J.J. Nolan & Johnny Wickham

Married

Dec 12, 2025
Nashville , Tennessee

Photo Credit

Shannon McLaughlin

Style Guide

Color Palette

Style

Alternative, Vintage, Whimsical

Season

Winter

The Proposal

Johnny originally planned a quiet, private proposal at an Airbnb in Malibu. That plan was quickly derailed after a conversation with J.J.’s best friends and her mom, who all agreed this was not a “quiet” moment — and that she needed to be dressed, camera-ready, and ideally surrounded by people. So Johnny pivoted… hard.

Instead of Malibu, Johnny proposed on the red carpet at the London premiere of his film The Invisible Raptor. What made it even more surprising was how out of character it was for him — Johnny does not love attention. So when he got down on one knee in front of ten photographers, all snapping away, J.J. was genuinely shocked. And, admittedly, a little stressed that he had the ring rolling around loose in his pocket.

But it was perfect. Johnny’s parents and some of their closest friends were all there, and they got to celebrate immediately together — which made it incredibly special.

In Preparation

J.J. and Johnny knew they wanted to get married before the end of 2025, so they chose the very last weekend that wouldn’t interfere with Christmas or New Year’s: 12/12. The couple toured venues all over Los Angeles, but ultimately decided to get married in Johnny’s hometown of Nashville. He has so much family there, and it felt deeply aligned with both of their Southern roots – J.J. being from Dallas.

Once they locked the date, J.J. was off like a freight train. She knew they needed an indoor venue, so she narrowed down Nashville options and immediately started hunting for planners and photographers. J.J. actually found her planner, Lindsy Read, through a photographer whose work she became obsessed with — Shannon McLaughlin — and then ended up hiring Shannon as well.

Once Lindsy came on board, everything clicked. They planned a Nashville trip with Lindsy, Johnny, J.J.’s moms, and her best friend Ashton, who lives there, to tour venues. J.J. went back and forth between a few amazing options, but ultimately chose Saint Elle because it was completely indoors and a beautiful blank canvas — she knew she could bring in all the funk.

Lindsy developed a color palette based on J.J.’s favorite colors, and then J.J. spent the next few months putting her bridesmaids through a very rigorous dress hunt. The theme was “David Bowie on the Farm — Minus the Farm.” She didn’t want anyone in black. She wanted color, texture, pattern, fur, shimmer — everything. The instructions were “not a costume party, but a runway in the pasture” and “Tom Ford goes to Marfa.”
J.J. made a mood board that stressed a lot of people out — but the vision came to life, and it was EPIC. The real MVP was their stylist, Melissa Woodbury, who spent three months hunting down the most fabulous, mind-blowing outfits and changes. She dressed the couple head to toe and organized every last detail and accessory. The bride got her dress from Loho Bride in LA, and Melissa went to town on everything else.

Music was another one of the couples’ favorite parts. J.J. spent hours fine-tuning every song and transition for the processional with their DJ, Russ Pollard. It felt so personal to the couple and their friends. They used string covers of their favorite songs like Radiohead’s “No Surprises” and Daft Punk and Julian Casablancas’ “Instant Crush” — but the crowd favorite was probably the string cover of Ginuwine’s “Pony.” Johnny walked down the aisle to a string version of “Black Hole Sun,” and J.J. walked to a breathtaking string cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes,” recorded especially for her by her dear friend Paul Cartwright.

The Big Day

The couple’s wedding party rented out all of the rooms at Urban Cowboy, so it made perfect sense to get ready there. It was the ideal setting for getting-ready photos and first looks — especially with the Christmas decorations already up. The bridesmaids were having hair and makeup done in the lobby, and there were moments where they had to actively hide J.J. from Johnny.

It was truly all hands on deck getting J.J. into her dress. The couple shared a semi-private first look at the hotel, which they loved, and getting photos at Urban Cowboy before heading to Saint Elle gave them such a beautiful contrast between locations. When they arrived at Saint Elle, Lindsy and the vendor team had created actual magic. Everything looked exactly as J.J. had imagined — from the draping by Quest Events, to the florals by L.L. Floral, to the serpentine tables, chartreuse linens, and rentals from Curated Events. They were genuinely shocked by how perfectly it all came together.

One of the favorite moments was hearing everyone laughing as they sent the bar cart down the aisle after the flower girls. A string cover of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” was played and the bartenders followed with a cooler that read “To Have & To Hold (My Beer).”

After the ceremony, they moved into cocktail hour with specialty drinks inspired by places J.J. and Johnny traveled together when they first fell in love. Dinner was catered by Bacon & Caviar, followed by lots of dancing, the coolest cake from Baked on 8th, and surprise dessert from Cowboy Cannolis.

The couple truly couldn’t imagine a better day. J.J. was always nervous she would be too stressed to enjoy it — but between her incredible bridesmaids and Lindsy, she felt completely taken care of and free from any responsibility. It was pure joy.

The Retreat

Since J.J. and Johnny’s wedding landed right in the middle of the holidays, they decided to put the honeymoon on the back burner so they could enjoy Christmas with their families — and also figure out when they could realistically take time off work. Johnny flew to Toronto immediately after the wedding for a shoot, and J.J. flew back to Los Angeles for one as well.

That said, they are very excited to start planning — especially because they won travel credits through their room block service, Engine. Japan is currently at the top of their list.

Contributing Vendors