Serena Marron and Nick Rugoff’s first date took place in August 2019 at Sant Ambroeus in Nolita, just two weeks after meeting at a mutual friend’s birthday party. The two have been inseparable ever since, and after dating for almost four years, they got engaged on a trip to France in June 2023. “Nick surprised me with a beautiful private dinner on a beach with all my favorite foods,” remembers Serena, who was a competitive equestrian and is now studying to become a life coach.
They got married almost two years later, on May 10 at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. “Blackberry Mountain was our first ever vacation together as a couple and has become our happy place over the last six years,” Serena explains. “Nick’s mom grew up in Tennessee, and we’ve always come back to Blackberry for birthdays and other meaningful events with our families. It had been our dream to share our special place with everyone we love.”
The couple worked with Stefanie Cove to plan every element. “Stef was a joy to work with and made everything flow seamlessly,” Serena says. “We cannot recommend her enough.” In addition to collaborating with Stefanie, Serena and Nick also leaned on family throughout the planning process. “We are so grateful to my mother Catie Marron, who organized a spectacular weekend and invited everyone to be our guests at both properties,” Serena says. “Sandy Beall, the founder of Blackberry Farm, became a mentor to Nick a few years ago, and he and the Blackberry team were also incredibly helpful to us throughout the whole process.”
The weekend began on Thursday night with the rehearsal dinner at Three Sisters, the main restaurant at Blackberry Farm. “We went with a green and yellow floral theme, with vases that my mom and I picked out at La Soufflerie in Paris,” Serena says.
On Friday, the bride and her friends hiked to the top of Goat Hill before a hoedown later that evening, where the suggested dress code was suede, fringe, cowboy boots, and prairie dresses. “I loved getting to show my best friends some of my favorite parts of Blackberry,” Serena recalls. Dinner that night was in the Firetower, a 1950s lookout tower that Blackberry restored and transformed into a cozy dining space. And afterwards, the band, the Mobile Homeboys, got everyone on their feet, while Bubba, the group’s line dancing instructor, put the group through their paces. “Many blisters were acquired, but nothing was going to slow us down,” Serena jokes.
