Hannah + Peyton by Sonya Le

The venue was the most stunning backdrop to our wedding day

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

We were both born and raised in Nashville. I’m a product manager, and Peyton is a cybersecurity engineer – quite the opposite sides of the spectrum. We are both big home bodies and love a good chill day at home or spending time with our families. I spend most of my time either quilting or hanging with our dog, Logan – I’m a big animal lover! Peyton loves music and sports. He loves playing guitar, playing golf and keeping up with any and all sports. We just bought our first home, so we’ve been doing lots of fun (and not so fun) house projects together. We love to spend the spring and summer going to Sounds games here in Nashville.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

Peyton and I actually met in middle school. At our school, you either had to do choir or band in middle school, and we ended up in percussion together. We were friends, but when my family moved to Austin, TX, a couple of years later, we lost touch. Fast forward to college, my parents moved back to Nashville and Peyton, and I reconnected when we went to Bonnaroo, a music festival, with the same group of people. That was 2019, and we’ve been hanging out ever since. We were still in college, and I ended up transferring to his school, the University of Tennessee, to be with him.

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee, etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

The venue was the most stunning backdrop to our wedding day, but the colours and florals were the perfect accent. It couldn’t have been better. I told Amanda, our florist and planner, that I wanted colour, and I wanted it to be so far from a traditional wedding and colour palette. I gave her the colour palette I was thinking of, and she made all my dreams come true. I think I’ll be dreaming about our wedding for the rest of my life! And having all of the beautiful Spanish moss hanging from the trees, it was like a fairytale!

What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

We kept our wedding super small – immediate family only! I think this made planning the wedding all the easier. Peyton and I are super laid back and easy, and that translated into planning. I think for any couple starting the planning journey now, don’t stress about the small stuff. I know people say that all the time, but it truly doesn’t matter in the end. We were surrounded by the people we love, and starting our life together was the main focus. Yes, the colours and florals and all the planning were the most fun, but how much more fun to get to marry your best friend! Make sure you have a planner that you trust, too, and your life will be so much easier! Could NOT have done this without Amanda!

Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?

First and foremost, Amanda with AG Design was our girl! She did our florals and was also our planner since we had such an intimate wedding. She knocked the florals out of the park but also made sure every other detail was perfect. I think we got super lucky with every vendor we had. Especially our cake…it was beautiful and so yummy.

Ashley Bakery did the best job with it. I gave her two inspiration pictures, and she made the cake even better than I could’ve imagined. Sonya, our photographer and Rob, our videographer, were both amazing. They were there to make sure they got all the shots I had envisioned, but also let us enjoy our day without feeling like the whole day was about content. The pictures are everything and more, and we can’t wait to get our wedding video back!

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?

My wedding dress was everything and more! But the most fun part of the night was being able to wear my mom’s wedding dress to leave in. She let me get it altered and make it a mini dress, which ended up being so fun. It was SO 80s and I loved it. We were the same size, which I think meant to be. Not only that, but I also wore my green sparkly heels for the whole day, and they were my favourite part of both outfits. As I mentioned before, I didn’t want this wedding to be traditional at all, and I think my green heels were a perfect example of that.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

Peyton gets all the credit for both my engagement ring and my band. I showed him a picture of a ring I loved before we got engaged, and he custom-made my ring even more beautiful than the one I had envisioned. He worked with a family friend, who does custom jewellery and special pieces, named Elizabeth, and she is such an angel. I didn’t know it at the time, but he actually picked out my band when he made my ring to go with it. I didn’t even see my wedding band until the moment he put it on my finger during the ceremony! We ended up getting Peyton’s band at Consider the Wldflwrs here in Nashville, which is owned by a local couple and is the sweetest place!

What were one or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).

The florals and photography were most important to me. I love flowers to begin with and knew I wanted the colours to be a main focus, so I’m so happy we spent the money there. But the photographer was a big one for both of us. Your wedding day is such a special moment that goes by way too fast, so to have such stunning pictures to remember the day by is such a blessing. I think we were both really happy to spend the extra money on a videographer, too. How special to be able to watch our video every year and to be able to show our kids one day!

Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?

We will cherish the whole day forever, but walking down the aisle to Peyton was one of our favourite moments. I walked down to the song he proposed to me, so it was such a full-circle special moment. We also had everyone come up and pray over us since we had such a small crew, and that was such an unforgettable moment. The whole day was sweet and intimate and everything we could have dreamed of.

What does being married mean to you, and are there any special rituals you have that you would like to share?

Being married is so fun because you get to spend every day with your best friend, and we still can’t believe that we are actually married! Having a teammate for life is so special. You get to have your best days and worst days with each other, and we couldn’t be more grateful to have each other. One thing I love that we do is every morning Peyton always leaves before I get out of bed, so he will come and kiss me goodbye every day, and then I’m usually always home before him, so I greet him with a hug. It’s been the sweetest daily routine that I hope we never grow out of. I hope our kids get to watch how much we love each other!