Lexi and Jeff's 'Elegant Boho' Intimate Tennessee Wedding by Alex Kournetas

Happy Friday Everyone, how has your week been? Have you had a chance to enjoy the sunshine, or are you stuck at home or at work? I have had a busy week juggling work and childcare during the summer holidays. We have a lovely weekend planned, with a few of the family coming round for a BBQ. Nana who is in our bubble is staying the night, then we will all be out somewhere on Sunday to enjoy the outdoors and get some fresh air. What about you? I am finishing the week off with the lovely wedding of Lexi and Jeff, who had a fall wedding in Tennessee. The whole day is chilled, filled with elegant decoration with a Boho twist and full of love and smiles. Big thanks to Alex Kournetas their wedding planner for the submission.

Our wedding was a very intimate experience. All of the little details that define who we are as individuals, and a couple, were woven into every aspect of the day.

Lexi and Jeff were married on 13th October 2018 at Liberty, Tennessee on on friends land. ‘I (Lexi) grew up in the Midwest and one of my favourite seasons was the fall. We live in Texas, and unfortunately, the climate doesn’t allow for the beautiful fall seasons I’m used to. We also envisioned our day as a very intimate occasion. We didn’t want the same experience that is advertised in the many wedding magazines we received throughout the planning process. When our family friends offered up their home and land for our wedding, we immediately knew it had to be in the fall to really allow their property to come to life. We had 50 guests and it took 7 months to plan.’

How they met
We met during Labor Day weekend during our freshman year of college. It was a complete coincidence and we happened to show up to the same restaurant after a football game. We ended up having mutual friends at the table and the rest was history. We’ve now been together 7 years. Before we got married, we’d been together five and ½ years.

The proposal
Jeff is someone who is all about the experience. I’ve always been focused on the details, so together we make a perfect match. We were visiting his parents in Florida for our annual family vacation. This year in particular was special because the entire family was going to be there at the same time, so Jeff’s Mom organized to have family photos taken. At the end of the session, Jeff pulled me aside to watch the sunset (which wasn’t abnormal for our trips to the beach). We talked for a while and then Jeffrey started to share more intimate thoughts about our relationship and how important it had become in his life. When he got down on one knee, I had no idea Go Pros were positioned in the sand to capture the entire moment. My ring was also custom designed by Jeff and has quite a bit of symbolism within the design, as well as the incorporation of my grandmother’s diamonds on the band.

How did you allocate your budget?
I mentioned before that we’re always focused on the experience and the details. However, the most important thing about Jeff and I is that we are extremely passionate about cooking and food. We organized everything around the following:
All of the rentals had to support an outdoor ceremony and reception.
Food – We wanted tapas-style, which we knew would be more expensive.
Transportation – we were married on a mountain, which was quite a drive from Nashville, so we wanted our guests to not have to worry about getting there or getting back
The rest of the money was distributed evenly through the other vendors. I also come from a very creative family, so both my Mom and I designed a lot of the décor and smaller details.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We splurged on the rentals and the outdoor setup. We saved on all of the décor.

How did you choose your photographer?
Alex, our wedding planner, was fabulous at providing us with options for vendors that supported our overall style and needs. The photographer we chose was based on style. I loved more intimate photography with darker tones.

The dress
Maggie Sottero was the designer of the dress. The bridesmaids dresses were from LuLus. The shoes were from Calvin Klein but came off as soon as I walked down the aisle. You can ask anyone that knows me – being barefoot is just something I love. My accessories were truly just my engagement ring, my Aggie ring (I’m a proud Texas A&M University graduate) and charms on my bouquet with photos of some of my late family members who wouldn’t get to be with me on that day. Simplicity was important to me and I really wanted my dress and bouquet to stand out the most.

The suit
The suit was from Men’s Warehouse.

Theme or colour scheme
Our theme was bohemian and the color scheme was maroon, darker woody greens, and also a touch of brown.

Flowers
I wanted our flowers to be both earthy and bold with lots of greenery and deep shades of red. We used a combination of: dahlias, protea, magnolia for a sweet southern touch, eucalyptus, camel and spray roses, rannunculas, succulents, Sumatra lilies, anemone, orange gomphrena, and thistle (to name a few).

Decoration
Our directions were all hand-made by Lexi’s Mother. We built the tepee for the ceremony and then the woods near the reception had different macramé pieces within the trees. Each farm table also had macramé pieces. Fresh flowers and candles lined the tables as well. Lexi created and designed the menu cards.

Food
Remember when I mentioned how important food was? Ha! The food was tapas style and consisted of shrimp with smoked Gouda grits, cheese crusted chicken with pepper jelly, BBQ pork sliders, and brisket potato hash. We also had cheese boards during happy hour and a late night snack that consisted of sliders and homemade potato chips.

Wedding cake
I went back and forth on the wedding cake because I have yet to attend a wedding with a fancy wedding cake that actually tasted good. We used one of the local grocery stores, Publix, to create the cake and it was incredible. It was marble with chocolate fudge filing and berries. Our florist adorned it with beautiful flowers as well.

Entertainment
We had a DJ that played all of the favourites from a ton of different generations.

Who supplied the stationery?
We hired a friend to design the save the dates. Lexi designed the formal invitation and menu cards. She also used a personal vendor to print all of the stationary.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We love the beauty of Tennessee, so we honeymooned at a cabin in the Smokey Mountains about three hours east of our ceremony.

Personal touches
Lexi’s Mom created fire-themed cookies to honor Jeff’s job as a firefighter. She also created churro bundt cakes to pay homage to Jeff’s Hispanic heritage. Jeff worked with a vendor to create custom cigars with our wedding logo on it. He also created our signing board. The signing board includes a fire axe with the fireman’s prayer engraved on the head of the axe.

Special moments
Alex, our wedding planner, really understood who we were as a couple. She built in some time during our day between photos and the reception where we could sit together and enjoy the day. She brought us a cheese board and drinks so we could take in the moment. We sat on the deck looking out at the mountains in rocking chairs and just took in how beautiful our day was. The sun was shining, the sky was big and blue, and we just smiled about how grateful we were for that day. We had time to talk, laugh, and enjoy one another in an intimate moment.

Advice for other couples
Put time in your schedule to have time with each other. The day goes by so fast and while it is about you as a couple, it is easy to get caught up in having to talk to all of your guests and also have fun. Building in 20-30 minutes for just the two of you allows you to really appreciate the beauty of your wedding day and what it’s really all about: you as a couple.

Biggest surprise
Lexi’s sisters and Mom surprised her with the charms on her bouquet a few moments before she walked down the aisle. Several of her family members had passed away when she was younger and this was a beautiful way to incorporate them in the day.