What we love most about Elijah and Diana is that they are passionate. Passionate about their careers, passionate about the details and timing of their wedding, passionate when they tell jokes, passionate about the  family surrounding them, and passionate about one another. So passionate in fact, that they struggled endlessly to keep it together during their vows, but let’s be honest. . . . that’s what it’s all about, right?

There is a lot that can be learned about people simply by the way that they act, the things that they do, and the company they keep. Originally from Hawaii, Elijah is as laid back a guy as you’ll find. Thus, it came as no surprise to us that the guys surrounding him as he got ready were warm, friendly and just as excited as Elijah for the wedding. Diana made a point to wear a ring that originally belonged to her Grandfather bearing the family crest; A distinctive choice that speaks volumes to her love of family and those closest to her.

It wasn’t long into our initial conversation with these two that we learned Diana is the planner (she kept us up to the minute on her timelines and “Run-of-Show” schedules as she likes to call them). While this day was scheduled to the second, there was still time for this couple to dote in the reality that they were about to get married. Elijah took the extra time to go for the old fashioned shave, which clearly he enjoyed and as Diana got ready, we learned that these two joke that “Hearts were coming out of their eyes” when they met each other for the first time. If only we could have been there to witness that moment because if it was anything like the look on Elijah’s face as he saw Diana come down the aisle for the first time during the ceremony. . . . it would have been a sight to see for sure.

These two can be summed up in two simple words, that coincidentally can also be found engraved inside of Elijah’s wedding band. Better Together.

As Julie sat calmly with the girls sipping her tea and preparing for the day, Brendan sat relaxed with the guys sipping on “the Force” as they so affectionately refer to their concoction of choice. Julie had such a great calm about her that we found it so fitting to sum up her even keel by her response to the simple question of “how are you feeling?” that was asked by a friend. Calmly, as she sipped on her tea, she replied, “I’m just ready to be his Wifey”. . . . and with that, the tone was set for her preps. While she stepped into her dress, he stepped into his Air Force Ones with custom suede bottoms, installed as a one-off from the local Cobbler. “Why the suede?” we asked. . . “So my feet can slide on the dance floor”, Brendan replied as if it was obvious in the first place. . . . . “Duh!” We should have known better. . . .

If ever there was a couple who we could hang out with all day and just listen, it would be Brendan and Julie. Not only because solid gold emits from Brendan’s mouth every 15-18 seconds, but surely because they are the completion of one another. The manner in which Julie handles Brendan and his off the wall banter is flawless as if their minds are literally conjoined. . . and to return the favor, Brendan has a side that appears only when he is around Julie. Having spent the better part of the morning with him and the guys, we took special note of his demeanor once Julie was by his side. While he insisted on custom Nike’s for the guys and a nacho bar at the cocktail reception, this wedding had the perfect French touches that were all so important to Julie, her family and the day. Brendan gives in to Julie when he knows it’s important to her. With so much of her family traveling in from across the pond, the details of the day were reflective of a French family inspired setting at the one and only Saddlerock Ranch.

It is so incredibly rewarding when we get to work with a couple like Brendan and Julie, who allow us to come in and do what we do, so that we can create the best possible film for them. . . . better than any we have created before. While this is just a trailer, we truly can’t wait to share their film with them as there are so many details and elements that are pure Brendan and Julie.

A very special THANK YOU to Cassandra Santor from Cassandra & Company Weddings for introducing us to Brendan and Julie. Always a pleasure to work with you and thank you so much for making our lives a breeze on the wedding day!

We recently had the opportunity to partake in a crazy party thrown by Herbalife International for some of their premier distributors. The theme was 20’s soirée and we were asked to create an edit that captured the evening, the people, and the energy that was overflowing in every room. Taking advantage of a fantastic light setup, we got to filming and created this edit to be shown the next morning for a presentation.

A very special thanks to Alexandra Rembac-Goldberg from Sterling Engagements for bringing us aboard the team to film the party! We truly had a great time and enjoyed being afforded the opportunity to run with this fast paced project. Below are a couple stills that we captured throughout the evening just accentuating the use of color to create mood.

A shot of the main room where the 15 piece band rocked away 20’s style

View from the stage

15 custom Herbalife ice sculptures were brought in to brand the party and set the mood

A shot of the war room where the edit went down

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About a month ago, Jasmine Star of Jasmine Star Photography approached our studio to create a quick and snappy 90 second promo for her business. Jasmine Star is renowned for her teaching and live learning workshops that she holds with photographers all over the world and she is off to Seattle at the beginning of 2013 to do it again, only this time with three photographers IN-STUDIO and their businesses. The idea is to recharge, rejuvenate, and ultimately reSTARt their businesses for the new year while allowing other photographers to tune in live from all over the world and participate in the discussion as well.

Over the years, Jasmine Star has become a friend of our studio and we are thrilled and excited to share the promo with you. If you are in the photography world, we certainly encourage you to create a video and see if you end up in Seattle in 2013! You can view j*’s post on her blog with all the information and details by clicking HERE. Also, special credit is due to SHOW IT and THE FIX TOUR for the footage shown in this video of Jasmine Star at speaking events as our studio did not film those segments.

When we show up to tell a couple’s story, we always have a running game amongst our team. The game is called, “guess the maid of honor”. The reason for the game is quite simple. . . . often times it tends to be the poor woman in the room who is either in a nervous panic as she is writing down last minute notes or simply pacing back and forth in a quiet hallway practicing and mumbling to herself. To all the maid of honors out there, our hearts go out to you for your dedication to delivering that once in a lifetime message. The one time that you have an opportunity to gush over your best friend to her new husband and hundreds of people that matter the most to them. . . . . no pressure, right???

Well, if there was any pressure on Chris and Diana’s wedding day, Valerie didn’t show it a bit. Cool. Calm. Collected. She delivered her toast not only with sincerity and sisterly jabs. . . . but, in both a practical and memorable way that we had to share with you. So enjoy as Valerie gives Chris some poetic advice moving forward in his journey with Diana.

A HUGE shout out to Chelsea Navran of Details Details Weddings and Events for all of her help with the big day! We say this all the time. . . . a solid event planner makes everything run way better and Chelsea is a true pro! Also a special thanks to our friend Peter Papadopoulos from Vive, Inc. for keeping the party going and helping us out with reception audio.