How to Tie a Bowtie // A Collaboration of Greatness

About a month ago, we made the decision to add a wonderful addition to the office space by bringing in two amazing photographer friends by the names of Gabriel Ryan and Carlie Renee. It's always great to bounce ideas off other professionals in the industry, get feedback from a different perspective (photo vs. cinema), and have a great time working with others on a daily basis. What better way then to move them in???

We knew going into this that inevitably we would work on various future projects together down the road, but we never thought we would have such a great opportunity just a few weeks in!

So, two weeks ago was our first collaboration. . . . .

The chic ladies from Utterly Engaged (also the creators of a wonderful little gem of a find in Tustin called The Wedding Pantry) asked us to create a tutorial on how to tie a bowtie, which they wanted to feature in Issue 011 of their wonderful, unique, and first of its kind Wedding E-Magazine. Instantly we knew two things: 1.) It had to be funny and 2.) Bailey (the boxer) had to be in the tutorial. So after an hour of filming, 45 minutes of editing, and 9 bags of dog treats later, we came up with this, and we are pretty happy with the result, if we don't say so ourselves. Maybe we are jaded because of the cute little dog in the bowtie. . . . . you be the judge.

The Twitter / Facebook Era

Facebook and Twitter and us, oh my!! Never thought this would happen, but the time has finally come that we will now be giving you the ability to follow us on Twitter and be our friend on Facebook straight from the blog! Check out our hugely oversized icons to the left!!!!!

Oh yes, I know you are so excited and we are so anxious to have followers and friends. Our need for attention has reached a boiling point, so come one, come all. Be our friends and follow us everywhere. . . . . 140 letters at a time.

Seriously though, come follow us. We feel very lonely right now on Twitter. So lonely that I've posted the icon again right beneath this so you can click on it and follow away!

Christopher + Gina // Can I Keep You?

We always encourage couples to go for it. Not the marriage part. . . they are already going for that; the details and the special touches, just go for it and have fun. Christopher + Gina did just that. From writing their own letters to one another for the ceremony, to the rhinestone message on the bottom of Gina's shoes, they went for it and truly made the day their own.

These two were married at the beautiful Los Willos in Fallbrook. Tucked away back in the hills, this venue offered a secluded setting for everyone to enjoy, not to mention one fun aspect was the Brides arrival to the ceremony. As everyone looked down the aisle, she came in across the lake via boat, which was cool. . . and we also had a little fun with the bouquet and the Rolls Royce.

Another aspect of the day was the lighthearted fun that both the bridesmaids and the groomsmen were having as they were getting ready. While the guys were attempting to figure out how to use suspenders, the girls were busy having sword fights with twizzlers.

A wonderful shout out to David Torralva as it was great to reunite and work with him again. Many thanks as well to Alex Grammatico from Pro Sound DJs for being so easy and accommodating to work with.

and here it is, Christopher + Gina // I Do

The Best Kind of Email

We recently filmed Jen + Kevin's wedding and showed you a double highlight feature of both the artistic side of their day as well as the incredibly fun Shamrocker's set at the reception. Just this past week, we delivered their film and within 24 hours, we received this email. I like to post these kinds of emails because they tell you what a couple feels once they have an opportunity to relive their day weeks afterwards through the film:

"Steve,

We received our wedding DVDs today and it took all my willpower to wait for Kevin to get home tonight before watching it! As expected based on how amazing the highlight film was, the full length film totally blew us away. We felt like we relived the night all in 25 minutes. You guys hit on everything we were looking for. It was so fun to see all the stuff we missed, especially the footage of each of us and our attendants before the ceremony. And then to make it even better, all of the special features – the ceremony, speeches and of course the full Shamrockers performance. A simple thank you just doesn’t seem like enough to express our gratitude. Thinking about how we will share this film with our friends and families for years to come, with our children, with their children, we are so grateful to have had such a talented team capture and edit it all for us. So please know this is more than a simple thank you, this is the biggest, most sincere and heartfelt thank you from us and our family!! THANK YOU!!! We could not love our final film more or be more pleased with your work and professionalism.

All the best,

Jen & Kevin Daly"

Rolyn + Stephanie // A Big Woody SDE

Rolyn + Stephanie's wedding was 12 years in the making, as Stephanie will happily tell you:-) So as the day approached and they needed to pick a song for the Same Day Edit, it is only fitting that they chose "All in" by Lifehouse.

From our first meeting, we were taken back by how easy going and just plain nice Rolyn + Stephanie were. We felt as though this really poured the pressure on because we wanted to do something unique to make their Same Day Edit stand out and reflect just how fun and cool their day was. It doesn't hurt when the ceremony is at the one and only Mission Basilica in San Juan at the Mission San Juan Capistrano. This church has Ornate written all over it and the footage from inside is breathtaking. We knew we were in for a treat with the church, but another unknown surprise was their transportation. Rolyn + Stephanie decided to go for the ultimate beach ride in a giant woody. For more info on the Bus, check out the company's website HERE.

As soon as we saw this crazy contraption, we knew it was going to be showcased in their Same Day Edit, along with all the fun footage from the Mission Grounds and the reception. A special thank you to Jan Walker and Jennifer Mildner from Magnolia's Floral Design for allowing us to film as they setup the reception venue. Also, a shout out to Mardy Divina from Your Divine Wedding.

So here it is, Rolyn + Stephanie // A Big Woody SDE. Enjoy! :-)