Connar Franklin and Aaron Carpenter were each other’s New Year’s Eve kiss, as everyone rang in 2018. A group of their mutual friends—including one pal in particular who had been trying to introduce the pair for years—from Los Angeles were all in Nashville for the holiday. Connar and Aaron ended up meeting on the infamous Broadway thoroughfare. “I didn’t know if we’d see each other again, but when we both returned to L.A. after that trip, we were pretty much inseparable,” Connar shares. “Everyone on that trip ended up being groomsmen and bridesmaids.”
Exactly five years after that first kiss, Connar and Aaron got engaged in 30A, Florida, where she grew up vacationing with her family. She was on a New Year’s Eve trip with her friends—sans Aaron—and they were on their way to a beach club, when she saw a man surrounded by candles and flowers on the sand. “Of course, someone is proposing right now,” Connar remembers saying. “I was getting a little impatient waiting for this to happen, and to my surprise it was Aaron. I was in complete shock, crying, and it was just a moment exploding with joy I will never forget.”
Once engaged, the pair started planning their summer wedding at George Vanderbilt’s historic 8,000-acre estate, Biltmore in North Carolina. “I had a dream of shooting inside the house, which has only ever been permitted for family of the estate—Aubrey Cecil, alongside Ashley Lewis, and the wonderful team at the Biltmore made those dreams become a reality,” Connar shares.
“I am the type of girl who’s been planning her wedding since I was a little girl and had been dreaming up all the tiny details for so long. I wanted it feel romantic, elegant, and timeless,” the bride shares. OTM Top Planner SAMKOMA brought this vision to life perfectly, as OTM Top Photographer Jose Villa captured every moment. And Kate Wiseman Creative set the tone with a beautiful invitation suite.
Connar surprisingly had no luck finding a wedding dress in NYC, but at LOHO Bride in Los Angeles, she found “the one.” “I had always wanted to wear Elie Saab on my wedding day; I was obsessed with Blair Waldorf’s Elie Saab wedding dress on Gossip Girl,” Connar says. “I saw the Elie Saab dress and knew instantly. It was so different from everything in their collections.”
The bride’s “something blue” was a custom bracelet by her cousin, Aubrey A.V. Cecil—the great-great-granddaughter of George and Edith Vanderbilt. And on the day-of, Connar got ready with makeup artist Jennifer Luney Tioseco and a hairstylist from Asheville Airbrush. Her nude nails by Tom Bachik featured 3D Japanese flowers to match the elements on her Elie Saab dress.
Bridesmaids complemented Connar in a variety of styles from the Vera Wang Bride collection in a sleek black shade. Aaron looked handsome in head-to-toe Tom Ford.
For the reception, Connar wore two Danielle Frankel looks—a halter and a mini dress. She swapped her ceremony Manolo Blahnik Hangisis for statement Jimmy Choos.
On August 26, 2023, Connar and her father walked down the 200-foot-long aisle, built by White Door Events, as a 20-piece orchestra played “Invisible String” by Taylor Swift. “I was freaking out walking down in front of everyone, but the second I saw Aaron, it felt like it was just us two,” the bride reflects. “There was a moment when my leg almost gave out. I broke my toe two-and-a-half hours before, but I insisted on wearing my four-inch heels. It was a challenge but nothing a little numbing cream and love in the air couldn’t fix!”
Connar’s father, his best friend, and another family member officiated the heartfelt ceremony amongst sprawling floral arrangements by Stella Rose Floral. And once announced as officially married, the newlyweds recessed to “Kiss Me.”
Guests then explored the first floor of the famous Biltmore house, enjoyed cocktails on the terrace, and had watercolor portraits of themselves painted by Alyssa Simpson. “We had a Taylor Swift Eras Tour–inspired friendship bracelet seating chart display with bracelets that read ‘A&C Forever.’ I’m a big Swiftie,” Connar reveals. “I wanted to do a nod; it was my absolute favorite!”
Once everyone was seated in the tented space—scented by snif—the wedding party made their entrance to The White Lotus theme song. After dinner, the back of the tent opened up to reveal the party area with a marble dance floor, DJ from Entertain!, coffee bar, photo-booth featuring art by tattoo artist Kate McDuffie, and a makeup area with goodies from Connar’s best friend Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty line.
Connar and Aaron had their first dance to “Lover” by Taylor Swift. “There was never a choice,” Connar laughs. “It always had to be that song, and I had waited for that moment for so long.”
