Emily Hardin and Porter Rivers’ fall Memphis wedding was such a stunning color palette. The wedding day preparations were held at Second Presbyterian Church of Memphis followed by a colorful reception at The Peabody Hotel. Porter is an amazing freelance artist so it was important for him to capture the special places he and Emily shared together in watercolor. You will see some of his stunning pieces throughout this post.

“I ended up telling Emily that we needed to go to Selma for one of my friends engagement parties in Selma. Little did Emily know, we would be going to an engagement party for the two of us later that night. I knew I wanted to propose at Sturdivant Hall, where I first took Emily when she visited Selma. There’s a small gazebo in the backyard and thought that would be the perfect place to do it. We spent the day running errands – trying to stay busy to keep Emily from catching on. Since Sturdivant Hall sells my paintings, I used that as an excuse that that we had to run a few by there. We showed up and started walking through the backyard, where the gazebo was set up with some chairs, the champagne flutes we used at our wedding, and lights with pictures since we started dating.” -Porter

“We first knew each other through a class freshman year, but it would take two of our friends to put us together for a date party. Emily – a little hesitant – and I first went on a few dates and finally when I got the nerve to ask her to be my girlfriend, she said “sure.” Luckily, things progressed from sure and we are where we are today!” -Porter

“My sister got married at Second 4 years before me, almost to the day, with her reception at the Peabody. I caught the bouquet at her wedding – it pays to be the tallest girl on the dance floor! About 2 weeks later Porter and I started dating!! Then flash forward 4 years later and we got married at Second with our reception in the same place I had caught her bouquet 4 years earlier!” -Emily

The Peabody Hotel reception was designed by wedding planner, Mona Dunlap of Mona Dunlap Events. Le Fleur Memphis and White Door Events helped execute the fall fairytale vision of the warm color palette.

”The day itself was seriously a dream. Everything came together better than I could have possibly imagined. Porter and I had been dreaming of this day for almost 3 years since we first discussed the possibility & hope that we would maybe get married one day. I had been waiting for a long time to be able to call Porter my husband, and it truly couldn’t have been more perfect.” -Emily

Dress: Ivory and White Boutique (Birmingham) | Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids | Tux: Selma Steam | Cakes: Cakes by Mom and Me | Venue: Peabody Hotel | Flowers: Le Fleur, Memphis | Invitations: Melinda Sapp | Rentals: White Door Events | Music/Band: Memphis Soul Revue | Caterer: The Peabody Hotel | Hair: Joni Rousseau | Makeup: Lesa Goodwin