Ashley + Ian // The Key to Every Man's Heart

Ian marches to the beat of his own drum. no seriously. . . . . . any guy who eats an Elvis Sandwich (Peanut butter, Bananas and Bacon) in lieu of a formal reception dinner on his wedding night marches to the beat of his own drum.

So it is no surprise that he chose Ashley because she is witty, caring, and can hold her own. The perfect compliment to Ian. . . . a witty, yet caring individual himself. While he and the boys kept the jokes coming all day, we know that his love for Ashley is undeniable.

At our first consultation, it was made very clear by Ian that wedding cinematography was not high on his list of priorities, but Ashley knew it needed to be a part of their day and thus, the challenge was born. We knew that this shoot was going to be unique in that these two have such a fascinating chemistry and Ian and the boys wouldn't disappoint, so we couldn't disappoint them. What we didn't know was how well some of the story lines were going to play out, and for this trailer, it was the reoccuring theme of keys.

The guests were all given keys with their place cards as they sat down for dinner. Ian opted out of a wedding ring and had a tattoo of a key placed over his wedding finger instead. Ian gave Ashley a key necklace as his wedding gift to her. . . . and Ashley's wedding gift to Ian??? Well, let's just say it is the key to every man's heart, lol. . . . and if you don't believe me, check out the trailer and you decide for yourself.

It was great to work again with Jesi Haack from Jesi Haack Design. If you recall, we collaborated with her on Melissa + Eduardo's wedding last summer. Also, a shout out to Janel Conlan from Focus Photography because she is always creative and a BLAST to work with. Mai from Bunch Studio rocked the florals and Eric from So-Cal DJ brought the beat.

A Change is a brewin'. . . . . . .

The Project that has been kept under wraps for months. . . . . . is slowly brewin' to the surface. . . . . . and while we can't show you just yet, we have to build some anticipation, right????

Weddings by SML is undergoing a major change, and in a good way. Same crazy crew and same focus. . . .

But a new name, a consolidated direction, and a lot of cool changes in store just around the corner.

Stay tuned. . . . . .

Chris + Meredith // Read Before You Look

Having met a little over 8 years ago at a college back east called Dartmouth, Chris + Meredith began a journey that has now committed itself to a lifelong adventure together. . . .

As we had our final meeting with this wonderful couple, they mentioned the idea of writing letters to one another and exchanging them before their first glance. Being that we are suckers for emotion, we suggested the option of reading the letters at the first glance, but before they actually saw one another. The opportunity to build up the suspense as they stood back to back and took in each other's words from the heart was something we had to take advantage of.

Set against the beautiful mountain backdrop of Palm Springs, this wedding boasted not only a beautiful venue and a breathtaking locale, but a fantastic pair of families now joined through the love and connection that is Chris + Meredith.

A Very Special shout out and thank you to Vanessa Preziose of Vanessa Preziose Photography for rockin' it and allowing us to share the shoot alongside her all day.

Katey + Bryan // A Circle of Prayers

The Power of Prayer. Often times unnoticed, overlooked, underestimated. . . forgotten. With a day filled with overwhelming emotion, strict schedules, and full blown chaos at times, Katey found time to pause for prayer. Katey + Bryan are spiritual in all aspects of their lives, and it was stressed that this was going to be a large part of their day, so we were prepared.

With this trailer, we wanted to take a unique approach simply because we found certain elements in Katey + Bryan's day to exemplify who they are and what they stand for. Most times in our trailers, you will see many aspects of the day. . . from preps to the reception, we show a variety of scenes involving countless stories. However for Katey + Bryan, we focused on 3 specific scenes that told a very important part of their story, as these three scenes were defining points in their day.

First we begin with Katey, her Mother and Aunt, and her Cousin, Kacey. As the afternoon began and the nervous tension began to grow, they huddled into a tight circle to pray for the ceremony and the remainder of the day. This single event showed not only how tight knit this family is, but also their dedication to their faith and unyielding devotion to the sanctity of the day at hand and the vows that Katey + Bryan were about to take.

We transition to Bryan as he sits in his hotel room hand writing out his vows to Katey. Bryan is "genuine" as described by Katey and it is most evident as he meticulously wrote down every word that he would later recite to Katey in front of all of their family and friends. Patiently, word by word, he worked his pen over the textured paper (which he also used to hand write out various notes on the gifts he gave to Katey) knowing that the meaning behind the words he was writing were nothing less. . . . than genuine.

And finally, we arrive at the exchanging of the vows on the altar. While this moment is often important and defining in most couple's days, we found it to be even more so with Katey + Bryan. Katey had told us how nervous she was for this moment when we met prior to their wedding (as she almost cried just thinking about it) because Katey + Bryan were hand writing their vows to one another. We knew that the vows would be difficult to get through and we focused on this scene as the third segment for this trailer because it shows not only how passionate Katey + Bryan are for one another (as they both fought back tears to get through the vows), but that they know they can't always get through the toughest of moments on their own. Sometimes it takes the love of family and friends. . . and in some instances. . . the power of prayer.

There are so many other layers to Katey + Bryan that we cannot wait to share with them in their feature film, but in the meantime check out their trailer!

A very special thank you to Eric Morales from Extreme DJ Services for his help at the wedding reception!

And here is Katey + Bryan // A Circle of Prayers:

Our Approach

I could spend hours writing a novel on the thought process that goes into our films and how we approach the wedding day. . . . but why not just show you. We are so thrilled that we finally had an opportunity to reflect on everything and bring this to life. Hope you enjoy :-)