After the Vows | Tips From a Govenor's Club Bride

This morning we are spotlighting the lively wedding of Meredith and Jay Brocklebank. About a year ago, all of Meredith's planning, with the help of Wedding 101, came together in one beautiful and unforgettable day. It's hard for a summer wedding to be dull with all of its bright colors and flowers, but this one in particular was even more special with all the personal touches Meredith incorporated. With the wisdom of planning a wedding under her belt, this beautiful bride has some advice about her big day to share with our lovely readers!

Number of people at your wedding: 250ish

Wedding colors: coral, navy and yellow

How long was your planning process: 13 very long months! :)

Time of year of wedding: June (my dream wedding would have been in the fall but the timing didn’t work out)

Did you use a planner? Technically no, but Wedding 101 helped us a lot with those planning type questions

What vendor went above and beyond for you?

That is a really tough question because I really loved all of my vendors; however I would probably narrow it down to Katie Russo, the girl who did my make-up, and our videographers First Dance Pictures. Those were both expenses that I debated even having, but they were truly worth every penny. They made me feel comfortable and confident in their expertise. Katie made me look absolutely beautiful, she listened closely to exactly what I wanted, and she even found someone to do my hair. Bill and Deanna with First Dance were definitely the best investment we made. Not only did they give us an incredibly wedding video, but they even brought speakers for the music and helped us organize the reception. They were worth every penny and more!

Where did you find inspiration for your wedding?

Mostly on wedding blogs such as theknot.com and a few wedding magazines, to be honest I wanted the inspiration for the wedding to be uniquely us so I tried to incorporate the things we loved as opposed to what others thought was fashionable at the time

Where did you find the vendors for your wedding?

Wedding 101 at the Factory in Franklin! They were absolutely phenomenal and almost all of our vendors came from their recommendations! I absolutely could not have planned my wedding without them!

Did you have a theme for your wedding?

We didn’t really have a true theme. I just wanted my wedding to be timeless, elegant and classy, and of course fun

Was there anything that made your wedding unique?

I felt like our location was somewhat unique since I don’t know many people who get married at an historic old home. We also had a sand ceremony instead of a unity candle, and we had a bell ringer between the ring bearer and the flower girl.

Looking back, is there anything about the planning process or wedding you would do differently?

There really isn’t much that I would want to do differently. Sometimes I wish I had hired a wedding planner to help with organizing all of the details and to answer our questions along the way, but I relied on the ladies at Wedding 101 and the expertise of my vendors and managed just fine on my own.

Do you have any advice for future brides?

Stick to your instincts and make the day about you and the love you share with your fiancé. Don’t let someone else talk you into or out of something because that day should be all about what you want. For example, I didn’t like some of the lace on my dress so I took it off and changed the buttons. Both of my parents thought it would look “funny” without the lace and I should leave it on but I stuck to my own instincts and we all agreed it was absolutely the right decision. There were plenty of other similar situations when I stuck to my heart and chose what I felt best about and we were all so glad I did. Finally, on that day relax and enjoy every moment! The planning process can be so stressful but don’t let it ruin how special your wedding day should be. Those who know me best laughed at how “freakishly calm” I was on my wedding day, but I had decided that I wanted to thoroughly enjoy every moment of that day, and with that mindset I truly did enjoy every moment! I have often said it truly was the perfect day, and I would live that one day over and over again! However, I’m not so sure I could say the same thing about the planning process! Despite how stressful the planning process can be at the end of the day you will be married to the love of your life, and married life is absolutely wonderful and well worth any stress you might be facing along the way!