This Month’s Featured Wedding :: Cristina+ TC

We asked one of our brides, the newly married Mrs. Cristina Forscht, to tell us all about her amazing ceremony and reception at aVenue that took place this past August. She was absolutely excited to gives all the fantastic details of her special day. Congratulations, again to Cristina and TC.

About the Bride

Bride’s Name:  Cristina Elaine Forscht

Hometown: Cookeville, Tennessee

Education:  Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN (Bachelors)

About the Groom

Groom’s Name:  Thomas Charles Forscht III (T.C.)

Hometown:  Snellville, GA

Education:  University of Georgia in Athens, GA (Bachelors)

About the Couple

Our Maid of Honor is responsible for introducing us. In May of 2009 a big group of us went out to a bar in Brentwood  TN for free beer Friday.  We met and hung out that night and then didn’t really hang out again until a few months later. On August 7, 2009 we ran into each other in downtown Nashville. TC pretty much ditched his friends and hung out with me and my friends the rest of the night as well as the next day. After many texts that week, TC asked me out on our first date. He picked me up on Friday, August 14, 2009 and took me to Arrington Vineyards. He had a picnic packed and everything, it was perfect. We were never at a loss for words, and had so much fun that night. I knew then that this could be the beginning of something very special, and it definitely was. 

The Proposal

We had just gotten back from a trip to Mexico with TC’s family. We decided that for our 2 anniversary, which was on a Sunday, we would just do our normal routine. This consisted of exchanging gifts that morning and heading to Arrington later that day for some wine and snacks. We exchanged gifts that morning and then got ready to head to Arrington, no big deal. (By the way my gift was a Tiffany’s bracelet with August 14, 2011 engraved on it, little did I know what was to come on this date.)When we arrived TC unpacked our picnic and poured us each a glass of wine. TC decides we should walk around the vineyards since it was such a nice day and not too crowded. As we are walking, TC spots a swing up on a hill under a tree so we head there to have a seat. As we are swinging he looks at me and says, “you have on all your jewelry I have ever bought you today don’t you?”  I said, “yes I always wear it.” (This consists of earrings, the bracelet from earlier in the day, a necklace, and watch.) He then says, “well all that’s missing is a ring.” I laughed, and was not amused because I think he is just joking. Next thing I know, he is pulling a ring box out of his pocket, opens it up and asks me to marry him. Unfortunately, I’m not very good at this and the first words out of my mouth are “you’re supposed to be on one knee.” After I realized this was for real, I of course said “YES” and we then said “I DO” on August 11, 2012. 

About the Wedding

Ceremony: 8/11/2012

Ceremony Location: aVenue

Reception: aVenue

Number of guests: 135

Your  Wedding Style:  There was no set “theme” but I knew I wanted the night to be elegant and very romantic, but I also wanted to make sure everyone had an awesome time!

Colors and why you chose them: Black, silver, and raspberry! Black was definitely my first choice, but I didn’t want the normal black and white, which is where silver came in. The next step was a color to make things pop, and I didn’t want pink or purple, so I decided raspberry was a good in between. 

Wedding WOW Factor: Everyone seemed to love the venue. When our wedding party saw the venue on Friday at Rehearsal they fell in love with it. And then on Saturday when everything was all decorated and set up, it was just amazing!

Favors: When our out of town guests, staying at the Hampton Inn right down from the venue, checked into their hotel room, they were greeted with welcome bags. The bags had bottled water, some snacks, and a few brochures for attractions/things to do in Nashville. We opted to skip the traditional groom’s cake, and have a cigar bar. I loved the idea and it was something TC had always wanted to do. Guests had different types of cigars to choose from, a personalized matchbox with our names and wedding date on it, a cigar cutter, chocolate cigars (for those who didn’t smoke), or a mini cigar bag to go (in case you didn’t want to smoke there, but wanted to enjoy the cigar bar later on.) We also had mini wedding cake cookies that were individually wrapped. They were tied together with a black ribbon that had our names and wedding date on it. 

Personalized Touches: So many little things were done by my mom. She put together our programs herself (we got the idea from Pinterest), she personalized votive candle holders with a ribbon and rhinestone buckle to spread throughout the venue, and our card box had a picture of TC and I on each of the four sides and a plate on top with our names and wedding date on it. Everywhere you turned there was something that was personalized, which is how we wanted it. 

Gifts for Bridesmaids / Groomsmen: 

The Bridesmaids got a tote with their monogram embroidered on it (each tote was different to fit their personality), a button down shirt with their monogram embroidered to wear while we got ready on Saturday, and a pair of earrings to wear with their dresses.

The Groomsmen got a cooler with their initials embroidered on it, golf polo with their initials, our wedding date, and a Miller Lite logo embroidered on it, and a bottle opener that also had a flashlight and pocket knife attached to it. 

Your most special moment: The “First Look” TC stood in front of the stage with his back turned. I walked down the aisle staring at him and then tapped him on the shoulder to turn around. The look on his face and the excitement I felt to see him is something I will never forget. The moment we shared was so special because it was just us (and the photographer of course) and this is really the only time you get as a couple the whole day of the wedding. This moment was by far the best part of the day for me! 

What was your favorite element of your wedding? The lighting and the overall feel of the venue. The chandeliers that hung were amazing, the up lighting on the walls was perfect, and the personalized GOBO’s were just as I had imagined. Everything just looked so great together! 

What did you splurge on?  Was it worth the extra money? Our invitations, but I fell in love with them when I saw them. Designs in Paper is AMAZING, and they created all of our paper products for our wedding. Catering was also pricey, but food was very important to us as we didn’t want our guests leaving hungry. 

What did you save on?  What was the best value for your money? Our cake, mini desserts, and cookie favors were all done by Silver Box Cakes, so that saved some time and money by having one person create them all. 

What would you do differently if you were planning again?  I tried to do too many things at once. I thought it would be best to get as much done as quickly as possible, but I quickly found out that was a bad idea. I should have focused on one piece of the puzzle at a time before moving on to the next one. This would have saved me a lot of stress and headache. 

What would you recommend to other Brides? Take the next step and hire your event designer to also be your “day of ceremony and reception coordinator.” It’s well worth the extra money and takes so much stress off of you, and your family.

Tell us anything about your wedding that you would find useful for other Brides planning their wedding.  Tips, tricks, advice, vendor recommendations, etc. are all helpful!  

If you are going to have out of town guests, especially ones that have never visited Nashville, I highly recommend Welcome Bags. They are just a neat way to welcome your friends and family to your wedding weekend, as well as let them know you appreciate them making the trip. All it takes is a few snacks and some brochures with things to do near your venue. Little things like that mean more than you know.

For advice, I would say the big thing is to start envisioning your day. Make notes anytime you come up with an idea, and ask about them. It doesn’t mean you have to follow through with the idea, but it’s worth looking into. Before you know it, you will have a few aspects of your day figured out and everything else will kind of start to fall into place. From there, the look and feel for your day that you have envisioned will become a reality instead of a dream. Ask your vendors and event designer questions, that’s what they are there for. If you don’t get the answer you want, ask again, don’t give up on what you want. If you feel like something is a little too pricey, ask what the alternative is. Honestly, 9 times out of 10 you will be able to find an alternative that suits your needs and will fit in your budget.

As I said earlier Designs in Paper is absolutely fabulous. Steve and Donette go above and beyond to make you happy. All of our paper products including our Save the Dates, Invitations, Program Inserts, Bar signs, and Reserved signs came from them. Everything went together so perfectly and each paper product is something I will keep and cherish forever.

Also, A Village of Flowers is great to work with. My mom and I walked into their store and knew nothing about flowers. We told them what we had in mind as far as colors go and they totally took our ideas and ran with them. Our flower arrangements on the tables, my girl’s bouquets as well as mine, and the guy’s boutonnieres were exactly as I had pictured them in my head.

Our photographer was amazing! Hannah Elaine Photography did our engagement pictures, as well as our wedding pictures. We couldn’t be happier with the way all of our pictures turned out. Photos are something you will look at for the rest of your life, so make sure you take your time picking out the right photographer. Also our package included a photo booth and we are so glad we decided to include this in our day. Our guests really enjoyed it, and it gives them something to always remember how much fun they had!

Lastly, this is the one day in your life you deserve to be selfish. Pamper yourself and enjoy the day. I highly suggest having your make-up done by a professional. There is nothing more relaxing than sitting around with your girl’s while being beautified. It’s one less thing you have to worry about, so just sit back and enjoy feeling like a celebrity. Katie Russo Beauty did my make-up and this was definitely one of the best investments for my wedding day!

Here is a photo gallery of beautiful images from Cristina and TC’s elegant and romantic ceremony and reception…