Contact Information & Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Our regular business hours are 8AM to 8PM Monday - Saturday, and Sunday from 2PM to 8PM.
Please note: Rev. Rich is always on the move! He has meetings in the Belmont Mansion offices of Rich Events, as well as ceremonies at Belmont Mansion, Skinner Chapel and Spring Haven Gardens almost every day. He also takes care of a lot of correspondence both from home and the office. Our regular business hours are the times during which Rev. Rich corresponds with clients and schedules weddings and elopements. Rev. Rich does not have regular office hours. All meetings with Rev. Rich and all ceremonies must be scheduled in advance, so please contact us by phone, text message or email to check availability and schedule a time.
We are not set up for any walk-ins.
Rev. Rich is in church on Sunday mornings until a little past noon, so don't expect a quick response to a Sunday morning message.
All ceremonies and meetings are by appointment only. No walk-ins.
Feel free to email or text us with your quesitons.
Cell: 615-305-2021 ~ Fax: 615-346-0157
eMail: brandon@richevents.org
Please note: Our business number rings on a cell phone. You are welcome to call or text us, but please refrain from calling before 8:00 AM or after after 8:00 PM in the U.S. Central Time Zone, Monday - Saturday, or before 2:00 PM or after 8:00 PM on Sundays.
We do not offer middle-of-the-night service. You are welcome to email us 24/7.
We tend to be quite busy with weddings on the weekend, so be patient if you call or text between Friday and Sunday.
Skinner Chapel Location:
Scarritt Bennett Center
Fondren Hall, 1st Floor
Nashville, TN 37212
Belmont Mansion Location:
Belmont University Campus
Nashville, TN 37212
Spring Haven Gardens Location:
1 Spring Haven Court
Hendersonville, TN 37075
Rich Events Mailing Address:
Rich Events
1831 12th Avenue South, Box 431
Nashville, TN 37203
This is only a mailing address.
Important Information
Booking and Payment Methods
All packages of service with Rich Events are booked with a contract which can be reviewed, completed, e-signed and submitted from this website. Our clients are issued specific invoices for the packages they book which are paid online with credit card or debit card. Please consult the contract for your specific package for details, or contact us with questions.
Marriage License
You will need a Tennesee Marriage License in hand before your wedding ceremony, if your wedding is in Tennessee. You may visit the County Clerk in any of the 95 counties in Tennessee to obtain your license. The Davidson County Clerk serves Nashville. Click here for their website. The Davidson Country Clerk is open Monday through Friday. The only County Clerk in middle Tennessee that has any weekend hours is the Bedford Counry Clerk in Shelbyville, TN. Please note that Shelbyville, TN is 60 miles southeast of Nashville. At present, they are open from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Saturdays. They are closed on Sundays. Also, you may not use a marriage license obtained outside the State of Tennessee.
Tennessee Law for Wedding Officiants
As of July 1, 2019, the State of Tennessee's new law clarifying the qualifications to serve as a wedding officiant take effect. This law clearly states that online ordination is not acceptable for persons wishing to solemnize weddings in Tennessee. Previous Tennessee laws on wedding officiants were not written with online ordination in mind. Previous opionions from the state attorney general were consistent that online ordination did not meet the spirit of the law, but many couples continued to use officiants with online ordination. This new law catches up with online technology and clarifies the situation. Please note that Rev. Brandon Rich was licensed to ministry in June 1998 and ordained to the ministry on March 12, 2000 by First Baptist Church of Nashville, TN. Rev. Rich trained for the ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theoligical Seminary in Fort Worth, TX and has served several churches on staff as senior pastor, interim pastor and minister of music. Not only does Rev. Rich meet and exceed the legal quailifications to officiate a wedding, he has officiated and coordinated over 5,000 weddings in five states, giving him depth and breath of expericne that is virtulaly unparralelled. At its core, this new Tennessee law means that couples here must have someone like Rev. Rich officiate a legal ceremony and complete the marriage license. It is not acceptable to have a friend, relative or any other person go online to obtain ordination for the purpose of acting as a wedding officiant. If a couple has their heart set on a loved one conducting their public ceremony, they must simply contract with someone like Rev. Rich to particiate in the public ceremony or officiate a seperate legal ceremony and then complete the marriage license. Rev. Rich has elopement options for just such a purpose and has offered this very service for many years. As of April 28, 2021, Tennessee law now allows individuals who are licensed by TN as a Notary Public to officiate wedding ceremonies as well.
Alabama Marriage Licenses
If you live in the State of Alabama, you may be concerned about getting married there, and for good reason. The Alabama state legislature has changed the way couples legally marry in their state. Several articles have come out about this topic, and I've linked an article here from AL.com. Alabama no longer issues traditional marriage licenses the way they used to, the way other states still do. We have already seen several Alabama couples elect to come to Tennessee to get married to insure that they will have a traditional Marriage License going into the wedding, and then receive a traditional Certificate of Marriage after the wedding. If you are one of our neighbors to the south and would like the comfort of a traditional marriage license and marriage certificate, I welcome you to come to Nashville! You can come up here, get your Tennessee Marriage License and schedule a legal elopement right here with me at one of my venues, and still have your public ceremony back home in Alabama for your friends and family. If you prefer to have a destination wedding and have everyone come up here, I can point you in the right direction for that option as well. The process of obtaining a Tennessee Marriage License is quite simple, and you still have the conventional and traditional paperwork that records your legal marriage. Click here to visit the website for Nashville's Davidson County Clerk - Marriage Division.
Venue & Office Visits/Bookings
Please do not stop by Belmont Mansion or Skinner Chapel unannounced. All Rich Events venue previews, planning meetings, weddings, elopements and are scheduled in advance. We offer venue previews and planning meetings for the Getaway Plus Elopements, Friends & Family Elopements, not for the small elopements or other small bookings. Our regular business hours are the times daily when we accept phone calls and when we host scheduled meetings, ceremonies and events. We do not, however, have regular office hours. We are not set up for walk-ins. Please contact us by phone or email to schedule an appointment. We cannot guarantee same-day elopements, previews or meetings. Rev. Rich attends church every Sunday morning unitl noon. Sunday hours are 2PM to 8PM, by appointment.
Booking on Short Notice
We cannot guarantee same-day same day service for ceremonies or meetings. Rev. Rich officiates ceremonies and operates two venues, so it is best to contact us as far in advance of your preferred event date as possible. Same-day service is sometimes possible, but it is difficult due to schedule conflicts. Events and especaily weddings are important and we want you to have a good experience. A key element for us is sufficient notice to make our part of your day everything that you expect it to be.
Recommended and Approved Vendors
Photography Coordinator for all Elopements at Skinner Chapel, Belmont Mansion & Spring Haven Gardens
Elopements of Nashville
Michelle & Michael Blair
Please note that photo packages must match venue packages/time in all elopement bookings where our professional photographers is hired by the couple. Clients, guests and photographers may not remain on property at Belmont, Scarritt Bennett or Spring Haven beyond the elopement package time.
Restaurants:
Maggiano's Little Italy - Nashville
Jeff Ruby Steakhouse - Nashville
Florists:
Curry & Company Luxury Floral Design
Curry McDaniel, Owner & Lead Designer
615.892.9601
Bloom
2700 Belmont Boulevard. Suite C
Nashville, TN 37212
(615) 385-2402
A Village of Flowers
1712 21st Avenue
Nashville, TN 37212
(615) 369-3030
Musicians
Chuck Callahan, violinist & ensemble coordinator
Callahan Music
Wedding Musicians Company/Russell Davis
615.812.4812
Kaye Grable, pianist (Classical, Jazz, Pop)
615.669.9046
Calligraphy, Tuxedos, Alterations & Stylist Services:
The Lyrical Pen - Elegant Calligraphy
Click here to visit their website.
(Phone number and email on their site.)
Nashville, TN 37205
Street Tuxedo
615.386.0500
Stitch-It & Co. (Alterations and Custom Apparel)
Nashville, TN 37215
Harlow Salon
1027 17th Ave. S.
Nashville, TN 37212
615.291.9990
2115 Elm Hill Pike
Nashville, TN 37210
615.889.9975
East Nashville Beard & Barber
Brandon Bain, Master Barber
726 McFerrin Avenue #3524
Nashville, TN 37207
nashvillebeardandbarber@gmail.com
https://www.nashvillebeardandbarber.com
Transportation:
Old Town Trolley Tours
https://www.trolleytours.com/nashville
Classic Cars, Limos & Shuttles
615.714.5466
Hotels:
Hilton Garden Inn
1715 Broadway Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203
615.369.5900
Union Station Hotel
1001 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
615.726.1001
Omni Nashville Hotel
250 5th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203
615.782.5300
Nashville is a booming city with more hotels and restaurants than I could list here. If you are coming from out of town, I encourage you to do some online research on Yelp, OpenTable, Hotels.com and Google.
Realtor:
Why have a realtor listed on a wedding website? Nashville is a hot and fast-growing city. Many of the couples getting married by Rich Events may be locals looking for a new home for their new family, or newcomers to our city looking for their first Nashville home. What realtor do I recommend? My own personal realtor, of course! This fabulous lady was my sister's realtor and now she's mine. She has worked as hard for me in the process of looking for and finally building a new home as I do working for my couples.
Elizabeth Crockett
Benchmark Realty LLC
318 Seaboard Lane Suite 115
Franklin, TN 37067
615-202-7580 Mobile
615-371-1544 office
Belmont Mansion Details
Types of Bookings
Belmont Mansion has transitioned away from large traditional weddings and receptions. We are only offering small ceremony-only elopement weddings which are hosted, officiated and planned by Rich Events. Photography is restricted to our approved photographers only, coordinated by Elopements of Nashville. We are happy to provide referrals to another venue for couples who contact us planning a large wedding.
Officiants
All weddings at Belmont Mansion are now elopements officiated and coordinated by Rev. Brandon Rich and his staff. Outside officiants and coordinators are not allowed. Due to a new Tennessee law, as of July 1, 2019, each couple must secure a properly ordained minister or select government official to officiate their ceremony. Online ordination is not legal in Tennessee.
Photographers
All paid professional photography at Belmont Mansion is restricted to the photographers approved by the mansion and listed on this website. Please use the contact information that we provide here on the website and on our reservation forms and contracts. We have had confusion when couples attempt to look up the vendors on their own. Elopements of Nashville is our photography coordinator.
Belmont Mansion and the surrounding campus maintains a no-alcohol and no-smoking/no-tobacco policy.
Please note that Belmont Mansion reserves the right to restrict which days of the week and specific dates that will be made available for elopement weddings based on expected market demand and museum activity.
Availability
Most elopement weddings at Belmont Mansion are scheduled outside of our daily museum tour hours. Due to the private and brief nature of the Studio Elopement, it may be scheduled at virtually any time of the day, provided Rev. Rich has availability. The Just Married Elopement, Getaway Elopement and Getaway Plus Elopement may be booked at 5:00 PM (or later) daily, based on availability. The Friends & Family Elopement and the Friends & Family Plus Elopement may be booked at 5:00 PM, but due to available parking, we encourage Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Previews & Meetings
Rev. Rich will offer one bridal preview visit for the Getaway Plus Elopement, Friends & Family Elopement and Friends & Family Plus Elopement prior to booking. Rev. Rich will also allow up to two planning meetings for the Friends & Family Elopement and Friends & Family Plus Elopement, if requested by the couple. Preview and planning meetings are limited to the couple getting married plus two guests. All preview and planning meetings are scheduled and conducted by Rev. Brandon Rich personally and by appointment only. Drop-in visits are not possible due to scheduling and staffing issues. No preview or planning meetings are provided for the Studio Elopement, Just Married Elopement or Getaway Elopement. All ceremonies at Belmont Mansion are scheduled and booked in advance by appointment only. Drop-in ceremonies are not possible due to scheduling and staffing issues.
Overnight Lodging
Belmont Mansion does not offer lodging of any form, nor does it have a restaurant or any in-house catering. It is a set up as a museum. The mansion rents out the Grand Salon for elopements in the evening, after the daily museum tours. There is no option to spend the night at Belmont Mansion. There are numerous hotels and B&Bs near the mansion, especailly downtown.
Construction Project
Belmont Mansion had a major restoration project that began on January 7, 2019. The new floor of the Grand Salon is a faux grained hardwood, similar to the floor in the upstairs bridal gallery. The walls and woodwork have been faux grained to match the work that has already been completed around the grand staircase. Please keep this in mind when you view pictures on this site and if you preview in person for one of the large bookings where previews are offered. There will be a new carpet runner on the staircase once it is designed and manufactured in England. We hope to have the carpet in place some time in 2021. Also, starting in early January 2022, we will begin a restoration of the barrel vault ceiling in our grand salon. During this time, our elopements and staged photos will be held in the central parlor and in front of the grand staircase, which will still be fully accessible. We anticipate this project to complete by the end of March.
Miscellaneous
Contact Rev. Brandon Rich or read the rental contracts on this website for additional information. If you would like to learn even more details about all event package options and recommended vendors at Belmont Mansion, click the link provided to visit the website for Belmont Mansion
Skinner Chapel Details
The Facility
Skinner Chapel is a small venue with twenty gold chiavari chairs for seated guests, as featured in photos. The chancel area with the altar table is also a small space which can accommodate the officiant, the couple getting married, and a small standing bridal party. It is important that eveyrone involved in a booking, including guests, is aware that this is a small chapel. There is not room for any more guests or bridal party beyond what we have described here. It is a lovely and intimate space, but it is not a large space.
Skinner Chapel is on the first floor of Fondren Hall on the campus of Scarritt Bennett Center. Ample and free parking is immedialty behind Fondren Hall at 1031 18th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212 in Scarrit Bennett Center's Parking Lot "A" while parking lot "B" is availalbe for overflow parking. Scarritt Bennett's campus is well-marked with signage to identify the buildings, and there is a directory map next to the Laskey Building when guests exit the parking lot onto the sidewalk. Fondren Hall has a wheelchair accessible entrance on the northeast side of the building. Fondren Hall also has two restrooms, free WiFi and new state of the art central heating and air conditioning.
Skinner Chapel does not have a bride's room or groom's room. All bridal party and guests must arrive dressed and ready for the elopement ceremony. It is the reponsability of the clients (the bride or groom) to inform guests as to when they should arrive. Our packages allow for a specific amount of time for the entire booking. Bridal party and/or applicable guests must arrive within the time frame of the client's booking.
Overnight Lodging
Scarritt Bennett Center does offer overnight lodging. Rich Events is not involved in options for Scarritt Bennett's lodging or food & beverage services. Please visit ScarrittBennett.org for details.
Rules & Regulations
All elopement weddings at Skinner Chapel are officiated and coordinated by Rich Events. Outside officiants and coordinators are not permitted.
The Rich Events officiant and staff will enforce all Scarritt Bennett Center campus rules and regulations which include but are not limited to prohibitions of alcohol, smoking, and use of sparklers and other potentially hazardous items.
Availability & Booking
All elopements at Skinner Chapel are booked in advance, exclusively through Rich Events. Reservations are required. Check with Rich Events for availably and booking.
The Just Married Elopement is only available for short-term bookings, no more than 60 days in advance
All Rich Events elopement packages at Skinner Chapel are subject to the availability of both Rich Events personnel and the venue, therefore no drop-in ceremonies are permitted. All ceremonies must be requested and booked in advance through Rich Events.
Click here to review venue availability for Skinner Chapel at Scarritt Bennett Center.
Please note that Rich Events must have personnel available in order to book our three elopement packages. Clients should also check the availability or our approved photographers before booking one of our packages if photography is a consideration. This link only pertains to the availability of the chapel itself, not Rich Events personnel or photographers.
Previews
We offer bridal preivew visits and planning meetings for the Getaway Plus Elopement and the Friends & Family Elopement at Skinner Chapel, but not for the smaller Getaway Elopement or Just Married Elopement. We have multiple photos of the chapel and the surrounding grounds of Scarritt Bennett Center on this website as well as more on our social media accounts and on our photographer's websites to help you make your choice. The smaller two elopements (Just Married and Getaway) are very simple and structured and do not pose a need for planning meetings.
Spring Haven Garden Details
The Facility
Spring Haven Gardens is a lovely outdoor space in Hendersonville, TN which is north east of Nashville. Elopements at Spring Haven are intended to be in the outdoor garden space, while the interior of the main house on property is available in the event of inclement weather.
Spring Haven Gardens only makes dressing rooms available for our largest elopement package, the Getaway Plus Elopement. All bridal party and guests must arrive dressed and ready for the smaller elopement ceremony bookings. It is the reponsability of the clients (the bride or groom) to inform guests as to when they should arrive. Our packages allow for a specific amount of time for the entire booking. Bridal party and/or applicable guests must arrive within the time frame of the client's booking.
Overnight Lodging
Spring Haven does offer overnight lodging. Rich Events is not involved in options for Spring Haven's lodging services. Please click here to inquire about lodging options at Spring Haven.
Rules & Regulations
All elopement weddings at Spring Haven Gardens are officiated and coordinated by Rich Events. Outside officiants and coordinators are not permitted.
The Rich Events officiant and staff will enforce all Spring Haven rules and regulations which include but are not limited to prohibitions of alcohol, smoking, and use of sparklers and other potentially hazardous items.
Availability & Booking
All elopements at Spring Haven Gardens are booked in advance, exclusively through Rich Events. Reservations are required. Check with Rich Events for availably and booking.
All Rich Events elopement packages at Spring Haven Gardens are subject to the availability of both Rich Events personnel and the venue, therefore no drop-in ceremonies are permitted. All ceremonies must be requested and booked in advance through Rich Events.
Previews
We offer a bridal preview visit or a planning meeting for the Getaway Plus Elopement at Spring Haven Gardens, but not for the smaller Getaway Elopement or Just Married Elopement. We have multiple photos of gardens and grounds at Spring Haven on this website as well as more on our social media accounts and on our photographer's websites to help you make your choice. The smaller two elopements (Just Married and Getaway) are very simple and structured and do not pose a need for planning meetings.
Skinner Chapel GPS - 1031 18th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212
Belmont Mansion GPS- Belmont Blvd. & Acklen Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212
Spring Haven Gardens - GPS - 1 Spring Haven Court, Hendersonville, TN 37075