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CJ’s Off the Square || Nashville, TN || Mariah & Slade

CJ’s Off the Square Wedding

You guys, I have checked off another goal wedding venue. I have wanted to shoot a CJ’s Off the Square wedding for SO long. It is one of those venues that was in Nashville before it became cool to be in Nashville. A Nashville original, if you will. The month I moved to Nashville, I had just graduated with my master’s and was waiting to start my first real, big girl job at Ernst & Young. I had taken the final section of my CPA exam right before I left Knoxville and was getting the results that first week I was in Nashville. I sat on my bed, my heart beating frantically, my palms a little sweaty and feeling so shaky. I kept refreshing the page waiting for my score to pop up, and then, it did. I passed. I was officially a CPA. I studied ALL SUMMER LONG, sat for four 3-4 hour long tests, and FINALLY passed my last one. I knew nothing really about Nashville, so to celebrate, I went by myself to downtown Franklin and walked the streets with an iced coffee in my hand. I went into every single cute little shop. Smelled ALL the candles, ALL the soaps, bought a cute outfit from Philanthropy, and basked in the freedom of never having to sit for another CPA exam in my life. As I neared the end of all the cute little shops, I saw CJ’s Off the Square in the distance. I was two years into being a part-time wedding photographer, and it caught my eye. I wandered down there and saw that it was an upscale wedding and event venue. Right then and there, I put it on my list to photograph a wedding there. It was so cute and so quaint, and it just looked so fancy to my naive, early 20’s eyes. Fast forward nearly 8 years later, and that goal can officially be checked off my list. I’m happy to say that shooting a CJ’s Off the Square wedding lived up to every fancy expectation I had about it in 2012 when I walked the streets of the adorable downtown Franklin. CJ, herself, being literally one of the best parts.

Mariah & Slade

It has been utter joy working with Mariah and Slade. One of my most frequently asked questions is, “What are some bridezilla stories you’ve accumulated over the years?” My response is always, “Honestly, I don’t really have bridezillas as clients. All of my clients are generally pretty laid back and have invested enough in all the professionals around them to just sit back and trust that we will do it better than they can even imagine!” As chill as all of them are, Mariah is even chiller than that. I asked her, “Do you care if your train drags on this brick for a walking shot?” “Not at all! I want the awesome pictures!” “Do you care if we go ahead and get you dressed so as soon as your mom comes in from HMU she can come right over and do the final touches?” “That sounds great, whatever it takes to stay on time!” “Are your feet good to walk a block over to shoot some gorgeous sunset photos?” “Absolutely, let’s do it!” Literally the whole day, this is how amazing they both were.

One of my favorite parts from Mariah and Slade’s wedding was the dance floor. This is not something you typically hear from me (or any photographer for that matter), but their dance floor was F.U.N. They ALWAYS had a crowd out there bustin’ a move, and the best part was the age range that always represented through each and every song. Both Mariah and Slade’s grandparents were out there for a TON of songs, their parents held it down for most of the night, their bridal party kept it young the entire time, and Mariah and Slade rarely left, as well. All the people could dance, and you could tell that every single person was having the night of their life. What a joy it had to have been for Mariah and Slade to look around at all of their favorite people and see them having such an amazing time in celebration of their marriage to one another.

I’m so thankful they chose me to be a part of their day. It was an honor, and I think it’s safe to say that even their vendors had a great time!

bride getting ready at CJ's Off the Square wedding

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