Crystalin and Shane were married in Nashville on September 22, 2007. McNeal Video was their chosen videographer and was there to capture every moment. Check out their wedding details on McNeal’s blog.
I’ve included a few great still video pics taken by McNeal (below) but be sure to view the couple’s amazing wedding video. I especially love all of the “speed” effects that McNeal has added. (Not sure if that’s the correct terminology:).
Before you rule out a wedding video, view a few of McNeal’s or those of other local wedding videographers. You just might change your mind.
Enjoy!
Wedding Vendors
Ceremony: First Presbyterian Church - Franklin, TN
My wedding colors and why I choose them? Brown and green- wanted to represent spring colors and I have always loved green
My wedding theme? Springtime
My wedding wow factor? Our guests loved the Appletini drinks we served at the reception, also loved the personal touches like the tribute to our wedding party in the program and the Granny Smith apples used as place settings
My wedding favors? Brown boxes of green jelly beans
My personal touches? Banjo groomsmen cake, personalized tribute to our wedding party in the program, photographs of us on the table with the seating charts, signature cocktail (Appletini)
My gifts: Bridesmaids - monogrammed pocket mirrors, Groomsmen - monogrammed silver cuff links, and Kids - Books
My special moment: When my dad gave speech before dinner and cried as he recounted memories of me growing up. Also his prayer before the dinner where he asked God’s blessing for me and Marvin. So special.
My Wedding Vendors:
Planner: A Bride Idea - loved working with Lindsey, she made our day so special and exactly what we wanted.
Cake: Dulce Desserts - Juanita at Dulce Desserts is great to work with and quite a hoot! I had more compliments on her cakes than anything else. They were exactly what we wanted and the banjo cake was perfection. She really does beautiful work and makes the whole process really fun.
Photography: Angela Disrud Photography - loved working with Angela. She was easy going and very friendly to everyone- she created a calmness with our friends and family. She listened to us carefully and incorporated everything we wanted into our pictures. She capture our wedding day beautifully and our engagement pictures are the most unique I have ever seen!
Transportation: Matchless Limo - great limo service and very friendly driver. The jaguar made for some great pictures and very relaxing ride to our reception.
Linen: T&M Rentals - they had really nice linens and we loved the green glass charges that we use under the dinner plates. They were really easy to work with and had one of the few tents left in Nashville right before our wedding.
DJ/Lighting: Select Sound- Blake is very easy to work with and very professional. He did a wonderful job with the lighting and was very consciences of our budget. He kept everyone on the dance floor with his music selections.
Flowers: Geny’s Wholesale Florist - Joan was so nice to work with and her arrangements were beautiful! She had great ideas and helped guide us through the process of selecting flowers.
Calligraphy: Allison Moore did beautifully on the invitations, seating charts and place cards.
My Wedding Rewind:
What I would do differently if planning again? I would have taken a few more pictures of us at the mansion, Given the DJ a list of songs we wanted to be sure were included (missed dancing to a few of our favorites); would have had a monogrammed hankie that I used during the day and could make into a pillow or save for our daughter to use one day.
Biggest waste of time or money? Sparklers and matchbooks because we weren’t allowed to use them (should have checked that before ordering)
Best value for the service/product? Loved our invitations that we got from Jean M, very reasonable and unique
Neatest finds? Glass chargers from T&M Rental and the banjo cake from Dulce Desserts
Something Borrowed: Tip for Nashville Brides-to-be:
Remember that the day isn’t about the bride, but a celebration of the union between you and your husband. I so dislike the brides that clearly have an agenda to make this “their day” and be the focus of attention. Of course you will be the focus of attention, but we took the approach of doing everything to make our guests feel welcomed and to convey that we spent the time to make the event relaxed and inviting and to let everyone know how much our families and friends meant to us. We had overwhelming comments about how the event seemed so relaxed and comfortable for our guests- we loved that.
A week ago, McNeal Video Blog announced a new blog author, Cheryl. Cheryl is on their videography team and based on her cute graphic (see below), I absolutely couldn’t wait to read Cheryl’s first post. Cheryl is all about the details, which reminds me of me - I can only imagine that she is a chatterbox too which makes it great for folks (like me) who want to know all the wedding details so we can incorporate interesting aspects into our own events! So, enjoy this new blog personality and this wonderful Nashville wedding. Oh - and be sure to check out the ninja photographer! I love folks who hustle to get great footage and Joey (photographer) clearly does so. (That’s a valuable skill - I wasn’t so lucky…another story.)
Jaime and Justin - March 1, 2008
Hmmm. Burnt thumbnail…..check.
Bloodblister on finger…….check.
Swollen right hand from where I caught it in my tripod (long story)……check.
This could only mean one thing. It’s WEDDING SEASON!!!!!
I’ve been looking forward to our first wedding of 2008 ever since I put away my tripod after our last wedding of 2007.
Actually, we’ve been working on this wedding since 2007, which I will tell you about in a second. But this past weekend, March 1 to be exact, Jaime and Justin were married at The Mill at Lebanon. The reception was held there too.
We’ve never had a wedding at The Mill before so I was looking extra forward to seeing what the place looked like. I love doing weddings at “new” venues.
Even though this “new” venue was a very old mill that I was told once had something to do with sheep? Hence all the pictures of sheep in such places as on the doors, etc. It reminded me very much of The Factory at Franklin. Only different. But if you’ve been to the Factory, you’ll sorta know what I’m talking about. Anyway, it’s a great place for a wedding if you want a different atmosphere than outdoors or a church or such. I liked it.
Per usual, Lynette and I went to the rehearsal the night before the wedding to get a feel for the place and where the best spots would be to put our cameras. As usual, we walked around and stood in several locations and pictured how it would look if we filmed from there, or there, or over there…..and at one point, Lynette looked at the beams that were running high over our heads, and we made a small joke to ourselves that maybe we could have Amanda stand at the end of the beams — and she would get a GREAT shot. ha ha. Then Lynette added, “well, I bet Joey will find a way to get up there.” ha ha again.
You see, Joey is Joey Pippin, our friend and photographer from Lifetime Weddings. (Ashley adds - hey ladies - Joey offers ABG brides 20%!!) We’ve done several weddings with him and we know that he will do whatever is needed to get a great shot.
On Jaime and Justin’s wedding day, it was sunny and warm-ish and we donned our black clothing and happily went to work. Lynette and Amanda did the pre-ceremony shots with Jaime, and I did the pre-ceremony shots with Justin.
Justin is a great guy. I found that out when we were shooting their music video in the fall of 2007. Both he and Jaime are very easy going and have a wicked sense of humor. We shot their music video to the song “Somewhere Out There” and it wasn’t supposed to be serious at all, but rather sappy and tongue-in-cheek funny. And the way it was shot and edited, it turned out perfectly. Jaime and Justin were so excited about showing it at their wedding reception, and had gone to great lengths to keep it a secret from everyone. Everyone thought it was going to be just another montage of baby pictures and such of the couple. But NOOOO we had more in plan for them.
And Jamie is great too. I was impressed with her flare for style. I never would’ve thought to put the colors together that Jaime used, but then again, I don’t have the flair for knowing what will work together. The reception room was decorated using Jaime’s colors of chocolate brown, ivory, and a soft violet, or plum, or purple . . . I’m not sure exactly what the color was, but it was in the light purple-ish family. Anyway, it worked perfectly together. But what really impressed me was that Jaime was able to bring in the traditional and the sentimental (for instance, using pieces of both mother’s wedding dresses in various items such as the ringbearer’s pillow), yet also keeping the feeling of warmth and Soho Hipness going. Is that a word? Well, if not, I just made it one.
And I’m being borderline sappy, but they just compliment each other perfectly. If you spend an entire afternoon shooting a video with a couple you hardly know, and the afternoon flows smoothly and everyone is laughing and having a good time, then you know you have a great couple. And we had one with Jaime and Justin.
As usual, I didn’t see Jaime until right before the wedding because I had spent all day with the guys, and Jaime and Justin didn’t see each other before the wedding. But when I did get to see her, she looked absolutely beautiful. And her dress was gorgeous and looked like it had been made with Jaime’s personality in mind. It was a fit in more ways than one.
The ceremony was beautiful, we caught everything on video just like we had planned.
Then it came time for Joey to do a short photoshoot of the entire wedding party with all the wedding guests. As mentioned before, Lynette and I shot the ceremony from the balcony level where the reception was going to be held, looking down over the wedding. So Lynette is on one side of the balcony, and I’m across from her on the other side. The only thing between us is a railing then a bunch of wooden beans. The beams we joked about having Amanda stand on. ha ha.
Well, sure enough, Joey (the photographer) hopped over the rail and casually walked across the beams and stood on a center beam looking down at the wedding party and guests.
Sure, it was a great place to stand for the shot, but COME ON JOEY!!!!
For some reason, though, I wasn’t worried. I guess because he looked totally at ease.
At one point, it did cross my mind that if he fell, it would not be a good thing. But I didn’t dwell on that thought, and just filmed it.
Joey took several shots of the wedding party and guests, directing people around so he could see everyone, then casually walked back over to the side where I was standing, handed me his camera, and hopped back over the railing. Here’s one of the photos he took. Amazing! (As usual).
Bride - Lindsey Renee Norrod; Groom - Brian Douglas Reagan
Brian and I both grew up in a small town here in TN. We both went to the same high school and lived about a mile apart growing up but never actually met until after college. We met thru a blind date that I didn’t even know I had been set up for. My sister-in-law, Lisa, had been aggravating me for months trying to get me to meet Brian.
I really didn’t want to complicate my life with the possibility of a relationship. So Lisa took it upon her self to make sure we met. One Saturday night, I I took my niece to one of those corn mazes they always have around Halloween. Little to my knowledge, my SIL had invited Brian to come along. At first I was a little surprised and a little annoyed at my SIL but Brian was a fun guy and we all had a great time. We began talking on the phone almost every day. It took a few months for me to warm up the idea of dating someone not to mention beginning a long distance relationship but in the end Brian was such a wonderful person so I decided to take a risk.
I moved to Nashville and we continued talking on the phone and he came up to visit me almost every weekend. Brian decided to look for a job in Nashville so that we could be closer together. A month or two later my job moved me to Indianapolis for a few months. Brian, the sweet and wonderful boy that he is, drove up to see me in the middle of June in a car with no air conditioning. Looking back, it makes me smile knowing how much he really wanted to come see me.
I finally got to move back to Nashville. By that time, I knew that Brian was the one for me. After several failed attempts, he finally proposed just said “I was going to try to think of some creative way to do this but I can’t think of anything good… Will you marry me…?” I was so excited! I went out and bought my dress the next day.
(Photos by Mint and Sage)
My Wedding Details
Date:October 20th, 2007 at 6:30 PM
Ceremony & reception location: The Rotunda Room at the Country Music Hall of Fame
# guests: 100
My Wedding Style:
My wedding style? Modern with classic touches
My wedding colors and why I choose them? Black and a dark red, I wanted something fitting for an evening wedding and something that Brian would like as well. As much as he likes pink:), I couldn’t see him getting into it for our wedding. We just wanted a color that would be clean and modern.
My wedding theme? I don’t think we really had a theme. We did carry our new monogram from the invitations, to the wedding program, the favors, and the topper on our wedding cake.
My wedding wow factor? Our guests loved the room that the wedding and reception were held in. The Rotunda is completely round. We got married in the center of the room. No one had a bad seat!
My wedding favors? My grandmother, who is a baker, made sugar cookies with our monogram and our wedding date on them in black and red icing. We packaged them in cute boxes made of black and cream paper.
My personal touches? We did a lot of things for the wedding ourselves. Our invitations were custom designed by Designs in Paper. We worked with Donette to come and invitation we loved and my Mom and Aunt helped us assemble them. They were so pretty! I found these beautiful red feathers at Hobby lobby. We broke them apart and put them on individual wires and added them to our centerpieces. My florist also used them in the boy’s boutonnières and in our bouquets. To save some money we got all the flowers for our centerpieces from our florist but we assembled them ourselves the day before the wedding. We also made the boxes that we put our wedding favors in from a box pattern we got at target and scrap booking paper we got from Hobby Lobby.
My gifts: Bridesmaids: Extra large tote bags in our wedding colors made by my Mother. We had all the girls initials embroidered on the front. I made the girls a pair of earrings to wear with their dresses for the wedding. I also tucked in a pair of dressy flip flops for the girls to wear at the reception. Flower Girl: A book, Where the Wild Things Are, she loves monsters. I also got her a silver bracelet with a turtle on it. She loves to catch them in the summer. Groomsmen: Retro travel bags from Target filled with Redken shave cream, facial soap, and body wash. We also got them monogrammed key chains from Things Remembered. Moms: Silver Teardrop necklaces from Tiffany & Co and a poem wrote by one of my talented bridesmaid’s, Heather, about tears of joy. Both of our Moms cried. Dads: For my Stepdad, we got a Case pocket knife. He is a collector. We also got him a really great bottle of scotch. For Brian’s dad, we got a really nice pocket watch. He really like it.Most special moment for me? Walking down the isle and seeing Brain for the first time that day. He looked so handsome in his tux. When my Stepdad handed my hand to Brian, he gave me a kiss. It was so sweet. He’s not a very affectionate man so it really meant a lot to me.
My Wedding Vendors:
Planner: None, we did it all ourselves.
Cake: My grandmother, It is family tradition for her to make everyone in the families wedding cake. It was perfect!
Photo: Mint and Sage Photography. Krystal is AMAZING. I just love her. She and her crew did a great job capturing the day. I still get teary eyed when I look a the photos. She created the slideshow featured above.
Video: We opted not to do video. Who really watches it anyway.
Invitations: The WONDERFUL Designs In Paper. Donette really took the invitation in my head and put it in paper. They were beautiful! www.designsinpaper.com
Dress: Faccio. Beth and Elizabeth were great. I got my dress at a Rivini trunk show. I was the third dress I tried on. I fell in love with it immediately.
Rings: We got all of our rings from Genesis Diamonds in Green Hills. The guys were great. No pressure to buy and the quality and prices are unbelievable. My ring is by Renaissance Platinum and Brian’s is by Diana.
Music: Ceremony musician was Betty Ashton Mayo. She plays the harp. Absolutely beautiful. The DJ was Cosmos Creations who played every thing we wanted and took requests from the little girls. They had a great time dancing!
Décor: All the rentals were done thru the Country Music Hall of Fame and SoBro Grill.
Food: So Bro Grill. The food was amazing. The guests really enjoyed it even though Brian and I didn’t get to eat much of it! That’s the way that goes.
Flowers: The East Garden. Shawn was awesome. He did a great job with the flowers and he really worked with our budget. Our flowers were beautiful and one of a kind!
Honeymoon: Booked it myself but the hotel was AMAZING. We will go back. We went to Turks and Caicos down in the Caribbean. The beaches were beautiful. We stayed at the Regent Palms. This is a little know strand of islands and is not over developed like Jamaica and the Bahamas. Be warned, all the shops close at 4 and there is not much of a night life but for a peaceful relaxing time in paradise with you new hubby… It’s perfect.
My faves – I highly recommend Mint and Sage, Faccio Bridal, Designs In Paper, and The East Garden. They all had EXCEPTIONAL customer service and made me feel like the only client they had. That means a lot when you are dealing with multiple vendors all at once. You want to feel like you are the only one that matters. After all, it is YOUR special day!
My Wedding Rewind:
What I would do differently if planning again? I would definitely get a planner. I didn’t get one because we wanted to save money but in the end I think we would have spent about the same amount and had a lot less stress. Planners know all the good vendors and they have relationships that can save you money. That savings could pay for the planner.
Biggest waste of time or money? I really wanted our families to dance at the reception so we got a DJ. Only a few people danced. I think we could have gotten away with a mic and an ipod play list.
Best value for the service/product? Photos photos photos. This is a day you want to remember. Invest in a good photographer. These days anyone with a digital camera and Photoshop think they can be a photographer. Not true. You can’t use Photoshop to replace natural talent. Take time looking thru their portfolios and find one you love and can really get along with. They will be following you around all day.
Neatest find? Neatest find was definitely the teardrop necklaces for our Mothers. They were so pretty and modern so they can wear them every day. It was practical and my Mom keeps the framed photo on the fireplace mantel.
Yesterday, my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary! Can you imagine being with the same person for 40 years? I certainly hope so:) seeing as though you are planning a wedding.
So, we’re all heading to Atlanta to celebrate. But before I head out, I wanted to share a real Nashville wedding, as told by the couple’s wedding planner, Tiffani of Creative Designs & Events.
One thing that I really liked about their reception was that it wasn’t the same old reception. I appreciate its simple yet personal feel. While some brides want big receptions, like I did, here is an event that really represents the couple. Yeah, some may tell you what your day should entail but I believe your day should reflect what is important to you and your fiance. If you want an intimate setting and love breakfast (as this couple did) have a small brunch. If you love Mexican food and crowds, have a huge fiesta.
Anyway - I also like this wedding because it highlights a few new-to-me Nashville wedding vendors (so be sure to check out the photographer and the florist).
Well, I am off to ATL. Enjoy this Nashville wedding by Tiffani.
Guest Post: Tiffani of Creative Designs & Events is a Nashville wedding planner. Visit her website for learn more about her wedding planning and coordination services.
I recently planned a wedding for Sabrina & Greg Young. I meet Sabrina when she was a bridesmaid at another wedding I planned.
When the couple came to me, I knew I would have fun working with them. Sabrina was an easy bride. She sat back and let me handle all the details of her wedding. There were two vendors that Sabrina knew she had to have for her wedding, and they were my favorite vendors: Laurie Carpenter Photography & A Village of Flowers.
Laurie truly cares about her couples and wants them to have the best photos. She takes great photos and gives the couples all of the photos she takes.
Village of Flowers is different from most shops, I can give them colors and a theme and they always come up with something fabulous and affordable. I can always trust that I will love everything they do.
The couple wanted a morning wedding, so we decided to have brunch at the reception. I got them a great deal at the Nashville City Club. The City Club is at the top floor of the Suntrust building downtown. The walls are lined with windows, so it was the perfect setting.
It worked well with their Tiffany blue and chocolate brown theme. I ordered linens and centerpieces from Southern Events. Jill the owner is great to work with. They have a wide selection of rental products and their prices are reasonable. I added the white beads to the twig stands and faux crystal stones to the head table. Just to give a little sparkle!
At the reception, guest enjoyed dining on their favorite breakfast foods and a pancake/waffle station.
The couple decided to give their guest cupcakes to take home for later as the favors. I packaged the cupcakes in these chocolate brown boxes and tiffany blue ribbon, with each guest names on them.
I ordered the boxes on www.bagsandbowsonline.com and the ribbon I found at Michael’s. Very affordable favors!
The couple truly enjoyed everything about their wedding. I didn’t give them all the details, so they were pleasantly surprised to see everything come to together. I like my couples to have fun and to enjoy their special day without worrying about anything!!
Who doesn’t love Dove Photography? Apparently we all do! Whitney’s guest posts have been my most popular by far! I think it’s because her pics make us all realize how beautiful wedding photography can be and how well she can capture the wanna-be-princess-for-a-day in all of us. Enjoy Whitney’s guest post today as she shares one of her recent Nashville weddings.
Audrey & Ben were married in October over at Cedarwood which is my new favorite place! It is beautiful and very diverse especially when it comes to locations for photography. I had a wonderful time photographing Audrey & Ben. Audrey has one of the best smiles ever, and she was so happy all day which of course makes it easy for me. They both are a lot of fun to be around as I’m sure you’ll see in the images. This first one is an overview of some of the beautiful details at Cedarwood.
This image that Jenn grabbed of Ben and his daughter, Ella, melts my heart!
Audrey & Ben know a lot of the same people that we do, which made it fun to see familiar faces at the wedding. This is our friend Tony who was a groomsman. This photograph just makes me laugh.As well as this one I grabbed of the flower girl.
Audrey and the girls, Ben and the guys.
The sweet, beautiful, emotional ceremony.
This is my favorite from the whole day. We had the chance to get this group shot of everyone at the ceremony. I love it!
The lovely Cedarwood at the end of the night.
Thanks for letting us be a part of your day! We had a great time!
I am super excited today. Maybe not excited enough to get out of bed before 9am so you could read before heading to lunch. Oh - you don’t think I know your schedule by now? My site gets really busy between 930am and 1130am. Then - everyone leaves me and returns around 1-2pm. So, sorry that I didn’t post earlier but I guess you’ll catch me after lunch:)
Back to the excitement - so yesterday, I drove out to meet Lynette of McNeal Video. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that in the past I haven’t been a huge fan of wedding videography - you can see my post to MelissaandWyatt on the message board. I got a bad wedding video and paid a lot for something I will NEVER watch again. But, after visiting her blog and watching some AMAZING videos and reading about all of the beautiful Nashville weddings she’s covered, I was open minded but still not persuaded.
Lynette’s blog is now one of my favorite Nashville bridal blogs. It features tons of Nashville brides and the details of their wedding days. Expect to see more of Lynette’s work on my site soon but click to view the Curry & Russ wedding.
Anyway, she greeted me at the door and we instantly connected. She had Oprah showing in her office (love Oprah) so I knew we would at least be gal-pals. Well, as we chatted I realized I didn’t know anything about wedding videos. I told her my story about my horrible wedding video experience and the first thing she said was “You got your wedding video in two weeks? That was a big sign of a problem”.
Really? I had no clue that was too soon to get a wedding video. We’re brides - what do we know about what to expect, what’s good/not good. The guy I hired advertised everywhere, was a member of TWESA and came highly recommended by…other wedding vendors. I thought I’d done my homework but I guess not. Moral of the story is - do your research. One way is to check out Nashville bridal blogs and ask to speak with a bride they’ve featured on their blog. That way you can compare the work with the bride’s feedback. Don’t just take my word either. I am introducing you to folks I like but unless I say I’ve hired them, I don’t know first hand either. Chat on my message board with brides. Most of all, follow your gut - if they aren’t responsive, don’t give you a receipt, don’t return emails - DONT HIRE THEM!
OK - Back to McNeal Video…After leaving McNeal I was optimistic about wedding videography. Here’s what I learned:
1) She knows and leverages technology - Lynette has an iPhone. OK - this might not mean a lot to you but it tells me that she is on the cutting edge of technology. I asked for a calculator and she pulled out a freakin’ iPhone. Unbelievable. Even better, her iPhone houses wedding videos. BTW - McNeal offers her brides an iPhone/iPod service where she’ll put your wedding videos in a format that you can easily add to your iPhone/Pod. How hot is that!
2) She gets brides - Lynette informed me that she only does weddings - no corporate events, no parties, just weddings. So, she is 100% dedicated and focused on brides and what matters to brides. (There aren’t many videographers who focus solely on weddings.) Plus, she’s a woman (sorry guys) so she knows how important each detail is and wants to capture that.
3) She’s educates you and keeps you informed - Woman after my own heart. I love the fact that she took time to educate me. She said that a a good video should take a lot longer than 2 weeks to produce. She said that it usually takes 6 months for her to finalize a wedding video, but she gives her brides a preview in about 3 months or so. I couldn’t believe it took that long until she told me the process - how she leaves a wedding with 20 tapes of footage and then edits, boils it down to a few final DVDs. But, I love that she places her edit schedule on her blog so you know what to expect.
If you hired McNeal, please comment on this post. I’d love to hear from you and see what you thought of your video and working with them.
If you can hire someone like McNeal who really is passionate about weddings and really good, I say definitely budget for a great videographer. If you can’t hire someone great, put the money toward a super duper photographer. I would rather have a great video or great pics vs. so-so pics and video.
