GP Featured on Williamson County Wedding & Events

Yesterday we had another wedding of ours featured on the blog of Williamson County Wedding and Events!

This wedding is of Abdul & Alexis which took place at CJ's Off the Square. We blogged awhile back on this wedding, but didn't get a chance to share tons of images, so check out WCW&E's blog!

Dreaded Tax Time... Who To Turn To?

It's that time of year again! Time to get your taxes together to file with the IRS. Woo hoo... exciting times... or not.

Do taxes confuse you and you wish you had someone to do your taxes for you but you have no idea who to go to? Are you a small business owner and are not happy with your current tax filing situation? Or maybe need some extra help with running your books?

Look no further!

A few years ago Zach and I found ourselves in a very interesting situation. We had income coming in from different areas - some W2s, some 1099s, confusing other taxes stuff, and to top it all off we were starting our own business. We had no idea what company we could trust we with our finances so we turned to Dave Ramsey's Endorsed Local Provider program. Dave's ELP program holds companies to a very high standard of excellence, have to earn Dave's endorsement, and more importantly are constantly being reviewed to keep Dave's endorsement.

Through the ELP program we found Tax Alternatives. We cannot brag enough about the service and help throughout the years that we have received from these guys and they do an amazing job. They have been available to us all year round to answer our questions that may come up, they work with our crazy excel sheets, truly have great customer service, and the cost is reasonable and most definitely worth it! We have been with them ever since we initially walked in the door.

Over the years we have referred many friends and fellow business acquaintances to them and we have continued to hear nothing but great things and see the great things first hand for ourselves.

So if you're needing some help, whether it's with taxes, accounting, bookkeeping (and the list goes on) - check out their site, contact them, and be amazed.

Hope this helps some of you! Taxes can be scary and daunting but they don't have to be :)

The First Peak into a Nashville Wedding of Titan Proportions..

As some of you may be aware, we are not yet allowed to share any images of our latest couple until their official press release comes out and possibly some other press hits, so we decided to do a blog on this big TN wedding with some of the awesome details from their big day!

This wedding was coordinated by Courtney Hammons and her team from A Magical Affair and was held at Opryland Hotel. Everything was beautiful from the pink and black color scheme that ran throughout the wedding, to the monogrammed everything! Check it out!


































After the ceremony we and our assistant/third shooter Kristine were granted access into the new & hottest night club at Opryland - FUSE - to do some photos of the bride & groom. They turned out so cool and the staff there was top notch. We can't wait to share those here with you!

Other vendors who were a part of making the day and everything else look so good:

All of the paper that you see (invitations, menus, programs, seating cards, etc) was custom created by the great Donette & Steve with Designs In Paper.

The cool Jen with Reveal Event Style was a huge part in planning the stunning decor. Just wait until you see some photos of the centerpieces!!

Flowers were provided by A Village of Flowers.

The other team involved in the decor and who also did all the lighting is one of the coolest and kindest couples in the world with - Blue Nova Designs.

Our Bride & Groom had videographers capturing the day and they chose Danielle and her team Turning Point Productions.

The monogram they had on the dance floor & gobo, which you will see later, was provided by Go Disc Jokey of Nashville.

And last but not least, DJ Jamie Scott with Red Carpet Entertainment had the party going which you will see when we blog more!

It was a great wedding and we are glad to have been in the middle of it all capturing it! More to come soon :)

Holding Out on You!

This weekend we shot an amazing wedding but due to the nature of who we shot, we are limited at this time to the images we can show as well as names while we wait for certain press to hit - so stay tuned and enjoy the below post!

The Cutest Kids in Your Life!

Earlier last week we had the blessing of doing a Lifestyle shoot for an amazing family we know. Meet Nathan & Jenni and their precious kids!






Natural beauty is power!




Doesn't she make you want to burst to the seams in a smile?









Nathan & Jenni are truly an amazing couple and they have a great family. We love these guys and will try and share more images later - there are so many great ones!!

The Jonas Brothers - Live in the Flesh! ...kind of

Yes, Zach and I have caught a bug, but it was well worth it! This past Friday through Monday Zach and I went with our church's high school youth group on winter retreat as leaders. We had a blast and some crazy times (see below!) and also many heart to heart times as well. It's funny how you go with the mindset of solely serving and being there for others, but then God rocks your world as well. The weekend was wonderful and the students in our group are so dear to our hearts - we love you guys and are so proud of you!

Here is us with (most of) our group on the last day:


Can you spot us? Some parents think we are students! ... lol.







An interesting element added on retreat is that on the last night each small group had to perform a skit. On Saturday each group was given 3 elements they had to incorporate in the skit. These were ours:

1) Gladiators
2) Hannah Montana vs. The Jonas Brothers
3) Ancient Rome

Our group didn't feel like putting forth the energy to make the skit and then have to perform the skit live on stage, so we had the crazy idea to be a bit lame, and do it all on video so we didn't have to go up and act it out. The funny thing was, is it actually turned out pretty good and we WON first place!!!!!!! woo hooo!

For your enjoyment we bring to you our creation...



OK, so maybe it was not fair that we also did a sweet Rock-Star photo shoot of our look-alike bands, but why not take any advantage that we can to win? :)

Associate Photographers - Update!

Since posting our blog for Associate Photographers, we have received over 35 responses so far. Thanks to those who have submitted their portfolio!

Starting this evening we will be sending out emails to those who we feel so far would be a good fit for us and where we are headed with our business.

Thanks to all who have applied, and if you are reading this for the first time, it is not too late to contact us about this opportunity. Please fully read the a blog we have posted on this before emailing us.

Thank-you!

The Darling Mel of The Velvet Trunk

Yesterday we did a shoot for our dear & sweet friend, Mel. Mel is an amazing photographer and person and has such a kind heart and sweet spirit. Mel specializes in high end portrait photography for babies, children, etc. and her images are amazing!!! Here are some of the shots we took of her for her site/publicity.

We started the shoot off at SOL in downtown Franklin with only about an hour and a half of shoot time...





Then we ended up across the street....





And finally we ended up on the top of a parking garage! Here is a "behind the scenes" shot of the setup:



The camera position:



The shots:









Doesn't she look amazing??

Thanks for stopping by!

Special Wedding Feature on Ashley's Bride Guide

If you are a Nashville vendor or Bride and have not yet heard of Ashley's Bride Guide, you might need to get out a little more! :) ABG is a pretty comprehensive resource of wedding vendors but also is in the know of the events going on locally for brides to check out to help them with their wedding planning.


This whole week, Ashley with Ashley's Bride Guide has been featuring real Nashville weddings and on Friday she featured
tons of photos and bridal commentary on Meagan & Jerry's Grosvernor's wedding that we shot in November. To check out the blog go here!

Meagan made this really sweet comment about us on this blog, which we wanted to share:

My favorite vendors
Mary Alice of A Delightful Day, Gray Photography and Maples Wedding Cakes. I had a perfect team of vendors but these three stand out above the rest. Mary Alice is a pro and makes you feel like the only bride she has. Gray Photography was amazing. I have gotten so many compliments and have so many pictures to choose from that are gorgeous. They are a great couple. Jay at Maples also works very hard to understand the look of the cake you are going for. Plus I don’t think cake could taste any better!





Thanks Meagan & Jerry! You guys are the best and we are so happy for you two.

Famous Wedding Invitations- Mark Your Calendars!

Any of you heard of Sarah Evans? Country music singer... Yeah, we thought so :)



As some of you may know, Sarah Evans got married last year and the printed pieces came from the Williamson County Weddings and Events boutique.



Just a reminder that the lovely ladies of Williamson County Weddings and Events are hold a Social Invitation Showcase on Sunday, Feb 22nd at CJ's Off The Square right in downtown Franklin. Again, check out their Blog Post for more information, and don't forget to register!

And of course, Zach and I WILL be stopping by... if you need any more incentive to come :)

A Scrubby Proposal - Happy Valentines Day!

We are on retreat right now so we have scheduled this blog to go up in our absence!

Thanks to Kristin's blog from Simply Stunning Events, we grabbed this video and wanted to share it as well in honor of Valentines Day!! What a super sweet proposal!!!!!!!!






Happy Valentines Day everyone!

200 Students + Separate Beds = Our Valentines Day

We did a Family Lifestyle shoot with this amazing family we know yesterday, and we are so pumped about the images! We'll post those when we return early next week. In the meantime...

It's that time of year for us - Winter Retreat! While many photographers are headed out to Las Vegas for a huge photographer gathering/conference/workshop (WPPI), and while many couples will be celebrating their love over candlelit dinners, Zach and I are headed off to the woods for our church's youth group's winter retreat!

Zach and I help out with the High School youth at our church, and Winter Retreat creates some of the best relationships and memories. We love it!

We will be out this weekend up through Monday. Everyone enjoy your Valentines Day (and while we're away we have a special video proposal coming up on our blog that made us smile!). No worries, we'll make sure we celebrate our love. We already did get our chocolates from the Schakolad Chocolate Factory!

We will get back with you when we return to the office! In the meantime, don't forget to spread the word on our search for some amazing associate photographers, and don't forget to vote for our blog here in the Fresh Blog Voting Contest held by Professional Photographer Magazine (in the upper left hand corner, enter 0011 to see our entry and vote for us :). We'll do our best to keep everyone update with Twitter, assuming we have cell service :)

Best Blog Ever?!?

Only 4 days to vote!

We may not have the best blog EVER, but with over 16,000 visits (and over 25,000 page views) from not only people across the US but from other continents as well - all in the 7 months we have had our blog going - that's got to count for something :)

We would love your vote on Professional Photographer Magazine's Fresh Blog Voting Contest. Check it out here and in the upper left hand corner, enter 0011 to see our entry and vote for us!

VOTING ENDS THE 15TH of this month so take 20 Seconds and cast your vote for us... and maybe we'll consider keeping up this blog... ;o) ha ha

The Willy Wonka (Schakolad) Chocolate Factory

Are you needing some Valentines Day goodness for your special someone? Well look no further! Zach and I experienced the joy and delight of Schakolad Chocolate Factory today, and we now can say we have lived life to the fullest ;o)

This place has everything you can imagine when it comes to chocolate - chocolate records, chess boards, soccer balls, and yes, even chocolate handcuffs and body paint. You need it, they have it, and if they don't have exactly what you're looking for, they can custom make it!

Zach and I met Taylor and his sweet wife Tara earlier this month and really clicked! They are both great business people and are nice as well (always a bonus :). Taylor owns & manages the Schakolad Chocolate Factory in Cool Springs and Tara owns My Lavish Event wedding planning. She actually blogged on us a few posts back so make sure to hit her blog up and see what other goodness she is sharing on :)

Ok, ok, now it's time for the photos - we know that's why you all come to our blog anyway :)








Custom chocolate being made for Arrington Vineyards














Taylor the chocolatier! (Thank-you Kristine... he he he.)

We followed them along in the making of their chocolate dipped cherries! I'm not sure if we're allowed to share the secrets of what they are actually dipping the cherries in (besides obviously chocolate), so just enjoy the process!






The chocolate dipping begins!


Finished and ready to eat!! I (Jody) ate one of the dark chocolate dipped cherries and they were sooooo good!







There were so many different things to shoot so to see all the really cool stuff, you'll just have to visit the store :)

Here is myself with Tara & Taylor



You can find Schakolad Chocolate Factory in Cool Springs in the same complex where Borders is located!