Pristine White-on-White Wedding Wonderland

On April 29, The Historic Peabody Hotel in Memphis was the venue for 285 guests witnessing the marriage of Rachel Woodman to Alpharettan Brent Turry.

Woodman grew up in Memphis, went to the University of Alabama, and moved to Dallas to pursue a retail commercial real estate career for The Retail Connection. Turry went to the University of Alabama and moved to Dallas to work in tech and cyber security sales.

Rachel Woodman prepares for the ceremony with mom, Susan Woodman // Photos by: Ann-Marie Wyatt with Taylor Square Weddings

The wedding décor was a white-upon-white wonderland.

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According to the bride, “I knew right off the bat I wanted everything to be white with touches of gold due to the Peabody’s historic build out of timeless gold detailing.”

Naturally, the flowers and bouquet were white roses and hydrangeas. Woodman chose Nardos Design, out of Dallas, to create her dress. Woodman recalled, “I wanted something fun for the reception, so [the designer] created an overskirt to put over my wedding dress filled with feathers to the very bottom.” The bridesmaids’ dresses (also white) were from Bella Bridesmaids.

The Flour Garden delivered this modern, white-on-white buttercream cake.

As the couple became friends in 2016, they quickly realized that their personalities and interests aligned, bringing out the best of each other. After a first date, there was — according to Woodman – “Nonstop talking…the second we woke up until the second we went to sleep every day…6 years later…still talking ever second of the day. I knew very early on that he was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

Turry’s engagement plan started early on. He said, “With Rachel and I living in Dallas while our friends and family lived across the country, I invited some of our closest people in for the first weekend to surprise Rachel. She thought May 6, 2022, was going to be a nice date for just us two, but little did she know, our parents, brothers, and friends all flew in and were waiting around the corner.”

The couple’s first dance was to “Coming Home.”

He continued, “At 7 p.m., I told her an Uber was here to take us to dinner. When we walked outside, I said, ‘I was thinking, instead of getting dinner, why don’t we get married?’ And got down on a knee with the ring. From there, both our dads jumped out from behind a tree to start the surprises. After a moment of hugs, we went to a surprise engagement party to celebrate with family and friends and had the absolute best weekend we will cherish forever.”

Prior to the April ceremony, the couple had an intimate Ketubah signing with close family and the wedding party as witnesses. “It was really special having all of the most important people in our lives in a small room together right before the ceremony began,” stated Woodman. Her childhood rabbi, Micah Greenstein (Temple Israel of Memphis) presided over the chuppah.

The ATL Groove Factory kept the couple grooving all night.

She said, “Rabbi Greenstein means a lot to my entire Woodman/Bronstein family. During our pre-marital counseling, he got to know Brent and me as ‘one’ and brought that into our ceremony. It was very personalized.” The couple used the Kiddush cup of Woodman’s parents, Susan and George, during the ceremony.

The couple’s first dance was to “Coming Home” by Leon Bridges. The ceremony music was by Memphis String Quartet and the reception band, ATL Groove Factory, kept the floor lively.

Under the chuppah with Rabbi Micah Greenstein- using the bride’s parents’ kiddish cup.

The honeymoon was described as “the trip of a lifetime” to the French Riviera for two weeks in St. Tropez, Cannes, Monaco, and Nice.

The couple summed it up as Woodman said, “Brent truly makes me the absolute best version of myself, I am so lucky to have him to spend the rest of my life with.”

And Turry added, “I feel incredibly fortunate to be married to Rachel. She is one of the happiest people I know, and her contagious happiness positively impacts me every day.”

Paternal grandmother and “celeb” Atlantan, Martha Jo Katz, said, “Rachel and Brent’s wedding was perfection. Rachel did an outstanding job with all the details. Our families made many memories that remain in our hearts. We’re so very proud to welcome Rachel and her family into ours. Seeing a grandchild marry is one of life’s ultimate pleasures.”