Kim & Cullen: A Windy Wedding
There is a saying that in the south, our summers start in April. And for the most part, that is generally true. April has become a popular month for weddings around the Knoxville area, mostly in the mid to later part of the month. In fact, the weekend before Kim & Cullen’s wedding the temperatures were in the 80′s and the sun was high in the sky. Almost a perfect day for an outdoor wedding.
Well, someone forgot to tell last weekend that it was April and the sun must of taken a personal day because it was neither warm or sunny for Kim & Cullen’s wedding. The week leading up to the wedding, our local weather geeks were telling us it was going to be a bit windy, but the sun would be out and the temperatures would be in the upper 60′s. I just want to say this; don’t trust our weather geeks. They had their rehearsal, like most brides, the Friday before the wedding and it was just pouring rain. The wind wasn’t blowing too much, but the rain was coming down in buckets. Everyone was worried it would rain on the wedding day, but I was not. I knew it would not rain. In fact, I even told the photographer, Barry Seaton, that it would not rain. I promised it. Remember that, it comes back to me in a minute.
I awoke Saturday to see the sun shining in my window and I heard the wind blowing outside. Just like the weather geek said. But, something happened between the time I woke up and the time I got to Maple Grove Inn. The clouds built in heavy and gray. The wind got turned up a couple of notches and the temperature dropped like a rock. It was blowing so hard, that the staff of the Maple Grove Inn were having a tough time just getting the tables set up. Most of the linens and the centerpieces were getting knocked around. When Kim arrived, she had a smile on her face and I don’t really think she cared much about the weather. Today she was going to marry the man of her dreams; Cullen.
She didn’t care much for the weather until we went outside for the pictures. I felt so bad for her. She picked out the most beautiful dress, but is was very light weight. The longer we stood outside, the colder she got. I even had to make a quick break for my own jacket and gloves that day. Poor Kim, she had to get a zip up hoodie from someone to keep herself a little warm. I found out later that night that we never got out of the 50′s that Saturday. The high that day was 51, a far cry from the upper 60′s.
When the time came for the ceremony to begin, Barry Seaton, our photographer that day, came up to me and said “next time, ask whoever you have connections with to keep the rain and instead give us warm weather”. Told you it would come back. I don’t know what it is or why it happens, but for some reason it has never rained on an outdoor wedding that I have worked. It has rained on a lot of indoor weddings, we have had ceremonies outside with the sound of thunder in the background and we have had a little sprinkle here and there, but never any rain. This day was no different, except for the cold and the wind. The wind did die down once the ceremony started and the rest of the day went off without a hitch.
The Maple Grove Inn provided not only a beautiful venue, but also some great food. Party Boys DJ Show did a great job with the music for the reception and we even had a very special guest at the reception sing “Rocky Top” to all the guest. I won’t give her name away, but I’ll just say this; I will never be able to watch a Lady Vols Basketball game the same way again.
I know Kim and Cullen are on a warm topical island as I write this blog and have, hopefully, warmed up from their very windy wedding. I hope that have a very blessed life together. Here is the trailer for their wedding film: