Spotlight on Sugar Grove Carriage House

Every couple and every wedding professional that I know who has visited this lovely new venue this year has come away amazed with its beauty and peacefulness. We featured it in one of our recent gown photo shoots. What we haven't mentioned, until now, is it's amazing versatility.

The Carriage house is intentionally kept undecorated by the owners so you can add your own personal touches for the look you desire for your event. Recently, Betsy Fentress Interiors decorated the Carriage House for a dinner function she held. Betsy, and brother Rick, made the Carriage House look like an Oriental Palace for their very formal evening catered dinner, hosted for their very special friends and clients. As you can see from the photos below, with this simple country setting any decorators theme is made possible with a little imagination. The sky is the limit.







The Sugar Grove Carriage House, located conveniently off I-24 in Oak Grove, KY, is available for viewing by appointment only. Please call 270-886-2871 to schedule your visit.

Spotlight on Something Blue Bridal Shoppe

by Abbey Fender

Something Blue bridal shoppe is a local retailer that specializes in bridal and formalwear, as well as pageant, prom, tuxedos and accessories. We have recently relocated our business from the downtown square of Springfield to Sango in Clarksville. The reason for our move was that the majority of our business was already coming from Clarksville, so we made the obvious choice of relocating to where our main business was coming from.
Establishing and maintaining any small business is a challenge, but when doing it with family members it can be especially difficult! It is also a very rewarding and creative process that has made me realize my own strengths and weaknesses in business as well as in many other aspects of my life. I manage the store and my mom and one of my little sisters work here part time and we love the time that the store allows us to spend together (at least most of the time)!


What is so unique about our store is that we are a family owned bridal store that was started by my mom, dad and myself; though we had a lot of help from my sisters and friends. I grew up in a close family of all girls (accept dad) who has been through proms, homecomings and weddings. I feel that we are very hands on with our business and making sure that all of our customers love the dress they are buying is our absolutely our number one priority. We just understand our customers because we ARE our customers! This creates an atmosphere in our store that I feel makes everyone feel welcome and we have fun!!


What I love most about the store is that I am able to help people at a very important time in their life and have so much fun with it! Finding a wedding dress or a prom gown is such an important thing for most girls and they are so excited about it. Being a part of that process is truly a fun thing and does not feel like work.
Keeping up with the latest trends is always one of our number one priorities and modern brides are changing the rules regarding the traditional wedding dress. Right now, I find that so many brides are looking for that "unique" look rather than "traditional." Don't get me wrong, lots of gals want the A-line ball gowns, but many girls are looking for something new.


We are finding brides-to-be are looking for more informal gowns. Informals are usually classified by a less "poofy" look and usually have a more flowing feel to them. Many of them have little or no accent bead work and do not have much if any petticoat to speak of. Smaller mermaids and A-lines make up most of these, and they are generally made of chiffon or taffeta. We carry a few different informal lines including Eden Bridal's Informals and Tango by Moonlight. These dresses offer the bride a less traditional look but adds such elegance to the wedding. Informals have a more sleek, vintage design, which is becoming a desired look.

Something Blue is not just another formal wear retail store, we are a family that loves what we do....who care about each other and our clients. To those who have not yet met us, these may just be words attempting to "lure in clientele," but that is far from who we are. Come in, relax on our cozy couch and visit with us...see for yourself that we are different and proud of it!

Something Blue is located in the Shoppes at Willow Chase at 894 Hwy 76 in Sango just off Exit 11. 931-358-9002

Spotlight on Yvonne Chamberlain Photography

Wondering what to get your fiance for his birthday? or a gift for no reason at all? Consider the newest line of studio photography at Yvonne Chamberlain Photography. It's called Bare Simplicity. Tasteful, boudoir photography designed to enhance your beauty and sexuality. The Bare Simplicity package fee includes private studio time with up to 3 outfits. The key word is tasteful and everything is done at your comfort level. It also includes a credit toward prints or novelty items such as a calendar or playing cards. The proof box novelty item contains 20 5x7 images from your session with one of your selection on the outside.
What a unique, personal and romantic gift for your husband-to-be!
Contact Yvonne Chamberlain Photography today at 931-553-8010 to learn more about Bare Simplicity or to inquire about their couples boudoir sessions.
Samples of Bare Simplicity sessions can be found on Yvonne's Blog and you can learn about her Wedding Photography at her Website.

Spotlight on You're Invited - Invitations by Design

The wedding industry is driven by customer referrals. There is no better advertisement for a wedding vendor than a satisfied bride telling her story. Along those lines, we're turning over our Spotlight on You're Invited - Invitations by Design to a satisfied bride.

Blaire Hodge is one of the brides blogging about her wedding planning experience on our ClarksvilleBrides Blog. In her own words, here is her happy experience with You're Invited - Invitations by Design.

Blaire tells us. "I believe one of the biggest elements of a wedding are the invitations. I think they really set the tone for your guests. I really didn't know where to begin when it came to ours. I knew that I wanted it to be formal and I knew that I wanted it to be black and white because those are the primary colors of our wedding. But for the rest, I was completely clueless.

I began searching online for places in town that had wedding invitations. I ordered samples from a well known invitation company online and was not impressed by what I saw - especially for the price. I stumbled across The Brides Boutique in my random google search for invitations - and was surprised! After all, I thought that they only had dresses! When I clicked on their website, I also noticed that Carly was a wedding coordinator. I was very excited. I had such a pleasant experience with her during my wedding dress bliss and was really excited to talk with her more about her coordinating.

When I inquired about the invitations, Carly pointed me to You're Invited by Jenifer Shaffer. She was local, which was awesome, and Carly said she was the BEST. She wasn't kidding! Jenifer and I met one Saturday and it was like meeting an old friend. She was so welcoming and funny - I felt totally at ease. I looked at what felt like hundreds of invitations but didn't find "the one". I really wanted to work with Jenifer so I decided to book another appointment and asked Chris and my mom to come with me.

The day before our second meeting, Jen called me to tell me that she had received a new invitation book. I was so excited! I just knew that I would find our perfect invitations in that book - and I was right! We found the perfect invitations for our special day. They are on white shimmer paper and are enclosed in a black envelope. The black envelope folds out and down to accommodate the information card and response cards with envelopes. I love that it keeps everything in the same place - not to mention the incredibly beautiful design.

My favorite feature is the decorative H in the middle. Both my last name and Chris' last name begin with the letter H. We really wanted to incorporate our monogram in several elements of our wedding. We think it's an elegant way to show the blending of our two families. I would recommend You're Invited to anyone planning a wedding. Our invitations are gorgeous and Jen is so fun to work with!"

So take Blaire's advice and call Jenifer Shafer of You're Invited - Invitations by Design at 931-216-7368. She will be delighted to work with you to find the absolute best invitation for your wedding.

Spotlight on Visions Event Planning

by Debra Harris
Visions has been operational for almost five years now. The company was born out of a dream. My Mother died and my last child left home within months of each other. I was lost not knowing what I was to be doing with my time. Talent, wasn’t even certain what that was! The turning point in my life came while I was attending a Women’s Leadership Conference sponsored by Bishop T. D. Jakes, in Dallas Texas. The Lord put this dream in my heart, thus the name visions. He even provided the money necessary for training. I begin this business with a yard sale computer, homemade business cards and determination. I truly believe that every job I have ever held has taught me something in which to make this business a success.

I love weddings and I make it a point to pray continuously for the couples that I serve. I am always honored that someone would allow me to be a part of their special day. My staff are even chosen based on their ability to communicate and their grace under pressure.

In addition to planning a wedding we offer site design, stationery, kits to enhance a wedding ceremony( Jumping the Broom Ceremony, Blended Family Ceremonies, Sand Ceremonies, Rose ceremonies, etc), Block hotel rooms and deliver welcome bags, registry assistance package, name change packages, media packages, return packages and rental items. (The brooms for the Jumping the Broom are custom made by Visions.) All services offered to our clients are designed to assist in every way possible to make a couple’s transition a smooth one.

This is the first year that we have been full time and our weddings have doubled. I have had to establish a second team to meet the demand. We have already began working on six weddings for 2010. We are constantly accessing our services, and exploring new ways of doing things. In the next few months I will be establishing and implementing a training program for my staff. It is very important to me that our weddings never become common place and each wedding is handled with the client’s needs in mind. My goal is to be the standard that others emulate (glorify my Father).

At Visions we are committed to making your wedding day as special as possible and help you realize your dream. Over the next six weeks questions submitted by Visions will appear in the ClarksvilleWeddings Blog. The first bride to correctly answer all six questions will win a set of charms [editors note: see prior blog entry for description] to use as gifts for her wedding party, throw away bouquets or her wedding cake.

Contest Question #1.

What's the average length of an engagement?

a. 6 months
b. 1 year
c. 1.5 years
d. 2.6 years

Your answers must be submitted by e-mail to visionsbydebra@newwavecomm.net at the conclusion of the contest. In the event of a tie each bride will receive a tiebreaker question. The first to answer wins. Good Luck!!

Welcome to our newest Blog!

Beginning Monday, August 24th we will be launching our newest Blog - ClarksvilleWeddings!

We will feature the best of our Clarksville-Hopkinsville area's Wedding Professionals as well as tips and trends in local Featured Weddings.

To kick off our new blog, Visions by Debra Event Planning will be running a six question contest to win a set of bridal charms.

Bridal charms are a revival of a Victorian tradition and a hot new wedding trend. The charms, attached to ribbons that stick out, can be inserted in your wedding cake by your cake baker. Gather the female members of your wedding party and on the count of three each pulls out a charm. Each charm contains your wish for the recipient.

Or you can use the charms to enhance your break away bouquet. Make several mini bundles of flowers, hand tie the stems and attach a charm to each bundle. Each bouquet will contain a charm and each charm contains a wish for the recipient.

We look forward to sharing our latest blog with you. We welcome your suggestions.
Contact us via beth@clarksvillebrides.com.