EA Wedding

Exposition

It began years ago, in the suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee. It was a normal night with the same group of friends – nothing special or memorable at the time, especially since alcohol was most likely involved. Eric and Rachael met that night in Sheffield, a neighborhood deep in the hills of Bellevue, Tennessee. While neither of them remembers anything out of the ordinary from that meeting, they began a friendship that led to a courtship, which led to a series of off-and-on relationships locally and long-distance abroad.

Fast forward to March 25th of 2018. Eric and Rachael had been dating just over 6 consecutive years when Eric proposed on a hiking trail in the Smoky Mountains just outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. At the end of the walk, it was getting to be the last opportunity to “pop the question” when their dog, Cooper, led them down to the river on an offshoot of the main trail. Eric knew this was the right time and place, and she said,” YES!”

Rising Action

The wedding planning began shortly afterward. Rachael and Eric visited only one venue before they made their decision: The Riverwood Mansion in East Nashville. Visiting in early spring, they imagined how wonderful a garden wedding might be with budding flowers and spring greenery. Home to many influential families of the Middle Tennessee region, the antebellum-style mansion is covered with manicured gardens and heirloom magnolia trees, transporting you to another time.

April 13th, 2019 was the date they set to be wed. The days leading up to the wedding were fast-moving and full of planning. One issue that the bride and groom didn’t initially agree on was the attire for the bridal party and the groomsmen. Being a fashion designer, Eric Adler was very particular about his vision for his groomsmen. Thinking that they would want to have a suit that they could wear at the wedding and continue to use for years to come, Eric proposed the idea that each faction choose a color and the wedding party could choose a suit or dress of any style within that color that they liked and would be able to wear again.

After all, the bride makes the final decisions, but Eric was persistent. Rachael thought that this would be too much and would look disjointed. Eric thought that too much uniformity would look cheesy and the individuals would lose their identity. In the end, Rachael accepted Eric’s design decision. Other than this Eric allowed Rachael to plan their wedding to her wildest imagination (within their budget of course).

The groomsmen (minus one) met in early February 2019 in Lake Tahoe, CA for a bachelor party/ski trip, where they all were fitted for custom suits. The groomsmen all chose their version of a grey suit for the wedding (i.e. single-breasted, double-breasted, black or brown buttons, crazy linings, etc.) College roommate Randy who wasn’t able to make the trip later flew down to Nashville for a weekend to catch up and get suited up.

The bridesmaids all went to Miami together for a bachelorette weekend where they did a fair amount of sunning and shopping. In the end, Rachael’s gals were dressed in all-black dresses of different cuts and styles to complement their diverse range of curves.

Although Rachael and Eric were stressed out planning for their celebration of love, there were no real hiccups in the process and nothing dramatic happened until the week of the wedding.

Climax

Eric’s best man missed both of his flights and missed the rehearsal. The aforementioned college roommate Randy’s cousin was killed on a military base in South Carolina the night of the rehearsal dinner and had to fly out early in the morning. “Uncle” Phil, a friend from elementary school, who also attended the bachelor party and was coincidentally fitted for a charcoal grey suit jumped in as Eric’s fifth man to match Rachael’s five bridesmaids. Eric and groomsman but also “right-hand-man” Jason were sewing finishing touches on all of the outfits up until 15 minutes before their scheduled time of arrival at the venue. The icing on the cake was the forecast called for rain the day of the wedding.

After all, they greatly missed Randy at the wedding, but the rain held off. If you were to see the Doppler radar of the surrounding areas it was as if the Riverwood Mansion was the eye of a hurricane. Shortly after the beautiful garden ceremony, guests met inside for the dinner and reception celebration. It immediately poured rain from the sky. What luck.

Falling Action

The rest of the night was filled with tacos, drinks, cake, and fun. The rain denied a traditional sparkler send-off, but guests used their phones’ LED lights as an alternative. Rachael and Eric’s getaway Uber whisked them to the Bobby Hotel in downtown Nashville, where they met other friends for an afterparty at around-the-corner speakeasy club and lounge, Dirty Little Secret. Eric had a bit too much to drink and Rachael took him back early for snuggles and pizza delivery with Cooper, who also stayed the night at the hotel. In the morning they woke up, bid adieu to their guests, and prepared for their next Adler’s Adventure: the honeymoon in Turks & Caicos.

Denouement

Stay tuned for travel recommendations from the beautiful islands of Turks & Caicos soon!

As mentioned before, Eric made all of the groomsmen’s suits and shirts at the factory and handmade all the neckwear in-house. We make a range of products for men that are perfect for special occasions such as weddings. Check out our wedding packages on our Products page. Send us an email if you have any questions or would like to book an appointment to get fitted for your special day.

If you want to see more of this truly beautiful day, here is a link to the wedding video created by Michael Sati

xoxo

Dressing Morgan Heritage for the 2018 Grammy Awards

Nashville Luxury Womenswear Designer Cavanagh Baker gave me a ring one day and mentioned that she was sending a guy my way who was browsing my Instagram and was interested in getting a really cool custom outfit for his night out at the 2018 Grammy Awards in New York. His name is Gramps Morgan of the Grammy Award-winning reggae band Morgan Heritage.  Cavanagh was among others, making a custom garment for his pregnant wife, Annabelle.

Initially, Gramps came in wearing Cincinnati Bengals shorts and a t-shirt. I found out later that he was debating a career in professional football, but chose to pursue a career music in the end. He is a very smart and talented guy.  As we got to know each other, I discovered he is a producer, musician, and marketing wiz, among many other things.

I wanted to capture this moment timelessly so I decided that there was no one better than Alex Berger to photograph our moment. Gramps was amazed when we unveiled his outfit.

When making custom garments, sometimes it takes two fittings to get the fit just right.  Our meeting revealed that the vest didn’t fit at all. I had to shorten the length by four inches, making it a four-button waistcoat, so I added another buttonhole. The jacket needed to be pinched in at the fastening button. Being a really big guy, Gramps wanted to let out the crotch a bit for more comfort when seated. After the alterations were made Gramps was ready to go to the Grammy Awards, where Morgan Heritage was nominated for Reggae Album of the Year.

As always I feel very honored and lucky to create clothing for some of the most talented people in the world.  In the end, Morgan Heritage did not win the award for Reggae Album of the Year, but that’s ok because they were already Grammy Award winners. It was so fun to work with this big, fun, charismatic guy and his wife.

Cheers
-EA

How To: Tie A Bow Tie Bill Nye Style

Who doesn’t love a good DIY tutorial? Who doesn’t love a smart, studly gent cleverly guiding you through a confusing task? Here is a great video tutorial on how to tie a bow tie hosted by the one and only Bill Nye the Science Guy.

It’s no secret that Bill Nye has an affinity for bow ties. Not many can make the process look as suave and seamless as he does. I’ll confess that when I learned to tie my bow ties I usually ended up sweaty and sore from the process.

It’s not as intimidating as it seems. It is really similar to the act of tying one’s shoes, depending on how you tie your shoes.

Here’s the video posted by designer Nick Graham on Youtube.

I know that he moves fast and it might take a couple of views to get it right so here’s a nice diagram and description courtesy of Ties.com to reinforce the process.  One day I will get fancy and make my own diagram and video, but for now, I hope this will suffice.

1. Start with the bowtie lying face up. Adjust the bowtie so the right side is shorter than the left. The end on the left will be referred to as A and the end on the right will be referred to as B.

2. Move A to the right side, across B.

3. Bring A under B and up through the neck loop.

4. At the joint, fold B towards the right and then towards the left to create a bow shape.

5. Bring A stra­ight down over the middle of the bow shape that was made with B.

6. Fold A back towards the chest and pinch the fold.

7. Push the pinched end (A) through the loop behind B.

8. Pull on the folded parts of the bow to tighten.

9. Adjust until balanced on both sides.

Eric Adler Bow Ties are designed, curated, and handmade in Nashville, Tennessee.  We use the highest quality hardware made in San Francisco.  All of our ties are fully adjustable from 14″ to 18″ neck sizes and are available at our Nashville showroom.  We welcome you to come see our exclusive selection of silk, wool, and cotton bow ties.  If you’re interested in getting a custom tie made for a special event, your wedding and groomsmen, or just because call us or make an appointment to come in and discuss your vision.