Photos by Hannah Elaine Photography

When leaving Cedarwood after their October 25 wedding celebration, Maggie Nichols and Firas Wehbe told us it was “an absolutely perfect day and everything they dreamed and more!”

Starting with a perfect mild and sunny fall day, Maggie and Firas’ outdoor ceremony was an inspirational blend of cultures featuring a reading from “The Prophet” by the Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran, Apache and Irish Blessings, and a Hand Ceremony ritual. If you aren’t familiar with a Hand Ceremony, it signifies strengthening the union of Maggie and Firas through their connection of hands and hearts.  It’s a great addition to a wedding ceremony!

After the ceremony officially uniting these two hearts, the celebration began! Self-professed “foodies,”  Maggie and Firas wowed  guests with gourmet food and great wine at every turn.  One thing that made the reception so wonderful was the blend of beautiful details and delicious delicacies that kept guests wondering what’s next.

After a lively cocktail reception in the Cedarwood barn (check out the feature blog post, “Mix It Up”)  dinner in the Pavilion was a creative combination of local and seasonal dishes by Clean Plate Club :  Roasted jumbo shrimp on Falls Mills grits over sauteed local collard greens with collard green confetti, turnip cream soup with apple puree swirl and fried apple crisp, cumin and turbinado rubbed smoked chicken with fall fruit compote, butternut squash bread pudding, wok-charred green beans and homemade breads with Amish butter. That’s what we call country gourmet!

A great dinner is even greater when followed by an oh so yummy designer wedding cake by Patty Cakes. The groom’s “Darth Vader” cake (also by Patty Cakes) was a passionate request from Firas! Who could resist this ominous hunk of dark chocolate?

The natural beauty of the Cedarwood setting, flowers and wedding design were scenic equivalents of gourmet.  Maggie and Firas choose organic and seasonal decor with brown linens, burlap overlays, moss green accents and nature’s adornments of pine cones, moss, acorns and fall flowers, berries and twigs.  All pulled together by the Cedarwood Design Team, of course!

Firas and Maggie surprised guests with unique favors to take home:  custom designed Hatch Show Print wedding announcements designed by Firas featuring their monogram in Arabic! A personal tribute to their union, blending cultures AND a work of art from one of Nashville’s landmark companies. Well done!

Thanks Maggie and Firas for the honor of hosting your beautiful country gourmet celebration at Historic Cedarwood. It was truly delicious down to every detail. Thanks to the talented Hannah Elaine Photography for sharing these images.

Linda & the Cedarwood Event Team