September is one of my favorite months and fall is one of my favorite times of the year.  How anyone could not love this time of year is beyond my understanding! I know I’m in the minority here. Spring is the time of year that most people love. But while beautiful in its own right, to me spring is too new. Too colorful. Too unpredictable. Whereas fall is wise, tastefully colorful, and precisely predictable. Fall is like an old friend.  And old friends are the best.

This past weekend we had a beautiful wedding with old friends…..Carmen and Matt were married on a beautiful fall day at Scarritt-Bennett, followed by a reception at Belmont Neely Black and White Dining Hall.       

And when I say that it was a beautiful fall day, I mean, it was a BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY.

Carmen and her family are old friends of McNeal Video. We had the pleasure of covering Carmen’s twin sister Carrie’s wedding to Husband Cliff waaaaaaay back in 2005. It was so good to see this dear family once again at another happy occasion! We love it when we get invited back by our families to be part of yet another happy wedding.

This happy wedding day started very early. And as we should all know by now, Cheryl does NOT do mornings well. And since Lynette is going to read this blog, and since Lynette is my sister, but still is my boss, and since she becomes very “concerned” if I say that I overslept on a wedding day, and since we have another early wedding day next weekend, I’m going to say that I got up on time for Carmen and Matt’s wedding. Okay? Only I will let you know by a subtle (wink) that I may be fudging the truth just a little. Are we all on the same page?

Okay. So even though Carmen and Matt were getting married early in the afternoon, I was scheduled to be at Scarritt-Bennett around 10:15 Saturday morning. So of course I got plenty of sleep the night before (wink wink) and woke up bright and early on Saturday (wink wink) with plenty of time to spare (wink wink). I DID make it to Scarritt-Bennett on time, though! :--)  In fact, as I parked my car, I saw Lynette with Team Emily just arriving as well. Whew!

We didn’t have a lot of time to waste because pictures were scheduled to start very soon, and we needed to be with Carmen as she was getting in her dress, and with Matt as he was getting dressed as well. I don’t know where Lynette and Team Emily went, but as soon as I unpacked my camera, I went inside to find Matt.

We’ve done so many weddings at Scarritt-Bennett that I pretty much know my way around now, so I went to where the guys usually get dressed and sure enough, that’s where I found Matt! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go with Lynette to the rehearsal the night before, so I didn’t know what Matt looked like. Lynette just told me that he was very tall. And she was right! Six foot four! That’s tall!

While hanging with the guys, I got to see Cliff again, and he was looking all good and married. And also got to see Carmen and Carrie’s brother, Shawn. I didn’t know who Shawn was at first, but I knew that I had seen him before. Then when I found out that he was Carmen’s brother, it didn’t take long for me to figure out where I knew him from. I knew him from Carrie and Cliff’s wedding! Okay. I may not be a firecracker, but I eventually figure things out!

I was also able to meet new people too. Matt, of course, and Matt’s Dad, who was also very nice. And Matt’s groomsmen. Everyone was totally nice. I assume that Lynette and Team Emily were having an equally nice experience with Carmen and her family and bridesmaids. And I assumed correctly.

Carmen and Matt chose to see each other before the ceremony so they could get their photo’s taken care of before the ceremony. That meant I was able to see Carmen before the wedding too! Sometimes I don’t get to see the bride until she’s almost ready to walk down the aisle! So I enjoy it when I get to see the bride early in the day.

For their first “sighting”, Matt stood at the front of the sanctuary with his back toward Carmen as she walked down the aisle toward him. Carmen called out his name and he turned and walked straight for her, giving Carmen a big hug and kiss when he reached her. Matt’s reaction was soooooo special! It moved me, so I know it moved Carmen! And the great thing is that Carmen will always have Matt’s reaction on video so she can watch it forever and ever, and their children can watch it someday too!  :--)

After spending a few moments together, it was time for the photo shoot. And it was a great photo shoot. Carmen can’t take a bad picture if she wanted to! First, she looked gorgeous, but she also enjoyed the camera! We didn’t have a camera shy bride here! :--)  Everything I saw through my viewfinder looked beautiful. And I loved it when Carmen and Carrie posed together because they are both so pretty. And then I loved it when Carmen and Matt posed together because it was so obvious how much in love they were. And I loved it when the whole wedding party posed together because everyone looked so handsome. I just loved ……. Everything!

Team Emily and I covered most of the photo shoot and had a fun time doing it. Lynette also helped out with the photo shoot, but also used the time to get the audio ready. It’s easy to forget how important the audio is in a video. But it’s VERY important! It’s so important that I’m glad that Lynette takes care of it and not me! 

Anyway, getting to revisit a family such as this several years later is great in that it’s fun to see the changes. For instance. At Carrie’s wedding there was a little baby niece in the family. And at Carmen’s wedding this little baby niece was now the four year old flower girl!

I have to say though, that Mom Joyce looked just the same in 2009 as she did in 2005. She hadn’t aged a bit! And that’s the truth. No wink winks.

This is just a lovely family on both sides. The only person missing was Carmen’s Dad, who passed away a few months before sister Carrie’s wedding in 2005. He is still missed but NEVER forgotten. In fact, he was with Carmen every step of the way on her wedding day. On Carmen’s bouquet was a tiny heart-shaped charm which held a picture of her Dad. Very special. 

Also, on Matt’s side, another family member was absent but never far from anyone’s thoughts. Matt’s brother, Corporal Nathan Morris, USMC, is stationed in Iraq and was unable to be at his brother’s wedding. But he held a honorary groomsman position and was introduced at the reception to everyone’s applause and a standing ovation. He may not have been able to be present, but he was THERE.

After a lively photo shoot, it was time for the ceremony, and time for me and Lynette and Team Emily to take our places. I enjoy standing in the balcony in Wightman's Chapel, so that’s where I was for the ceremony. Lynette was up front in her usual place, and Team Emily took the back position. I must add here, that Team Emily did a great job! McNeal Video is so fortunate to have such a talented Team!

The ceremony itself was very pretty. The chapel was full of family and friends as Carmen and Matt took their vows.

After the ceremony, Carmen and Matt made their way to their reception in style. They were whisked away in a 1939 Packard!

As everyone was making their way to the reception which was held just a little ways up the road at Belmont Neely Black and White Dining Hall, I was making my way there too, with Lynette……. driving. Yes, even though I try and avoid riding to receptions with Lynette as much as possible given the nature of her driving techniques, (she drives very very slowly and will not break traffic laws!), riding with Lynette was the best option of getting to the reception. And I must say that I’m proud of Lynette. On the way to the reception after missing our turn, Lynette did a U-TURN! It nearly killed her, but she did it!

Oh, in case anyone was wondering. Lynette and I covered the wedding reception since it was an early wedding and Lynette figured that since Team Emily had worked so hard on her BIRTHDAY, she could go home and do some celebrating for herself. Happy Birthday Team Emily!

Once we arrived at the reception, Lynette and I made our way into the dining area and started taking shots of the beautifully decorated room. Everything looked so nice! I forgot to mention earlier that Carman used purple as her primary color in her wedding, (and I loved it! If you can’t use pink, then purple is the next best thing!), so the room was filled with pretty purple flowers. And the cake was especially pretty, decorated with purple flowers as well.

Of course, I spent a lot of time with the cake! And instead of a groom’s cake, Carmen and Matt chose to have chocolate cupcakes! Very cute! I especially liked the little swirly icing on the cupcakes.

After the guests arrived, the wedding party was announced, and then Carmen and Matt were announced and went straight into their first dance.

I thought their first dance was charming. They looked so happy and Carmen looked so pretty…. Matt gave her a couple of twirls on the dance floor as well as a big dip at the end! It was a very nice first dance.

After the dance, the buffet was opened and guests made their way to the food! And so did I, (after the guests, of course!). Lynette never eats at receptions, but I did notice that she did drink several glasses of water and lemonade… 

Time at the reception flew right along with the cake cutting, Carmen and Matt visiting with guests, the dance floor opening, and Carmen and Matt tossing the bouquet and garter.

Before exiting, Carmen changed from her beautiful gown to another dress. I must admit that I prefer to have the bride make her exit in her wedding gown, but since it was still light outside and barely early evening, I can see why Carmen would want to change into something a little more comfortable. And I wasn’t disappointed to see that Carmen had changed into a really pretty short white dress that could still easily be called a wedding dress! Only a very sexy one! Good call, Carmen!

Carmen and Matt made their exit to friends and family blowing bubbles, and of course, at the end of the line of family and friends was that very sharp 1939 Packard! Carmen and Matt hugged their family good-bye before they left, (which I always think is so sweet when couples stop to do that), and then they drove off looking soooo happy!

A PERFECT day!

I do want to mention that the day went so perfectly and smoothly thanks in big part to Angela Proffitt of “Elegant Weddings by Angela”. We have enjoyed working with Angela before and it seems that smoooooth is the way that Angela runs all of her weddings. This makes for a very nice day for everyone, but especially nice and as stress free as possible for the bride and groom! Our advice to every bride, GET A GOOD WEDDING PLANNER! You will be so glad you did!

I also want to thank Carmen and Matt and their families for inviting us back to celebrate another wonderful wedding with you. It is so special to us when we are called back to video another wedding for a family who we have worked with before. The second-time around is almost like a homecoming for us since we know you and you are already one of  “our families”.   :--)     So a big THANK YOU especially to Carmen (and Carrie’s) mom, Joyce, for thinking of us again. It was so great to see you and your wonderful daughters and family again. You have a beautiful family and we just love you all!

Best wishes go out to Carmen and Matt as you make your way to Mexico for your honeymoon, and then of course, in your new lives together!

So now this Night Bird (me!) is going to do something strange. I have already napped, and even though I wish it were time to go back to bed, it’s time to get ready for my day…. UGH! Oh well. It will be time to go to bed later tonite….. Maybe????   :--)