Nashville Wedding Photography | Addison + Nick — Cathedral of the Incarnation & Country Music Hall of Fame

Addison & Nick's Cathedral of the Incarnation Wedding

Addison and Nick were married in a Catholic ceremony at Cathedral of the Incarnation, then spent the rest of the day proving a wedding can survive anything — including an actual tornado warning. As a Nashville wedding photographer, my focus is on candid, unscripted moments — the ones a couple ends up feeling for the rest of their lives, not the ones anyone staged for the camera. So when the wedding party ended up huddled together in a stairwell waiting out a tornado warning, I made sure to get some of that too. This one also delivered a bride who somehow made it through the whole day without a drop of rain touching her dress.

Getting Ready at the Omni

Getting ready happened at the Omni, where Addison wore a long veil and a lace topper over her gown, finished with a pair of Versace shoes. Her bridesmaids matched in ivory. Addison and Nick chose not to see each other before the ceremony — a call I'm always fine with, as long as there's enough daylight left afterward to get portraits done in natural light, which is the whole reason most couples hire me in the first place. Instead of a full first look, Addison did a smaller reveal with her bridesmaids and her dad in the hotel room at the Omni. With four locations already on the schedule for the day, one fewer stop made everything easier to run.

A Catholic Ceremony at Cathedral of the Incarnation

The ceremony was held at Cathedral of the Incarnation, a Catholic church in the heart of Nashville. Catholic ceremonies can run longer than a typical wedding, and I like the extra time it gives me — plenty of room to get everything I need without rushing anyone. The cathedral only allows photographers on property long enough to get family formals done, so we knew going in that portraits would happen somewhere else.

Portraits at the Parthenon

The original plan was portraits around Centennial Park, but with bad weather moving in, we anchored everything at the Parthenon instead. I love a neutral backdrop with real architecture behind it, and the Parthenon's columns gave us exactly that. Addison's palette was soft and neutral, so Nick's suit and Addison's dark hair popped against the stone.

A Tornado Warning at Country Music Hall of Fame

We got through every posed photo dry. Then we arrived at Country Music Hall of Fame, the sky opened up, and Nashville put out a tornado warning in the middle of cocktail hour. Guests were moved into a safe interior space, and my whole crew — wedding party, bride, groom, all of it — spent a stretch of the evening sheltering together in a stairwell. It's not how I plan a reception to go, but it's the kind of thing you don't forget. I've photographed more weddings and events at Country Music Hall of Fame than I can count at this point, including another Country Music Hall of Fame wedding that came together in its own storm of color and tradition, minus the actual weather alert.

The Party (and the Band, and the Pizza)

Once we got the all-clear, the night picked right back up. The Downtown Band had the room going, guests stayed on the floor all night, party hats came out, and pizza showed up as the late-night snack. Some of my favorite frames from the whole day came off that dance floor. And despite hours of rain sitting right outside every door, Addison stayed dry from getting-ready to last dance.

The Vendor Team

Sutlanco Events led the day with an all-star vendor crew:

Ceremony: Cathedral of the Incarnation
Venue / Catering / Bar / Rentals: Country Music Hall of Fame
Planner: Sutlanco Events
Florals: Geny's Flowers
Cake: Classic Cakes Nashville
Hair/Makeup: One10 Beauty
Band: Downtown Band
Lighting/Draping: Quest Events

Interested in Working Together?

If you're planning a wedding in Nashville and want a team that can handle a Catholic Mass, a last-minute location switch, and a literal tornado warning without missing a beat, take a look at my approach to Nashville wedding photography — then I'd love to hear about it.