Bailey and Kevin’s wedding at Meadow Hill Farm was inspired by the paintings of Marc Chagall! Filled with beautiful, colorful floral designs, rustic decor to complement the barn setting, and thoughtful details, their Nashville wedding was just stunning! Plus, all the place settings were bespoke dishes handmade by women from HEAL Ministries in Jinja, Uganda. The couple even took time out of their reception to hand wash each guest’s plate so they could take them home as favors! Christa Hitchcock Photography captured their incredible day.
A colorful and bohemian Chagall inspired wedding in Nashville, TN
The Proposal
On May 11, 2016, Kevin picked me up from a closing shift at Five Daughter’s Bakery in Nashville, Tennessee and took me to the Parthenon. We had planned to play frisbee with my cousin Erica. As we waited in the field for Erica to arrive, Kevin asked me to close my eyes and began to pull something out of his bag. I opened my eyes and was completely shocked to find Kevin holding a ring… not chocolate as I suspected. He said many sweet things that I was too emotional to remember and Erica arrived on the scene a few minutes later as an insider on the event.
About The Wedding
Kevin and I prayed from the day we were engaged that our wedding guests would experience joy (a good dance floor at that), peace, and see the love that God has for them as witnesses to our covenant. This was especially important to us as Nashville was our middle ground; we had families traveling from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and San Antonio, Texas and this would be the first time many of them had the chance to spend time together.
When we were dating, Kevin took me up to a church on a hill that overlooks Nashville and I felt transported to paintings by one of my favorite artists, Marc Chagall. Whimsical, colorful, communal, symbolic – like his paintings, these were elements that I envisioned for us and our loved ones on our wedding day. I searched for affordable venues that could achieve this and found Meadow Hill Farm. Jenny and her husband Jake have built a place of organic beauty from the ground up. Wildflowers adorn every path and hand built pews lead to a branch arbor at the ceremony site. Our first steps on site made us long for family – we knew this was a place that had a lot of beauty and joy to offer.
The Attire
We didn’t have anything too specific in mind for attire, but Ila at LVD Bridal helped me find a gown by Johanna Johnson that made me feel elegant, beautiful, and mobile at my first visit. I wanted my bridesmaids to find affordable dresses that they felt good in, and J. Crew just happened to have a sale as we were planning! Chagall uses a lot of deep, rich blues, so we incorporated this with the bridesmaids’, mothers’, and grandmothers’ dresses. The men had full freedom over their decisions.
Favorite Moments
We had been told leading up to our wedding day that it goes by in a flash and feels like a whirlwind. It certainly was a whirlwind, but we were very conscious going into it that we wanted to be mindful of every moment. Because of this, there are hundreds of favorite memories from the day including: Being overwhelmed at the first sight of how many loved ones traveled from so far; special moments with parents, siblings, and grandparents; being overcome by joy at the altar as we were *finally* becoming husband and wife; communion as husband and wife alone after our ceremony; panicking over a lost wedding band (it had slipped off of my finger as we sat down at the sweetheart table without me noticing… we found it!); seeing strangers sit down on benches together, talking for hours; the way many of our friends and family danced – being circled by them on our last dance.
The Flowers & Favors
Mary Love Richardson of Rosemary and Finch floral design pulled off our vision perfectly! She transformed the ceremony arbor and designed colorful bouquets that added so much to the whimsical atmosphere. I was in wonder!
Kevin and I wanted to find a way to support one of our favorite ministries as well as serve our family and friends on our wedding day. HEAL ministries in Jinja, Uganda serves abandoned women and children by teaching them about Christ, sustainability, and family preservation. Some of the women here have started a pottery business and we asked if they would be willing to make dinner plates as party favors. We couldn’t believe they said yes! After our wedding dinner, Kevin and I washed the dishes so families could take them home as favors. This was one of our favorite moments of the day as we got to slow down and spend time with people we loved. When we look back on it, it’s a reminder of what we want our marriage to be for the communities around us.
Artists
- Photography: Christa Hitchcock Photography
- Venue: Meadow Hill Farm
- Stationery: Erica Griffith
- Bakery: Five Daughters Bakery
- Catering: The Unicorn Nashville
- DJ: DJ Connection
- Favors: HEAL Ministries
- Wedding Dress: LVD Bridal
- Bridesmaid Dresses: J. Crew
- Submitted via: Matchology