EXCLUSIVE: Inside Brett Cooper’s Homegrown Wedding
Story by Caroline Downey
John Cain Photography
In her bridal suite in a white poplin button-down, Brett Cooper wrote thank-you notes as the sun of a bright Nashville day streamed through the window. Her bridal party was abuzz, making floral arrangements, filming BTS on an old camcorder, and sharing seed oil-free snacks while they finished their glam. Her new St. Bernard puppy slept soundly on a settee.
In five hours, Cooper would be married.
Popular for her hit Daily Wire YouTube show “The Comments Section,” the 22-year-old personality spent six months in Budapest, Hungary this fall to shoot the media company’s fantasy series, The Pendragon Cycle.
Her now-husband, Alex Tombul–the founder of a new Nashville ad agency who usually prefers to stay out of the spotlight–surprised her with a proposal on the fairytale terrace of the Fisherman’s Bastion, a Romanesque backdrop fitting for the mythical production.
First my internet girl crush, then pen pal, now friend and muse, Cooper and I found rapport in chewing on cultural questions over a few spontaneous Nashville outings. On our first meeting in December 2022, we painted the town red on Broadway, hitting a cool speakeasy before square-dancing at the iconic Robert’s Western World. At a subsequent get-together that included Tombul, whip-smart and jovial just like Cooper, I saw their special bond firsthand.
Cooper–who had always dreamed of eloping–originally opposed the idea of a wedding. However, the groom believed it was important to make a public commitment before their community and God, not just the city clerk.
And so they agreed that they wanted their greatest supporters to witness, and participate in, their union. With so many champions of their relationship, the planning unfolded naturally, made possible by vendors who also happened to be dear friends and family. Given our friendship, Cooper asked if I would attend as well as memorialize the day in writing for posterity.
“Duh,” I said.
Cooper’s friends, all down-to-earth and relaxed, glowed about her hospitable heart. Bridesmaid and co-worker Madison Clark told The Conservateur that Cooper initiated their friendship by inviting her to a rodeo via Slack. Deeply loyal, Cooper healed Clark’s childhood need for a best friend, she said.
“She makes you feel so seen in a conversation,” Clark said of the bride.
Cooper gifted her six bridesmaids custom L.L.Bean totes printed with each girl’s catchphrase, such as “Stinkncute,” “So True,” and “GoshDangit.” Their dresses, each a different garden-like color, texture, and silhouette, channeled each girl’s aura.
As Cooper slipped on her heels, clear PVC embellished with crystals, I recognized them from our cocktail hour a year ago at The Graduate rooftop in downtown Nashville.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” said Cooper.
She acted in Hollywood as a child, attended University of California Los Angeles, and almost enrolled in law school before her Daily Wire debut in 2022. Given her maturity, most are astounded by Cooper’s age. While she has played many parts, her character has never changed.
Bridesmaid Reagan Rohrbach got to know Cooper before the show launched. After moving to Nashville within a couple months of each other, the pair bonded over a shared quest: sourcing the best raw milk dealer. Their friendship deepened after Rohrbach accepted a lead role on “The Comments Section” team, and even more so after she spent time in Budapest with the bride. Cooper remained authentic to herself before and after the YouTube launch, said Rohrbach, echoed by bridesmaid and friend of ten years, Lexi DiBenedetto.
Proverbial Cup, an acclaimed Nashville coffee shop that frequently comes to the Daily Wire, brewed delicious, flavored lattes and other espresso drinks for guests as they arrived. Bridesmaid Emily Sarife, an artist, designed the illustration of the couple’s dogs that was printed on the cups.
For the ceremony, Cooper’s oldest brother Chase accompanied her. Dressed in a sharp suited vest and black cowboy hat, he was a presence that commanded immediate respect. Her mentor and confidant, Chase is a giant to Cooper. She always knew he would walk her down the aisle.
Cooper’s chosen brothers are fellow YouTuber Amir Odom and medical student Tyler Ray. The audience erupted as the two put a comical, Men in Black spin on the “flower girl” custom.
Suddenly, I realized the soundtrack of the ceremony was not a recording but a real voice: the couple’s friend Israel McFarland. I’m told he was a non-negotiable for their nuptials long before Tombul popped the question.
Following Odom and Ray’s trail of multi-color rose petals, Cooper entered the chapel, the picture of a princess in a billowing white satin gown, bespoke by Daalarna in Budapest. Voluminous off-the-shoulder sleeves complemented the drop-waist, lined with pearl tuxedo buttons.
As she floated down the aisle, McFarland crooned his rendition of “June” by The Wldlfe, the song that played when Tombul first said “I love you.”
The groom was teary-eyed and overcome with happiness as she walked towards him.
“Loving him feels like coming home,” Cooper has often said.
In the chapel, the couple paid tribute to their heavenly guests-of-honor by affixing their photographs on the last pews. While the groom’s side featured his departed grandparents, the bride’s side remembered her late brother, David, who passed away when she was five years old.
Onto her bouquet, composed of vibrant roses, anemone, ranunculus, snapdragons, and baby’s breath collected by their hometown florist Bud Floral and Home, Cooper pinned a small charm of a cardinal to commemorate David. The redbird is thought to signify the spirit of a deceased loved one, and Cooper looks for them wherever she goes.
As her brother gave Cooper away, a cardinal flew to the window of the chapel and settled in on a perch for the ceremony. Beyond serendipity, another cardinal had visited the same spot the night before, Cooper's family reported. All in attendance felt it was an assurance of God’s providence and David’s guardianship.
At the request of the couple, close friend and ordained minister Jonathan Hay shared with the congregation the divine purpose of marriage often overlooked in today’s culture, which they had discussed at length in counseling.
“God makes something other than himself so he can draw them up to become like himself, which is love,” said Hay.
As if connected by an invisible string, the two grew up just five miles from each other, Hay recounted. For over 15 years, between mutual friends and Tombul attending high school with Cooper’s brother, their lives intertwined, until they finally met in April of 2022.
Cooper was instantly infatuated with Tombul, first noticing his confidence and surprisingly explosive laugh.
Impressive in his own right, Tombul is Cooper’s match in creativity and mental dexterity, with a long list of interests and ambitions that keep the bride on her toes. They enjoy applying these skills on the farm they recently purchased together.
Tombul had always been very picky with women throughout his life, according to his family. They joked that his last “real” girlfriend had been in the 7th grade. All of that changed when he met Cooper. Right off the bat, he observed that Cooper was genuine and self-respecting. He didn’t have to translate his mind, which fell into sync with hers. After spending time together, he craved more. In his gut, he knew they would get married, even before their first date.
For Cooper, he was the “intellectual sparring partner” she had been hoping to find. Undeterred by her success and outspoken nature, he challenged her with stimulating conversation. He provided Cooper with a home and a soft place to land. In turn, Cooper melted his stubbornness and brought him out of his shell, his mother said.
They made their love the focus of the wedding.
In a modern-day “barn-raising,” as Cooper called it in her reception thank-you speech, they enlisted friends and Tennessee mom-and-pop shops who shared their reverence for the institution of marriage. Often associated with the Amish, “barn-raising” is when locals build a house or barn for a member of their community, followed by a party.
The weekend began with a Friday night rehearsal dinner at Lockeland Table, where the couple had their first date. The families toasted, laughed, and swapped stories, much like Cooper and Tombul did when they closed down the restaurant on that Tuesday night in 2022.
In typical Nashville fashion, the bride and groom sported his-and-her cowboy hats. Cooper wore a thrifted wedding dress that she had altered to tea-length.
For the wedding, The Venue at Birchwood in Spring Hill, Tennessee was offered up by Rose Reid, Cooper’s bridesmaid, co-star in Pendragon, and co-owner of her family’s venue.
“That’s a beautiful spot,” our Uber driver said. The talk of the town and a hidden gem, Birchwood luckily had one date left available in the spring. The couple jumped at the opportunity, organizing a wedding in under six months.
With talent to spare, the bride and groom’s neighborhood network chipped in to supply the fixings for the wedding.
Even the barbeque banquet, catered by Franklin’s beloved Rooster’s BBQ, had a personal link to the couple. The Reids had generously volunteered their family’s antique China plates, quaintly mismatched with spring vignettes, to serve dinner.
The wedding cake, confetti filled with Italian buttercream and adorned with flowers, was the handiwork of Cooper’s close friend Dana Commandatore, who was runner up on Season 5 of the Great American Bake Off. One of the groomsmen’s wives, a baker in Tampa, Florida, made the grooms’ four cheesecakes. A lavender aroma wafted through the grounds from dawn until dusk, courtesy of handmade soaps from Birds and Soaps, the business of Cooper’s Idaho family-friend.
The fragrant favors were consistent with the many farmhouse wildflowers, bought wholesale and arranged by the couple’s creative mothers and bridesmaids, that decorated the venue.
Throughout the evening, an agile trio from John Cain Photography roved about the crowd, capturing candids and raw emotions.
Early on in their engagement, Cain pitched his services to Cooper. His team, on the same page as the couple about documenting the love and loved ones, quickly became their trusted advisors.
DiscoFox, the live band at the reception, was recruited on one of Tombul’s flights to Budapest after a happenstance connection across the aisle. In the hubbub of grabbing luggage and exiting the plane, Tombul secured their number and immediately started working on a setlist.
Their first-ever wedding performance, DiscoFox wowed from the first chord. Lead singer Daniel Sovich, formerly of Almost Famous on Broadway, hypnotized the room with his evocative version of “Stolen” by Dashboard Confessional for the newlyweds’ first dance.
After the barn was raised up, the band brought it down. They treated guests to a roaring rock-and-roll concert that could have sold out any Nashville music mainstay. After sundown, hardly anyone was still seated. Their songs, including many classics, were tailored to Cooper, Tombul, and their intimate circle.
After a quick change during the reception, Cooper emerged in her mother’s reimagined wedding dress. DiscoFox whipped up an impromptu cover of “Copperhead Road” by Steve Earle for Cooper and Chase to showcase their two-stepping and line-dancing from years of practice together.
At the end of the night, Cooper and Tombul snuck away for a private dance to DiscoFox’s original song “Keep It,” while guests prepared for their sparkler send-off.
It was all about warmth, welcoming, and friends and family. Having devoured the mac-and-cheese, snapped a Polaroid for the embroidered scrapbook, and watched guests sway and swoon to the music, I can attest that the wedding was spectacular precisely because it was not a spectacle. Refreshingly old-fashioned, it was a simple service and shindig. The Tombuls’ day was anchored in localism and their covenant to one another. Many guests left saying it was the best time they had ever had at a wedding.
Caroline Downey is the Editor-in-chief of The Conservateur and multimedia reporter at National Review. She can be found on Twitter @carolinedowney_.
John Cain Sargent, the visionary behind John Cain Photography in Dallas, TX, is celebrated for his exquisite approach to capturing life’s most anticipated moments. With a focus on elegance and timeless beauty, his work in wedding and portrait photography has set a new standard in the industry. Sargent’s keen eye for detail and his ability to encapsulate the essence of a moment have endeared him to clients seeking more than just a photo, but a treasure trove of memories. His studio, known for its unparalleled customer service and commitment to excellence, has become a hallmark of weddings in Texas and beyond. Through John Cain Photography, Sargent continues to weave stories of love, celebration, and human connection with every captured moment.
