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A Spring Wedding at Long Hollow Gardens in Nashville

By Shayna Seid | Photography by 

Julie Paisley

|Planning by 

Molly Sohr

Jillian Berkman, a resident in the Harvard neurology program, and James Greer, a social worker in a middle school, met playing kickball in a recreation league in Nashville. “He was the pitcher, and I played second base,” she remembers. After two-and-a-half years together, he proposed at the end of a scavenger hunt around the city with her grandmother Jill’s ring. “She passed away right before I was born, so I was named after her,” the bride-to-be explains.

“We knew we wanted to get married in Nashville, since we are both natives,” Jillian says. The engaged couple was also not into the barn aesthetic, so when they found the greenhouse Long Hollow Gardens, they completely fell in love and booked it for April 13, 2019. To help plan everything, the two hired Molly Sohr.

After figuring out that she was a sample size, Jillian was referred to LVD Bridal, which sold off the rack sample gowns. She quickly found her Christos dress and added detachable off-the-shoulder sleeves to customize her look. On the day-of, the bride got ready with Parlour 3 and also put on Manolo Blahnik shoes and her mother’s diamond earrings and necklace.

To complement the bride, Jillian’s bridesmaids wore Jenny Yoo‘s Cold Shoulder chiffon gowns in the Whipped Apricot color. And James looked handsome in a suit from Suitsupply.

In front of the vineyard, a bluegrass band—mostly made up of James’s family—played the processional, as the bride walked down the aisle. “Since we are an interfaith couple, we got married by our best friend, Anna. We wanted our ceremony to have Jewish tone but to be inclusive,” Jillian says. “One of the aspects I really like is that in [the] Jewish faith, your parents don’t give you away. They escorted me close, but then it was my choice to step forward.”

Once announced as husband and wife, the reception began in the greenhouse with cocktails by all the flora. After the delicious plated dinner, dancing took over the evening, and the newlyweds had their first dance to “Clear” by Needtobreathe. 

“I think my favorite part [of the reception] was dancing on stage with the band and my new husband!” Jillian exclaims. Per special request, the band played “Mr. Brightside” as the last song, and “everyone was screaming the lyrics, and it was the best moment.”

As the formal celebration came to a close, guests piled into buses back to Nashville, and the after-party took place at the Thompson Nashville’s rooftop bar L.A. Jackson. The bride reveals, “I’m not going to lie, I don’t think James and I even made it up to the after-party!”