A few months ago, I had the incredible opportunity to work with Jim of VidSigs. He was referred to me by Chef's Market and after I saw his amazing video on The CupCake Collection (whose cupcakes and story I LOVE) I couldnt wait to work with him.
I went to his house and chatted for an hour about my love for Nashville weddings, brides, wedding pros and the result was this spectacular video that tells a little about me. I really like Jim's unique ability to weave my story together while letting my personality shine.
Here's my video...
Capture your story...
Jim believes that engaged couples should have a fabulous AUTHENTIC engagement video - timeless enough to cherish forever, practical enough to share with friends as a save-the-date at your rehearsal dinner or wedding reception.
Jim's got a great way of pulling out key details of your story and keeping you comfortable enough to speak freely. My session was actually fun! What I like most is Jim did 7 modifications (yes 7) until I was completely satisfied with the end product.
HOW TO WIN YOUR "LOVE STORY" ENGAGEMENT VIDEO!
Email me by October Oct 29and tell me your love story - how you met, knew he/she was the one. Your entry doesn't have to be long, just tell your story in less than 300 words. Easy.
You must live in the metro-Nashville area and have your video shot by December 1.
Why do I love McCoy Made? I'm drawn to their photography style - timeless, vibrant, full of life, eye-popping colors, pics that make you smile and swoon:). I would hire them in a heartbeat. Plus, Noelle is a sweetheart and Mark is hilarious. I enjoy hanging out with them, which is what you want in a photographer, a team can be thrown in (and fit) with your family, friends. You gotta be comfortable with who you hire. Are they competent? Check. Do you connect? Check. Alll systems a go!
With backgrounds in design and architecture, photographer duo Mark & Noelle McCoy use their visual prowess to take beautiful pictures of weddings. Each shot tells a picture, every significant detail is captured for the couples to forever look back on, and I completely respect how they believe in creating a relationship with their clients to properly portray each subject's personality.
If you've not met the McCoy crew, read my interview with them below. I know you'll love the pics. And, if it's your wedding style, you should definitely give them a call and see if you connect with them.
Meet McCoy Made Main Contact: Mark and Noelle McCoy
Website: http://www.mccoymade.com/ Studio#: 615.435.3711
Email: markandnoelle at mccoymade.com
Twitter: @mccoymade
How fabulous is this picture? Wow, wow!
How did you get started in weddings?
Photography had been a hobby for us for years. We actually learned back in the film days on a 35mm camera, shooting black and white film and developing it ourselves! After shooting a friends wedding as a favor, we were hooked and have been moving forward full speed ever since.
What do you like most about weddings?
The people we get to meet! We are honored that people choose us to be the two people they spend the most time with on their wedding day. And we don’t take that lightly.
We pour our hearts into creating an artistic collection of images that document a couples wedding celebration, and at the end of the day it is our goal to make people happy with what we do.
What’s your favorite wedding pic/video and why?
Oh my gosh! Really? We can only pick one?!?! Ok. We’re going to pick this image as our favorite for today. What we love about it, is that it tells the entire story of the love a father has for his daughter as he prepares to give her away. This father walked down the long porch, with his eyes closed nearly the entire time, taking deep breaths, thinking about how much he loved his little girl. The bride’s eyes were filled with tears as she clung to her dad, knowing that she was moving forward into a new chapter of life. We loved this moment.
What is your service philosophy?
Open communication, laughter and honesty. We believe that every client is a potential friend, and now some of our close friends were first strangers that hired us and trusted us to photograph their wedding. We know that people will feel more relaxed in front of our camera if they look at us as trustworthy friends behind the camera!
What are your strengths compared to other photographers?
Probably one of our biggest strengths is that Mark and I are a team! We can shoot the exact same moments from two different angles, resulting it two totally different images.
Who are your favorite Nashville wedding vendors?
Ashley’s Bride Guide (of course!)! ABG is SUCH a great resource for Nashville brides, I always recommend it to the girls we meet. We also LOVE working with the ladies over at Nashville Event Spaces, and Hillary with Brocade Designs does a fabulous job. There are so many amazing Nashville vendors, it’s hard to choose just a few!
What do you read/watch regularly to stay on top of wedding/event trends?
Ashley’s Bride Guide and Southern Weddings (swsmag.com) are great resources for girls in the south. After that, perusing the pages of Grace Ormond, or style magazines like Vanity Fair and Martha Stewart.
Is there a wedding trend that you love?
The first glance, where a bride chooses to see her groom before the ceremony. We see more and more couples doing this, and it is FABULOUS. It’s incredibly romantic and intimate. Plus, it allows a lot of relaxed time for portraits so that after the ceremony everyone can let the celebrating begin!
What advice would you give to brides on the wedding planning process in general?
I would say, hire a great coordinator. He or she will be worth their weight in gold! When it comes to choosing your photographer, be sure that you connect with their work and with them as people first! Second, look at the packages they have to offer. Because if you’re not totally in love with your images, a bigger album at a cheaper price isn’t going to be the heirloom album you’ll look forward to enjoying for years to come. And remember, your photographers will not only be with you all day on your wedding, but you will be working with them for months after your wedding creating your album and wall art. So, being sure your personalities click is important!
There are more stunning pictures on the McCoy Made Blog. Definitely visit their website and give Mark & Noelle a call if you're in need of a photographer for your engagement session or your wedding and let them know you learned about them on Ashley's Bride Guide!
Even mother nature can't hold back true love. The seasons have been quite odd this year here in Nashville, but weddings still went on as did outdoor engagement photography sessions. I love seeing couples who are great sports, who take everything in stride and who will stare a storm cloud in the face and say "Just try and stop us." One such couple is Jonathan and Nicola who had their engagement session with Brian Kaplan Photography. Their first engagement session was interrupted by wind, rain and cold so they rescheduled to that fateful weekend in May when NONE of us could do anything because of the flood. They tried again a little later and what we have are two very sweet, very lovely blog posts to take you into the weekend. Enjoy!
...we went out to Land Between The Lakes for an engagement shoot with Jonathan and Nicola, two amazingly cool people who are getting hitched this August.
UNFORTUNATELY our weather turned for the worst out in Kentucky land and it not only rained but dropped about 20 degrees and was windier than a schooner in a hurricane. SO we are going to do a Take 2 shoot this coming weekend. But I wanted to share these special photos photos from our day yesterday!
Part two:
Jonathan and Nicola are some serious super troopers. Having had to propose to Nicola in the rain, their first e-session get rained on and our rescheduled session have the worst flooding ever in Nashville, these two have seen enough rain. So with today being such a beautiful day, I took them out to get eaten alive by mosquitoes and walk through smelly woods, aren’t I so sweet???
Well I think the bites payed off! Here is a special look at today’s session.
Jonathan and Nicola Long Hunter State Park Engagement Session
We hope Jonathan and Nicola had a great wedding in August and can't wait to see the pictures from that! For more wedding and engagement pictures you can see online visit Brian Kaplan Photography or check out Brian's photography blog.
To start, I LOVE Focal Point Cinematic. They consistently deliver high quality, cutting edge wedding videos. Take it from someone whose wedding video SUCKED. I have become a wed video snob and only recommend a few top local videographers, and Focal Point is one of them. They recently launched a great new website with more fabulous videos so it's a great time to pay them a virtual visit and see why you must have a wedding video!
Run by the husband and wife team of Jon + Kelsey Bufkin, Focal Point Cinematic's goal with the new website is to accurately reflect their modern and progressive style of storytelling. "We want couples to have the opportunity to see as much of our work as possible and in a larger screen format. Our website revolves around our wedding films and less emphasis on pictures since we are in fact wedding cinematographers" said Jon.
Brides often forget or even miss many highlights of their wedding. You spend months planning all of the details and without a video, you can't relive them. There are some things that are priceless that are even better seen in real time with sight and sound. Videography is an often left-out aspect of our wedding but with the technology these days, you're not just getting a home movie, you're getting a production. Music, editing, lighting - your own wedding movie. Focal Point Cinematic provides just that perspective for your wedding day, turning videography into almost a movie-like production so your video memories are just as gorgeous and beautiful as your photographic memories.
Focal Point does an awesome job pairing music with their video - everything falls together just right. The instrumentation matches tne country feel of the wedding with the boots and the little chapel. The couple, Grace Ann and Matthew, loved working with them and the satisfaction is apparent in their testimonial: "WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!! We can't wait to see more! We have been showing it to so many people and everyone is so excited to see the rest! Thanks again for everything!"
Wouldn't you like to hear your dad's toast again or see how you and your husband looked during your first dance? Maybe the look on his face when he sees you for the first time that day. There are some things that are priceless that are even better seen in real time with sight and sound.
Photographs aren't the only thing that can be made to look vintage. Remember the days of video tape and when video was recorded on actual tape? Here's an superbly vintage, romantic highlight from a wedding they did in July on Super8 video that I think is going to be all-the-rage once brides realize they can do that. Another testament to the artistry that is Focal Point Cinematic.
Very simple post today: If you have yet to hire your wedding photographer, you are luck! Here's a great one to check out: The Collection, a fabulous wedding company comprised of Krystal, Erin and Jessica. Visit their website and blog, then give them a call. If you book by 8/30 and mention ABG - you get a free iPad to display your wonderful wedding photos wherever you go!!
The Collection photographers are incredible but the iPad limited offer makes them even more delicious!
Call them asap and be sure to check with them regarding specific offer details.
At Ashley’s Bride Guide, we’re always on the lookout for innovative and exciting wedding ideas.
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