Historic Westwood Wedding || Knoxville, TN Photographer || Alysha + JP

The Wedding and the Venues:

The title of this blog post is a little bit deceiving. Alysha and JP didn’t actually get married at the Historic Westwood wedding  venue, BUT, we did end up taking all of their formal portraits there (except for the family), so that’s definitely the venue that is most highlighted throughout the images below. Last week I shared Alysha’s bridal portraits with you that were also taken at the Historic Westwood. You can see that blog post here. I told you in that blog post just how amazing the Historic Westwood was to work with, but I want to reiterate again, they were so INCREDIBLE. Just in case you weren’t aware, they give free tours daily AND you can make a donation to them on their website here! The site coordinator spent some time with the bridal party on the wedding day and shared some of the ghost stories they tell on their tours, and I’m not going to lie, I really want to sit there and listen to them… they were so intriguing! Alysha and JP also used the Marriott in downtown Knoxville for both their getting ready location as well as their reception site. A little tip for brides that are going to be using a hotel to get ready in… I recommend the downtown Knoxville Marriott because the room they offer has one entire wall of floor to ceiling windows that floods in a ton of natural light. But just in case you’re in another city or not anywhere near downtown, ALWAYS ask the hotel if they have a room that you could get ready in that’s NOT a hotel room. For the most part (very few exceptions), hotel rooms themselves have TERRIBLE lighting and teeny tiny windows and bathrooms. Normally all the vendors are crowded around the one window in the room and outlets are scarce and there’s just not a ton of room to move around or for you and your bridesmaid’s to put all your stuff (even in the suites!). I was super impressed with Alysha’s getting ready room that was totally separate from the rest of the hotel rooms at the Marriott. Then for the ceremony they used First Baptist Church in Powell, TN. It was so great because it held 500+ guests comfortably and had great spot lights on the stage with plenty of side aisles for all of the photographers and videographers to work the angles without blocking any guests’ views or be a distraction.

Story of the Day:

This is always one of my favorite sections. This wedding had SO many amazing parts to it. Their getting ready space, Alysha’s long sleeve dress, her absolutely beautiful bridesmaids, the Historic Westwood as the portrait location, the limos that escorted the entire bridal party around all day, the fact that hair and makeup finished 2 hours ahead of schedule (2 hours!!!!!), the sweet first look, the incredibly awesome and different reception meal, and I could seriously go on and on… but my absolute favorite thing was the SNOW!!!!!! Anyone who knows me, knows I’m not a fan of cold weather, unless that cold weather is accompanied by the majestic snow. There’s just something about it that is so calming and peaceful and absolutely glorious. This was the first time I’ve ever gotten to shoot a wedding in the snow… and let me tell ya, it pretty much rocked. The night before, I made my husband park my car at the bottom of the hill that we live on just in case it snowed… then I went to bed that night praying hard for snow that would still allow guests to get there and the limos to maneuver the bridal party around. I cannot even describe to you my excitement when I woke up January 7th morning and there it was. Then to top it all off, we even had GORGEOUS sunlight come through the trees that didn’t melt the snow. Definitely the best of both worlds. I have to also give a shout out to Alysha and the bridesmaids for braving that snow for me because it was COLD outside and they didn’t have any scarves or jackets or furs. None of them complained for one second, they just bit the bullet, and did it and I am oh so thankful for that because we got some incredible shots! I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it a million times more, but I LOVE winter weddings!

Wedding Photos:

Wedding Vendors:

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Ceremony Venue: First Baptist Church of Powell

Reception Venue: Marriott Downtown Knoxville

Portraits Venue: Historic Westwood

Wedding Coordinator: The Lovely Things

Videographer: Evoke Story Group

Florist: Lisa Foster Floral Design

Cake Artist: Sweet Beginnings by Elaine

DJ and Celebration Strings Quartet: Special Notes Entertainment

Makeup: Makeup by Chesni

Hair Artist: Whitney Evans Beauty

Wedding and Bridesmaid Dress Store: Alfred Angelos

Men’s suits: Men’s Wearhouse

Limo: Elite Limos

Second Photographer: Erin Turner Photo