SHARON & JASON

My favorite time of year is here and it’s time for the seasons to start changing. I can’t wait for fall to officially get here. And I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by so far. Since time is flying so fast I thought it might be a good time to report the happy changes that have taken place at McNeal Video while I was waiting for September.

First, we’ve had two babies at McNeal Video! If it seemed like Amanda had been nesting for several years, well, I think she would be the first to agree with you! She thought her baby would never arrive! But happily, Amanda is now the proud mother of adorable Baby Nora who made her appearance in August. Amanda and Nora are doing great. Nora’s big sister, Evy, is so sweet with her new baby sister. (Evy, sisters are the BEST!)  Also, Team Laura, who has been working with us on and off over the years and most recently helped us with our spring weddings, adopted a baby! Baby Sol is doing well, and Team Laura has her hands full with two babies in diapers and little daughter Harper just a few years out of them!

Given that Amanda and Team Laura have their hands full with new babies, and McNeal has some great weddings on our calendar and we might need an extra hand, Lynette decided to take another look at the gene pool and pluck out another talented family member to train to help with our weddings. (We have a very deep gene pool, btw. Twelve children on our mother’s side, six on our fathers…yep, that’s deep!). Anyway, out plucked Team Emily who is our second cousin but more importantly, is very talented and has a great eye with the camera! We’re a family of friggin Alfred Hitchcocks! Welcome Team Emily! Oh, and Lynette wants to pass on this message to Team Emily, Team Dawn, and Team Amy….. NO BABIES!!!!!!   :--)   

Oh My!  Just took a small break and walked in front of the tv…..Taxicab Confessions! Wow!

But no time for tv now! I have a blog to write about the wedding we covered this past weekend!  Sharon and Jason were married OUTDOORS in a beautiful wedding held at Sharon’s parent’s farm located in Milton, which I think is close to Murfreesboro somehow…… All I know is that is was the perfect place for an outdoor wedding.

Now if you know anything about Cheryl, you know that I love pink, loves my cakes, and I do NOT do heat well! So I will be honest and admit that I had feared the worst all year for our wedding planned for the last weekend in August, with an OUTDOOR wedding AND OUTDOOR Reception! Yikes! I knew I was going to melt! And that fear was not ungrounded. Many years ago we did a wedding in August at the Governors Club and it was the hottest weekend of the summer…. 100+ degrees with 100% humidity! I died! No really, I did! So visions of that hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot wedding floated through my head as August 29 quickly approached. But……. You can imagine my surprise when Saturday came and it wasn’t so hot! Okay, it was a bit warm during the day while the sun was out, but NOT 100 degrees hot. Thank goodness!

Long story short. I survived! And the weather was really not so bad for an outdoor wedding in August in Tennessee. And after I saw the location during the rehearsal the night before the wedding, I could understand why our bride wanted to get married outdoors. The scenery was beautiful. We were surrounded by newly mowed fields and rolling hills and wild turkey and deer making their way into the valley totally unaware of everyone gazing at them from a distance. It was actually perfect. 

When Lynette and I and Team Dawn and Team Emily arrived on Saturday to begin our day, the tent was already up for the reception and rows of white chairs for the ceremony were set up facing a beautiful valley.

We all pretty much had our assignments. Lynette would be spending most of the day training Team Emily, while Team Dawn and I were responsible for getting everything else! Which we did! Dawn spent time with our bride Sharon as she was getting dressed and I spent time with groom Jason. And Lynette and Team Emily were here, there, everywhere. Since Sharon and Jason chose to see each other before the wedding, we were able to cover a full photo shoot before the wedding. 

Sometimes covering a full photo shoot isn’t very fun if we don’t know the photographer, but we were so happy to be working with our friend Angie from Gambill Photography. WE LOVE ANGIE! She is so talented and creative…. Her photos are always gorgeous! And she’s a breeze to work with! We don’t even mind that she brings along her assistant, (and husband), Trey. :--)  Just kidding Trey! We love you too!

I told Trey that I would give him a big Shout Out in my blog this weekend, so here it is Trey! Trey is a great guy and he doesn’t know this and I hope he doesn’t take it the wrong way, but Trey kind of reminds me of Penn of “Penn and Teller”. And I mean that as a compliment because I love Penn and Teller. But keeping that in mind, when I’m talking with Trey and he tells me something, I sorta look at him like he’s trying to play a joke on me when he’s really just being very happy and nice. So when talking with Trey I usually give him the “Skeptical Cheryl Look” until I realize he’s being sincere. Trey just probably thinks I’m incredibly weird. Which I am! But not really. But anyway, Trey’s a great guy and Angie is a great photographer and together, as I think I referred to them from a wedding we did together earlier this year, “They is Good People”!

I have rambled enough! Time to tell about Sharon and Jason’s wedding!

After shooting the prep of Sharon getting into her dress and Jason getting into his tux, it was time for them to see each other.

Angie took Jason outside to stand at the “alter” where they would soon be getting married and had him turn his back as Sharon walked down the aisle toward him. Then he turned and saw her! What fun! Sharon looked sooooooo pretty! After a few words and kisses, the photo shoot began!

Angie had Sharon and Jason pose at the front of the house, at the back of the house, inside the house, outside the house, in the field, beside the field, on a couch in the field…. You name it, Angie did it! 

I have always loved how Angie poses her couples, which is very creative and not posed looking at all. I know Angie got some great shots, and so did we! I KNOW Sharon and Jason are going to be thrilled with their photo’s AND their video! :--)

After an afternoon of photos, guests started trickling in, then pouring in, and before we knew it, it was time for Sharon and Jason to get married!

Lynette and I and Team Dawn and Team Emily took our places for the ceremony, as did the wild turkey and deer behind us. The sun was almost setting as the Minister, The Best Man, and Jason walked down the aisle and took their places, and the wedding party entered, and then Sharon made her walk down the aisle with her dad. Sharon looked BEAUTIFUL!

And I want to mention here how everything looked beautiful! Since the wedding was outdoors and nature did most of the decorating, adding extra flowers could have possibly been a bad thing to do. But NO! The flowers that Sharon used in her wedding were PERFECT. Drum roll please….   DAISIES. Of course! An outdoor wedding on a farm and daisies go together hand in hand. There were gerber daisies and just regular “he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not” daisies. And roses in just the right amount sprinkled in for good measure. They were perfect and didn’t take away from the beautiful view surrounding the wedding, but complimented it perfectly. I loved it! And Sharon’s dress was the perfect dress for an outdoor wedding on the farm too. Not too much, ya know? Just right! AND she wore cowboy boots! Again, LOVED IT!

After the ceremony, and Sharon and Jason were pronounced Husband and Wife, the guests blew bubbles as they made their way back down the aisle. FUN!

And now it was time for the reception! Usually only two of us stay for the reception.  Usually Dawn and I have been the ones staying, but since Lynette was training Team Emily, Team Dawn went home after the ceremony and Team Emily, Lynette and I stayed for the reception. See you at the reception in a couple of weeks, Team Dawn!

Since there were three of us at the reception, there was a little bit more time to get the shots we wanted to get, such as all the beautiful flowers on the tables, and the wedding cakes….. Oh! The wedding cakes! Let me tell you about the wedding cakes! Of course there was the wedding cake and it was vanilla and it was pretty and it was yum.

But there was also a groom’s cake which was chocolate and yum too, but had a topper on it that was so cute! And very appropriate since we learned that Sharon is skilled with a rifle and is quite the hunter.  So the topper was perfect!

After Sharon and Jason and their wedding party were announced at the reception, Sharon and Jason had their first dance, then took a break to set down and rest and share time with their family and friends and take a bite or two of food.

Since Sharon and Jason and their guests were eating, (and we NEVER video people as they are eating. Not flattering, ya know?), me and Team Emily ate too! Lynette stayed with her camera in case something unexpected happened, and she seldom eats at weddings anyway. But I will admit that Team Emily and I chowed down! The buffet was also perfect for an outdoor wedding on the farm. There was barbeque chicken wings, barbeque sandwiches, baked beans, pasta salad, fresh fruit; I could go on, but YUM!

Now what I am about to say is not meant to hurt anyone’s feelings. But. This food was THE BEST FOOD I HAVE EVER EATEN AT A RECEPTION. And I should know because I have eaten at a lot of receptions! There. I said it. I’m not saying that the food at other receptions wasn’t yum, I’m just saying that THIS food was cooked perfectly! Just the right seasoning! Just the right tenderness of the meats! PERFECT!!!!!

After Team Emily and I had made pigs of ourselves, it was back to work as Sharon and her Dad danced, and then the dance floor opened. By now the temperature was very nice and the guests were comfortable, full,  :--)  and enjoying talking with Sharon and Jason and their families. Everyone was having a really nice time.

Before we knew it, it was time for Sharon to toss the bouquet and for Jason to throw the garter at the person he wanted to throw it to, (you cheated, Jason!).

Since Sharon and Jason already had their bubbles at the end of their wedding ceremony, a big exit wasn’t planned. And it had been a long day and Sharon and Jason were ready to start their honeymoon and get a little privacy! So it was time for us to go home from a very nice day on the farm.

It was a perfect day for us, and a perfect day for Sharon and Jason to reflect on. They had a beautiful wedding surrounded by their family and friends. They had the perfect weather and the perfect countryside setting.

We want to thank Sharon and Jason for allowing us to capture this perfectly special day for them on video. We want to thank Sharon and Jason’s family for being SO NICE to us all day. We appreciate so much everyone’s kindness and generosity and good humor.

But most of all, we want to wish only the very best always to Sharon and Jason as they start their lives as Husband and Wife.

And now I see through my blurry eyes that I have about an hour before I need to start getting ready for my day. Does this girl ever sleep?????  So I will close by saying that it’s time for this girl to go to bed…… but I’m not! :--)     

Comments

[Angie Gambill]

BEAUTIFUL post!! It was a wonderful day for all involved. Always wonderful to work with you.

[Sharon F. Sanders]

These are so great! Ya'll did a wonderful job! I can't wait to see the video! Thank you!