daniel + sarah - wedding at the montage

I will have a lot to say about this special day when i am settled with my move and the holidays. But I just wanted to get this up for the family who couldn't make it to the wedding. I'll elaborate on it some more later but to give this video context, the bride's parents and many of her friends could not make it to the wedding due to bad weather and unsafe flying conditions.

Needless to say, I wanted to get those people something to see asap.

Moving to Corona!

Hey everyone. Just wanted to give you a quick heads up that i will be moving my home office to the city of Corona. I am very excited as the new property is a lot bigger and has a huge loft that will be my new screening room. It will also be substantially closer to my main client bases of OC & LA while remaining close to SD as I have lots of weddings down there as well. Pics soon to follow!

john + krista - ayres hotel wedding

I have had this one circled on my calendar for awhile now. Ever since I started chatting with MOB - and fellow USC fan- Pam about her daughters wedding months ago, I knew it would be an awesome day. It did not disappoint. Pam and Krista and the rest of the families were just so incredibly sweet and I immediately felt as if I was amongst lifelong friends.

I got a chance to work with two very awesome coordinators in Kathy Recchia and Lori Mishler from Save the Date Events. They were so helpful to us and Lori even gave me a ride back from the church when I got stranded when Wes forgot to give me my keys back! It turned out to be a nice time to get to know each other and chat about our businesses.

Check out the awesome photos by Next Exit photography!



One of the highlights was the wild party introduction at the reception. You see, the groom John plays for the professional soccer team the Chicago Fire so you knew they know how to celebrate! In true soccer player fashion, the introduction was spectacular and just had to be included in their cinema reale'. Luckily they had chosen two different songs to be combined and worked out perfectly as the second song is an instrumental with some great tempo changes. The first song used for prep and first sight is Joshua Radin's "Only You".

nick + anna - wayfarers chapel wedding

Such a sweet couple! I had so much fun shooting this wedding. It doesn't hurt when the coolest photog on the planet was shooting along side me! Laura Grier from Beautiful Day Photography is not only super talented, she is has the absolute best attitude ever and we always have so much fun.

One of the trends with weddings this year has been where couples will do something fun and lively in lieu of a traditional slow dance in the middle of the dance floor. I have to be honest. I did not expect something like that from this couple and they freaking ROCKED it! They basically took us all through a journey of popular dance songs/styles from the 50's until modern times much like the famous clip "Evolution of Dance" on YouTube. It had everyone dying of laughter!



Oh yeah, they also had a cinema reale too. Done to Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am" (brides song) and my personal choice of Plum's "Here With Me" I came up with to finish the clip. And some sprinkling of personal vows for good measure. :)

daniel + rosanne/roxanne - hotel del coronado wedding

Slacking on my blogging last week! This wedding was actually last Saturday but I had such a busy week I couldnt get to it so I am going to try and give you guys a double dose in the next couple days. :)


Another incredibly awesome day with the same crew as a couple weeks ago with Victoria and her fine crew at Coronado Weddings coordinating and Paul Barnett took care of the photography.

A different sort of beginning and ending to this one. The groom is German so I started the video with a little German song the groomsmen were signing to the groom prior to the wedding. I have no idea what they are saying but it sounded cool so I started the video with it. ( For all I know it could be sining about the grooms pending "death" ;) )

While I was working on an ending for the video, photogs Paul and Dean alerted me to a cool shot they got of the couple at the beach when they had the whole party jump up in the air so i ended the video with it.

jenny + adam - pga west wedding palm springs

I thoroughly enjoyed this wedding! It was a Sunday wedding in Palm Springs so I decided to take a lil mini-vacation with the family and get there Saturday to hang out. The weather was perfect on Saturday at about 80 degrees with a breeze.

However, Sunday started off overcast, rainy and very windy. We were all very bummed because the wedding was to be held outdoors right on the course and was possibly going to be moved indoors. Well, it ended up clearing up and the wind died down just in time for ceremony start and it ended being a wonderful day.

I got a chance to work with PGA West coordinator Aleta Bateman and she was so awesome! They really took care of us there and I look forward to shooting there again!

Also worked for the first time with photogs Shannon Wilsey and her hubby David and really had a great time with them. We chatted the whole day about family and the state of our industry and it was just really a smooth, fun day.

Adam wanted to go with Led Zeppelin's classic "Thank You" which, even though I had used it before, is a true classic love song that I never mind editing to. They both spoke personal vows at their ceremony that I worked into the clip.

theo & eric - us grant hotel wedding

I have done a lot of weddings where the bride and groom came from different cultures but what an interesting experience this wedding was. The bride is Greek and the groom is from the midwest so you had too very different cultures coming together.

Another incredibly smooth day orchestrated by Victoria Schroeder and her fine crew at Coronado Weddings. Super-stud Paul Barnett took care of the photography and comic relief. (dude has some issues with bright lights!) He was a blast and keep everyone loose (and in the dark)

Bride wanted me to use Patty Griffin's "Heavenly Day" and it perfectly fit because it was about 75 degrees with a slight breeze.

lynn + camero - rancho las lomas wedding

Lynn and Camero's is another one of those "where do I start"? weddings. Just an absolute joy to be a part of. What an amazing couple they are and what an incredible experience it was to share with them and their closest family and friends on their most special day. Both the groomsmen and bridesmaids were so awesome and helpful to Wes and I. You could tell that all they wanted was for Lynn and Camero to have the best day possible.

I was so very pleased with how this video turned out because I really wanted them to be blown away by it. And honestly, it was one of the best reactions I have ever gotten for a Cinema Reale.

They wanted to use The Fray's "Look After You" and I was a little hesitant at first. Reason being I had used it earlier this year and it turned out to be one of my favorite clips of all time and I didn't want it to not live up to teh previous version.

I didn't think it was possible, but i like this one even more. It has the rare combination of light hearted (groom's socks and glasses), sweet (flower girls, first sight etc) and strong emotion (parents tribute). In fact , I found myself tearing up a bit when during the screening I glanced over at Lynn's Mom to see her crying.

diane + chris- mini engagement shoot

I've known Diane for awhile now as she has cut my hair for the last 4+ years. I was so very excited for her when she finally got engaged to Chris. They are getting married next March and I am going to be taking care of both their photo & video. This shoot was just a quick one for their "Save the Date"cards so every shot is a mid to close up. We will be doing a full fledged shoot very soon. Here are a few of my favs.

christine + michael - la jolla museum contemporary art wedding

Second of back to back SD weddings was held at La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art. I love shooting at this place because of the unique architecture, art work, and big white pillars make for such interesting shots. However, I struggled with getting my usual creative ceremony shots with this one as the La Jolla Pres Church was very strict about where we could be.

I really enjoyed shooting this couple. They were so sweet and appreciative of everything. Christine looked so pretty and they are such a cute couple together.

Got the opportunity to work with Victoria Schroeder from Coronado Weddings. She was awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with her and the other vendors over our steak and shrimp dinner.

It was the first time I worked with photographer Tim Otto and I sincerely hope its not our last. Truly one of the nicest guys I have worked with in awhile. Him and his second shooter Lani were so much fun.

I hardly ever mention DJs on my blog but had to give some props to Tim Altbaum. Just a really cool dude and a great DJ! Any of you blog stalkers that are still looking for a DJ, check him out!

The bride and groom allowed me to pick the music for the Cinema Reale, and because they only gave me a few pics of themselves together for their slideshow, I decided to find a song that would work with a mixture of stills and video. I found the perfect candidate in one of my all time favorite love songs, David Gray's "The One I Love". It starts out slower for pics section and then transitions perfectly to the video section. :)

stacie + todd - wedding the w hotel san diego

An incredible day in downtown San Diego! The W hotel was a fabulous host and everyone was so accommodating there. First Hotel I have ever been in that used Macs! Love it!

Stacie and Todd are avid surfers so naturally, the ceremony was held up on the second level at "the Beach". And fittingly, Stacie walked down a sand filled aisle to join Todd under the "Chuppah". Like everything else at this wedding, the arrangement of the guest seats was so unique and different with the guests being seated in long skinny rows. During the ceremony there was this cute little bird that seemed to be very interested in what was going on and I just had to include him in the video because damn if he didn't keep looking up at Stacie and Todd! :)

Got a chance to work along side Angel and her sister Anna from Events of Love and Splendor. They were truly a pleasure to work with. It was very obvious that they truly wanted Todd & Stacie to have the best day ever.


Stacie is one of my faithful blog followers who is a graphic artist (designed her own invitations!) so she is a very creative bride. The reception was set-up like a ultra-sheik party more than a wedding reception. She also has great taste in music and for weeks prior to her wedding, she sent me numerous songs to check out before we finally decided on Esthero's "Everyday is a Holiday With You". I was excited that after several weeks of slower, mellow songs to do one that was upbeat.

andrew + alison - newport beach hyatt wedding

I have to say, after last weekend, having just one wedding was nice. Despite weather reports warning of rain, it ended up being a beautiful day.

Coordinated wonderfully by Cathy and her crew from C3. Its always nice to work with her as she always keeps everything running smoothly but always does so wit ha smile on her face that puts everyone at ease. :)

Got a chance to work with Allen King for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed. Great guy with a great sense of humor. We had an awesome time.

Andrew and Alison are sweet people and wrote some of the most heartfelt personal vows I have ever witnessed. Once I heard them I knew I had to use them in their Cinema Reale. It worked out great because I used another Kelly Sweet song but this one is slower and needed something else.

robert + louisa - ritz dana point wedding

Rounding off my incredibly busy weekend was Robert and Louisa's wedding at the always beautiful ritz in dana point. Robert & Louisa are the third couple in a group of Indonesian friends who are all getting married this year! It has been a blast to get to know them all and I am blessed to be a part of all of their special days. (The fourth couple will be in two weeks! Look for Willy and Megs clip on my blog soon)

Everything about their day was very classy and elegant. I thought Louisa had incredible taste with everything from her dress and cool little feathered umbrella (complete with dangly butterfly thingies) . The brides maids shimmery dresses were so unique and different. Outdoor wedding right on the lawn over looking the ocean. Every thing was so scenic and beautiful.

And of course the bride looked spectacular.

Got a chance to work with my good buddy Erwin from Apetura photography. (along with his 3 shooters/assts and at least 5 other photographers also shooting for the couple!)We always have fun together being total goofballs.

Also worked with the ladies from Burgundy Events for the first time. Fransiska and Prisca were so awesome about everything. I always mention it but it bears repeating, the single most important quality of a coordinator is being on point with everything but also being able to be flexible. And thats exactly what they were. They were very helpful and encouraging.

Bride let me pick a song so I went wit ha new artist that I am really excited about. You blog stalkers should check out Kelly Sweet. I found out about her last week while editing a Cinema Reale at a hotel bar. A beautiful cover of Aerosmith's "Dream On" came on and I used my favorite iPhone app Shazam to find out who it was..downloaded her album and used this beautiful song for their wedding video.

"We Are One".

It doesnt get better than this when you talk about marrying someone.

matt + erin - el cortez san diego wedding

After being up North on the 101 in the Westlake Village area on Friday it was time to head down to downtown SD to shoot Erin and Matt's wedding. Erin is a BI bride (Bridal Insider forums) who signed with me a long time ago after seeing some of my work posted on the boards by another BI bride. I was really looking forward to shooting her wedding because she was very excited about me doing a Cinema Reale for her. As I have shared a million times on this blog, it always makes me excited to know that someone really appreciates what I do.

Erin and Matt are a really adorable couple. Cliche to say ? Yes..but..really..they are..and they are great together. Erin has one of the most warm and engaging smiles you will ever see in someone. Matt is a huge Charger fan and total joker and Erin loves him just the way he is. The chemistry is amazing between them.

Erin let me pick the song so I went with Joshua Radin's "Lovely Tonight".

matt & joanne- moorpark country club wedding

Yet another back to back to back weekend!

Kicking off this fri-sat-sunday weekend was Matt & Joanne's wedding at the Moorpark Country Club. I had not even met the bride and room until the day of dealing exclusively with the groom's Mother Janet. So the first time I met the bride was the day of and our first meeting was memorable.

I was in the getting ready room chatting with the grooms lovely twin sister Lyndsay waiting for the rest to arrive. When I heard commotion I stood up in front of the doorway to greet them...which apparently was a big mistake as the bridal party started screaming like I was an intruder! I can understand their POV though. They weren't expecting a tall man in their room when they walked in. They were so boisterous and it was then that I realized that the bride are her entourage were all Brazilian. They told me.."you have to excuse us..we're loud because we are Brazilian". Too funny.

I had a blast shooting their wedding. Both families are so close knit and was such a neat thing to witness two families, as well as two cultures, come together so nicely.

Bride wanted either Endless Love or Breathe by Faith Hill..so i chose the latter. :) I love that she took a very deep breath when she walked down the aisle. Of course I had to time it with the song!

duy + hanh - vietnamese wedding doubletree anaheim

You know its a great day when 12 hours seems like 2. Seriously, the day flowed so super smooth and was so fun that it just flew by. Traditional Vietnamese wedding started with groom coming to brides house to perform tea ceremony before going to grooms' parents house for a couple more ceremonies. After their traditional Vietnamese ceremony , the bride changed into her "American dress" and they had a short ceremony outside in the backyard.

Besides their two close friends and family members that each had in their wedding party, Duy and Hanh also had a bunch of little kids in their party and they stole the show. There are a couple of shots in their videos that are up there in my list of all time favorite shots. The bride kissing the little boy and the look on the little girl's face as she watches Duy put the ring on Hanh..PRICELESS!

The fact that they featured these kids tells you all you need to know about Duy & Hanh. They are two incredible people who care deeply about everyone in their life. They constantly made sure that Drew and I were taken care of. They made us feel like we weren't just their vendors, we were their friends. Of course that makes you want to go the extra mile and do the best job possible. (Plus they are HUGE Laker fans which always pumps me up!)

They decided on using Chantal Kreviazuk's "Feels Like Home" for their Cinema Reale. It worked perfectly because of ceremonies being at their houses...and the duel meaning of "home".

ton + virra - montage resort laguna beach wedding video

Virra found out about my work through Jeff & Linda, a wedding I did in June of last year.

Well, now all that's left for me to shoot to complete a full week is a Tuesday and Wednesday wedding. I shot a Thursday wedding this year, and now after this weekend, a Monday wedding. I must say I love this "off day" weddings. Everyone just seems much more relaxed and easy going about things.

Virra and Ton are incredibly sweet people who are clearly in love with not only each other but their cute little boy, Jaiden. One of the highlights was watching friend of the bride "bribing" their little boy with gummi bears to get him to walk down the aisle!

Got a chance to work with - for second time in a few weeks- Jasmine Star and her hubby JD. They are so extremely gracious and truly a pleasure to work along side. They even bailed me out by letting me use their Mac power cord as I had forgotten mine!

This fabulous event was coordinated perfectly by Michelle and Brooke from Details Details who made sure everything flowed flawlessly all day. They were extremely helpful which is so important for doing the Cinema Reale.

Virra and Ton like R&B music so we went with a tried and true classic, Sade's "By Your Side". Virra looked absolutely stunning and it was impossible to get a bad shot of her as you will see in this video:

noel + kat - bowers museum wedding

Let me start off saying Noel and Kat are awesome people who know how to plan a wedding! Everything about it was so unique and cool. They are such sweet and gracious people who truly appreciated the day and everyone there. (which is evidenced by the fact that they had a table full of Krispy Kremes boxes for guests (and vendors! ;) ) to take home with them. Yummy!)

They also had a photobooth and I never pass up the opportunity to ham it up!:



Thats my buddy Tom and I after a long shoot. I guess that is my excuse for the dorky faces I am making.

The reception venue was the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana which underwent an amazing transformation to host their event. When I arrived there to start my edit, there were museum visitors all over and within 2 hours in had transformed into an amazing wedding venue.

Got the opportunity to work with Paola Spagnoletti from Just Chic Events. Her and her mother were just awesome to work with. They were so helpful and flexible with everything.

Besides knowing how to plan a unique wedding, Noel & Kat also have great taste in music and chose one of the cooliest songs ever for a Cinema Reale; Sum 41's "With Me". Yeah...Sum 41. That pop punk band that had a couple of hits in the mid 90's actually wrote a very cool love song.

The song really had some ups and downs in tempo which makes it not only the perfect wedding song, but it also gave me the opportunity to try some different editing ideas.

Enjoy. :)

shelly + joe - montecito country club santa barbara wedding

Wow.

Loved everything about this wedding! Got to work with coordinator Jackie Blackwell for the first time and she was excellent to work with! She was on top of things yet flexible! Also worked with photographer Tara Rochelle for the first time and she was incredible!

Gorgeous bride had a real classy retro look going so I went with a desaturated filtering to match the style and feel of the day.

When they told me the song they wanted for their Cinema Reale, I got really giddy. That's because they wanted to use Bif Naked's cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters". If you had never heard the song before, you may be tempted at first to think "A Metallica cover? For a wedding song?". While the lyrics may not be your typical wedding love song, it doesn't matter in this case and I think you'll agree when you watch the clip. It worked perfectly.

HD VERSION

nicole + phil - hummingbird nest ranch wedding

Busy weekend!

Right after finished Vito & Funni's wedding, I jetted over to Simi Valley to begin editing Nicole and Phil's Cinema Reale.

Nicole was another last minute bride who signed with me mere weeks before her wedding began. I am so glad she found me because it was such a unique and beautiful wedding.

B&G wanted Phil Vassar's "Last Day of My Life" for their Cinema Reale. Its always a challenge to use country songs because the lyrics are always so specific and almost like a short story so it is hard to match with footage of the day. I think I did pretty well with it and they loved it!

vito + funni - langham hotel almansor court wedding

Vito and Funni are good friends with Ian and SainVie who I did in June of this year and are the second couple in a trio of Indonesian weddings I signed at the same time. They are all friends from the same church and they all came to visit me at one time. All of them are such tremendous people and Vito and Funni are no exception. They are very special people who love God and each other very much.

I chose Mat Kearney's "Breathe in, Breathe Out" for their Cinema Reale.

annie + ron - trump golf course wedding

Another one of those Friday weddings! Annie called me just weeks prior to her wedding and didn't officially sign with me until 2 days before! I have to say that I am REALLY glad she did because it was an amazing day to say the least.

The beautiful bride is Korean but the handsome groom is Chinese so it started out with traditional Chinese tea ceremony before moving to the scenic ceremony lawn of the Trump for their American ceremony.

It was coordinated by the couple's good friend Nhu who really took care of us and made sure we had everything we needed. Photography was handled wonderfully by Annette and Andrew from Triple Cord . They were phenomenal to work along side.

We had a technical problem that prevented us from showing it at the time we wanted, but we sorted it out and showed it and received an incredible response.

Bride chose the song "When I See You Smile" by Uncle Sam.

wife's bday! linkin park irvine concert

My incredibly crazy fun weekend ended with a date with my wife on Sunday. She is a big Linkin Park fan so I surprised her with tickets for her birthday. I loved the look on her face when we kept walking down closer and closer until we were smack dab in the middle 5th row orchestra seats! You can see that even with my cheapo camera (that don't allow the good cams) how close we were.

One of the highlights was when Chris Cornell joined LP onstage to sing "Crawling".

kaley + chris- engagement shoot

Chris and Kaley are one of my 2009 couples who not only signed on with me for video but Kaley is the first bride to decide to book me for photo for their wedding! I could not be more excited as they are not only beautiful couple, they are so sweet and easy going. They totally put me at ease!

We did part one of their engagement session today in Pasadena primarily at my good friend Danielle Biel's studio. As you can see from the pics, they are an incredibly photogenic and the chemistry is amazing between them.

ashley + ryan - tustin ranch golf club wedding

Well my blog vistors, its been awhile since I posted clips, but now you have 3 to check out to make up for my absense!


Rounding out my incredible weekend was Ryan and Ashley's wedding. The couple found out about me through attending Casey & Katie's wedding I did in April. I am so glad they hired me because I would have hated to miss this one. It was an impeccable day in every sense and perfect way to end my incredibly busy weekend.

Ryan and Ashley are not only a beautiful couple, they have personalities to match. Just very sweet and easy going. They had their prep and first sight at the Ritz in Dana Point and then had their ceremony and reception at the Tustin Ranch Golf Club.

Got to work with Tiffany Hudson once again from TRGC for it seems like the 30th time in the past several months. She's great and even had sandwiches made for us when she realized we had not been fed. :)

Song is Lifehouse's "Everything" which starts out real slow before picking up the tempo. Perfect CR song!

sheryl + marvin - the dana san diego wedding

The second wedding of my triple-header featured sheryl and marvin, two of the sweetest people you could ever hope to meet.

I had never shot at the Dana before and it is a phenomenal venue. The layout was all situated around beautiful San Diego Harbor with the ceremony being right on the lawn facing the shore. There was so much personality to this wedding and you could see the couple's quirky influence on everything. The color scheme the shoes, everything was so unique and beautiful. One of the highlights of the day was the couple's "rock the reception" routine instead of a traditional first dance. (see clip below)

The whole day was coordinated beautifully by the couples good friend Rommel Hipolito. He made everything go very smoothly and was a pleasure to work with. He truly cared about making the event as special as possible.

The couple has been together since high school so I used the song "Better" by Tom Baxter for their Cinema Reale. I thought the song was perfect for them because it talks about how their love has changed over the years, and has only gotten better. The clip is supplemented by the words a poem that was written by one of their young guests and read during the ceremony. It was an incredible original poem and had to be included in the video.

Their Cinema Reale:



Their incredible routine:

matt + wendy- the inn at rancho santa fe wedding

I had been off for 2 weeks prior to this weekend and, as usual, could not wait to get back into swing of things again. I guess there is no better way then to do it then in back to back to back style! First up on this Friday-Saturday-Sunday triple header, was Matt & Wendy's wedding.

It was held at the Rancho Sante Fe Inn on a flawless San Diego afternoon. The weather was perfect and everyone was just in the mood. Everyone was relaxed but excited. It was a wonderful experience.

Matt and Wendy are an incredibly sweet and loving couple and the day was full of emotion. It was officiated by a family member so that always makes it more personal and unique.

They decided on using Graham Colton's "Best Days" for their Cinema Reale. I had never heard the song before and loved it for this type of clip. It worked perfectly!

HELLO! ..from the road

I know you regulars check my blog on Mondays to see the new clips so i am sorry to disappoint. All I have to offer you is a few pics from our family vacation/reunion in MT. We just finished the weekend festivities with my Mom's family up here and are headed to Las Vegas for a couple of days with the kids. More pics to come soon! :)

aubrey + tony - calamigos ranch wedding

Gorgeous! Everything about it. Calamigos has always been a beautiful place but it looked exceptionally beautiful that Sunday.

Aubrey and Tony and are incredible people. Their love for each and their families was so real and palatable all day. There were tears flowing throughout the whole ceremony as one by one the B&G told each family member how much they cared for them before declaring their love for one another.

The incredibly beautiful bride is an accomplished singer/songwriter and sung a couple of songs to her groom to the delight of everyone in attendance. One of the highlights of the night was when Camille, Tony's adorable little girl, took the mic. The maturity level of her toast had everyone picking up their jaws from the floor!

Got to work with Laura from Beautiful Day once again. She is such a stud photog (yes..i said stud) and such a blast to be around. She is a funny girl and we always have a great time together. She was helped out by Jessica who was so sweet and a pleasure to shoot with.

Bride wanted Peter Gabriel's classic "In Your Eyes" for the Cinema Reale. I love this song so I was more than happy to oblige. :)

david + shanel - pala mesa resort wedding

Truly an amazing day spent with a really awesome couple! It was so nice to only have to travel 20 miles or so to shoot a wedding! Just south of Temecula, Pala Mesa is a gorgeous location to have a wedding.

Shanel, the stunningly beautiful bride, was truly a one of a kind. So cool and calm and cracking jokes the whole time. We had some down time while we waiting for the ceremony to begin so I began to do my edit for the reception in the brides room. For close to two hours I stayed in the room with her and her bridesmaids listening to them and cracking up while I worked. David, the charismatic groom, loved the camera and hammed it up a bit for us.

Coordinated wonderfully by Carolyn Chen and her crew of The Special Day like always. And we also got a chance to work with Jan Garcia and his lovely wife Tey once again. They are a joy to work with!

Bride wanted the Adam Levine/Alisha Keyes unplugged version of "Wild Horses" for her Cinema Reale. I had used The Sundays version of it before awhile back and loved that version but was unsure about using this one at first.

It turns out it was a perfect song for them.

It's a melancholy love song so I was a bit worried about the lyrics fitting for a wedding, but I chose to show shots of the brides late father and gramma during those parts in the song.

The crowd was cheering non-stop throughout the whole thing. It was an awesome experience!

Second Engagement Shoot- Nancy & Eddie

Unlike my first couple, Nancy and Eddie have actually booked me for video in June of 09. They found out about me when they saw a Cinema Reale at a wedding they attended earlier this year. Nancy checks my blog often and took me up on the offer for a free e-session. I couldn't wait to meet them in person as I had talked with her on the phone and through email a lot over the past few months.

They are such an incredibly sweet couple and were a joy to work with! And that cute little pooch? Thats their dog Molly who was such a good sport as we trucked her along the campus from spot to spot. We also brought along Alice Nancy's sister and maid of honor who helped with lighting and just overall moral support!

We shot mostly at Scripps College in Claremont which has so many graet spots. We got a lot of good shots but not enough so we are going to follow it up with one more session. Here are few from the first session:


Nancy & Eddie

glenn + jenn - the ritz carlton pasadena (the new Langham) wedding

Infernal temperatures aside, I had a real fun time shooting this one! (It was like 110 during the ceremony..causing one of the bridesmaids to almost faint. I felt like I might be going down with her!) Highlight of the night was watching them perform their first dance with their bridal party! The gorgeous bride is an accomplished ballroom dancer and they choreographed this absolutely amazing dance to "Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing Soundtrack. It was truly incredible and had the house rocking! I'll try and post the full thing later on, but for now you'll just get a taste of it in their Cinema Reale.

Glenn & Jennifer are a total sweetheart couple and were so incredibly gracious to everyone.

They asked me to use the duet with Nicole Kidman and Ewan MacGregor from Moulan Rouge for their clip. I have to admit, at first I was not too happy about the thought of using that song. I have always thought it was a little too over-the-top for my tastes. However, their couldn't have been a better song to go with the footage of the day as it came together quite nicely. It was shown on two 12 screens to accommodate the large number of guests.

The creative groom Glenn did their photo montage so I came up with a novel way of transitioning from slideshow to Cinema Reale. The clip starts with the end of the slideshow for reference. :)

elizabeth + noel - first engagement shoot

Elizabeth and Noel were perfect for my first official engagement shoot. Cute couple with great attitudes which put me at ease and made me feel comfortable.

They had the whole 50's vibe going with the look and the car so I went with some BW and antique treatments of the photos.

Here are a few of my favs:

Elizabeth & Noel

ian & sainvie - westin pasadena wedding

Ian and Sainvie found out about me only a few weeks ago. They came out to see me after hearing about me from their photographer Vanessa Preziose who happens to be a good friend of mine. We had a blast shooting their "how we met" videobio and some funny skits to go along with it. I really got to know them well in only a short time and I was really looking forward to being their videographer at their wedding.

They left it to me to choose their music so i went with one of my new fav songs "Stop and Stare" by Onerepublic.

riyo + irma- pacific palms wedding

After a nice weekend off, it was back to work for me and the crew. And what better way to get back into the swing of things than do two weddings in the same day and edit two separate Cinema Reale clips?

This crazy day started very early in the morning with Irma & Riyo's wedding. They are such a tremendous couple and i loved being their videographer for their special day. ( Even though they had me start at 6am in the morning!) The Pacific Palms is a beautiful place to host a wedding and the day couldn't have gone any smoother. I was so happy because I wanted nothing but the best for this special couple.

tim & jennifer - brookside equestrian center wedding

Part two of my "two weddings in one day craziness" was held at the beautiful and unique Brookside Equestrian Center. Tim & Jennifer's wedding was so unique in a lot of ways. From the groomsmen's matching tennis shoes to the bride coming in on a carriage, it truly was special. I also had the unique experience of editing in a room right next to the horse stalls and hearing one one horse kick the wall next to me very hard the whole night. Apparently he wasn't too happy with the music being so loud! At first it was very jarring and nerve-wracking but I found it to be quite funny after awhile. The horse was like your old grumpy neighbor who always tried to ruin your parties. ;)

The song is "Life is Beautiful" by Vega4 and I have to thank my bud Drew Renner for suggesting this song. The groom Tim liked it and agreed to it as it was already one of the songs on his list.

A Few Family Pics

Hey guys. i was off this past weekend so we took a little mini family trip and I brought along my new toy. Here are a few of my favs.




















We hung out at the beach and then finished up at Balboa Fun Zone where my boy Connor totally surprised me with wanting to do the Bungi Trampoline thingy.

Who Wants a FREE Photo Session???-EDITED

All you former and future brides of mine who read my blog regularly I have an offer you can't refuse! I have been taking photos on the side for awhile and am thinking about expanding my services and need your help building a portfolio. If you are getting married and want to do an engagement session with me for free, hit me up. Even if you are already doing one with your regular photographer, let me know if you want to do another with me. :)

If you were already married recently and want to do a "trash the dress" session with me, let me know. (if you don't know what that is..google it! Very cool pics but not for everyone.)

EDIT:

OKAY ..I was not expecting the response I am getting! I thought maybe one or two of you guys would respond but in little 24 hours I have had about 20 emails! I am thrilled that so many of you trust my artistic talent enough to take pictures of you.

Obviously, as nice as it would be, I cannot shoot all of you guys. So for the next few days I am going to assess what I am going to need and how the schedules work.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE...PLEASE still inquire if you have not done so and are still interested .

Email me at daniel@dvartistry.com and send me some pictures of yourselves if you have not already done that.

I am NOT looking for "perfect model" types..(but if you are that...thats ok too!). Because I am a novice at this and need some great photos to build up enough for a website, I am looking for people who are comfortable in front of the camera and are adventurous and have a great sense of self confidence.

This is what shines through on photographs more than looks. :)

tammy + lance- lake tahoe wedding extravagance

Wow! What an incredible weekend and I honestly don't know where to start. I am very thankful to former Laker girl, turned event coordinator extraordinaire Jeni Waters for hooking me up with this gig. I used the word "extravagance" on this entry for a reason because Jeni, Lance & Tammy pulled out all of the stops on this one. It was held at the beautiful Edgewood country club right on Lake Tahoe and even though there was rain off and on, it did not dampen the spirits of anyone involved for one minute. It was a big fun party from from the fun-filled prep session until the last song played by the most kick-butt band of all time. They even had fireworks. And I don't mean sparklers, I am talking full fledged fireworks!

Besides the bride Tammy being incredibly beautiful and extremely photogenic, the thing that really stuck out for me with this couple is that it was obvious that they truly enjoyed every minute of it and took nothing for granted. Lance and Tammy were so humble and thankful for everything and truly appreciative of not only their family and friends but of of their vendors as well.

Got a chance to work with Jim Kennedy yet again which is always a treat. Just a great guy who is just fun to be around. He snapped this shot of the bride and Jeni that I crashed last second:




Wes and I took a break from shooting to take a couple goofy photos in the photo booth they had there:



Groom left it up to me to choose music for the Cinema Reale so I chose a couple of my favorite songs. I used two because both Cat Power's "I found a Reason" and Coldplay's "Don't Panic" are each only around 2 minutes long. I thought it worked out perfectly.

ann + wes - anaheim sheraton wedding

I know I probably come off sounding cliche because i am always saying how much I love my couples. Honestly, it's just because I seem to get hooked up with the best couples and ann & wes are no different. The weekend prior to their wedding was very hectic for me (4 weddings!!) so going into their wedding I was looking fwd to shooting only theirs. We had such a fun first meeting just days before their wedding which made me look forward to their special day even more. They are such a sweet couple who, I could tell from day one, really valued my services. (And like i always say, this pumps me up and makes me want to do the best job ever)

Prior to our meeting, i had only dealt with Ann over the phone so I was anxious to meet them in person and finally meet Wes the groom. It turns out, he had a song picked out for their Cinema Reale and wanted to run it by me. I had never heard the song before, and like i told him when he asked what I thought about it, I won't be putting into my iPod anytime soon but because of the lyrics, I knew the song was a really song for a wedding clip. Wes did his research on my clips and knew that I loved to match stuff with lyrics and found a perfect song for that!

As far as the actual day goes, lucky we were rested up for this one! From early morning tea ceremonies at both houses, to the traditional american ceremony, to the reception at the Sheraton late into evening, it was a loooonnng day. But we enjoyed every minute of it and the pay-off was hearing them saying that I exceeded their expectations!

julia + michael - cicada wedding los angeles

Ever since our first conversation just a few weeks ago, I was really looking fwd to shooting this wedding. This is because on the other line was Julia Sweeney former Saturday Night Live star (most notably "Its Pat" sketches) and current writer and producer of her own critically acclaimed one woman shows like "God Said Ha!" and most recent "Letting Go of God". As a huge SNL fan of the "golden years" growing up, I was very aware of Julia's sketches "It's Pat" and always thought they were some of the funniest skits from that era.

Julia is such a warm and sincere, sweet person who had one of the most unique stories about how she met her now husband Michael. So unique the story just had to be told so she wanted to me to come out two days before her wedding interview the suspects involved with this most unusual courtship and create a short clip to show at the reception. She also had seen some of my same day edits and couldn't believe I put them together in a few hours and was also excited about the prospect of having one shown at her reception. Usually when we do both a biography video and cinema reale we show them together in one seemless piece, but Julia had the genius idea of showing it right before the reception to essentially show the audience how we got to where we were at that point. The wedding ceremony was officiated by another SNL alum, Don Novello who was best known for playing "Father Guido Sarducci". He came out and did a short monologue in character before doing the officiating of the ceremony. It was a huge hit.

Got a chance to work with Mary Sushinski of Occasions again and her and her crew are awesome. They are so on top of everything but yet easygoing and extremely helpful. Love that combination! Also worked with photog James Johnson for the first time. He was a lot of fun to be around and talk shop with. A true artist who is one of the remaining few who still shoots on film. Hope to work with him again soon.


Later on, we showed the Cinema Reale which Julia decided would be good set to Ron Sexsmith's "Wastin' Time".

alexis + omead- spanish hills country club wedding

Omead and Alexis are a gorgeous couple. We had a lot of fun shooting this beautiful wedding. Prep was shot at Omeads breathtaking home right on the golf course where they had their first sight. Groom chose Jeff Buckley's cover of the classic Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah" which I felt matched the day's events perfectly.

Got a chance to work with Hallie from Spanish Hills again. She is tremendous. So helpful and sweet!

jackie + albert- turnip rose wedding

Jackie and Albert are super sweet. Just so easy going and a pleasure to shoot. The day just flowed so smoothly and I was actually for once done with the video before i was scheduled to show it!

I also got to work with photog Leigh Miller again. She is super easy to work with and a true talent.

The song I used is a cover of one of my all time fav 80's songs "Melt With You" sung by Nouvelle Vague. Bride and Groom are a little bit shy and I think it kinda lended itself to how the song flowed with the footage. The song was perfect fit for them and their day.

bryan + cherise - wayfarers chapel- universal hilton wedding

Bryan and Cherise are a special couple. They don't take themselves too seriously and I always love that trait in people. Spend just a little bit of time with them and it becomes clear that they are very much in love with each other but are also really good friends too.


They also have great taste in music and chose No Doubt's "Running" for their Cinema Reale. Its a sweet song but a little quirky which called for some different type of editing. I also added some of their vows because they were so genuine and sincere.

NEW SITE IS UP!

I am SO excited about this! Its been a long time coming. Dirk from MediaCore Design has been working hard on it for a long time.

It is still getting the bugs worked out but feel free to give feedback!

NEW WEBSITE DESIGN

Thanks in advance!

pam + josh - los angeles river and gardens

Ever since I met them a few months back, had been looking forward to shooting Pam & Josh's wedding. We all clicked really well during the meeting and had a lot of fun so i knew it was going to be a great day, and it was. They are warm, genuine, down to earth, and very loving people. It was truly an honor to cover their special day.

By the way, that little cutie pie with the big blue eyes, is their son Evan. I got to hold him and he spit up on me. I felt honored.

For the last year or so, I had been wanting to use Dashboard Confessional's "Stolen" for a Cinema Reale. It has all of what you want in a same day edit song. Its sweet, without being cheeseball, and has some cool crescendos and changes in tempo that make for a perfect song for this type of edit. Up until now, no one took me up on it. I am so glad it was this couple who decided to use it.

katie + casey - oasis country palm desert

If have seen those eHarmony commercials on TV, you may recognize this couple ! They are my first, but not doubt not my last, eHarmony couple. Beautiful spring day with Oasis providing a gorgeous backdrop. They are a very sweet couple so I was really glad that they loved their video. (Katie is another self-described "blog stalker" ;) )

It was also the first of back to back weddings working with my good friend Gavin Holt. He is not only a tremendous photographer but a really good friend. He always makes the day go smooth.

Katie & Casey left it up to me to pick the song so I chose one of my all time favorite "love" songs; Nina Gordon's "Tonight and the Rest of My Life". It is such an awesome song and perfect for a same day edit.

andrew + jennifer- sierra madre wedding villa del sol d'oro

To say I love this couple would be a vast understatement! For starters, the gorgeous bride ( i don't just say that to be nice, when you see the video you'll agree) is a self-proclaimed "blog stalker" of mine apparently driving her co-workers crazy spending a lot of time on my blog. The groom Andrew and his buddies were such awesome hosts. They treated Wes and I like we were their lifelong friends and made sure we were well taken care of the whole day. So needless to say, I wanted to give them the best video I possibly could.


I had never shot at that venue and was amazed at the uniqueness of it all. What a beautiful place to have a wedding! So many great opportunities to get some phenomenal shots. Worked with coordinator Christine Park of "Events by CJE" and she was so awesome to work with.

That had a very cool sparkler send off that I added to beginning. (no..that part wasn't included in the video we showed at their reception. I am not that good. ;) )

ciara + nick - casa romantica wedding

Unbelievably fun couple. Put it this way, Bride was heard overheard during prep saying. "My dress is a little too loose, I almost went and ate a couple cheeseburgers so it would fit better." The next time I hear that from a bride would be never. Classic!

They were not only fun, but also very sincere in their love for each other as witnessed by their incredible vows they spoke to each other. I was very happy to hear them say these things because I used Mazzy Star's classic "Fade into You" which is beautiul but monotonous and needed the added audio to supplement it.  Music and audio came together nicely and the crowd loved it.

I also got a chance to work with Heather and Julia from Amorology Weddings. They were super sweet and helpful and made sure we got fed. (Most important!)

Enjoy!

peter + kendra - la venta

Peter and Kendra are an awesome couple. So sweet and full of life. They were surrounded by their very loving family and friends in the intimate and beautiful setting that La Venta provides. I was very happy about the reaction I got with their clip!

matt + wende- tustin ranch wedding

I met this couple at Jessica and Trent's wedding last year. I showed the Cinema Reale and immediately after Wende came up and asked me for my card. (She then asked me for it throughout the night at least 3 more times) Matt might have asked for it as well had he not been busy doing the best Vanilla Ice impersonation ever. (better than Vanilla himself)
I guess what I am trying to say is that this is just a special couple. So full of life and love for each other and their families. (And their 12 bridesmaids!) They were very excited about their cinema reale and that always pumps me up and makes me want to do the best job ever. The day was filled with a lot of laughter and emotion which makes my job a lot easier. It's set to Mark Cohn's classic.."True Companion".

roy + janet-wedding at culver studios

A very unique wedding to say the least. It was held at the Culver Studios which among things, is famous for being the place where they filmed the epic movie Gone With the Wind. It is also currently the place where they tape the show Deal or No Deal. Needless to say, there were some opportunities for some unique footage. And Janet, the gorgeous bride, looked like she walked off the set with her classic hairstyle and gorgeous dress.


After much deliberation, the groom and I decided on Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know"

warren + jerrica- wedding ritz carlton dana point

After two weeks off from shooting weddings, I was very anxious to get going again. So what better way to get back into swing of things than having a wonderful couple such as this, at a beautiful venue, and a perfect SoCal day? I also got to work finally work with Cathy Cheng from C3 weddings. I have know her for a couple years but have never worked with her. She was truly a pleasure to work with and was VERY patient with me while I finished this one. (I have new cameras and a new tapeless workflow that i am still working out the kinks with!) That meant a lot as i was kinda stressed!

Warren & Jerrica left it up to me to choose the music so I used The Fray's " Look After You" which , with a little serendipity, happened to work perfectly for the days events. The song's chorus says "oh ..Be my baby" and when they had their first sight she said.."Hey baby" which I timed with the music. (Love when that stuff happens!)

chris + andrea - wedding surf & sand laguna beach

What a weekend! Another beautiful SoCal day at the beach..right? Well..it started out that way! (More on that later) I was very excited to do this wedding because Chris and Andrea wanted to use INXS' "Not Enough Time" and being a child of the 80's I more than obliged!

Much like Saturday's wedding, the weather started out windy but gorgeous. However, right as the ceremony began, the rain started to fall hard. However, despite the conditions, Chris and Andrea and the wedding party were up the task and went through with it like troopers! I think it ended up adding to the emotion of the song.

I also got the priviledge of working with Jennifer Johnson from OC's Finest Weddings. She was wonderful to work with and I was very thankful to her and her crew for their patience while i worked on this edit.

New Article in Event DV Magazine

I was one of the first in the industry to start using 35mm adapters for weddings because i wanted to get that elusive film look for my productions. They are starting to become more common place so Event DV magazine asked me to write about article about it.  You can read about it here.  (NOTE: it is more of a technical article but the reason I post it is because you may recognize some of the stills used in the article!) 

New Cinema Reale site goes LIVE!!!

I am very pleased to announce that my new site for my Cinema Reale's is now up and running! I am so excited to get everything else done for my main site as well, but until then, check out this site for an idea for the new style and let me know what you think.  

To my former couples, the clips at the bottom will be rotated frequently, so if you don't see yours down there..it will be up in the rotation soon. If you are reading this and havent written a short testimonial yet, I would appreciate one asap so I can add it to your clip. :)

greg + marian -the riviera country club

An incredible day! Greg and Marian are such a fun-loving couple. Marian was so unbelievably relaxed and was the one who was having to tell everyone else to mellow out! They had a Catholic Ceremony at Saint Martin of Tours, and then had a traditional Korean Pae Baek ceremony afterwards.

Also got to work with Me Ra Koh and her hubby Brian. Fabulous couple to work along side. I always love when I get hooked up with photogs like this.

Bride left it up to me to choose the song I wanted to use. I went with James Blunt's "High". Enjoy.

michael + chantal-turnip rose

So, feeling inspired by my trip to Orlando, I was very anxious to shoot this wedding and it did not disappoint. The weather held up for most of the day and I was able to get some great shots. Got to work with my buddy Jim Kennedy again which is always nice. Great guy who does phenomenal work.

A beautiful couple inside and out, Chantal and Michael were truly a pleasure to be around on their wedding day. This was a couple who was truly excited about getting married and it showed in the various smiles, laughs and tears that we captured. Cinema Reale got a great reaction..one of the best we have had in awhile. The song is slow but very sweet, Amel Larrieux's "Make Me Whole".

Daniel Boswell Chosen by Event DV Magazine Top 25 Hottest & Most Influencial Videographers

I am very pleased and honored to announce that EventDV magazine has named me to their Top25 All Star Team this year! The list is filled with so many incredibly talented people (many of whom are my friends) so it was truly a great honor to be added this year! I am in Orlando right now for the convention/awards banquet and will have more details and pics to follow! Here is the official press release:

MADISON, WI--January 21, 2008—Today EventDV magazine unveiled the 2007 EventDV 25, and Daniel Boswell of dvArtistry was named to the list as one of the 25 hottest and most influential event videographers in the business. The honorees were announced in the February 2008 issue of EventDV, and were recognized on Monday, January 21 in a special awards presentation during the opening night gala of the 4EVER Group’s Video 08 convention in Orlando, Florida.

“As the event video industry’s one and only all-star team, the EventDV 25 gives us the opportunity to recognize those videographers who are wielding the most influence today, through their innovative work, educational efforts, and outreach to other videographers,” said EventDV Editor-in-Chief Stephen Nathans-Kelly. “To make sure we recognized the right people, we turned the selection process entirely over to the ‘fans,’ and let our readers pick the team. Over the two-month online voting process, the readers cast well over a thousand votes, and our all-star team emerged.”

In addition to voting for their selections, readers had the opportunity to defend their choices with a brief description of their chosen candidate’s merits. Of Daniel Boswell, voters wrote, “Daniel's shooting and editing style make him stand out from the rest. His recent bridal elegance work has turned that format on it's ear”


EventDV, the Authority for Event Videographers, is published monthly by Information Today, Inc. and read by over 27,000 event videographers and independent video producers around the world. For more information on EventDV, visit www.eventdv.net