Nashville Wedding Photographers | Phindy Studios Blog

We were honored to be featured last week on Southern Weddings blog!  We absolutely loved Eric & Melissa’s beautiful wedding and we will be sharing a full post soon!

Today was a very exciting day. We found out our little “stowaway” is a boy!  We are thrilled and can’t wait to meet little Harry Phillips Thornton III in February!  Now to figure out how to raise him to speak with a British accent…

A lot of the pre-wedding prepping is definitely bride focused. That doesn’t always have to be the case! Grooms can feel all of the stresses of the big day too, let them relax and look great with a hot towel, straight razor shave from Uncle Classic Barbershop! This fine local business has several locations throughout Nashville and Franklin. Uncle offers tons of great services from shaves to shoe shines, this classic style barbershop will have the guys looking, and feeling, great for that big day. To schedule an appointment or for more information visit their website:www.uncleclassicbarbershop.com

On the second Tuesday of every month, StudioWed will be hosting an open house for brides.  This is a great way to come in and see what StudioWed is all about, without any pressure, so mark your calendars for the upcoming months!  Also, make sure to click on the invite below to register to attend.  We hope to see you there!

We are also excited to announce the  incredible new StudioWed Nashville blog has launched…you finally have a place online to check out all the awesome vendors that StudioWed has to offer!

…we were getting married!  I can’t believe it’s already been 5 years.  So much has happened since then which makes the images from our wedding much more precious.  We have lost loved ones, friends have moved away but we have these images to capture that special time in our lives.  We can’t thank Alison Bynum with Bynum Photography enough for giving them to us.

Phil, I LOVE you!!  I can’t wait for 50 more years!

Images by Alison Bynum

As some of you may have heard, Nashville was hit very hard by flooding over the past week.  We have been in a state of shock, especially since our very own neighborhood was devastated.   Our own home was spared, but so many were not so lucky.  If you are out of town or just don’t know what to do to help out, we have found a great way to make a donation but also receive a sweet limited edition poster!  Click here to purchase your poster – it’s going to a great cause.

EDIT: If you are just now reading this post you should know it was posted on April 1st. It was our attempt at a humorous April Fools joke to our friends in the industry. It should be noted that some people actually thought we had made these purchases! Happy April everyone!

Hello loyal readers and future brides! It has been a great year for us here at Phindy Studios and we have all of you to thank for that. We’ve had some exciting things happen over the last few weeks that we just had to share with you guys. I am sure you know that here at Phindy we are always looking for exciting and new ways to market our brand and also enjoy that wonderful small business perk: the tax right-off! Well we have finally taken possession of two new Phindy family members! We have literally been chomping at the bit to announce this but we’ve kept our mouths shut until it was a sure thing…the last thing we wanted was for someone else to copy our idea before we had a chance to execute it! So early this morning, we drove out to Dickson to pick up our new baby. Check her out below!

Isn’t she beautiful!? We will be taking advantage of our new wheels all year, driving to some of the most beautiful weddings all over the country. A luxury coach seemed like the only logical choice for transportation. With weddings this year in Charlottesville, Chattanooga, Kentucky, California, Dominican Republic, and Cabo San Lucas we thought, heck, it almost pays for itself!

I know what you are thinking, “hey Phindys, you can’t take a bus to the Dominican Republic!” Well you are correct, which leads me to our next exciting news! When researching other creative ways to get the name out there while in route to these great destinations we came across another idea we just couldn’t pass up. So, this morning, after taking ownership of our brand new bus, we broke it in with a quick 7 hour drive to Charleston, West Virginia to pick up this thing of beauty!

So, we hope to see you soon, driving or floating across the globe. To celebrate this special occasion we will be giving away one free, full day wedding photography package to the first person who spots us out and about in either of our new rides. All you have to do is just snap a picture of us and send it in via email.

Leave us a comment below and tell us what you think we should name our new rides! Thanks for reading!

Trey & Ashley were married this winter at Scarritt Bennett with an awesome reception at the brand new Hilton Garden Inn downtown.  It was two days full of love, laughter & a strong rivalry between Arkansas fans & Ole Miss fans  We were so excited to work with some of our favorite vendors like Simply Stunning Events, Brocade, & Cakes by Shara.   Every detail in this wedding was beautiful…enjoy a few of our favorites!

Check out this Arkansas Razorback groom’s cake! We couldn’t resist putting the rings on the tusks!

This candy bar was awesome! Huge props to Simply Stunning Events and Brocade for putting it all together!

Wow…we have had a busy week!  We’ve been waiting for months and are so excited that StudioWed Nashville is officially OPEN!  To kick everything off we had an awesome grand opening party on Monday.  So many people came and it was awesome to see support from so many friends.  It really meant a lot to us to see past clients, like Chandra & Matt, even come to show their support

Awesome co-owners extraordinaire,  Leigh & Mary Alice!  If you are a bride coming into StudioWed, these are the lovely ladies that will take great care of you

I love the fact that the florists involved in StudioWed provide fresh flowers for the space, like these by Brocade Designs Nashville.

Awesome lighting by Nashville Event Lighting…how cool is it that this gets to stay in the Studio?

Shannon of Southall Eden Paperie, Kristin of Simply Stunning Events, & Amy of Amy Lynn Larwig.

Yummy cakes by Crumb de la Crumb

We had a great engagement session with Doug & Erin at beautiful Belle Meade Plantation last month.  We all braved the cold (again….seriously Spring needs to get here already!) but what got us through were the warm thoughts of their wedding in Cabo San Lucas next October!  Enjoy a few of our favorites

How stunning are these two?!?

Mark your calendars for Williamson County Wedding & Events Winter Open House on Saturday, February 27th from 3-6 p.m. at CJ’s Off the Square.  They will be displaying their complete 2010 Wedding Invitation Collection available now in their boutique as well as giving clients a sneak peek at the nearly completed event pavilion opening in April at CJ’s Off the Square.

Simply follow this link to register online or call 615-465-8099.

You are welcome to come and go anytime from 3-6 p.m.  Complimentary valet parking will be provided and this is a free event, open to the public.  We look forward to seeing you there!

We were so excited to find out when we were in Europe that we would be published in the newest issue of Southern Weddings Magazine!   Right before we left for our trip we received an awesome email from one of the SWMAG girls asking us if they could use a bouquet shot they saw on our blog. Uhm , yeah, absolutely! We loved Corinne’s bouquet shot from last July and we’re glad they liked it too   If you are a bride and haven’t picked up your copy, you definitely should.  I love how they branch out from traditional wedding styles and showcase new & original ideas from brides all across the South.  Also, make sure to check out their blog to get your daily SWMag fix!

As soon as we returned from Europe we turned right back around and headed to New Orleans for the Pictage Partner Conference!  It was well worth the trip.  If you are a photographer and haven’t checked out Pictage or been to the conference before, I highly suggest you try to make it next year.  We’re stoked because it will be in New Orleans again  There were tons of great speakers, including Phil!   Phil spoke in the Photographers Lounge which was designed to be a more intimate setting instead of a large conference room.  To our surprise, we had a huge turn out.  Thanks to everyone who came out!   It was awesome to meet so many great new people and we look forward to staying in touch over the next year and seeing how your SEO progresses!

Thanks to the oh so wonderful McLellans who took some shots for us!

Also, if you are photographer and interested in checking out our local PUG (Pictage User Group) please join us this Thursday, November 12th at 6:30pm.   The meeting will be located at the St. Bernard Building / The Village Chapel, 2021 21st Ave South, Suite C100, Nashville, TN 37212.   You do not have to be a member of Pictage to join us!  If you can make it, please make sure to find us…we’d love to meet you!

Well we did it!  We made it through our trip to Europe.  The trip as a whole was far beyond what I think either of us expected.  We visited London, Paris, the Loire Valley, Avignon, Venice, Florence, and Rome.  We even had a few hours in Geneva, Switzerland.  Obviously there will be a far more detailed posts with tons of photos and info but for now we just wanted to say hi to our readers before we leave in the morning for New Orleans.  Yep, we had all of 2 nights in our own bed before heading back out of town but this trip should be well worth it.  We are off to Pictage Partnercon in New Orleans.  Phil will be speaking Tuesday, from 3:20pm – 4:20pm so if you plan on attending stop by and say hi.  We will leave you with one quick photo we grabbed from the hundreds thousands we took.

So, Phil has trouble tooting his own horn…so, my job as his wife is to toot it for him!  Phil will be speaking at this year’s PartnerCon ( Pictage Partner Conference) in New Orleans, Tuesday, November 3, 3:20pm – 4:20pm.  He was chosen as one of only 7 to speak in the Photographer’s Lounge.  If you missed Phil’s SEO Nashville seminar, here’s your chance to get a small taste of what you missed.  Hope to see you all there!

It’s Josh & Becca’s wedding week!  Next Saturday, this super cute couple will be married in a brunch wedding at  CJ’s off the Square.  We thought in celebration of their upcoming wedding, we would finally post some images from their engagement session Josh & Becca met in class at Vanderbilt University.  (Seriously, we have some super smart clients…intimidating much?!)  It was so fun going with them back to campus to shoot in some of their favorite spots.  We then got in a swanky mood and headed downtown.  Enjoy a few of our favorites!

Did you miss us?   Sorry for the quiet blog last week, but we’re back with a sa-weet bridal session.  Jeff & Jamie were married last Saturday, so we are excited to finally get to share these!  When Jamie told us she had an idea to use a 1963 split window corvette in her shoot, we were stoked.  It’s rare to get a girl who rather get photographed with a cool car, than doing the usual bridal portrait stuff.  We were, of course, thrilled to do something new.  Jamie, I think it paid off, if the reaction from Jeff on your wedding day was any indication.  He kept looking at the images & saying “that’s my wife!”.   Those kind of reactions make our day

Well it’s official. After many requests and a lot of preparation I will be speaking to a small group of wedding professionals about Search Engine Optimization and Internet marketing. We will be covering everything from Google organic ranking (your position in search results) to twitter.  I really wanted this to be an profitable experience for the people that choose to come so I am limiting the space based on specialty.  This means that there will be only 5 attendees in each wedding vendor specialty (only 5 photographers for instance).  This maximizes the value of the information I will be sharing because there won’t be 200 other people attempting the exact same strategy, thus diluting it’s effectiveness.  So, if you are a wedding vendor and you have been wondering why your site doesn’t show up in Google results, or you are having to pay major bucks for Pay-Per-Click ads this seminar is for you.  You can read more about it over at the site I put up www.wedproseo.com.  You can also go straight to the registration page here.

So, last week we were asked to be a part of the newest Nobility video “Gentle Giant”.  Stephen (keyboardist in video) said something about a scientist and so naturally, I was in.  Mindy decided to opt out and play a more behind the scenes roll (photographer).  I didn’t really know what I was getting into but it sounded like fun.  The Nobility guys are really cool and creative so I figured whatever it was it would be neat-o (yeah, neat-o).  When I was being briefed on what was about to go down Sean informed me the entire video would be shot in one continuous take (bonus points if you can guess how many tries this took).  The hardest part was keeping a straight face.  Those of you that know me know that I am not usually a serious person, I think I deserve an Oscar for keeping it together and not laughing.  If you haven’t heard The Nobility, stop reading this and check them out.  They’re on iTunes or you can visit their site. Anyway, a few hours later it was a wrap and this is what we ended up with, enjoy.

“Gentle Giant” video from The Nobility on Vimeo. (Video Directed by Brian Wilson)

So while I was busy making a fool of myself, Mindy was taking some photos and wondering why she married me.  Here are some of her shots!

Below: The whole crew, minus Mindy

Below: The cast.  Band left to right: Stephen Jerkins, Brian Fuzzell, Cheyenne Medders, Sean Williams.  Scientist: Me, Holly Anderson.

Great song!

A few months ago, one of my best friends, Bonnie, called and asked us to be apart of an art project she was putting together for the Aphasia Group at Vanderbilt.  I knew Bonnie’s Dad had suffered a stroke years back, but I had never heard of Aphasia.   APHASIA – a*pha*sia (uh-fay-zhuh) is an impairment of the ability to use or comprehend words, usually acquired as a result of a stroke or other brain injury.   Knowing how close this project was to Bonnie’s heart, we quickly said yes and I am so glad that we did.

Bonnie titled her project “The Milemarkers Project“.  Her goal was to document the recovery stories of individuals with Aphasia.  She asked individuals to identify an object that represented a significant achievement or turning point in their recovery process.  Phil and I got to photograph these individuals with their object.  Below are some of the images from our day with the patients.  Our day spent with them definitely put things in perspective.  You never really stop to think what life would be like if simple movements or speaking were taken away from you.  If you would like to see the project in it’s entirety please visit the downtown Nashville Public Library from September – October.  Also, please visit Art Makes Place for more info on other great projects in the Nashville area.

This is Domnique, who works with the Aphasia group.  Her milemarker was the Proclamation from the state of Tennessee, declaring June Aphasia Awareness Month.

Milemarker: painting.

Milemarker: writing in a journal.

Milemarker: playing cards.

Milemarker: writing.

Milemarker: singing in the choir again at church.  To the right is a girl who helps out with the group in their recovery.  Her object was a sign that helps the patients learn to communicate again.

Thanks again, Bonnie, for letting us be a part of such a special project.  We are looking forward to seeing it this fall!

A few months ago, we photographed some head shots for Adrienne…at the time she brought along her family and Phil and I fell in love with them, especially their little girl, Riley.   After a few rain checks on sessions this past spring, we were so excited to finally get the opportunity to do a family session with them a couple of weeks ago.  Seriously, this family knew how to work it…they were awesome.  Check out a few of our favorites!

We had so much fun with Matt & Chandra at their engagement session.  Even though it was super hot and we were expecting rain at any moment, they were up for anything, which we love!  Enjoy some of our favorites from their session as well as a cool image Phil caught while we were all eating sushi at the end of the night

If you are a couple getting married soon, or already married, you have to check out this awesome blog by Nashville Marriage Studio.  Phil and I are coming up on our 4th wedding anniversary in July and definitely don’t see ourselves as being pros at it yet…ask us in about 40 years if we have any advice  Anyways, this is a great resource to hear some awesome advice from a professional, Marie McKinney-Oates.  Let’s face it, professional help, be it pre-marital or marriage counseling can be expensive, so this is a great free alternative!

As you can imagine, we were surprised when Marie wanted to interview us about how we work together as a husband & wife team.  We are right in there with most young couples just figuring it out as we go.  However, if we can help anyone with what little experience we have, we’ll do it!   If you are interested in learning a little more about us, you can read our interview here.

Jessica & David were married this past Saturday in a beautiful ceremony at Scarritt-Bennett.  We are so excited to finally be able to share Jessica’s bridal session…it’s hard keeping these things under wraps for months sometimes!  Jessica is a natural in front of the camera, which makes our job easy.  She is also a super talented artist, so if you get a chance, check her out here!  We will be back soon with a sneak peek from their wedding, but for now enjoy some of our favorites from her session

Last week, we went out to Germantown to photograph Brent & Sarah’s engagement session.  These guys are too cute and we had so much fun hanging out with them.   Seriously, we keep saying it, but it’s true…we have the best clients!  Anyways, we are super excited to shoot their wedding in August at the beautiful Riverwood Mansion.  Until then, enjoy some of our favorites from our session

A couple of weeks ago we photographed Chad & Lindsay’s beautiful wedding at Tulip Hill Mansion in Murfreesboro.   They are such a sweet couple and the wedding was so simple & elegant…we loved it!  Chad & Lindsay, thanks so much for letting us be apart of your day.   Enjoy your sneak peek

Back in April, Phil and I went to New Orleans to photograph Ken & Lindsey’s wedding.  We decided to hang out a few extra days for a small vacation because we love the city so much.   Of course,  most of our personal photos are put on the back burner until we have time to go through them.  We finally did though and wanted to share a few of our favorites.  This will be a two parter because we also took a day to go down to the 9th ward.  We will share those soon