A week ago today, Gary & Caroline were married. It will definitely go down as one of the most memorable weddings we will ever photograph. Last Saturday we showed up to Carnton Plantation only to realize that we would not be able to access it due to flooding. The bride, her sister & mom were stuck on the plantation along with the make-up/hair girls. Everyone else was on the outside, including the groom. The main goal was getting everyone to safety, so we all went our separate ways & waited.
Here is a short video we made while sitting at the blocked entrance to Carnton Plantation. As you can see in the video, there were also tourist who had been visiting the plantation that day stuck on the other side of the rapids. This was the only access road in and out of the plantation. We added some cheesy, somber music for effect!
Garoline Wedding Flood from Phil Thornton on Vimeo.
We didn’t know if there would even be a wedding. Around 4pm we got the call that the wedding had been moved to St. Paul’s in downtown Franklin. We geared back up & headed out. It was crazy outside & was raining so incredibly hard. Downtown Franklin was already in the beginning stages of flooding. However, the only goal in every one’s mind was to get this couple married! All the vendors rallied together – the cakes made it there just fine, caterers arrived, the florist managed to gather some extra flowers since the original ones had been left at Carnton. I (Mindy) didn’t know what to expect when I saw Caroline for the first time. She had every right to be completely broken down but instead she met me with a big smile. She was just happy to be getting married. That set the tone for the rest of the night. Everyone there was in great spirits. It wasn’t the wedding they had envisioned for the past year but Gary & Caroline would be Garoline by the end of the night and that was all that mattered. Below are some of our favorite images from the day. We are looking forward to a very sunny “Day After” session with these two very soon! Enjoy![]()
Gary found this handkerchief sitting on the priest’s desk – couldn’t have said it better ourselves.


Caroline working the phone, making sure all her guest new about the venue change.



This is why we love these guys so much, when a lot of brides would be in tears, Caroline was cracking us up and kept her sense of humor!

Caroline wore two pairs of shoes that night, one was pretty, one was waterproof.


There was no music during the reception, so friends jumped in to provide a little entertainment. At one point the guest were singing and dancing to “All You Need is love” on the piano…it was perfect. Oh, and thank goodness for iPods!


Vendors: Florist – Queen Anne’s Garden, Caterer – Constant Craving Caterers







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