NATALIE & MIKE

Hello there? Is anyone out there? Helloooooo?

Okay, I know it’s been a long time since I’ve last written in my notes, but the weddings are starting again so it’s time for me to rub the rust out of my eyes and dust off my computer keyboard and start writing again.

Bear with me please.

Actually I have a LOT to write about, but I will start by writing about the amazing wedding we covered last weekend. Our First Wedding of the 2009 Season award goes to …..Drum roll please….. Natalie and Mike who were married on April 18 at Brentwood United Methodist Church!

Okay. So there really is no “First Wedding of the 2009 Season award”. But hey! Natalie and Mike WERE our first wedding of 2009, and who knows, maybe we’ll start giving an award someday!

Anyway, it was a perfect wedding to start the year with. I had tons of fun, and so did Lynette and Amanda, and our new “McNeal Dream Team 2009”, Amy and Dawn!

Okay. There really IS a “McNeal Dream Team 2009”, which I will talk more about later. But for now, just know that we all had a great time at this wedding. And afterward, Lynette and I were talking and we decided that so many things made this wedding really special, but what REALLY made it the perfect wedding was…….. Natalie and Mike! They were so easy going and pleasant and in love and were just having a really great day. It’s hard for us to not have a good day when you have such a terrific bride and groom to work with.

Our actual wedding weekend started Friday night after the rehearsal. Natalie and Mike chose to have us film their rehearsal dinner, so me and Dream Team Amy went to Natalie’s family farm to cover the dinner while Lynette went to the church for the rehearsal. We’ve done several weddings at Brentwood United Methodist, so we already had a good idea how we were going to cover the wedding, but still Lynette went to the rehearsal to see how the ceremony was going to look so we wouldn’t be surprised by anything on the wedding day. Why do we do this? Because this is JUST WHAT WE DO. :--)

While Lynette was doing that, Dream Team Amy and I went to the farm and had a lovely, (but chilly!) evening with Natalie and Mike and their family and friends as they ate yummy-country-home-cooked food under a tent while visiting with each other, making toasts, and generally having a lot of fun with the wedding couple. Everything looked so pretty, from the flowers on the tables, to the pond and bucolic scenery, to the remodeled “barn” that was more a guest house than any barn I’ve ever seen! And during all of this fun I kept asking myself why more couples don’t want their rehearsal dinner recorded? Beats me! The toasts and laughter were celebrating a once in a lifetime event. Why NOT record that on video to watch forever?

Anyway, after the rehearsal dinner was over, Dream Team Amy and I called it a night. Well, at least I did. I really don’t know what Dream Team Amy did! But I had to get my beauty sleep since Saturday was going to be a BIG day!

And it was! Saturday afternoon Amanda, Lynette, and I convened at Brentwood Methodist to record Natalie and Mike’s big day. And Dream Team Dawn helped record the day too. It was her first day of training at an actual wedding! And she did an awesome job! Amanda and Dawn spent their afternoon with Natalie and her bridesmaids while they were getting dressed for the wedding. And of course, I spent the afternoon with Mike and the guys. During part of the photo shoot, Dream Team Dawn traded off and helped me out with the guys photo shoot. Dawn was like fish to water. I think she’s a natural!

The photo shoot was fun to cover because our friends and photographer Derrick Pierce (and lovely Laura) were there to record the day through photography. They are so easy and fun to work with it makes our day just that much better! And they’re pretty talented too!

I also really love Brentwood United Methodist. I think it’s a really beautiful church. I love the pipe organ and the huge alter area. I love the stained glass and the red carpet. And it’s just so darn roomy! But I also loved the flowers that Natalie had chosen for her day. Pink. Pink flowers. My favorite! They were gorgeous! :--)

And speaking of gorgeous, Natalie looked GORGEOUS! I loved her dress, and I loved her bridesmaid’s dresses. Everything looked so “Que’de e tu sthwa”. Okay. That’s not really a word. But I like it, so I’m leaving it. It means, “Perfect in a classy, elegant, but not over-the-top way”. Okay. So it loses something in translation. But I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS. And it’s “Que’de e tu sthwa” perfect!

Natalie and Mike chose to not see each other before the ceremony, and I had the honor of capturing Mike’s expression when he first saw Natalie walking down the aisle on her father’s arm. Mike had a BIG smile. I LOVE it when they do that! And the ceremony was really lovely. Natalie and Mike met in an unusual way and the minister told their story of meeting and falling in love…..sigh…… it was very nice. After they were pronounced husband and wife, they were so happy that when they walked up the aisle, Mike picked up Natalie and swung her all around! So Sweet! And perfect for video!

After the ceremony it was time to race to the reception which was held at The Parthenon! This wasn’t the first time we’ve covered a reception at The Parthenon, but it was still so exciting! The actual reception took place INSIDE The Parthenon right under goddess Athena. Pretty amazing. But there was also a lovely area outside on the porch (does The Parthenon have a “porch”?) where sofas and tables were sitting around casually so that guests could mingle and talk outside as well.

Dream Team Dawn rode with me over to The Parthenon after the ceremony, and I don’t think I scared her too much with my driving…… at least she said that I didn’t. :--) But we made it in plenty of time to capture the pretty flowers on the tables and the guests mingling and going through the delicious buffet before Natalie and Mike arrived. And of course, the cakes were there. Yes. Oh yes. We got the cakes. And I have to say, I only had ONE piece of the wedding cake, but it was super yummy! If I had more time, I would have eaten TWO pieces! It was “two piece” yummy!

I really enjoyed Natalie and Mike’s first dance. They danced right under the huge goddess statue. That was soooo amazing to watch. And the band, The Blue Tones, were set up to play also pretty much right under the goddess. They rocked The Parthenon for sure!

Everyone, and I mean everyone was dancing. And if they weren’t dancing, then they were sitting on the comfy sofas talking and visiting and watching everyone else dance. No one went home! The reception was so much fun that the guests all stayed. There was no going home early at this party!

The last dance of the evening was to “What A Wonderful World”, performed by one of Blue Tones amazing singers. Natalie and Mike cozied up in the middle of the dance floor and danced that one last dance together before melting into the crowd and making their way toward beginning their honeymoon and life together.

I was a bit surprised that Natalie and Mike LITERALLY melted into the crowd. It was like they disappeared into thin air! Lynette had already made her way down to where the happy couple was going to be making their exit, and Dream Team Dawn and I were working our way down there as well when we discovered that there was no Natalie and Mike! They had gone! Poof! Luckily Lynette was there to get them as they were leaving so we have proof that they didn’t literally disappear into thin air! But actually, what happened was that it started raining during the last dance and rather than have their guests stand in the rain tossing wet rose petals, Natalie and Mike finished dancing their dance, and walked through the crowd, out the door and into the night. It was like……magic!

Such a perfect ending to a perfect day.

But I can’t end here because I need to talk a moment about “McNeal Dream Team 2009”! Okay. By now I guess everyone knows that Amanda is expecting her second daughter in August. Amanda will continue to edit videos, but she is pretty much out of commission for working the weddings for now. And Lynette. Dear Lynette. Well, I always say that the best use of Lynette’s talent is to keep her at home editing video. Barefoot and editing, that’s what I say! Oh, she won’t go away, don’t worry! Lynette is still doing ceremonies and receptions here and there, but TRUST ME. The best use of Lynette’s time is for her to keep the business running, keep the bride and moms happy, and EDIT EDIT EDIT! Now that just leaves me. And as hard as I may try, I can’t video an entire wedding alone. So this is where “McNeal Dream Team 2009” comes in! I’ve already introduced you to Amy and Dawn. Many of you already know Amy from when she has helped us with weddings and bridal shows in the past. We love Amy! And Dawn is new to McNeal, but she has a passion for weddings and capturing the beauty of the day that is so refreshing! Plus, we haven’t scared her away yet, so she’s a keeper! :--) And the third member of “McNeal Dream Team 2009” is our cousin Laura. Again, many of you may know Laura from when she worked with us some last year, and also it was Laura who was our original third camera person before Amanda joined the team! So we are all so excited about working with Amy, Dawn, and Laura this year! And Amanda, Lynette, and I KNOW that you will love them as much as we do.

Now, getting back to the end of Natalie and Mike’s wedding day…… Thank you both so much for allowing us to capture your day for you! You both are wonderful people and you both have the most wonderful parents and families! All of our best…. to all of you!

Ooops! I hear a rerun of Sex and the City ending in the other room and that means just one thing. It’s 11:30 pm, which is still early for me, but I have so much to do before I can go to bed! So I am NOT going to bed now, but rather saying good-nite and have a simply “Que’ de e tu sthwa” day tomorrow!

Cheryl