From Florals to Fireworks: This Wedding is a Stunner

Katherine McDonald and Coleman Breland grew up in Nashville in overlapping circles. When they both became Georgia Bulldogs, they also became best friends, soaking up college life in Athens, Georgia, together. Between their junior and senior years of college, their love really solidified, and the couple faced some serious post-grad decisions together.

After college, Katherine moved to New York City and Coleman moved back to Nashville. Later, right as Katherine decided to move home to Nashville, too, Coleman embarked on a medical school journey in Memphis, thus continuing their long-distance relationship — albeit with a much shorter distance between them. After four years of road trips and phone chats, Katherine finally made the move to Memphis, and the two were in tandem at last — and one step closer to walking down the aisle.

belle meade wedding- bride and groom kiss

On May 11, 2019, at 6:30 p.m., Katherine and Coleman tied the knot. Come relive their special day with us!

Katherine was so excited for the ceremony to start that she completely forgot her bouquet. “One of the planners had to run behind me and hand them off just as I was walking into the tent. Everyone burst out in laughter — it was one of my favorite moments,” Katherine says.

Coleman and Katherine got engaged on the ski slopes in Aspen, Colorado — literally. Coleman popped off his skis in the middle of a run, descending to one knee in the snow, and completely caught Katherine by surprise with the best question he could have asked. The celebration continued with an afternoon sleigh ride, celebratory dinner and the arrival of the newly engaged couple’s friends from Nashville.

They dove head-first into the planning process alongside Dori Waller at The Social Office, who handled everything from start to finish. “Dori and her team are incredible visionaries and made planning seem like a breeze,” Katherine says. After a year-long engagement, the big day fell perfectly in May between Coleman’s medical school and residency. It also gave them enough time to travel to Indonesia for their honeymoon.

“We buried bourbon and it still rained on our wedding day. The dreary weather turned out to not be such a bad thing after all because my fairy godmother captured the rainwater and put it in a glass jar for us to use at a christening one day,” Katherine says. What a sweet touch to bring into the next chapter.

One remix to a wedding tradition Katherine loved? “Instead of a traditional guest book, Dori had a great idea to have guests write messages on cards and hang them on a small Japanese Maple tree. After the wedding, we planted the tree in our front yard as a constant reminder of our wedding day.”

The bride had always dreamed of an at-home wedding, but the location of her parents’ home on a hill made the logistics complicated. They kept the backyard ceremony smaller (and tented!) and moved the reception to Belle Meade Country Club — which is also where Katherine’s parents had their wedding reception.

As far as the aesthetic, they wanted to play off nature and the green, bountiful springtime Nashville. “Dark green felt like a new neutral to us,” Katherine recalls. FLWR Shop brought their vision to life from the bride’s stunning bouquet to the floating floral cloud over the bar to the arches in the ballroom. They incorporate so much texture and so many unique plants into their work in such unexpected twists. They also enlisted Vroom Vroom Balloon to fill the ceiling in the bathrooms with clear, fern-filled balloons. “We wanted people to feel like they were at a party… the entire time!” Katherine says.

Katherine felt right at home — literally — getting ready for the big night.

How stunning is Katherine’s mother’s gown?!

The happiest husband-to-be, ready to say “I do”!

Picking the dress was one of the hardest parts for Katherine. “Almost every dress is customizable by fabric, color, sleeve, etc., and I tend to be a bit indecisive, so it wasn’t a good combination,” she laughs. Luckily, once she tried on the ultimate winner, she knew it was the right one. She just had to try on a lot of dresses to get there.

After an intimate ceremony that fulfilled a lifelong dream, it was time to party with the roster of roughly 400 guests who joined for the reception. Coleman and Katherine both have large families, and since Katherine’s the only daughter, they kept the number large to include everyone they wanted to celebrate with. Luckily, though, the couple says, “The wedding felt like an intimate gathering to us because it was all of our people.”

bride laughing with groom at belle meade wedding

Katherine’s “something old” was her veil. “My great-grandmother bought the veil in Italy for her granddaughters to wear. All of the women on my mom’s side have worn it — I think I am number eight or so,” Katherine says.

bride and groom walking down the aislebelle meade wedding

Instead of a first look, they wanted to cherish the moment of seeing each other for the first time as Katherine walked down the aisle.

During a lively cocktail hour, they served Belle Meade Country Club’s famous Cucumber Cooler (which they cleverly renamed ‘The McBreeze’) with a “B” ice cube in each. Mini ham biscuits, tomato sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches and grilled cheeses were passed, and a multi-tiered ice sculpture raw bar was a huge hit.

One of the coolest moments of the reception, Katherine recalls, was her first dance with her new husband. They danced to a recording of Katherine’s grandmother singing “Time After Time” by Ella Fitzgerald. “She passed away a few years ago after battling cancer, and I loved that we could have her in the room with us during that special moment,” Katherine says.

They went with a buffet-style feast in order to accommodate the large guest count, and FLWR Shop transformed the ballroom with greenery archways. It evoked the feeling of dining in a lush secret garden.

Katherine and her dad hit the dancefloor to “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder — a classic that guests couldn’t help but sing along to.

Dripping greenery against the crystal and crisp linen sets the most elegant scene.

The All You Need Is Love emblem behind the band added a chic, modern touch to the traditional venue.

As two indecisive people, the bride and groom went with seven different cakes in a variety of flavors. They really wanted their friends and family to experience their own mini cake tasting, as every couple does when menu planning. “We also decided to skip the traditional cutting of the cake altogether because we wanted as much time as possible on the dance floor,” says Katherine.

The dancefloor was full the whole night, and guests were surprised with lots of treats throughout the night like a custom balloon artist and passed French fries. When the party reluctantly came to an end, they made the most impressive getaway we’ve maybe ever heard of: They perched up in the back of Katherine’s dad’s handsome ’59 Chevy Impala in classic white with red interiors. He’s owned the car since before Katherine was born.

They couldn’t choose just one, and now, neither can we.

bride and groom departure with rose petals

Guests threw rose petals, and the bride’s parents surprised everyone with a fireworks display as the car drove off. Wow!

The rain held off just long enough for a spectacular top-down getaway.

bride and groom leave belle meade wedding

Off the Brelands go into wedded bliss — and to Bali (Capella Ubud & Alila Uluwatu) and Sumba (Nihi Sumba), Indonesia, for a honeymoon of epic proportions.

Cheers to you and your beautiful families, Katherine and Coleman! Thanks for letting us relive this day. And thank you to Mary Rosenbaum for the gorgeous photos.