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Jessica & Corey Hodges ~ April 24, 2010

Carnton Plantation

Thirty days out from Jessica and Corey’s wedding, we began checking the weather for April 24, 2010 daily. A week out, we began checking it hourly. The night before their wedding, the forecast was for 30% chance of thunderstorms. In Tennessee, you can usually count on a storm blowing in and moving out within a 30 minute time period. Unfortunately, this was not the case for April 24^th (just a week before the historic flooding in Nashville). The morning began with a light drizzle and by the time the tent company came to put up the ceremony tent that we had on standby, the weather had become so violent that they were unable to set the tent. All day long, we endured torrential downpours, earth shaking thunder, plenty of cloud to ground lightening and the occasional tornado siren. Not exactly your ideal day for a wedding that is supposed to have the ceremony in the gardens of Carnton Plantation and the reception under a warmly lit tent on the patio of the Fleming Center.

An hour before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, there was no sign of the storms letting up, and no ceremony tent ready to roll (something about not wanting to put up metal poles when there was lightening :) ). There was no option left but to move the ceremony into the reception tent, which was already preset with tables, lounge furniture and a stage for the band. With a little bit of creativity and a lot of helping hands, we were able to store the tables at the back of the tent and set up chairs ceremony style with an aisle right down the middle. It was a tight fit squeezing 350 people in a tent that was only made to hold 200, but it worked! After a quick debriefing of the bridal party on the change of plans from the rehearsal, an absolutely radiant Jessica walked down the waterlogged aisle on the arm of her handsome father. Corey and Jessica said their I Dos and made their exit to the sounds of a bagpiper in traditional Scottish garb.





All of the guests were ushered out to the covered porches for cocktail hour and were able to enjoy about 30 minutes of sunshine before the next round of storms moved in. Inside, we flipped the room from the ceremony set up to reception set up in 15 minutes – a small miracle in itself. During cocktail hour, guests were invited to write well wishes, words of advice and a little encouragement on individual note cards that were dropped into a large purple vase. The cards were later put together into a scrapbook for Jessica and Corey to look back on and enjoy. A large print from Jessica’s bridal portrait photo shoot welcomed guests back inside the reception tent and the classic southern buffet was opened.


Jessica and Corey are a very laid back, fun couple and wanted their wedding to reflect that. The main course was pulled pork barbeque (a staple in the south), complemented by endless side dishes of potato salad, cornbread, coleslaw and a towering cheese display. In lieu of a traditional groom’s cake, a colorful candy bar featuring M&Ms, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Mike & Ike, Hot Tamales and Runts was set up for guests to help themselves to a sugar high throughout the evening. The cake was a four tiered square strawberry cake with white fondant, accented by fresh green hydrangeas. The tent was lined with Italian string lights along the top edges and amber uplighting along the tent walls made the room warm and romantic. Clusters of chocolate brown and sage paper lanterns hung over the dance floor to define the space. The dance floor was flanked with low plush white couches and tall bistro tables for spectators to perch.


After the toasts, Jessica’s bridesmaids announced that they had a very special, very unique wedding gift for the bride and groom. Outside, there was a miniature pony, dressed up as a unicorn. Not just with a sparkly horn on its head, but complete with colored streaks in its mane and tail. A life size My Little Pony. Jessica has always had a fascination with unicorns, and even dressed up as one for Halloween last year. Maybe not the most practical gift, but certainly the most memorable. Thanks to the musical stylings of the Joey Richie Band, the majority of the guests spent the evening on the dance floor. I’ve never seen a grandma like Corey’s get down so low! We had a hard time tearing guests off the dance floor to blow bubbles for Jessica and Corey’s exit, and an even harder time getting guests to leave at the end of the night. That’s the sign of a great party!



Despite many weather related setbacks and potential disasters, Jessica and Corey had a wedding day that was as beautiful as they are. All photos courtesy of Leslee Mitchell Photography – Through wind and rain, low lighting and cramped shooting space, Leslee managed to use her expertise and creativity to capture all of the perfect little moments and details that went into Mr. and Mrs. Hodges’ big day.