Brittan Thomas & Bradford Townsend Rose

The first and easiest decision we made was that we wanted a destination wedding. After 2020 lockdowns, and time apart from the people we love… we figured everyone needed a vacation! The only problem was I had no idea what I was doing, lol. Luckily, and one of the perks of being from a small town, our neighbor and close family friend of the Rose’s swooped in to the rescue—It’s a bird, it’s a plane… oh wait, even better, it’s Becky! She held our hands through the process of finding the perfect location, venue, and safely deposited us into the hands of our wedding planners (Paradise Wedding Events, PWE). PWE connected us with the best vendors; I may be biased, but I believe that to be an objective fact.
I knew it would be beautiful, because you know… it’s the beach… It's hard to mess that up, but when I arrived for hair and make up I was absolutely floored. Every detail was perfect, even the things I thought I didn’t care about (like napkins - thank you to my mom for convincing me otherwise - she’s the real MVP - love you Mama) came together into exactly what I had envisioned but somehow so much better than I could have ever dreamt. It truly was the best day of our lives, a dream come true. Getting to marry my best friend in the world didn’t hurt either.
While we knew we wanted the ceremony in Mexico, we also wanted to be able to celebrate with everyone knowing that there would be a lot of friends and loved ones who wouldn’t be able to make it to the nuptials. So, we decided to have a domestic reception in my family’s new home of Memphis, TN (recent transplants from Fayetteville, AR). What started out as an idea to have a backyard barbeque took a turn when my mom took me to the Annesdale Mansion. I’m pretty sure I squealed when I got out of the car when we first arrived on the property. I instantly became 12 again, all I could think was “it’s like if Secret Garden and Narnia had a baby”, which for me is the highest praise. Looking around at the stately architecture and grandeur of the property, the decision was made, bye bye BBQ and hello Black Tie. The rest is history. Pure magic. -Brittan