The sacrament of marriage is a sacred thing, not just among those of the Christian faith, but other religions as well. But although each country has a different way of celebrating marriage, weddings are and will remain a very important part of their culture. Needless to say, couples consider their wedding to be a momentous occasion and will go to lengths to ensure that they can have the best possible wedding. Choosing the right reception venue will do a lot to ensure a wonderful wedding celebration.

Here is a short guide to help you find the perfect venue for you to celebrate your wedding.

Before anything else, you and your partner should determine (by yourselves, or with the help of a professional Nashville wedding planner), what you really want for your special day. Finding a concept to work with should take into consideration the needs of the bride and the groom, despite the fact that it’s usually the bride who becomes heaving involved in the planning of the wedding.

Secondly, you should make sure that the venue is available, and accessible to you and your guests. Some of the best wedding sites like Historic Cedarwood, Riverwood Mansion and Springhaven Mansion book up fast…so you need to do your planning early.

Your Nashville wedding reception should take place in a location where your guests can relax and have fun in a private setting. Keep in mind that in most cases a wedding is the first step to creating the most important institution in society: the family. With that said, your wedding reception should be a private affair, unless of course the bride or groom is famous, either as a public figure or a celebrity. If there are too many uninvited people walking around, the integrity of the solemn affair may be compromised.

The third thing that you and your partner should think about doing is creating a backup plan. Accidents happen, and this goes two-fold for couples who choose to have an outdoor wedding in Nashville. A backup plan is necessary in case they do. For example, if you’re having a garden wedding at Centennial Park for instance and it rains, you should have an alternative venue nearby.

Nature can sometimes disrupt the festivities, as in the case of destination weddings where the guests need to ride a boat to the tropical island location. In case the boat breaks down or it rains too heavily to set out for the island, an alternative venue should be ready. This will ensure that the wedding will push through, and the guests won’t have to suffer the inconvenience of extending their stay or taking another day off work just to attend a wedding that’s been rescheduled for another day.

Wedding Venues in Nashville

The father walking his daughter down the aisle and entrusting her to the care of her future husband is a time-honoured tradition, a tradition which symbolizes a father giving his most valuable treasure to another man who will love, respect and honor her for all the years to come. However, this tradition isn’t as religiously followed nowadays as more and more women are marrying at a later age. In addition, there are instances where a woman has a father and a stepfather, or has a father who passed away.

Today, there are traditions that are being created. These traditions take into account the fact that families today have changed, and that the bride and groom would want to demonstrate their individuality. In the end, it doesn’t matter who walks the bride down the aisle. The important thing is that the bride is happy. Listed below are a few of the new practices that adhere to wedding walk etiquette:

If the bride’s father is deceased, or was not a part of the bride’s life for a long period of time, she may wish to invite her stepfather, brother, uncle, or family friend to walk her down the aisle instead. If the bride has always felt closer to her mother, she can choose to have her mother give her away.

According to Jewish wedding tradition, both the father and mother walk the bride down the aisle; a tradition that honours the love that they’d given their child and the effort they placed into their daughter’s upbringing. More and more brides from all religions are taking a cue from this tradition and are choosing to have both parents give them away; as this tradition expresses their appreciation for both parents and the love and caring they’ve given her throughout her life.

If both the father and the stepfather were strong influences on her life, the bride may choose to have both walk her down the aisle. Alternatively, the father may walk the bride halfway down the aisle and the stepfather will walk the bride the rest of the way, and vice versa. This way, the bride expresses her love and her appreciation for both fathers.  This works well at a Nashville wedding chapel like Wightman Chapel which has a long aisle, or Springhaven Mansion where there is ample distance for the walk-in.

If the bride is at an older age, she may feel a bit foolish having her father walk her down the aisle.  Nowadays, a bride walking down the aisle alone isn’t an uncommon sight, as this shows that she is independent in her decision to become one with the man of her dreams.

If the bride was previously married and had children from that union, she may choose to have her son or daughter walk her down the aisle; not to symbolically give her away, but to illustrate how the children are still an important part of the bride’s new life.

Some brides choose to walk down the aisle with their groom. This isn’t uncommon, especially if the couple feels that they have created a life together, independent from their families. The bride and groom may walk down the aisle together to show how much they’re committed to each other. Another option is to have the groom meet the bride halfway down the aisle, to signify their union on middle ground, instead of the bride walking towards her new husband.

In the end, what really matters is what the bride’s decision is; whether to do a traditional wedding walk with her father, or something less traditional. The wedding walk itself is an extremely significant moment for the bride; an indication of the changes that her life will undergo as a wife. The bride should choose a wedding walk that suits her and her personality most.

Nashville Wedding Sites

To have a truly memorable wedding reception, decorate it with unique, one-of-a-kind pieces not usually used to decorate weddings. The only limit is your imagination. Your wedding theme will greatly affect what kind of decorations you’re going to use for the reception. If you want to have a simply decorated Nashville wedding reception site, you just need to scatter the balloons throughout the wedding venue.

For a romantic wedding reception, you can decorate with candles placed in strategic locations throughout the reception venue. You can use candles as a table centrepiece for some mood lighting. This is a cost-effective way of decorating your reception. However, keep in mind that candles have different burning times, so you should have a good idea of how long your reception is going to last and buy appropriate candles.

For short receptions, you can decorate with small voice candles. For longer receptions, however, you may want to use a large pillar candle or a few tapers instead. Remember that the key element of reception decorations is the centrepieces. To add a pop of color to the centrepiece, you can add the same kind of flowers used in the bridal bouquet. This does wonders in improving the look and feel of the table.

When talking about reception decorations, one important element that we should not forget is the wedding cake. A gorgeous wedding cake can vastly improve the overall look and atmosphere of the reception. Even if you’re only planning on having a small reception, a skilled baker can create a beautiful tiered cake by using a fake cake as a base and covering it and topping it with layers. The cake can be further accessorized with flowers, crystals and other details that will give the cake more flair.

Many established wedding sites in Nashville have tons of experience in making your wedding ceremony and reception site look wonderful…and fit your tastes. Some of these include: Historic Cedarwood, Springhaven Mansion, CJ’s Off the Square, and Riverwood Mansion.

Nashville Wedding Reception Sites

Springhaven Mansion Hendersonville TN

Finding a location for a wedding is one of the most important decisions for planning the special day. Located in Hendersonville Tennessee, is an exquisite and elegant location to host a wedding. Rich in history, dating back to 1824, Springhaven Mansion sits on a three acre property to include such facilities as the main house, a log cabin, smokehouse, screened-in porch and barn which can be used to accommodate your guests. Whether it is a big or small wedding, or an indoor or outdoor wedding, this beautiful mansion can accommodate a gathering of 50 people to 200 plus attendees.

What makes this place a wonderful Nashville wedding location is their ability to create the perfect wedding experience and provide exactly what the bride and groom want. This location can be the where the reception is held, but also the venue for the shower, and rehearsal dinner and can also provide overnight accommodations for the bride and groom, bridal party and guests the night before the big day and the wedding night. One room can be reserved or the entire estate to suit what ever is needed to create a magical.

Not only can Springhaven Mansion be a venue for the wedding reception, but also it can be the location of the ceremony. Not only can the size be accommodated but also the religious preferences can be incorporated. The venue can help plan traditional ceremony for most religious faiths. The venue also has strong relationships with many outside vendors and wedding planners to assist in planning traditional receptions consistent with cultural and religious beliefs.

Also, this location has a variety of packages at different price points, which can work with large or small budgets. Their wedding packages also range from basic amenities, to an all included package, where they will provide flowers for the bridal party and centerpieces, DJ services and photographer. There is also an upgrade where the bride can make her entrance via a horse drawn carriage.

Whatever the dream wedding is, Springhaven Mansion can help make it come true, through the charm and elegance of the location.

Privately Owned Wedding Venues

We believe wedding locations that private individuals own tend to offer superior service. Think about it. They have the most vested interest in making sure that your wedding day goes perfectly. If you are satisfied you will tell your family and friends and referrals of happy customers are a business’ best friend.

Here are some of our favorite Nashville wedding sites in this category.

Historic Cedarwood

This one has truly taken off in only a few years of being in operation and gets booked up quickly. It has a definite “out in the country” feel but amazingly is only minutes from downtown Nashville. Couples tell us that Cedarwood takes care of everything and makes the planning process very easy. Many couples are discovering Historic Cedarwood’s exceptional service and value, including a granddaughter of Hank Williams, Jr. who married there.

Riverwood Mansion – Nashville Wedding Location

This is another remarkable place to get married. Tucked away over in east Nashville, there is a lot of history at this location. There is a beautiful garden out beside the historic home where most of the ceremonies are held. But if there is rain, there is now a beautiful pavilion where the wedding festivities can be moved under cover. This is the place where most of the receptions are held as well.  Jo Dee Messina recorded part of a music video at Riverwood.

C.J.’s Off the Square

CJ’s in actually a short drive south of Nashville in Franklin, Tennessee. Franklin has been voted one of the most beautiful small towns in America and there is a lot of Civil War history in the area. The wedding venue is located on 3^rd Ave. just a short distance on the main town square. So many couples have found this to be the perfect place for their nuptials. Weddings are held in the garden gazebo, surrounded by large trees and pools of water with goldfish.

Springhaven Mansion

This wedding site is located north of Nashville in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Beautiful country in this area and home to many of the Grand Ole Opry country music stars. By the way, Taylor Swift’s home is in Hendersonville and she did a photo shoot at Springhaven. A husband and wife own this place and give personal attention to their couples. The horse drawn carriage bringing the bride to the front lawn of the historic mansion (trees planted by Andrew Jackson) for the ceremony is a special touch.

Blackhaven Gardens

Going yet another direction, these “wedding gardens” are found out east from Nashville and south of Gallatin. The owner has worked extensively herself on these gardens for years. Now couples and their guests are able to enjoy the result of her work by having their wedding ceremony in the gazebo among the gardens. There is a nice reception building behind the gardens in case couples need to move the ceremony inside.

Find a nondenominational Nashville Wedding Minister

Find Wedding Chapels in Nashville

Next page:  Nashville wedding reception venues