A Family-Focused Backyard Wedding in Nashville, Tennessee

The inspiration for Patience and Kevin's at-home wedding in Nashville, Tennessee, "stemmed from the fact that we wanted a very intimate wedding ceremony with just few family and friends present. The limitations created by the COVID-19 pandemic offered us an opportunity to get creative and find a way to transform our home into our own vision of natural serenity, while using Zoom to broadcast our nuptials to a broader audience so that they could partake in the experience with us," says Patience. "We wanted nature-themed décor. In lieu of bold or bright wedding colors, we built our wedding around the natural colors green and ivory, utilizing the greenery in our backyard, the ivory floors and ivory walls on our deck, and other greenery and floral accents. The wedding itself was a traditional Christian wedding, with prayers and communion, but we also added a traditional Nigerian veiling ceremony—one in which the bride and groom are covered together by a veil and prayed over by an elder—to honor the bride’s Nigerian heritage." 

Since the couple chose to exchange vows at home, they leaned heavily on DIY projects when bringing the celebration together. "We decorated our back deck for the wedding ceremony, largely featuring the arch, garland, and flowers. We converted our living room and dining room areas into reception areas. Both the deck and the living room eventually became our dance floors. Our family worked in the background to quickly transition the living room from an open area (as the bridal party entered), to a dining area (complete with fully dressed tables, place settings, and flowers), then back to an open space for dancing. The office was converted into a serving room, where serving dishes were warmed and hosted on a long table," Patience says. 

Given that the couple's wedding was taking place during the summer, they brought a distincively light-and-airy aesthetic to the backyard fête, especially when it came to fashion. "Considering that we were getting married outdoors in July, also wanted a carefree and summery vibe, which inspired our attire to be light-colored, flowy, and modern, rather than formal and traditional. The bride’s dress was beautiful, simple and elegant, with a form-fitting strapless torso with subtle striations, complemented by a free-flowing floor-length skirt. Both of her accessories—her belt and bracelet—were primarily silver with white accents. She was barefoot so that she could feel the earth beneath her feet and enjoy the outdoor feel of the wedding. The groom was dressed in very light-colored tan slacks and a matching vest, with a slim-fitting white shirt with rolled-up sleeves and an unbuttoned collar. He accented the ensemble with a single white boutonnière on his lapel. This look was very modern-casual, and was intended to both visually and functionally be appropriate for the summery, casual vibe of our wedding," recalls Patience of the attire worn at her at-home wedding in Nashville, Tennessee. 

When looking back on their intimate wedding, the couple had this advice to impart on current to-be-weds: "Despite all the pressure from the outside to have an enormous wedding, intimate weddings are so much more rewarding, and much less expensive! Although our plans were influenced by COVID-19, it ended up being a tremendous blessing in disguise. Take the money that you would have used on a giant, expensive wedding, and instead, reinvest it in your home, or a beautiful honeymoon, or something else that means a lot to you, or save it! You will still be just as married, and you will take pride in your more intimate event. We would recommend having a planner, though. A person (or persons—assuming that they both work well together) who is flexible and creative, but also listens to your feedback and adapts, is key. Plan ahead, but be mentally prepared for the chaos, and don’t let it fluster or upset you. Most importantly—and we intentionally saved this for last—if you don’t invest in anything else, make sure you have a wonderful photographer. The day will fly by so quickly, almost to the point where it’s hard to remember anything. A great photographer can take a thousand moments, capture them, freeze them, and make them last a lifetime!"