Feeling the Love

The last 24 hours have been incredible. And affirming. And a little surreal... It's 11:30 p.m. January 31, 2012 (my Dad's birthday - Happy Birthday Dad!) and I am not going to let this day end without saying publicly how grateful I am for the many blessings we have received. So, here goes...

About this time last night, I received a Facebook message from Wesley Leytham of Rae Leytham Photography - "I gave you some love at raeleytham.net. It's my good deed for the year since its so hard for me to be nice {wink}." Wes was kidding of course.  He's nice all the time, but he's one of those people who doesn't, as the saying goes, "suffer fools gladly," so when I read his post I nearly burst into tears! As an industry, wedding filmmakers have an image problem. Rob and I have been trying to change that one couple and one vendor at a time for the last five years. Wes + Rae's post was a huge affirmation for us! We're getting there! Yay! Thank you Wesley and Rae for taking the time to write about us, and for assuring your brides that wedding films can (and should) be a work of art.

Then this morning, something which has been in the works for a little while came to fruition. We became an exclusive vendor with the uber talented Carillon Weddings team. We've always loved our Carillon couples, and this arrangement will help us, Victoria and Avis to serve them better.

January 31, 2012 was already a day to remember, and I really thought it couldn't get any better. But today, the phone kept ringing and the e-mails kept coming in - we added two more couples to our 2012 calendar and received inquires from five others! Honestly, I can't tell you the last time we had that many inquiries in one day. Somewhere in all that wonderful chaos we also completed a wedding film edit. It was truly surreal.

2011 was pretty wonderful both personally and professionally. However, today was an indication of how incredible 2012 is going to be and we really want to say how truly grateful we are. We are grateful for the people who have believed in us, grateful for the couples who have trusted us to film their big days, grateful for caterers who make sure we're fed, the coordinators who keep everything running like clockwork, the florists and the cake designers whose works of art give us even more beauty to film, the photographers who share their creativity when we're working together, the event filmmaking community we rely on. There's a little bit of all of you in the films we produce. We are truly grateful. We promise to continue to try and live a life which is worthy of the blessings we've received.

Missy + Lorin on Style Me Pretty!!!

One of the things we love about Style Me Pretty is that they are a huge supporter of wedding filmmakers! They are one of the few blogs which really recognizes the value of wedding films and they don't hesitate to feature great work for their couples. Today we're honored because they are featuring Missy and Lorin's wedding film sneak peek. We couldn't be more thrilled, because we ADORE Missy and Lorin, but also because we think it's a pretty great example of what's possible if couples value what we do and give us the access we need to tell their story.

Cinematography: Diva Productions
Photography: Paul Johnson Photography
Event Designer/Coordinator: Jennifer Warwick-Lewis + Jennifer Fisher for It's a Shore Thing
Venue: Watercolor Inn
Venue Coordinator: Cheryl Walton for Watercolor
Cake: Confections on the Coast
Florals: Nouveau Flowers
Officiant: Rabbi Richard Baroff
Band: Rubik's Groove
Make-up Artist: Yvette Nation
Hair Stylist: Ashley Carter
Ceremony Guitarist: Hunter Dawson

God Gave Me You... Coming Soon: Nikki + Maury

{if you are having any trouble with playback, click the "HD" button in the video play bar}

This wedding was beyond beautiful. There was an understated elegance to it and an attention to detail which really blew our socks off! We could have pulled together a seriously gorgeous sneak peek with just shots of the locations and details (it was a three day event). However, if you follow our work, you know that in our sneak peeks we'll sacrifice the eye candy for the story - every. single. time.  And there's a story here - a love story which goes beyond Nikki and Maury, to the heart of all their relationships, especially the one they share with the Lord.

Nikki and Maury, thank you so much for trusting us to film your big day. We feel honored and blessed to have shared it with you.

{the supporting characters}
 
Cinematography: Diva Productions
Photography:  Rae Leytham Photography
Event Designer and Planner: Lorna Huey 
Make-up Artist: J. Edward Beauty
Venue: Sonny Hill Farm / Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa
Cake: Grand Hotel Marriott Resort
Bands: Diamond Rio / The Nashville Blue Tones
Photo Booth: FaceTime Photo Booths

Song: "God Gave Me You" by Dave Barnes, licensed through The Music Bed

{Want to see even more? Check out this blog post by the fabulous Rae Leytham Photography}

A Ringling Museum Wedding {Part Two}... Coming Soon: Ashley + Jaime

{if you are having any trouble with playback, click the "HD" button in the video play bar}

Ashley and Jaime are an amazing couple. We enjoyed every moment we spent with them on their wedding day. They laugh all the time. They watch out for one another. We really think they've got this whole "happily ever after" thing figured out. Congratulations you two! We hope you enjoy this "sneak peek" of your wedding film!

{the backstory}
 
I grew up in south west Florida on a little island called Boca Grande. Even though we lived in a small island community, my mother felt exposure to the arts was a very important part of education and we would regularly make the hour long drive to Sarasota to visit the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, to attend the Aoslo Theater, or to head to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center (known locally as the "Purple Cow") for a concert. My favorite family field trip was always to Ca' D'Zan (House of John) on the Ringling grounds. As a child it was a magical place where I could get lost in the Banyan trees and in my imagination. The mansion was built in the 1920's by the circus magnate John Ringling (yes that Ringling) and is constructed to look like a Venetian mansion.

Fast forward 25 years to 2010, when we get a call from the ultra talented event designer Keren Lifrak of Keren Lifrak Weddings and Special Events asking us if we would be interested in traveling to Sarasota to film the wedding of one of her brides. When she told us the venue, and the plan for the day, I couldn't believe what I was hearing... wedding ceremony in front of Ca' D' Zan, cocktail hour on the back patio facing the bay, and reception in the Museum of Art courtyard. It was like someone had asked me "if you could film your 'ideal' wedding, what would it look like?" and Keren had just described to me exactly what it would be! Luckily we fell in love with Ashley + Jaime, they booked us, and I patiently waited nearly a year for their wedding date - November 12, 2011 - to roll around.

So, I knew this wedding was going to be beautiful, with a backdrop like the Ringling, how could it not be stunning? What I wasn't prepared for was how drop dead gorgeous all of the details made a place we already loved even more breathtaking. First, there were the florals and decor for the event Keren Lifrak designed. Peacock feathers, hydrangeas, unique arrangements, I could go on and on, but the images from the first post about this wedding show them better than I can describe. Then there was the cake (also designed by the amazing Keren - check out her blog post about it). It was created to showcase the architectural details of the Ca' D'Zan. Pastries by Design did an excellent job executing Keren's vision. Another bonus? It tasted as good as it looked.

{the supporting characters}
 
Cinematography: Diva Productions
Photography:  Vue Photography
Event Designer and Planner: Keren Lifrak of Keren Lifrak Weddings and Special Events
Venue: John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Florals: Flourish Event and Floral Design
Cake: Pastries by Design
Band: Clint Wiley's None Other
Officiant: Danny Bilyeu
Photo Booth: Cat Pennenga Photography
Lighting: Bay Stage Lighting 
Invitations/Program Design: Dragonfly Custom Design

A Ringling Museum Wedding {Part One}

Last weekend Rob and I traveled down to Sarasota with the Vue chicks to film Ashley + Jaime's wedding at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. We're still logging the footage, but we just couldn't wait to share some of the images we captured with you! So, here you go... a little "sneak peek" of the wedding film trailer!!! The event was designed by the crazy talented Keren Lifrak of Keren Lifrak Weddings & Special Events. It's almost a week later and I still feel like I'm on "pretty" overload!