Wedding Planning: A Conversation with Kelsey of Kelsey Rae Designs

Photos by Austin Lord of Gather Portrait Studio.

Tell us a little bit about yourself .

I’m originally from Southern, CA but made the move to Nashville in early 2021. My first job out of college was working as a wedding coordinator at Ponte Winery in my hometown of Temecula, CA. It was there that I gained a ton of valuable experience, coordinating over 150 events in two years time and learning the venue and catering side of things. I always knew I wanted to start my own business and focus on design and taking on a more manageable client load so after a few years, I moved to Greenwich, CT and officially launched Kelsey Rae Designs. After a few short months, I decided to move back to California, where my relationships were built up in the wedding industry and where I thought I would have more success!

Over the pandemic, things really started to shift for my business and my husband and I decided to make the move to Nashville, TN! I saw a gap in the market for a super modern design aesthetic and ran with it. I've been focusing on booking modern luxury weddings throughout the Southeast and destination weddings afar, not only in Southern CA and Nashville, but across Georgia, Italy, Cabo and the central coast of CA to name a few spots.

What made you want to move to Nashville?

Being a small business owner in California through the pandemic was really tough! It put a lot of things in perspective for my husband and I and we starting looking for spots to move that would better align with our values! I have family in Chattanooga and had visited a few times. We did scouting trips throughout Idaho and Tennessee, but the second we landed in Franklin, we just knew it was where we were meant to be.

I loved the vibe, the sweet Southern hospitality, how green everything was and the beautiful homes around us. I could see the potential in my business making the jump here, with Nashville being such a thriving hotspot. And being within 20 minutes of the airport was a huge bonus- I knew keeping my destination event planning business afloat would work here!

What are a few trends you're starting to see that you think will be really popular in weddings over the next year or two?

I’m seeing so many fun trends right now! Our couples are wanting to get funky with seating charts and custom builds for this. It’s a way to do something unique and fun, bringing in our couples personalities and something that is special to them. For example, we have a bride who’s Italian, so we’re doing mini limoncello bottles displayed on a big custom wall. They’ll have tags for the guests to find their name and what table they are sitting at, so it doubles as a favor and seating chart!

We’re also seeing more cool tones in color palettes. More blues, greens, black, and neutrals. It’s fun to take a departure from pinks and corals and do something a little different. Although it’s hard to do this color palette in florals, it’s fun to bring these tones in with paper goods, cool rentals, signage, etc. It stretches our creativity so much!

From your experience with so many brides and even having your own wedding, what's one piece of advice you would give to a bride who is planning her wedding?

My one piece of advice is to not people please. I know this can be so hard for some, especially if you are getting financial help, but this is the one day that is all about you as a couple. I always try to be the voice for my couples when they can’t be. We dig to find out their personal priorities and then do whatever we can to put a little more budget toward those categories!

If you want to connect with Kelsey or see more of work, just go to www.kelseyraedesigns.com.