Sutton Ricketson Eisenman was certain she wanted to attend the University of North Georgia and become a nurse when she graduated from Buford in 2010. However, she said God had another plan. That plan has included becoming a wife, mom and successful business owner.
“I was studying to be a nurse but, thankfully, failed out of nursing school the same semester I made it into the program. It was not for me,” Sutton said.
Changing courses completely, Sutton earned a degree in interior design from Gwinnett Tech and, in 2016, married Nathanael Eisenman and started WedFlix, a now thriving, metro-Atlanta based wedding video company.
Originally from Lawrenceville, Sutton is the middle of three daughters born to Melinda and LA Ricketson. She attended Buford for five years with her sisters Mekinnah and Kodi. She was on the A/B honor roll throughout high school, a member of Bel Canto Chorale, a BHS basketball and football cheerleader for four years, on the prom committee, was on homecoming court three times and was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
“FCA is one of the places where I deepened my faith, which is now the most important thing in the world to me,” Sutton said. “I loved surrounding myself with like-minded people where we could all grow together.”
Sutton recalls being in Mrs. Lynn Shumock’s math class.
“I can’t even recall which math she taught, but she made learning fun and easy,” Sutton said. “She took her time with each student and really wanted all of us to understand the lesson. Everyone seemed to respect her, and I think it’s because we all liked her so much. She was more than a teacher; she treated her students like friends.”
It was that type of selflessness and display of friendliness that resonated with Sutton, who placed a high value on friendships.
“I loved my friend group … there never seemed to be any animosity between us like you see in typical high school movies,” she said. “We always had so much fun!”
Just because a friend was taking a photography class, Sutton signed up to take the course, too.
“I always loved to take pictures, and this class challenged us to get creative,” she said. “It was so much fun, and I ended up loving it! Looking back now, that was the class that most correlated to where I am today.”
Fresh out of college the year they were married, in 2016, Sutton and Nate started WedFlix, “honestly not knowing anything about videography,” she said. “We just had creative personalities and wanted to do something where we could work from home.”
Five years later, the company has thrived to the delight of newlyweds across the state and has expanded, offering photography, DJ and wedding planning services.
“I believe what makes our company stand out from the rest is customer service,” Sutton said. “I like to think of us as the Chick-fil-A of wedding videography. Our teams truly go above and beyond for our clients.”
Sister Kodi has joined the WedFlix team.
“She shows up to weddings with handheld fans in the summer and extra bobby pins in her pocket,” Sutton said. “One time, Kodi even gave a bride her shoes while she walked around barefoot! We are so blessed to have such hardworking, creative and sweet people working with us!”
Not only has Sutton been busy behind the camera, she has also been in front of it some, too. Sutton, Nate, Mekinnah, LA and Melinda were on Family Feud in 2017. They played all five games — three in Atlanta and then two in California, where they won more than $40,000.
“We missed out on the car by one question,” Sutton jokingly recounted, “and we still beat ourselves up over that, too!”
Sutton recalls her high school years at Buford fondly.
“A lot of my favorite memories lie in the football games and cheering on the Wolves with my friends. The games were always so much fun, and Fridays were always something to look forward to … getting ready for the games, eating together before, cheering on the team, then usually all going out afterward,” she said. “I loved how the community all got together in support of the team and gave you a small town feel. If I could repeat one activity, it would probably be cheering for a state championship football game!”
Nowadays, Sutton gets to relive those moments vicariously through her niece, Collins, who just started school in Buford and is following those older footsteps as a cheerleader for the youngest Wolves.
When passing on advice to the next generation, Sutton says, “I would really want them to know that you don’t have to figure out what you want to do with your life directly out of high school. You may think you want to do one thing, but then God leads you somewhere completely different. In the moment, it can be discouraging; but, in the end, I am so thankful for where I ended up!”
Sutton attends 12Stone Church and lives in Braselton with Nate and their two children, Oaklan and Halston, with another baby on the way. She and Nate have gotten into real estate and operate a YouTube channel (nateandsutton) “that we use as an outlet to share our faith and the good news of Jesus.”
To learn more, visit Sutton at facebook.com/wedflix.
The Buford High School alumni spotlights are made possible by the generosity of the City of Buford.
