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Nashville Destination Wedding Tips: Part 1

If you’re getting married in Nashville, there are a few things you need to know. Nashville is now one of the most popular places in the COUNTRY to get married. How crazy is that?! We’ve lived here for about 8 years, and in that time we’ve photographed TONS of Nashville destination weddings – most often for couples who have recently relocated to the area, and want to share their love of Nashville with their family and friends at their wedding! I’ve wanted to write a post on Nashville destination wedding tips for a long time, so here we go: Nashville destination wedding tips, from a Nashville wedding pro!

We’re based in Nashville, but we’ve photographed weddings in 10 states (and counting!) and we know what makes Nashville weddings different. I’m recommending things in this article that I would NOT recommend if you’re getting married in – say – Philadelphia or Charleston.

This advice is Nashville specific, from someone who has watched the “Nashville boom” happen from a (sort of) outsider’s perspective! I’m publishing this series in three parts, so let’s start today with Part 1!

Nashville-Destination-Wedding-Tips Nashville Destination Wedding Tips: Part 1

Nashville Destination Wedding Tips: Part 1

Weather

There are two main things you need to know here if you’re planning a Nashville destination wedding:

First, it is HOT and it is HUMID. From April through October (and sometimes even longer than that). Plan for that. We’re from the Northeast, and we just about died our first few wedding seasons in Nashville because we just weren’t used to the humidity yet.

If you want an outdoor wedding or if you want to take pictures outside, plan appropriate outfits for your wedding party. Choose a venue with some shade and some air conditioned spaces. Make plans to keep your guests cool and hydrated. And plan for breaks throughout the day – it may be worth planning for extra picture time so you can spread portraits out throughout the day. And definitely plan to take sunset pictures, because it will likely be the coolest time of the day!

Second, you need a rain plan in Nashville. Again, not being from this area, I can tell you that bad weather here moves FAST and it can be ferocious, purely because of Nashville’s geography. We’ve seen sunny days turn into literal hurricanes in a matter of minutes… If you’re choosing between two or three venues, I’d make your final decision based on which one has the best rain plan. Hopefully you won’t have to use it, but if you do, it would be awesome if you really loved that rain plan.

Seasons

Wedding seasons in Nashville are a little different than they are in the rest of the country.

  • Summer is hot, but more importantly, spring and summer are HUMID here. For that reason, we don’t see quite as many outdoor summer weddings in Nashville. If you and your guests are ready to deal with the heat (or if you’re having a completely indoor wedding), then you don’t have to worry too much about that.
  • Spring is VERY popular in Nashville for weddings, and trees/grass/green things tend to bloom early here. You can still have a bright, warm, colorful outdoor spring wedding in March or April in Tennessee.
  • Fall is stunning in Tennessee, and tons of people travel to this area every year to hike, camp, and be outdoors while the leaves are so colorful. Every year the leaf peak is a little different (which is frustrating for couples who are prioritizing those beautiful fall colors!), but my personal favorite time to bet on for leaves is mid November. Temperatures are usually pretty mellow by then, and can even get a bit chilly in the evenings.
  • Winter weddings in Nashville are totally a thing! Every year we have a few weddings in December and January, and I love that. If you want to have a winter wedding, look for classic, urban venues because Tennessee can look pretty sad and dead in the winter (especially because it never really snows!). This is also a great time for a downtown wedding, because (generally) weekends aren’t quite as crowded downtown during the colder months, which makes taking pictures downtown a breeze!

Weekends to Avoid

During peak wedding seasons, there area a few weekends that wedding pros know to be aware of:

  • CMA Fest AND Bonnarroo are always in June… and they’re usually both the same weekend. Traffic is crazy, the airport is crazy, and that’s definitely something to consider if you’ll have a lot of out-of-town guests flying in OR are getting married downtown.
  • CMA Awards are mid-November, and bring in lots of traffic and air travel.
  • RockN’Roll Marathon weekend is usually the last weekend in April, and shuts down traffic throughout much of the metro area on race day.

No matter what, it’s best to double check to see what events are happening in Nashville on your wedding weekend. Check out a Nashville event calendar here.

That’s it for today! Part 2 of Nashville Destination Wedding Tips is coming soon – all about transportation and accommodations in Nashville!

Want to read more wedding planning advice, and Nashville destination wedding tips? Check out the “For Brides” series here!

Nashville-Destination-Wedding-Tips-1b Nashville Destination Wedding Tips: Part 1

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Lindsay Campbell is a wedding photographer specializing in natural, romantic wedding photography with a bright and airy film look. She photographs weddings in Chattanooga, Franklin, Nashville, Sewanee, and the surrounding areas, and travels across the country to photograph weddings! If you’re looking for a Chattanooga wedding photographer, Sewanee wedding photographer, Nashville wedding photographer, or Franklin wedding photographer, get in touch!