My sister Courtney and I had been to Nashville before, long long time ago when we sat front row at Grand Ol' Opry staring in amazement at Little Jimmy Dickens and thinking "hey wait, he's our size!"
Courtney didn't remember it too much since she was so young, so when Chad and I went to Nashville for CMA Fest in 2009, I KNEW I had to bring her back to truly take it all in. I told her (and I quote) "when you and Mackers get engaged, we're having your Bachelorette weekend in Nashville".
That's all I had to say. She was sold.
You see, Courtney absolutely LOVES music, is an incredible singer, and she may or may not be slightly obsessed with old school favorites such as Elvis Presley (that is her man), Patsy Cline (Courtney can belt out a version of "Crazy" like none other), Loretta Lynn, June Carter Cash and so many more. We grew up in the country in a southern Baptist church where our mom played the piano for 20+ years and our dad recorded a gospel music CD a few years before he passed away.
Country and gosel music, it's in our genes.
[Ok, so maybe Courtney got the majority of the musical genes...I just hum backup :)
So after Mack popped the question, I began planning a fabulous girls weekend in Nashville to celebrate the bride to be! Knew that it would be a bit more expensive than most Bach weekends but I was thankful for cheap Southwest flights from GSP to Nashville now and also spent hours finding the best hotel prices. Thought maybe mmmm, five or so of her closest friends would join us. Um, no how about ELEVEN! Yes, this girl is loved. Stacie is a college roomie of Court's and has lived in Nashville for two years working for AEG LIVE, which promotes concerts and events of major artists - everyone from Carrie Underwood and Sugarland to Wiz Khalifa, Justin Beiber, and DMB. Yes, a dream job for sure. Stacie was a huge help to me when it came to making dinner reservations and planning out our weekend.
Again, we flew Southwest from GSP. We live about 45 minutes south of Greenville so it's much easier than flying out of ATL or CLT. Sure, the drive is only 6-7 hours but I"ll take the hour flight for $160 any day. This was Jessi's (middle of photo) FIRST FLIGHT EVER! Yes, 24 years old and never flown before. She was such a champ, did not even flinch. Now she's ready to fly around the world!
WE ARRIVED!
ZTA love.
Court and her main squeeze...
[y'all think I'm joking but you DO know we have taken her to Graceland and continue to
buy her Elvis gifts every Christmas. Oh yes, it's serious.]
We stayed at Hampton Inn and Suites on 4th. It's only 3 blocks from Broadway and just a block from the Country Music Hall of Fame. Awesome hotel and service. Definitely going to stay there again.
After we walked around downtown a bit on Friday, we got all dolled up for dinner at Virago. Aka. "better than Japan sushi" as one guy told us.
Syd and Rachel were accidental twins for the evening...
The sushi WAS, by far, the best sushi I've ever had in my life. If you are in Nashville, go to Virago and get "THE BOMB"sushi roll. Because it is, my friends, "DA BOMB!" Life changing.
After dinner we went to some fun spots near Vanderbilt. Vandy was playing Auburn Saturday so tons of people were in town. It was crazy crowded but crazy fun.
Oh and the "Nashlorette" saying came from Rachel's Twitter hashtag for the weekend. Love it.
On Saturday, we strolled to Rippy's BBQ for pulled BBQ pork sandwiches and football on the big screens.
Stacie hooked us up with a few tickets to tour the Ryman, so we couldn't pass that up!
Stunning. One of my favorite places!
On Saturday night, we all got ready and surprised Court with a lingerie shower before we headed out for dinner. These were a few favors I made for all the girls..."Bachelorette Weekend Survival Kits". Complete with Emi Jay hair ties, gum, hand sanitizer, Bachlorette scratch off playing cards, and other fun goodies.
The beautiful bride to be!
We were missing Helen Chase in this photo! :(
Dinner at Germantown Cafe on Saturday night. Also amazing! We had our own little room that made it extra special.
BOOTS, BOOTS, BOOTS!
After dinner it was time to boot, scoot, & boogie.
First stop, the epic Stage. The band? Awesome.
More live music at The Wheel. Had to blow this pic up for you. TRUE Nashville right here y'all!
We ended the night at Trubador. One of the oldest karaoke stages in Nashville.
Here's our girl singing Patsy Cline's "Crazy", of course. So mad at myself for not getting video of this!
The group got up and sang "Pontoon". Also epic.
FUN FUN weekend celebrating the bride to be. I know my dad was smiling down wishing he was sitting on that bar stool behind her playing his guitar while she sang, just like the old days. We are SO proud of her and the amazing woman she has become. She deserved this fun weekend and it's safe to say she is loved by so many! Everyone had a blast now we are just ready for the big day!!
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P.S. Later this week I saw this tank on Pinterest. It's from Tumbleroot's Etsy Shop. MUST HAVE if we go back to Nashville. We heard this song at least 10 times on the Bach weekend. As old as it is, it's still hands down one of my favorites, Chad can tear it up on the guitar, and it will never get old to me.
I fell in love with Nashville even more so there's only one question left to ask.
Who's going back with us for CMA Fest next year for Chad's 30th Birthday? Any takers?
Can. not. wait.
Next up: What baby Cade got from Nashville. Oh how I missed him while I was gone. On second thought, not sure if I'll really be able to handle being away from him for FOUR whole nights for CMA Fest. It was too much even for two days. Cade would enjoy CMA Fest, right? :)
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