After that, it was just a matter of how. We discussed flying to San Francisco for a weekend and going to their city hall (beautiful). We thought about the timeless New York City clerk's office before flying to Italy and announcing it on our honeymoon. Dallas. Philadelphia. Colorado. After many ideas were thrown around, we came to the conclusion that we wanted to keep it close to home, in a city that has not only taken our hearts, but was also a place where our story really started to unfold, Nashville.
We stayed the weekend in the BEAUTIFUL Hermitage Hotel right across the street from the Tennessee Capitol building. The Hermitage is over 100 years old and one of the oldest buildings in Nashville. It is absolutely stunning. We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to go pick out some flowers at a local shop, and of course retrieve Sonic Dr. Peppers. We took some beautiful shots in the hotel, then strolled across the street in the downtown wind to meet our fantastic officiant, Dawn. Dawn did a short, yet very beautiful ceremony, there was a kiss, and we were husband and wife! After we finished up some more photos, we started the calls. Moms, dads, grandmas, best friends, siblings. We reached out to a few and waited to tell the rest of the world. With all the hustle and bustle that morning, we did not have a chance to eat, and decided to go to Broadway for lunch. We walked hand in hand, full suit, dress, heels, and even the veil, over to Shake Shack and indulged in some steakburgers, fries, and shared a Dr. Pepper. People gasped, congratulated, and fawned over our outfits. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Later that evening, we went for an early dinner at a fantastic restaurant called Harper's near the river. We were given complimentary champagne to celebrate our elopement, enjoyed good wine, juicy steak, and the best damn chocolate cake we've ever had. The original plan was to go out to Broadway to celebrate, but we decided to just spend time in our hotel. We watched Jumanji on TV and called it an early night, perks of being parents to a toddler (LOL). While we love each and every one of our friends and family, we really enjoyed spending our time together without the worry of centerpieces, boozy dancing, or obligations to part ways and mingle. We had a perfect start to our life as husband and wife. We are so in love and genuinely happy, and that's all we wanted to feel on our intimate day. We would not change a single detail about it.
Now that the big day has come and gone, we are planning on a nice, long honeymoon! We have a very busy year coming up, with lots of other love coming together in various weddings, concerts, games, and trips, so it will be later in 2024 before we adventure off. We are going to spend 10 days in Italy! We are so excited to experience the art of Rome and the relaxation and colorfulness of the Amalfi Coast as husband and wife! There is no truer saying than "When you know, you know", and damn did we know. We are so excited to continue building a beautiful family, home, and life together. This is just the beginning of our story, and it's already our favorite book.