When the Mother of the Bride is a Wedding Industry Pro …
When Bella Bridesmaids owner Melanie Brown planned her daughter’s Nashville wedding, she brought industry know-how to the table. Here’s her insider take on planning a wedding from the other side — including her best advice for moms of brides! Image: Whitney Woodall
When Nashville bridal expert Melanie Brown, owner of Bella Bridesmaids, found herself planning her own daughter’s wedding, she stepped into a role she knows well … but this time, as the mother of the bride. With years of industry experience and deep ties to local vendors (“friendors,” as she fondly refers to them), Melanie brought heart to the planning process — and some expert bridal advice!
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the results when a wedding pro plans one of life’s most personal celebrations. Melanie even shares some of her best insider tips for moms of brides!
For Melanie, the setting for her daughter Tori’s wedding couldn’t have been more sentimental. “The wedding was here in Nashville,” Melanie tells us. “The ceremony was at our church, Otter Creek West End. It used to be West End Church of Christ, and it’s been around for 100 years. It’s a very traditional church, and when Tori was little, she was a flower girl in a wedding there. It was the first church where we worshiped when we moved to Nashville, so it’s special and sentimental. She would say, ‘One day, I’ll be the bride.’ And then she was!”
The reception was equally memorable. “We had a church ceremony, and then the reception was at a new venue in Germantown called The Sloane. I think there was only one other wedding before ours,” Melanie shares. “There had been smaller events, but it was the biggest wedding that they’d had yet. It’s stunning and very different from other venues here, so it really fit the bill. Tori has been in about 11 weddings, so to come up with ‘unique’ is not easy!”
As for what led up to the wedding day, Tori and Tommy had what one might call a “modern meet-cute.”
“They actually met through Hinge,” Melanie says. “Tori was just about to give up on the dating apps, and one of her friends said, ‘Before you delete those, do you want me to check and see if there’s anything you should look at?’ So, she passed her phone, and as she was scrolling through, her friend was like, ‘Oh, this guy looks promising.'”
Before long, wedding plans were underway.
As a seasoned pro in the bridal world, Melanie had plenty of connections she could call on during the planning process. “I call them my ‘friendors’ — my vendors, who are my friends,” she explains. “I knew I could trust them, let them do what they do best, relax, and enjoy this season of life.”
Even though she knew the importance of letting professionals do their work, there were moments Melanie had to remind herself she wasn’t the one calling the shots. Switching from her business owner hat to her mom hat wasn’t always simple. “One of the benefits of having relationships with these people is building trust and knowing how much pride they take in their work — just like I do. But I’m very detail-oriented.”
That detail-oriented nature did kick in with one element: invitations. “We were going to use an online resource for the invitation suite, and I just wasn’t feeling great about what they were telling us and how they had no flexibility,” Melanie says.
“So it was very last-minute, and they worked us in, but we ended up working with White Ink Calligraphy. We went to their studio. We met with them face to face. They squeezed us in. And then I just felt total peace about it — I thought, This is a name and a face I trust. This is coming together the way that we had hoped now.”
Lucky for Tori, her mother was by her side throughout the planning process. “Tori had a big vision,” Melanie laughs. “We like a formal event, so we had a black-tie optional dress code. It was colorful, fun but formal, very Southern, and almost a little preppy. It was very Nashville. We even chose the foods based on things that spoke to Nashville. The venue itself has a bit of a European flair, and Tori is a big traveler, so there was a European sense to it, too. Colorful flowers played into the vision — peonies, and things like that.”
The women also enlisted the help of a wedding coordinator. “Early on, having a solid timeline for the planning was important to us,” Melanie tells us. “Nobody has ever had to sell me on the importance of a good wedding coordinator, so that was an easy decision. My opinion on that didn’t change, but it’s cemented now! I could talk about Casey all day.”
The dress was a highlight. “Getting her wedding gown was such a beautiful moment,” Melanie says. “We ended up getting Tori’s dress at The Bride Room in Green Hills. It was a princess experience — all of that attention and joy.”
The morning of the wedding was relaxed and joyful. “We were at The Sloane all morning,” says Melanie. “They started hair and makeup pretty early because of the number of bridesmaids (eight), Tori, and me. Everybody was so relaxed. We had mimosas and snacks. We would sneak out to look at the ballroom every few minutes to see as the florist came in and the chairs and tables got set.”
There was no first look; the bride and groom got their first glimpse at the altar. “That was a compromise for me,” explains Melanie. “But Tommy only asked for two things: a live band at the reception and to see her for the first time walking down the aisle. It was beautiful, sweet, and special for them.”
So what were Melanie’s favorite moments from the big day? “I will always remember the look on their faces as she walked down that aisle toward him. He was so excited, I thought he was going to run down and meet her halfway and get her! They were so happy,” Melanie recalls.
Another highlight came before the ceremony: “Traveling to the venue that morning, it was just my husband, me, and our two daughters. We don’t often get that. And that was sweet.”
Following the ceremony, the guests gathered at The Sloane for a lively celebration filled with Southern flavors, personal touches, and nonstop music. Cocktail hour set the tone for a fun, flavorful evening, with hors d’oeuvres like chicken and waffles, pimento cheese, ham biscuits, and signature drinks that reflected the couple’s personalities.
Dinner was served buffet-style. “Prime rib, roasted chicken with cream sauce, green beans, and roasted potatoes,” Melanie recalls, and dessert offered a sweet surprise. “We did not have a traditional big wedding cake,” Melanie says. “We were having trouble settling on a bakery and a flavor … One day, I said, ‘What if we just got a lot of cakes?'” They did precisely that, and guests loved it.
As the evening drew to a close, the celebration ended on a playful, picture-perfect note. “They departed through bubbles,” Melanie says. The light-filled sendoff was a joyful finale, giving guests one last chance to cheer for the newlyweds before they headed into married life.
Straight from the Aisle: Melanie’s Best Advice for Mothers of the Bride
Don’t lose sight of what really matters.
This is Melanie’s number one tip for mothers of the bride. “With every interaction with your children, your number one goal is to have a relationship with them,” she says. “There are very few things that are worth compromising that relationship.”
Hire the pros.
People ask me,” When a couple gets engaged, is the first thing you tell them to shop at Bella Bridesmaids?” And I say, “No. Hire a wedding planner, then come shop at Bella Bridesmaids!” She also says it’s important to let the professionals do their business, because “there are so many details and decisions to be made.”
Let others help.
“If your friends say, ‘What can I do to help you?’ Give them a job. Let them help you,” she advises. “Let somebody bring you food when you’re tired. Let somebody pick something up for you.”
Above all, enjoy it!
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing to celebrate,” she says. “Being married for 36 years makes me even more aware of how important it is to celebrate the beginning. Don’t be too stressed. There are so many details that could consume you. So, perspective about the day, the beauty, and the joy should stay first and foremost. Don’t get bogged down in too many minutiae. You have to go into these situations knowing whatever curveball comes at you, it’s going to be okay.”
Thank you for all your sage advice, Melanie, and congrats to Tori and Tommy!
RESOURCES
Ceremony: Otter Creek Church, West End
Reception: The Sloane
Photographer: Whitney Woodall
Planner: Casey Cannon, EBJ and Co
Bride’s Gown: Anne Barge from The Bride Room; Alterations: Karen Hendrix Couture
Reception dress: Watters from Bella Bridesmaids Nashville
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Amsale “Belle” from Bella Bridesmaids Nashville
Hair & Makeup: Nashville Wedding Stylist by MHD Beauty
Groom’s Formalwear: Indochino
Invitations, seating chart, bar signs, calligraphy: White Ink Calligraphy
Flowers: Cali Roots Designs
Catering: Town & Table
Cocktails: J Jackson Mixology
Entertainment: 30 Vice
Cake: Baked on 8th
Rentals: Curated Events, Southern Events
STYLEBLUEPRINT RESOURCES:
Planning a wedding? Check out StyleBlueprint’s two Wedding Resource Guides. (More to come!):
- StyleBlueprint Nashville’s Wedding Resource Guide
- StyleBlueprint Birmingham’s Wedding Resource Guide
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Jenna von Oy Bratcher
Jenna von Oy Bratcher is StyleBlueprint's Associate Editor and Lead Nashville Writer. The East Coast native moved to Nashville almost two decades years ago, by way of Los Angeles. She is a lover of dogs, strong coffee, traveling, and exploring the local restaurant scene bite by bite.