‘Tennessee Whiskey’ at Makray Memorial

We had the honor of watching Chris Stapleton play at Summerfest last year when he brought the house down with “Tennessee Whiskey,” a song he serenaded to his wife on stage.

Don’t be fooled by the alcohol-infused title, because this melody is 100-proof romance.

“You’re as smooth as Tennessee whiskey

You’re as sweet as strawberry wine

You’re as warm as glass of brandy

And honey, I stay stoned on your love all the time”

You can pour me another glass of that any time!

And thanks to newlyweds Lucy and Chris Weidner, we were treated to that lovely song on their wedding day because they chose it for their first dance as husband and wife at the beautiful Makray Memorial Golf Club.

It was perfect for them: sultry, loving and all kinds of romantic.

I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to license “Tennessee Whiskey” for their Sneak Peek, but like nearly all music heard on the radio these days, it’s nearly impossible to get those rights (unless you’ve got a music budget of $40,000+. Which we don’t. LOL!)

So, I searched and I searched and I searched to find something that gave me that slow burn heaven that I get from Stapleton’s masterpiece. I think I found it with a cut from “Fools in Love,” by Nathan Angelo, an up-and-coming singer/songwriter from Greenville, S.C., licensed via SongFreedom.com

“Fools in love, after all this time

No rhyme or reason, but sure as the sun

You’ll forever be, forever you and me

We’ll forever be fools in love”

I just discovered Nathan’s work, and I can guarantee that I’ll be finding ways to use it in our films, as well as the full version of his song in the Weidner’s Feature Film. What a voice!

Enough about whiskey

But let’s get back to Lucy and Chris. We met these two at a wedding we filmed last year, where Chris was the best man and delivered a very heartfelt toast to the newlyweds (Hi, Whitney & Blake!!!). So, we knew Chris would be able to help tell his own story of falling in love with Lucy and what it meant to be getting married to the love of his life.

But, boy oh boy, we weren’t prepared for his truly authentic message to Lucy on their wedding day. It moved me to tears the first time I saw it, and I knew that it would be the foundation of their Sneak Peek.

That morning, Lucy — who has a super dry wit and is hilarious — also wore her emotions on the sleeve of her cute custom bride robe, but she landed on the more nervous side of excitement. We think you’ll get that in the sneak peek, too.

There’s so much more coming in their full film, that we could go on and on. But we know you all want to get to the Sneak Peek.

But one last thing we have to share about this day: We absolutely loved that these two decided to to make a donation to a local animal shelter instead of giving guests party favors. We didn’t know a thing about this act of generosity until we arrived at the reception and found cards on the place settings explaining the move. And I don’t think a single guest was bummed out! In fact, I think everyone supported that choice!

We hope you enjoy this little cut from their gorgeous wedding day, and we wish the newlyweds a long, happy and healthy life together!

Cheers, Cindy