Katie & Trey - Wow! What a Wedding!

Greetings! Ok. How many of you went to The Parthenon at Centennial Park when you were in school? Show of hands……. one, two, three, ten, eleven, twelve…..Ok. NOW how many of you have ever danced the night away on top of the Parthenon steps? Show of hands…… Not that many…. I didn’t think so…… Well, I HAVE!!!! Um, sort of. Actually, I didn’t exactly dance but I’ll explain that more in just a bit…..

This past weekend Katie and Trey were married at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding and we couldn’t have asked for a prettier day. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer couple. Everything about the day was PERFECT.

The day started with me, Lynette, and Kelsey the New Video Chick carpooling together to the wedding. Amanda went to the church earlier to cover Katie getting dressed, so we decided to carpool because we knew with 600 guests finding spaces for one car would be a challenge much less finding parking spaces for three cars. Oh, and we also saved money on gas which helps our environment. Or something like that. Anyway, when we got to the church we went our separate ways and went into “wedding mode”. I found the guys, Lynette and Kelsey found the girls, and we all got to work.

To say that the guys were laid back before the wedding would be putting it lightly. Trey may have been a little bit nervous, but really, he didn’t seem very nervous at all. Trey was smiling a lot, so I guess that meant he was more happy than nervous. So since the guys were still getting dressed, I left them alone for a little while and went into the church to take detail shots. And there were some beautiful details. Remember, detail shots are those shots that Lynette uses in editing that show the beauty of the day, or what the day looked like, etc. So I was shooting the flowers on the pews, the bouquets and boutonnières, the special mat that was at the door of the church with Katie and Trey’s initials on it……there was just so many pretty details to shoot! But then the guys got ready and it was time to video their photo shoot. But they looked nice too.

Katie and Trey decided not to see each other before the wedding, so the guys and girls were kept separate. The guys all looked handsome in their tuxes of course, but when I saw the girls, they were gorgeous!    The color of the bridesmaid dresses was a soft shade of  sage green. 

And then I saw Katie. She was absolutely beautiful! I’m still waiting for the day when I see one of our brides who isn’t beautiful. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I don’t think it’s possible since we seem to have the prettiest brides in Nashville!

Finally it was time for the wedding, and the guests started arriving. And arriving. And arriving. And arriving. (You see, there were LOTS of guests….. get it? Ha ha?). Anyway the ceremony was very touching and emotional. Of course I couldn’t actually see the emotions from the back of the church looking through my camera view finder, but Lynette said it was emotional, so I will trust her until I actually watch the raw footage before the editing begins.

After the wedding, once again I rode with Lynette and Kelsey the New Video Chick to the reception venue. It’s of great importance that we make it to the reception in a timely manner so we can start shooting details (there is my word again), as well as be in position when the bride and groom arrive. And I’m not saying that Lynette drives slowly. Not at all. That’s certainly not what I’m saying. All I’m saying is that sometimes I have to remind her to go with the flow of the traffic. That’s all. Nothing more nothing less.

So FINALLY we arrive at the reception which was held at THE PARTHENON. Yep. The one at Centennial Park. The only re-creation of the actual Parthenon in Greece. That one. It’s a big building, you can’t miss it. Anyway, we were so excited about doing a reception at The Parthenon. We love doing receptions at new venues that we’ve never done before, and we certainly haven’t had a reception at The Parthenon before. I was so excited I could hardly stand it. Do you know how many DETAILS are at The Parthenon?????  :-)

First, a large tent was set up on top of The Parthenon steps that lead into the front of the building. Underneath the tent were casual but chic sofas and tables and a large dance floor with Katie and Trey’s initials in lights. The band Familiar Faces was there too. Doesn’t seem like there would be room enough for all of that, but there was room plus more.

Then, when I walked into the actual Parthenon itself to find the cake, I didn’t have to look very far. OMG! It was like something out of a movie! The cake was sitting front and center as you walked into the room and behind it, WAAAAY behind it, was the tall, golden, beautiful statue of a goddess. OMG! It was GORGEOUS! And the cake, and I never forget the cake, was also decorated with gold colored beads that matched the gold goddess! OMG! I thought I was going to faint for a second.

After I pulled myself together, I noticed the rest of the room with all the Egyptian carvings and the guest tables decorated so beautifully with different flower arrangements on every table . . . I just couldn't process it all.  Then I followed the guests to a room behind the golden goddess and found the food.  And there was LOTs of food.  Of course I ate.  (Me?  Miss a meal?)  And it was yummy!  Chef Works catered the buffet dinner, and I must say they did an outstanding job.

Oh goodness! I got all excited about the cake and the goddess that I jumped ahead of myself. But there was just so much to see and tell about! But where are Katie and Trey, you might be wondering. Well, they arrived in a horse drawn carriage and as soon as they arrived, fireworks greeted them. First their names spelled out in fireworks. WOW!  And then a pretty display of golden sprays of fireworks coming up like a fountain from the lake. It was soooo pretty.

Okay, then after all the guests ate, and Katie and Trey had their first dance and cut the cake, the dance floor was opened and the band started jamming and the dance floor was full in a flash. Everyone was having such a great time! So I was actually shooting the happy guests dancing at The Parthenon, not actually dancing myself. But I was having a great time! If it was so much fun for me, then I can only imagine that the guests were having a ball! They certainly looked like they were!

The end of the evening came too soon for me. The horse and carriage drove back up and Katie and Trey ran down the steps to guests tossing rose petals. And then they got into the carriage and drove away……

It was sooooo nice. Thank you Katie and Trey for letting us record your special day for you!

But I must add one more thing. Another reason why we had such a lovely day was because we were able to work along side photographer and friend, Derrick Pierce of D. Pierce Studio. And of course his lovely wife Laura. And if you’ve ever met Laura, you know that there is no way we can forget Laura! She’s a hoot! And I mean that in a good way. We all love Derrick and Laura.

Seems like we’ve been working with Derrick forever. We have such an easy rapport with Derrick and Laura that some people in the wedding party assumed that we were a video/photography team. I was being told things to tell Derrick and given things to give Derrick, and when I said, okay, but I don’t know when I’ll see Derrick, they would respond with, “aren’t you all together”? Derrick may not consider that a compliment, but I certainly do! But McNeal Video and Derrick do seem to work as a team when we’re together. And I guess people pick up on it.

Our first wedding with Derrick was three or four years ago at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ and I can still remember the day and the couple.

I remember being so impressed with the way that Derrick and Laura worked so easily together with the bride and groom and their wedding party. They had everyone laughing during the shoot. And they both were so nice and easy for us to work with that first time and ever since. It seems that at the first wedding together we both respected each others work and the respect for each other only seems to grow.  

Derrick is our Vendor in the Spotlight this week.  Be sure to check it out -- you can read more about him there.

With that said, I just want to send out another thank you and Best Wishes to Katie and Trey. Thank you for having us at your wedding! And now, I’m off to bed…….

Comments

[Linda]

Cheryl,
I love to read your blogs! They are so interesting and it sounds just like you are talking to me. I can't imagine shooting a wedding that fancy! I would be stressed just trying to cover everything. You make it sound like it was just fun, fun, fun!