Photos by She, He, We Photography

Did you see the Buzzfeed article, “Couples who absolutely nailed their rainy day wedding?”  We would love to add Cedarwood’s California destination-wedding couple, Nina and Andrew, to this list!  We recently reconnected with Nina and Andrew, who will celebrate their two-year anniversary on June 22 (see details of their California Shabby Chic wedding feature here.)  Nina shared additional photos and memories most dear to them two years later.

“It was Fall 2012 when we came to visit Cedarwood from California to start our wedding planning process. In one session, we chose food, decor and sketched out our timeline of how we wanted our Wedding Day to play out. It was a wonderful process and we left the property knowing that we left our wedding day in good hands. Planning a destination wedding can be scary and stressful, having to relinquish control of your wedding day to someone else. But throughout the entire process, Cedarwood’s professionalism, personality and confidence in what they do, time and time again, put our worries at ease. There were many of times our parents would ask us about certain things involving the wedding. We didn’t know the answer, but we knew it would be taken care of and all we would tell them is, “Don’t worry, wait until you see it..it is going to be AMAZING.”

On June 22, 2013, the bus arrived at Cedarwood with the women of our wedding party. It was a beautiful spring day in Tennessee. The minute I stepped out of the bus, my mind was at ease. It was everything we had hoped and planned for and more. The grounds looked gorgeous, the flowers were amazing, and the decor looked like a wedding you would pin to your wall on Pinterest as your dream wedding. The day was going along perfectly — we had our First Look, we took our group pictures, we had a wonderful ceremony, we were at the lake taking our couple’s pictures — and all of a sudden we felt a drip, drop, drip, drop. The sky opened up into a downpour. One would think this would have been the worst thing ever to happen at your OUTDOOR wedding, and for a moment we were stunned (there was a zero percent chance of rain in the forecast!)  The Cedarwood staff raced us to shelter, and then they pulled together and made what could have been a disaster, into one of the most talked about, memorable moments of our entire day. Looking back, that rain could not have been any more perfect. Yes, they had to move all of our dinner tables under the pavilion, but the extra time it took to do that, made for the best cocktail hour ever. And once the rain stopped, the mist on the lawn with the steam coming off, the sound of frogs and the flicker of fireflies made for quite the picturesque evening.

We did not do traditional wedding events – we even told our wedding director, Kortni, to cut the cake without us because we were having so much fun on the dance floor. We would not change one thing about the day.  Two years later, we still talk about our wedding at least a couple of times a week. Our friends and family still comment about how amazing and unique it was, and how it was perfectly “like us.”  The Cedarwood staff made our day EXTRAORDINARY. If we could repeat our Cedarwood celebration every year, we would. Thank you for everything that you are and all that you do to make each and every couple’s wedding extraordinary. You are truly AMAZING.” – Nina and Andrew Trenev

 

Thanks Nina and Andrew for sharing your lovely words and gracious acknowledgement of the Cedarwood team.  It means the world to us! Thanks also for your beautiful way of being, your inspiring love and your wedding story.  Be sure to see their original wedding post with more lovely details of their day here,  with photos by She, He, We Photography.

And if it rains on YOUR wedding day? These two great articles offer more good advice (and confirm how many things Nina and Andrew did right!)

5 tips to make sure your rainy wedding day is absolutely amazing 

10 things every bride should do on her wedding day

Linda and the Cedarwood Event Team