one of my favorite parts of our nashville trip (yes, i'm still posting about it, you can never have too much nashville!) was our tour at the grand ole opry.  we were lucky enough to fit in a backstage tour into our schedule and i'm so glad that we did.  we even got tickets to the night's show - where little big town and tyler farr were performing! it was so cool to see where the artists hang out, stand on the stage and learn all about the opry's history.

the history at the opry is incredible - so many famous people have and still do take the stage.  the grand ole opry is a weekly country music stage concert in that has presented the biggest stars of that genre.  it was founded in 1925 as a one-hour radio "barn dance" and is among the longest-running radio broadcasts in history.  dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the opry showcases a mix of legends and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, folk, gospel, and comedic performances and skits.  the grand ole pry is considered an american icon and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners.

ryman auditorium // nashville, tn

another highlight from our nashville tourist extravaganza was the ryman auditorium.  the ryman auditorium (formerly grand ole opry house and union gospel tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live performance venue and is best known as the most famous home of the grand ole opry.  

it was used for grand ole opry broadcasts from 1943 until 1974, when the opry built a larger venue just outside nashville at the opryland USA theme park.  in 1992, emmylou harris and her band, the nash ramblers, performed a series of concerts at the ryman. these concerts renewed interest in restoring the ryman and it was reopened as an intimate performance venue and museum in 1994.  

when you walk into the ryman, you find yourself among the pews, staring at a grand wooden stage.  it's almost as if you have gone back in time.  sitting in the pews at the ryman is a reminder of the auditorium's origins as a house of worship, hence giving it the nickname "the mother church of country music".

ryman auditorium was included in the national register of historic places in 1971, and was further designated a national historic landmark in 2001.

travel // nashville, tennessee

just some of my favorite pictures from our time in nashville.  i can't wait to go back to this city.

the johnny cash museum // nashville, tn

my time in nashville extended beyond the bachelorette shenanigans to some pretty epic tourist to-dos and lots of delicious food.  my parents flew out and met me in music city to do some sight seeing and take in all that nashville has to offer.  one of our first stops? the johnny cash museum!  this place was unreal.  everything you needed to know about johnny was in this small, intimate museum.  clothes, guitars, video footage, stories, letters, and anything johnny related.  it was a great way to kick off our sight seeing and totally fan girl over one of nashvilles biggest and brightest stars.

hello music city! // nashville bachelorette weekend part 2

day two of our weekend in nashville kicked off with brunch at the loveless cafe, a well know breakfast spot just outside of downtown nashville that's famous for their biscuits.  the food was delicious! i think it's safe to say i ate my weight in hot biscuits and cheesy potato casserole.  we ventured out to downtown nashville after breakfast for an epic day of singing, dancing and spoiling our bride to be (all in our matching shirts - of course!)  it was such a fun day - the bachelorette even got on stage at a few stops and showed the locals how us california girls do country music!  it was the perfect all day extravaganza to top off the weekend before we all went our separate ways the next day!

hello music city! // nashville bachelorette weekend part 1

back in august, i ventured to nashville for a week with 21 of my closest girlfriends for a wild bachelorette weekend.  our 4 day extravaganza kicked off with a music city bar crawl, taking us to historic bars and sharing fun facts and history about nashville in between beers and fireball shots.  it was hard to miss our group, 22 california girls roaming around downtown nashville, signing and laughing and enjoying ourselves to the fullest extent.  this group is a special one; 20 of us were all in the same sorority in college and have been friends for almost 10 years!  we may not all live in the same city, or state! anymore, but when we get together, it's definitely a special and very fun event!