TWESA Members Can Help in So Many Ways
April 27, 2011 by Christine
Filed under Advice from the Experts, Blog, Weddings
There are so many ways that a wedding professioal can help. they are trained to find the solution to fit you perfectly. Here is how one TWESA member, photographer Jay Farrell, helped one couple recently.
In the recent past, I had the pleasure of working with a nice young couple who had not lived in the Nashville area for very long, and wanted nice elegant wedding party photography and bride and groom photography at a nice outdoor location….as they were having a private ceremony elsewhere. The only snag they were running into was knowing where to do the group portraits. Naturally, when showing up with a group, you draw attention and often most public venues require permits…..even park property.
There were no coordinators or anything, so I told them I’d try to brainstorm and help them out. I struck out getting a permit at Radnor Lake, then suddenly I thought of Cannonsburgh Village in Murfreesboro, where I had shot a wedding 2 years ago…..I remembered it was a really cool location with lots of neat textures and buildings, open land, etc. They saw it and loved it…..I contacted the park office and they were nice enough to grant us a free permit, and were glad I came to them rather than just showing up with a group of people. The bride and her helpers really did a great job with the styling and colors of the bridal party dresses and childrens’ clothes, very well coordinated. That and the location really worked well together to allow me some great photos to make their day special. They are well satisfied customers and I have new friends now, plus print orders and referral business. All turned out very well especially considering my assistant and I were the only wedding vendor. Congratulations Betty and Aaron!
Cesar and Susan’s Wedding Day
March 12, 2011 by Christine
Filed under Blog, Featured Videos, Members Showcase, Real Tennessee Weddings, Weddings
I will not soon forget Cesar and Susan’s wedding day. Yes, it was a magical day full of love and commitment, but something else happened on that rainy first day of May in 2010… the great Nashville flood!
The wedding was scheduled for 6:30pm at the beautiful Riverwood Mansion in Nashville. Since we were doing the photos + video for Cesar and Susan, we had planned on arriving at Riverwood at 3:30 in the afternoon to shoot the rehearsal and then begin the photo session. It of course had been raining all day and I had to re-route a few times in order to even find passable roads. Fortunately, we made it… not knowing that the rain would continue off and on throughout the evening and reap unprecedented damage upon our great city!
Fortunately for us, the flood waters did not effect us at Riverwood. We only heard about the floating buildings and submerged highways via phone calls and facebook status updates!
Cesar and Susan decided to finish the reception as planned and they left at 11pm that night. Regardless of the weather, it was a beautiful wedding and the reception was full of music, dancing and a good time was had by all. Check out our blog to view the photos: Cesar + Susan :: Riverwood Mansion Wedding in Nashville :: Photography + Video
Cesar + Susan :: Riverwood Mansion Wedding Highlight Video from AndyCam Weddings on Vimeo.
Tommy & Heather’s Halloween Wedding
March 12, 2011 by Christine
Filed under Featured Videos, Real Tennessee Weddings, Videos
This is from Andy Morris, Andycam Weddings.
Tommy and Heather’s long awaited wedding day started out as a rainy Halloween morning. But by early afternoon the sun came out and provided the backdrop for another beautiful wedding and reception at the Historic Cedarwood Mansion.
Since this was my first “Halloween wedding,” I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was very impressed by the planning and design done by the team at Cedarwood. From the creatively carved pumpkins, table settings and floral arrangements (by Cedarwood’s Karen Wright) to the masquerade masks and china balls, this wedding was really fun to shoot…especially in High Definition! Check out some video still frames on my blog (Tommy+Heather HD Wedding Highlight Video :: Ceremony + Reception @ Cedarwood)
Tommy+Heather HD Wedding Highlight Video :: Ceremony + Reception @ Historic Cedarwood from AndyCam Weddings on Vimeo.
Satin Elegance Wedding Cake “Ala Factory”
November 9, 2010 by Susie Dennison
Filed under Blog
I really enjoyed doing this cake for a lovely lady! The occasion took place at the “The Factory” in Franklin,Tn.
I hope to have many more opportunities in the next year!!
Weddings The Bridal Show
Nashville Flood Relief
May 14, 2010 by Christine
Filed under Members Showcase
On May 1st and 2nd, Nashville,TN was devastated by floods. It is just now that the real toll is being assessed.
It has come to our attention that several of our members have been severely effected, some to the point of total loss.
Here is the list we have so far:
1. Dynamic Video – Jennifer Fritz
2. Belle Meade Plantation – Linda Pittman
3. Pastor Red Michels – Red Michels
4. Debbie’s Weddings & Things – Debbie Martin
5. Robert Neser Photography – Robert Neser
If you know of any other TWESA members that have suffered as a result of the flooding, please let us know.
In the mean time, TWESA has decided to lend a helping hand by making donations to our members in need and we would like you to help too.
We are requesting that you donate $20 to help with this effort, but any amount will be appreciated.
We have made it easy for you, just click the Donate button and you are on your way.
TWESA has always reached out to give to the Greater Nashville community through our philanthropic efforts, this time it is our own that need your help. So please be generous.
Thank you for helping to support your fellow wedding professionals in Middle Tennessee.
Angie Commons (President) and the TWESA Board of Directors.
The Bake Shoppe Nominated for CATIE Award
March 4, 2010 by Christine
Filed under Blog, Event Planning, Members Showcase
The team at The Bake Shoppe has had an entry nominated for the Best Celebration Cake of the Year at CaterSource this year.
The prestigious CATIE Award will be handed out March 10, 2010 at the Paris in Las Vegas.
The cake was designed for the Nashville Ronald McDonald house with the theme The Patchwork of Life.
Here are best wishes and a HUGE round of applause for the team at The Bake Shoppe, Amy Witcher, Shelly Santana, Nicole Wolfe, and Dawn Stoika
Wedding Stationery
January 3, 2010 by admin
Filed under Blog, Stationery
Your invitations are the first glimpse of your wedding or event that your guests will see. It should tell them something about the level of formality and style you are planning in addition to the basic who, what, where, when and why.
Your paper wardrobe includes so much more than just the invitations. Consider a ‘save the date’ card if a large number of your guests will be traveling from out of town. You may also want to create a program for your ceremony. No longer are traditional engraved invitations your only option. The stationery world has expanded greatly to offer many options for you to express your unique personality.
With the world of choices open to today’s bride, professionals become even more important than ever. There are literally thousands of choices to sift through. An experienced specialist can help you zero in on your style and save you hours of pouring over books. They are also there to help with all those sticky etiquette questions.
Another thing you may want to consider is custom calligraphy. In addition to many qualified stationery companies, TWESA counts some of the area’s most creative calligraphers among its members. Examples of their work are just a click away.
Here are some things to keep in mind as you start to put together your paper wardrobe.
- Save the date cards should be sent out 6-9 months in advance of your event
- Your wedding invitations should exemplify the occasion
- Wedding invitations should be ordered 4-6 months before the wedding to allow time for proofs and time to address them manually by the bride or by a professional calligrapher.
- No matter the size of your envelope, always have it weighed for the correct postage! Insert all of the appropriate components and take them to the post office for an accurate weighing before purchasing your stamps
- Always include a self-addressed stamped envelope for the response card
- Invitations should be mailed out 6-8 weeks before the wedding date
- Response cards should be returned to you three weeks prior to the event
HOT DAMN! Photo Competition Winner
August 21, 2009 by
Filed under Blog, Members Showcase
Lad and Lassie
M. Couturier just had two winning entries in the “HOT DAMN!” photo competition sponsored by Simply Canvas™ and took two of the four available prizes with these two images.
M. Couturier has won multiple awards from Simply Canvas™ at WPPI and DWF each year for the past three years.
M. Couturier offers a diverse line of stunning canvas products by Simply Canvas™.
An intimate moment in the wine cellar.
The Art of Photographic Serendipity
August 18, 2009 by
Filed under Advice from the Experts, Blog
Recently, I have had two different fledgling photographers ask me with great concern why they seemed to be missing a lot of great shots at weddings. I suspected I already knew the answer, but after some questioning it was clear that it all boiled down to a lack of experience with weddings themselves. Each had done less than ten weddings total, one only four.
I explained that they did not yet fully understand the wedding itself, not just the traditional aspects of ritual and formality, but those things that one can only discern and anticipate by having been around a LOT of weddings, not to mention the many different faiths, denominations, customs, indoors, outdoors, rainy, hot, dark, etc. This experience gives you an intuition. A knowing. I often know what is about to happen moments before even the participants themselves know. Having done well over 1,000 weddings in the past 15 years has heightened my sense of anticipation. Having a heightened sense of anticipation allows one to be ready in advance and able to capture that fleeting moment that will escape those who only realize 3 seconds after it is over what has just happened. Anticipation allows preparation. I never have to re-stage anything because I capture it when it actually happens. It looks more natural that way. ;)
Serendipity. Making fortunate discoveries by accident. All very nice, but as a wedding photographer you will come away with very few great images if you are just waiting for ‘accidents’ to happen. I’m not talking about forced or phony moments, but about being prepared. A quote from a movie that I have always remembered – “chance favors the prepared mind”. You will be much more apt to be able to capture those serendipitous moments if you understand weddings and what is going on around you. You will then be able to anticipate, some times minutes ahead, but usually seconds, what is about to happen so that you are in the right position, have the right lens on the camera, the right shutter speed, the right aperture. Sadly, for those in a rush to get to the top of their field yesterday, that only comes from experience.
