A Tennessee Weekend Wedding At RT Lodge
Weekend Wedding
It is time to travel to the rolling hills of East Tennessee for Zoë and Ben's three-day weekend wedding at RT Lodge. Over 100 friends and family flew in from all over, including -San Francisco, Boston, New York, Africa, and Europe for their late-summer celebration.
The entire weekend was a casual whimsical event. Guests enjoyed the natural beauty of the resort, wedding celebrations, and the fantastic floral installations created by Mary Love Richardson of Rosemary and Finch. The florals are beyond amazing! The wedding photographer, Clark Brewer, artfully captured the weekend. Keep reading to hear more about this beautiful weekend wedding from the bride, Zoë, and the florist, Mary Love Richardson.
Welcome Wedding Gifts
Ben and I have always loved to host dinners, parties, and group vacations to bring together our loved ones. We knew we wanted a venue that would be exclusively ours for a long weekend and wanted as many guests as possible to be able to stay in on-site accommodations, including our mini bernedoodle, Arco.
RT Lodge was the perfect location to make these dreams a reality. Over 100 of our closest friends and family stayed on property for our weekend-long celebration, flying in from San Francisco, Boston, New York, Africa, and Europe. All were mesmerized by the natural beauty of RT Lodge and the magical creations of our florist, Mary Love Richardson.
A casual, whimsical vibe that would make everyone feel welcomed, loved, and comfortable was important to us – first impressions for the weekend were set by custom welcome boxes awaiting our guests in their rooms upon check-in, containing a handwritten note, a cookie decorated as Arco and Ole Smoke Moonshine.
White Linen
welcome dinner
We began the weekend with a special night celebrating with fifty of our closest friends with a flower crown station, an intimate outdoor dinner set under bistro lights, moonshine shots, and a surprise ice cream truck.
Rosemary and Finch created custom crowns on site and by the time they finished even the boys had come over for boutonnieres and crowns!
Floral arrangements
were created all weekend
Zoë had a vision for the flowers to look as if they naturally grew all over the property so all our design had a natural, untamed feel. To capture the feeling of late summer meeting early fall, we used a colorful palette that had the vibrance of summer mixed with the earthier hues of autumn. Because we had 3 days of events, we had floral installations throughout the property that grew and changed over the weekend, bringing in fresh florals and new ingredients every day.
My absolute favorite elements were a myriad of fruiting branches, berries, and vines. From blackberries to pomegranates to acorns to hops, there were so many fun surprises for the guests to discover. Some of my favorite moments were overhearing the guests exclaiming with excitement that they’d found a tomato (read: persimmon!) in the staircase installation!
Fun All Weekend
The next day, all our guests arrived for a casual Southern cook-out, followed by night of square dancing in RT Lodge's Sperry Tent. Sunday, September 1st was our wedding day, kicked off with a gorgeous bridal luncheon for the women and a shooting expedition for the men.
Our ceremony took place amid lush, late-summer woods; the lawn was transformed into an ethereal garden by our florist. Our big day continued with cocktails on the patio by the koi pond, an incredible reception under the Sperry Tent with a family-style dinner and dancing, with an after-party overflowing with balloons back in the Lodge and a spread of late night food - the best burgers we've ever tasted.
Zoë's Wedding Dress
Zoë' wore the Iris Floral Gown from Alexandra Grecco. The intricate hand-embroidered floral appliqué is truly a work of art. Coupled with a plunging V-neckline and strappy back detail that nearly disappears, Iris is THE showstopper - hands down. Available with Champagne or Off White embroidery.
Ben's I DO
Groom Slippers
The perfect Groom slipper is from Stubbs and Wootton. Their I DO slipper features a black Spanish cotton-velvet upper with a white grosgrain trim. Finished off with the marital phrase 'I DO' in white block lettering. Meticulously hand-crafted in Spain. They offer a variety of entertaining velvet slippers for the eclectic man in your life.
Custom Signs
All these gorgeous signs were hand-made by Etsy artist Woodland Designs. Everything is hand painted. They even offer colored acrylic signs.
Guests Interacting
With Florals All Weekend
The most unique and fun aspect of the flowers for this wedding were all the special opportunities for guests to actually interact with the florals. Flowers have a singular ability to surprise and delight your wedding guests and I’ve never felt that more than I did this weekend! -Mary Love Richardson, florist.
- A flower crown booth for dinner on Friday night so every single guest got to wear flowers. Even most of the men got boutonnieres or crowns!
- A photo booth backdrop with a lush floral installation so all guests went home with photos in front of flowers.
- A hanging floral installation over the dance floor so everyone got to dance underneath a curtain of flowers.
- Like I mentioned above, the inclusion of fruits and unique elements that excited guests and encourage them to search for other surprises.
- Cakes & Catering: RT Lodge
- Cakes & Catering: Cruisin' Cone
- Custom Signs: Woodland Custom Design
- Event Planning & Design: RT Lodge
- Flowers: Mary Love Richardson
- Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Claire Balest
- Lighting & Entertainment: The Downtown Band
- Lighting, Entertainment & Photo Booth: Alex Cumming
- Paper Goods & Calligraphy: Happy Nature Studios
- Photographers: Clark Brewer
- Venues: RT Lodge
- Wedding Dresses: Alexandra Grecco