RECENT WORK FROM ERIN LEE ALLENDER PHOTOGRAPHY.
Childhood Home Wedding in Lascassas, TN - Katie and Matt
Katie and Matt’s beautiful fall wedding at photographed at Katie’s childhood home outside of Nashville in Lascassas, TN.
There is nothing more charming than photographing a backyard wedding at a childhood family home. I get such joy walking through a house looking at all the family photos and seeing pictures of my client as a little child. It’s easy in my job to look at a wedding as formula. First we do the getting ready photos, then we do the portraits, then comes the ceremony, and so forth. Seeing a photographic timeline of how a client came to be where they are now and knowing how much love their parents have for their no longer little baby, whips everything back into focus (pun intended). Having your wedding or reception where you grew up adds history and depth that isn’t possible in a venue. It also adds so much more work. SO MUCH MORE and you really need to be ready for a massive commitment. You also must have a coordinator and not just a day of coordinator, but I digress.
Katie and Matt were married last fall in Lascassas, TN at her family church, Lascassas First Baptist. Lascassas is about 50 miles outside of Nashville. The reception followed at her childhood home. The view was absolutely gorgeous and there were horses. What could be better? The couple was ADORABLE. You couldn’t help but be happy around Katie. Her joy and enthusiasm bubbles over. You’ll see it in the photos. We photographed around the town of Lascassas and I got to hear all the stories about different shops and their owners. One of the best moments was their exit when their guests threw paper airplanes at the couple. Katie is a flight attendant! Their reception dance floor was hilarious. Katie’s dad, who appeared to be a reserved man, really let loose and had all of us in stitches. I hope you enjoy some of my favorite images from Katie and Matt’s childhood home wedding in Lasscassas, TN. See their vendors below.
Here are links to more home weddings I’ve photographed:
Allison & Alex
Sarah & Simon
Julia & Ryan
Lauren & Michael
Planner - Simply Yours Weddings
Florist- Murfreesboro Flower Shoppe
Catering - Tasty Table Murfreesboro
Reception Music- Premier
Rentals- Southern Events Online
Lighting- Bright Event Productions
Coffee & Donuts- Donut Country Mufreesboro
Paper Goods- Designs in Paper
Loveless Summer Wedding - Shannon & Mike
Two Vanderbilt Residents fell in love and had their wedding at The Village Chapel and the Loveless Barn in Nashville, TN. Portraits were photographed on Vanderbilt’s campus.
Oh Shannon and Mike! These two are just too adorable for words. They are also part of my Vanderbilt Residency Squad (we have a squad now guys) and I just love all of them. Their wedding was beautiful. So much laughing, so many tears, and an ice cream bar. Although they met years before at a college they were both considering, their relationship didn’t begin until they were both internal medicine residents at Vanderbilt. Because of this, we did their portraits on the campus of Vanderbilt University. See their super cute story below!
“We actually met in 2010 at Duke Medical School's second look weekend (which is when they invite accepted students back to visit the school as they try to convince us to come there). There were probably a few hundred people there, but we met and talked about how we liked to hike and kayak (and how we both liked Vanderbilt haha). Then, all of us boarded a bus to spend the afternoon at the Raleigh History Museum. About an hour or two in, Mike turned to a large group of us asking if anyone else wanted to explore the town since he had already seen the entire museum. Everyone said no, except me! We walked around the town and went to a coffee shop together. It wasn't anything particularly romantic at the time. We then went to separate medical schools... until we both matched at Vanderbilt for internal medicine residency! We definitely remembered each other. We were friends for a little over a year before we started dating. The rest is history!”
Please enjoy Shannon & Mike’s Loveless Summer Wedding sneak peek and special thanks to their vendors!
Planning & Design: EBJ & Company
Ceremony: The Village Chapel
Reception & Food: The Loveless Barn
Florist: Gradient & Hue
Hair: Lynn Peadro
Makeup: Hope Gentry Miller
Lighting & Draping: Southern Sky Event Lighting
Ice Cream Bar: Pied Piper Creamery
Transportation: Signature Transportation
Ceremony Musicians: The Calla String Trio
Wedding Dress: Arzelle’s
Bridesmaids: Azazie
Groom’s Suit: Bonobos
Groomsmen’s Suits: Generation Tux
Monsoon Wedding Weekend - Allison & Tim
A rainy wedding at Green Door Gourmet, and organic farm in Nashville Tennessee, photographed by Erin Lee Allender.
Allison and Tim! The first time I met them, I instantly knew I wanted to work with them because I loved their attitudes. Despite the monsoon we had in Nashville this weekend, they still had the best attitudes. And because of Allison's willingness to tromp around in rain boots all day and their willingness to get a little wet, we still got great outdoor photographs. It took some umbrellas, some overhangs, and some grumpy faces from their adorable dog, Birch, but we got them.
I have to say that I love it when couples have bigger families. It can be a lot more work for me, but there is just something about the bonds that they have and the fact that there is always some wedding tradition that they have....it usually includes some sort of reception prop. In Allison and Tim's case, light up tambourines. From all the tears, the blow up dinosaur, the toast, the signing of Backstreet Boys by the whole dance floor, to the most rampant "Shout" dancing I have ever seen, this wedding was wonderful. I am so, so glad that I got to be a part of it. Please enjoy!
Special thanks to all the hardworking vendors:
Planning & Design: Locklane Weddings & Events
Venue: Green Door Gourmet
Hair & Makeup: K Miller Artistry
Bartending Services: Hamilton Bartending Services
Wedding Gown: The Dress Theory
Cake: Kay McConfections
Catering: Smoke Et Al
DJ: Choice DJs
Florist: The Farmers Florist
Rentals: Southern Events Party Rental
A Family Affair – Emily & Josh
Emily & Josh had an intimate wedding on Josh's family farm in Kentucky. From her mother's reworked wedding dress to the framed wedding photos of their parents used as centerpieces, the wedding centered around their love and respect for their parents and their marriages. Photographed by Erin Lee Allender of Nashville, Tennessee.
I have been hired to shoot in Kentucky several times over the past few years and I am in love with the landscape. I am also loving all these intimate weddings and the weddings that are taking place on family property that I am getting to shoot. So this wedding was right up my alley. Emily was in the army and one day while visiting a church near where she is stationed, Josh sat in the same pew as her. They said maybe two words to each other. She was smitten. A few weeks later Josh asked Emily to go out to lunch with him after church. They barely talked the whole time. She was even more smitten. Josh is a man of few words but is extremely kind and personable and Emily fell in love.
Emily and Josh wanted to have a wedding that was centered around them becoming husband and wife but also about the marriages that were the greatest examples to them, their parents'. The wedding and reception took place on Josh’s parents’ property. Emily’s dress was reworked from her mother’s wedding dress. Framed wedding photos of each of their parents functioned as table decor. It was charming and so was this couple and their family. It was a delightful day filled with a s'mores bar, a bonfire, old fashion soda bottles (where I'm from it's pop by the way), and Josh’s old blue truck. They had no more than 50 people and that consisted of mainly family members. Please enjoy this very sweet wedding.
Intimate Farm Wedding - Katelyn & Matthew
Katelyn & Matthew had a ceremony with only their immediate family and the rest of their guests joined them later at the Barn at Events at East 96 for their reception. Photographed by Erin Lee Allender outside of Nashville, TN.
I recently had the opportunity of photographing Katelyn & Matthew's little baby girl (post coming soon), but 2 years ago, I had the wonderful pleasure of photographing their wedding!
It is always such a honor to be asked to photograph a wedding of a bridesmaid from a previous wedding that you photographed. I remember Katelyn telling me at Dani’s wedding that if she ever got married she was going to hire me. So I was overjoyed when she contacted me because she was engaged and planning her wedding. Katelyn and Matthew are just the absolute cutest. They glow in each other’s presence. I honestly don’t think I have had a more excited bride. She kept telling herself to breathe because she could not hold in her excitement.
Matthew is a farmer and because of that they chose Events at East 96. Kate hales from Boston and she wanted her Bostonian family and friends to experience the world that she now lives in. Katelyn and Matthew decided that they wanted to have a small intimate ceremony at Events at East 96 with only family. A couple hours later they had their friends arrive at the venue via a party bus for a bigger but laid back reception. It was an incredibly fun and personal day and I love that I got to work with them.
