Wedding Happenings

Off The Hook Wedding Cinematography

2008-08-18T17:40:00.002-04:00

Every so often someone comes along who's creative talent and skill just blows your mind. This past week in Orlando Florida, WEVA International held their annual Expo, a gathering of thousands of videographers and cinematographers there to learn and sharpen their skills in the wedding and event video industry. The centerpiece of the Expo is the Creative Excellence Awards where the best of the best are recognized for their creativity and skill in an Olympic style judging contest.

A friend who attended the Expo dropped me an email with a link to a video that is absolutely gorgeous and had won gold at the CEAs for it's catagory. The winner was Blue Skies Cinema in southern California. Owned by Jeff and Andee Wright, their videos are off the hook. Having watched tons of videos since joining Bridal Films I can only say they are the top of the industry and the best cinematographers I have ever seen.

This video is the first of this years winners we have been able to get ahold of so check back soon to see even more winners and learn just what wedding cinematography can do for YOU!

Sit back, relax and you are going to enjoy this Bridal Spotlight video, which is intended to showcase the bride in her wedding gown. Be sure to watch till towards the end for the truly spectacular shots, you'll know which ones, I'm not going to spoil it for you. Enjoy!

New Video on the CEA Winners pages

2008-06-14T10:55:00.003-04:00

I'm happy to announce we have been able to add another one of the WEVA Creative Excellence Award winners to our CEA page! This one is the Gold winner for the Demo catagory from All Occasions Video in Chicago IL. We'd like to thank Keith Anderson for allowing us to use it!

Amy

How To Hire A Wedding Videographer

2008-04-27T19:53:00.003-04:00

I am proud to announce that we have a new series of articles for your wedding planning needs: What To Look For In A Wedding Video!

I am shocked by the number of bad wedding videos out there. It also seems that the majority of brides and grooms who wish after their wedding that they had hired a videographer. Often when asked why they didn't they say things like, "every video I ever saw or was in sucked but I don't know what to look for in a video". Or "I didn't want something that looked like my uncle shot it, so I didn't get one".

Bridal Films to the rescue. I have gotten one of my favorite wedding videographers to write us a series of articles detailing exactly what makes a good wedding video! So here is the first part of What To Look In A Wedding Video Demo Part One In forth coming articles he will be discussing what is good imagery, editing and whatever else he comes up with.
-Amy

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As a wedding cinematographer it never ceases to amaze me just how many poorly produced wedding videos are out there and how many brides and grooms regrettably purchased them. Not all videographers are created equal and as the consumer you need to educate yourself as to what to look for in a wedding video. In this and following articles we will illustrate what is good and what is bad when you are looking at wedding video demos.

Audio Is One Half Of A Video! Without audio video is nothing more than a sequence of still images displayed at 30 frames per second. Your photographer with modern cameras can capture 9 frames per second, why hire a videographer then if you aren’t going to be able to hear anything. The mp3 below is an example of a poorly done wedding video audio track during the readings. Notice that you can hear the person, but not very clearly. (Due to these clips being from a competitor's video the names have been removed and I am using video only.)

The audio could have been far more intelligable and easy to understand if the videographer had bothered to do his job properly. The following video clip demonstrates just how a reading should sound.

I like making videos sound "you are there" as much as possible so I have mixed back in some of the natural echo of the church while maintaining the clear and understandable words of the reader.

This next audio clip is from the vows of the wedding. This is where your audio should really excel! After all you will want to hear the words you spoke to each other on the altar. In the audio clip below... Well take a listen...

To read the rest of our wedding video advice article click here.

The Pig Trough Dance a Wedding Tradition

2008-04-02T22:25:00.002-04:00

My sister brought this obscure wedding tradition to my attention today. She is getting married this summer and since she is younger than I thought that I should dance the Pig Trough or Hog Trough. She can forget it, I have no care how much bad luck I her, I am not doing the dance.

For those who are going, what is she talking about? The Pig Trough Dance evidently goes like this. When a younger sibling gets married before the older sibling, it is considered bad luck for the newlyweds. Of course the older sibling would not want to cause the newlyweds bad luck, so in order to break the curse, the older sibling dances ina hod trough at the younger siblings reception till the trough breaks. Personally I think this is more to humiliate the older sibling... I'll do the chicken dance, sis, not the pig dance!

YouTube has a few of these Pig Trough videos on them.

-Amy

Win A European Honeymoon!

2008-03-20T10:45:00.003-04:00

A honey moon is just one of the things the movie, Made Of Honor is giving away to promote the film! I am looking forward to this movie, you can't go wrong with Patrick! You can win a wedding, a European honeymoon and many other prizes. Sponsored by the Knot and the movie the link for this wedding sweepstakes is below.

Made of Honor Wedding Sweepstakes

-Amy

Wedding Film Of The Day

2008-03-12T19:32:00.002-04:00

It's time to inaugurate our Wedding Film of the day.

I love this wedding trailer for Chris and Jenn! DVideography. one of the top wedding video studios in Philly and it's owner Dave Williams is known for his Creative Excellence award winning videos. Wedding videos have come such a long way since being the pervue of an uncle with a camcorder. Today they are as slick and cutting edge as anything that Hollywood can produce. So sit back and enjoy this excellent wedding trailer produced by DVideography!

Wedding Photo of the Day

2008-03-12T19:00:00.005-04:00

I love this photo by Faith West Photography. The soaring architecture of the Basilica in the background as the bride and groom pay respect to the Virgin Mary. Just gorgeous! You can find more images at Mark Kingsdorf 's blog, owner of The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants along with a few details about the wedding.

-Amy

Cool Wedding Ideas, Invitations on Coasters!

2008-03-05T10:30:00.003-05:00

Genuine coaster stock, and cool designs with the invitation area on the back, Snow & Graham's double-sided coaster invitations are a unique way to invite guests to your next party or bridal shower!

Here is a cool idea that is different from the norm! Coaster Invitations from Snow & Graham!

Bridezilla Reaches A New Low

2008-03-04T21:54:00.002-05:00

From the depths of teenage bad behavior on My Sweet 16 on MTV the Partyzillas have grown up and graduated to BrideZilla and their selfish, self absorbed ways know no bounds. Fox News is reporting that Brides in their pursuit of the picture perfect wedding day are drafting up their own prenuptial agreements for their bridesmaids! That is right ladies, if asked to be in a wedding in the near future you could be presented with a contract. Common clauses include not gaining weight, no tan lines allowed, dyeing hair a certain shade maintaining a certain fingernail length and style, to name just a few...

What are weddings coming to, when brides are putting their supposed best friends under contract for their personal appearance. Have we forgotten what weddings and receptions are all about? Unconditional love! Love of a man and woman, love of family and friends, love to be shared.

It's up to you if in the future a "friend" presents you with a bridesmaid contract whether you sign it. Personally I'd drop it at the bride's feet and find something better to do that night.

I have to wonder, are shows like My Sweet 16 and Bridezillas a reflection of society or driving society down their holes?

Personalized M&Ms

2008-03-04T20:24:00.002-05:00

This is a cool wedding idea! Today I stumbled over the Mars Inc. website (chocolate is a girl's best friend!) and discovered they are offering to personalize the backs of M&Ms for weddings!

Here is what their website says: Personalized M&M'S® Chocolate Candies on mymms.com. MY M&M'S® are a great way to customize your wedding favors, birthday party, or give as a creative gift. Personalize your candy with your choice of color and a personal message.

Check it out!

-Amy

Hiring a Band

2008-02-21T11:46:00.001-05:00

Over at Weddings By Socialites, wedding planner Kelly has a few good suggestions on what to look for when hiring a band for your wedding reception. How Big Should My Band Be?

-Amy

Another Great Song and Video

2008-02-20T22:09:00.003-05:00

Here is a Christine Aguilera song/video I just found on YouTube. The video appears to incorporate footage from her actual wedding. Save Me From Myself, by Christine Aguilera.

-Amy

Wedding Photo of the Day

2008-02-19T23:09:00.005-05:00

Our latest Wedding Photo of the day is from Allure Films. This is a fantastic wedding photo using natural window light. I love this image, it's one of my all time favorites and I've seen a lot of photography doing this job. Go check out more of Allure Films' photography work. They also do wedding videos.

New Listings: Videographer

2008-02-19T18:25:00.005-05:00

I would like to welcome some new companies to the Bridal Films listings.

Wedding and Event Video Production Companies:

New Creation Productions
Phone Number: (406) 543-6813
Missoula, MT
www.newcreationproductions.com

Magus Creations Wedding/Event Videography
Phone Number: 909-646-8888
Fontana, CA
www.MagusCreations.com

Nickell Video Productions
817-428-0059
North Richland Hills, TX
www.nickellvideo.com

We would like to welcome these wonderful wedding video production companies aboard!

And of course you can find our other searchable nationwide listings for photographers, bands, disc jockeys and orchestras on the main site!

Wedding Photo of the Day

2008-02-18T21:10:00.004-05:00

Heather Waraksa from Brooklyn, NY does some gorgeous work! I just fell in love with the wedding of Deb and Andrew. Check more wedding photos out at Hearther's blog!

Why Video is Important.

2008-02-17T19:38:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I ran across a bride who I had exchanged a few emails with and reads our sister site Michiana Weddings. Michiana has lot of similar content as this one but limited to a regional flavor. Well one of the email exchanges we had was about wedding video, she was a little tic'ed that I was constantly pushing wedding video on the blog and her mother was pushing her on the subject, using the blog. Well I can't help it, I have heard too many of my friends/cousings complain they did not have a wedding video after the wedding. And one of my most treasured family videos is an old degrading vhs tape of my in my aunt's wedding as a 2 year old flower girl. And I wouldn't have that video if my aunt hadn't paid someone to make it.

Well, Julie (not her real name to protect the guilty) stood her ground and kept to her original plan of having a friend record the wedding. Make a long story short, during the vows the video shows the friend's feet and floor because he didn't bother actually turning the camera on the B&G from where he was sitting. So no vows, no rings, no nothing. During the reception there is some fantastic shots of women's clevage and butts but not much else. Especially missing is the Father's toast, for which the friend was at the bar he claims.

The moral, well the mom won't let the bride forget the disaster the friend made the video and the bride is now mad at her friend.. Hire a professional, save your friendships and keep peace in the family. :-)

This video is making the rounds on the internet.

-Amy

Wedding Photo of the Day

2008-02-17T17:10:00.005-05:00

I have been thinking about this for quite a while. I have been surfing photographer's blogs for quite a while now, seeing some incredible stuff. Well I'm going to start recognizing some of my favorite images I find on the web with Wedding Photo of the Day.

Our inaugural Wedding Photo of the Day comes from photographer Becker a wedding photographer from Orange County, California. This is from the first dance during a New Years Eve wedding.

I love it!

-Amy

technorati

2008-02-16T11:51:00.001-05:00

Technorati Profile

Father & Daughter Dance Gone Crazy

2008-02-16T01:22:00.003-05:00

First there was the Bridal Party Thriller Dance... Then came the first dance of Baby Got Back and now we have a father & daughter dance to...

I'm working on assembling a bunch of these YouTube videos right here and don't forget to check out our list of Father Daughter Songs at Wedding Grooves!

Postage Rate Increase on May 12th

2008-02-15T12:18:00.001-05:00

Our favorite USPS is raising postage prices on May 12th for the second consecutive year from 41 cents to 42 cents. The price of the FOREVER stamp will go up at the same time. If you purchase the FOREVER stamp for 41 cents it will still be usable for first class postage after the rate increase takes place. So in order to avoid the rate increase I recommend going out and purchasing a few rolls of the FOREVER stamp. Other rates are going up also, so depending on the size of your wedding invitations, you should check with the postal service so youâ€™re not surprised when it comes time to mail them out.

Looking for unique wedding favors?

2008-02-15T00:29:00.004-05:00

Looking for something different to give out as your wedding favors? Tonight I found this fantastic site my wedding favors.com.

The love the measure spoons are just soooo cute.

The Forever Glass Photo Coasters are neat.

And there is so much more over there. I wasted an hour just surfing around the site. Be sure to check it out for yourself!

Sweepstakes on Brides.com

2008-02-07T14:38:00.000-05:00

I just found out about this. Along with their sponsorship of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Brides.com is offering a chance to win a trip to Fiji. You have till the 14th to enter! Enter here.

The Bride is the Cake!

2008-01-07T15:49:00.000-05:00

From the pages of the ultimate in self indulgence, as reported on CNN's website this bride had her wedding cake made to look just like her. A little freaky in my opinion.

Not Your Day

2007-12-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

Weddings are a big day for us women. Many of us have dreamed about the event since we could first pick up a Barbie Doll and have Ken carry her over the threshold of our Barbie house. I have a hope chest I stuck ideas and clippings in during my teenage years stashed somewhere in the house. Those are going to be some out of date ideas when I finally need them.

But what about our hapless groom. As a friend of mine says, he doesn't start thinking about it till the day he puts the ring on our fingers and then tries not think of it as much as possible. I never knew that my friend was basically pirating that saying till today when I found a old CD he'd given me a few years ago. Not Your Day... A Grooms Guide To The Most Important Day of Her Life by Rex Havens.

I don't know why I had never listened to it till today but puttering around the house getting ready for Christmas I decided to put it in the stereo and listen. I must say, it's hilarious! You can see and hear a few of the jokes from the CD at Rex Havens' website. Apparently he's let the CD go out of print, I couldn't find it anywhere. But he has a new one that looks just as funny: Everything I Needed To Know, I Learned From My Wife. If you get a chance check out the clips, they are very clean and oh so true. And maybe if enough express interest he'll sell the album on iTunes. It would make a great present to all the grooms out there.

Great Song Find

2007-12-22T08:55:00.000-05:00

I was surfing around YouTube today, looking for some of my favorite music videos I haven't seen in a while when I stumbled across this song: I Will Love You by Fisher. This would make a great photo montage song for couples or could easily be used in a love story or wedding film. Check it out! Or get it at

I have added it to our growing list of Music for Montages.

-Amy

Unique Save The Date Cards

2007-12-21T17:37:00.001-05:00

I love these, creative, unique and just too cool. I stumbled over this blog My Aim Is True and found a post about these save the date cards. I like them a lot.
-Amy

How TO Marry A Fabulous Man

2007-12-18T11:27:00.001-05:00

I was watching the Today Show this morning when they brought write Pari Livermore on about her new book How To Marry A Fabulous Man. A very interesting interview about finding your mate. The best advice was that you can't fin the "perfect" mate that meets all of your criteria; Choose the on that fits the top things you want. Good advice whether it's dealing with dating or planning your wedding. I have seen too many weddings go bad because the bride stressed out needing everything to be perfect and in the end nothing was perfect and the bride was upset. If you are here, still looking for that husband, check it out, How To Marry A Fabulous Man by Pari Livermore.

-Amy

Holiday Spiced Nuts

2007-12-15T15:03:00.001-05:00

Technorati Tags: recipe,river city productions,girly girl gifts

Happy Holidays everyone! Snow is gently falling here in South Bend, IN and it's looking pretty good for a white Christmas in these parts. In celebration of the Holidays here is a recipe for some sweet and spicy nuts shared with us by Brian from River City Productions and Cynthia from Girly Girl Gifts.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 Teaspoon Curry Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Tablespoon Honey

3/4 cup black walnuts

3/4 cup pecan halves

Instructions

Take a cookie sheet and lightly brush with olive oil. In a large nonstick skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add ginger, curry powder and cayenne pepper. Saute' until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Stir in sugar and honey. add nuts and continuously stir until the mixture is amber in color and the nuts are well coated. Approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Spread on cookie sheet and let cool.

-Amy

Interview with Brett Culp

2007-12-07T17:31:00.000-05:00

Brett Culp and hist team at the CVP Experience are some of the hottest wedding cinematographers around. Only David Robin at David Robin Films has more of the prestigious WEVA Creative Excellence Awards in the industry. Brett was interviewed by the Lifetime show Get Married recently and below is the video. Enjoy!

-Amy

YouTube Find

2007-12-05T11:17:00.000-05:00

I was surfing around YouTube today looking at the wedding videos and stumbled across this. A great immitation of the Apple Mac commercials.

Happy Hollidays

2007-11-28T11:03:00.000-05:00

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I put on at least 3 pounds pigging out on turkey. It's back to the gym time. ;-) I was at a company Christmas party last Saturday with my boyfriend. It was a great time. But it was the last song of the night that really struck me, Luther Vandross, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. I had never heard this version and never considered the versions I had heard that danceable but this version by the late great Luther Vandross was just the thing for Mark and I! Wow, take a listen on the YouTube video below.

If you are a disc jockey reading this I really suggest adding this song to your library for the holiday season! Your customers and their guests will love it. It can be purchased online at

Music For Love Story

2007-11-18T01:43:00.000-05:00

One of my favorites I found on YouTube tonight. A great song for a love story or montage.

Enjoy

-Amy

Don't Box Us In!

2007-11-17T20:24:00.000-05:00

The creators behind the fantastic Trash The Dress blog aren't resting on their laurels! They have now launched a new site called, Don't Box Us In! The other side of wedding photography. I must say, I like. It's chock full of cool and different looks to photography. Below are 3 of my favorite photographs from Don't Box Us In! Check it out for yourself and get some great ideas for your own wedding photography.

David Robin Films

2007-11-16T23:55:00.000-05:00

David Robin is one of the top wedding cinematographers out there. He posted a wedding trailer on Nov 4th that I absolutely love. Who would have ever thought that George Michael's Freedom would work in a wedding video...

Check it out!

-Amy

Get Your Wedding Countdown Ticker!

2007-11-16T18:15:00.000-05:00

Our sister website WedLife.net is now offering for free a wedding countdown clock for your website or blog! Share with friends, family and visitors the months, hours, minutes and seconds till you walk down the aisle! Just fill out the form and we'll email you the code for your chosen template!

Check it out at WedLife.net!

-Amy

Bridal Films Music Club

2007-11-16T00:38:00.000-05:00

Music is a major part of my life and I'm always on the lookout for fun new songs. Tonight I was turned onto this fantastic song from Dashboard Confessional. I think this is going to end up on our montage music page. Enjoy everyone!

Stolen by Dashboard Confessional

Introducing WedLife.net!

2007-11-13T11:45:00.001-05:00

We have been busy around here at Bridal Films and Michiana Weddings! During my time as editor and chief of the Michiana Weddings family of websites I have noticed that so many wedding blogs for couples are graphically lacking. Usually they are just the default templates provided by the software providers. So we decided to do something about it here at Michiana Weddings...

Introducing WedLife.net your source of wedding related templates that work in Blogger and MySpace!

Pictured above a 4 of my favorites that are available. If you don't find something you like check back often at the WedLife.net Blog, we will be adding new templates all the time and they will be introduced there.

If you have any ideas for blog designs drop a note in the comments and we'll be happy to whip something up!

Mazel Tov: Celebrities' Bar and Bat Mitzvah Memories

2007-11-07T10:19:00.001-05:00

In this industry besides weddings Bar & Bat Mitzvahs are the second group of traditions that many of the vendors are hired. So I tend to keep my ears open open for cool stories from these religious traditons.

This sounds like such a fun read Mazel Tov: Celebrities' Bar and Bat Mitzvah Memories The authors by Jill Rappaport and Linda Solomon were on the Today show this morning and relating several of the funny stories contained withing. I've ordered my copy. Check it out!

www.WeddingGrooves.com

2007-11-06T01:09:00.001-05:00

I am excited to announce the newest feature to help you with planning your wedding reception, here at BridalFilms.net: Wedding Grooves!

Are you having trouble deciding on what song will be your first dance song? Don't know what to dance with your father to? Stumped on that special song for Mom? Then Wedding Grooves is what you want to check out! Using YouTube streaming, you can surf a list of the most popular songs in the categories of First Dance, Father & Daughter Dance, Mother & Son Dance and Bridal Paty Dance. Once you decide you can also go to Amazon.com to buy the album or surf over to iTunes and download the single!

I am very excited by this new feature, it's been a lot of work and we're still working to expand the music selection but already there is a lot of excellent songs! Over the last several days I've relived a lot of music videos I had forgotten about and seen some I've never viewed before. YouTube is such a wonderful resource for memories! Check it out, and share it with friends.

-Amy

Image copyright McDonald Studio

New Feature Here At Bridal Films!

2007-11-05T01:53:00.000-05:00

We have combined Bridal Films with the power of YouTube and Amazon.com to bring you Find Your Perfect Wedding Songs! Now you can look at listings of popular songs in various catagories like First Dance, Father Daughter Dance, Mother Son Dance etc and then watch the video off of YouTube or go order the CD at Amazone.com!

Check it out and check back often as we will be adding lots of new titles!

Welcome to Bridal Films!

2007-10-22T11:17:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone we are getting tons of new visitors who are reading just the blog according to the statistics. So I'd like to take the opportunity to welcome you to Bridal Films! Also please feel free to browse the rest of the site.

Bridal Films offers articles on planning for the three most important vendors for your wedding and reception, the entertainment, the video and photography. You can also find vendors for your wedding in our national listings of Disc Jockeys, Bands, Orchestras, Photographers, Videographers.

-Amy

Find Your Wedding and Event Videographer, Band, Photographer, Orchestra, Disc Jockey in Our Nationwide Listings!

Heritage Makers and My Life In Print

2007-10-20T11:52:00.000-04:00

I just got confirmation that Lance Gray of My Life In Print will be writing an article about the Heritage Makers line of memory books! This is too cool. No word on when yet, but if you want to stay informed bookmark our rss feed below. I'll announce it right here when the article goes live.

In the meantime check out Tasra Dawson's excellent book on scrapping.

Other Blogs

2007-10-18T13:21:00.000-04:00

Mark Kingsdorf's blog over at The Queen of Hearts has quickly become one of the blogs I like stopping by to see what's new every morning over coffee. Today he has something posted that just floored me. Check it out!

The Perfect Gift For The Groom and Groomsmen?

2007-10-18T12:54:00.000-04:00

OMG! Here is a gift for those beer drinking groomsmen in your bridal party, the bottle opening belt buckle! Yes it is a belt buckle and a bottle opener. I really don't konw what to think of it except laugh.
You can order them at Sheplers.

Bride's Magazine Best OF Headbands

2007-10-18T11:57:00.000-04:00

One of the things that drives me nuts about this industry is that after spending $20,000, $50,000, $100,000 or more on your wedding very seldom is there anything left to show for all the money you spent. Yes you will have your video and your photos and maybe a cake cutting set or your champagne glasses, but really there isn't anything useful left. Cake sets and champagne glasses tend to end up on a shelf displayed, not touched again till the next generation. You gown is boxed up and unless you do a Trash the Dress it won't see the light of day again. My mom is yelling at my sister to wear hers but honestly it's old, ugly (in my opinion, sorry mom) and not a modern design. My sister has found her own gown and I am sure any future daughter of her's will do the same.

So I am always happy to discover something that actually has an every day use outside of the wedding day. This is too cool, in this months Bride's Magazine the Tigerlilly line of headbands has been named Best of 2007. The cool factor is that Tigerlilly's headbands once used at the wedding can be used again and again as a choker or a necklace. And they are so pretty! I love the Fiona which is what is in their Best Of picture.

Beyond Scrap Booking

2007-10-17T21:33:00.001-04:00

I have never gotten into scrapping. When my sister destroyed one of my favorite family photos so that it "fit just right" into a page she was making without checking to see if we still had the negative to make more copies, was the end for me.

Then today I stumbled across this site: My Life In Print! This is too cool! Lance Gray, the site's owner calls it a digital scrapbook. What you can do is scan your favorite family photos and either use prefab templates offered by Heritage Makers or create you own. From there the company will make for you at a very reasonable price a square bound hard cover book of your pictures!

Photographers charge thousands for these types of books and from looking through the site the pricing is very reasonable. And it goes beyond just weddings into all aspects of your life, the pictures can be anything you want from your memories. Check out some online samples here!

These are really cool. I'm going to contact Lance about writing an article about this for BridalFIlms.net!

If you are interested in the traditional form of scrap booking then I suggest you check out Real Women Scrap, by Tarsa Dawson. A very eclectic blog that is fun to read.

Announcement

2007-10-17T21:00:00.000-04:00

If you have been using our rss or atom feed, please update your readers by clicking on the feed below. We have burned our feed with Feed Burner to make it look better in readers.

Subscribe in a reader

Technorati

2007-10-17T18:17:00.002-04:00

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My Love Open The Door

2007-10-17T00:44:00.000-04:00

Went to see a movie last Friday, Michael Clayton, which I highly recommend for it's terrific script and of course the yummy George Clooney. The trailers included the movie Dan In Real Life with Steve Carell. It looks like it may be funny, my date said it looked like a chic flick. I may have trouble dragging him to it. :-( But towards the end there was this fantastic song. I spent part of the day tracking that song down, playing hookie from an article I'm writing for the site. And I found it! This is a great song. Here is Peter Townswend and Let My Love Open The Door. Enjoy!

-Amy

A Little Advice About Outdoor Weddings

2007-10-14T23:35:00.000-04:00

In my opinion wedding consultants, coordinators or whatever you want to call them are a highly under utilized resource for planning a wedding. So many of the common problems could be avoided if you just had a consultant. I also love reading their blogs.

Mark Kingsdorf, owner of The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants in Philly, has some excellent advise if you are having an outdoor wedding. Hire a DJ company to provide sound reinforcement for your ceremony! Check it out here!

It's Breast Cancer Awarness Month

2007-10-13T13:35:00.000-04:00

An issue near to every woman is Breast Cancer. This is of course Breast Cancer Awareness Month and many companies are offering special products that a portion of the proceeds goes to research. I just found one from the Riedel company.

-------------------
Riedel Toasts Breast Cancer Survivors Through Rosé-Colored Glasses

For the third year, Riedel has created a special, limited edition glass to benefit Living Beyond Breast Cancer. The Pink Vinum Rosé glass with its soft pink stem and clear bowl will be available beginning May 2007, just in time for rosé wine season. "This year we decided to create a rosé glass as the interest in and consumption of rosé wine has risen and is being enjoyed from the start of spring through Thanksgiving," said Maximilian Riedel, CEO of Riedel Crystal of America.

The glass will be sold in sets of two for $49.80, attractively packaged as a pair in a black box adorned by the pink ribbon synonymous with this important cause. Riedel will donate 15% of the proceeds from the sale of this glass to support those dealing with the devastating diagnosis of breast cancer and life beyond.

I Love Movies About Weddings!

2007-10-13T12:19:00.000-04:00

Ladies, Brides.com has a contest going on based on the upcoming movie 27 Dresses starring the beautiful Katherine Heigl and the yummy James Marsden. Plot: After serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, a young woman wrestles with the idea of standing by her sister's side as her sibling marries the man she's secretly in love with.

Modern Bride and their website Brides.com is sponsoring a contest based on the movie, their "Always A Bridesmaid" you tell what is great or not so great about being a bridesmaid.

Video, A Top 10 Priority

2007-10-13T11:53:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has read the majority of this blog probably realizes I'm sort of on a crusade for wedding video. Photography is a top 10 priority, but so should be video. Well it is nice to find someone with like thoughts; Kelly McWilliams at the Weddings by Socialites blog has an excellent post about video.

Destination Wedding Planner, Kelly McWilliams: Tidbits on Weddings by Socialites: For anyone who thinks videography is hum drum, watch this:
- Amy

Survival Kit For Bridesmaids

2007-10-12T12:01:00.000-04:00

Ms. & Mrs. has a new product, the Bridesmaid's Survival Kit. They are the producers of the original Wedding Day Survival Kit which has been very popular with brides. Check it out.

Night Of The Twister

2007-10-12T11:45:00.000-04:00

Sounds like a bad TV movie, doesn't it? ;-) Well on August 11 in Culver, IN the tent errected for the wedding of Laura Schrage and Christopher Campbell was knocked down and deposited in a nearby lake. With only two days till the wedding wedding coordinator Cynthia Basker lead a team of talented wedding professionals in recreating a week's worth of work in two days. You can read about it at our sister site, Michiana Weddings!

-Amy

Video Catches A Wedding Crasher

2007-10-08T15:56:00.000-04:00

You never know just how handy that wedding video may be. It may just help catch a crook!

October 2, 2007 (RIGBY, Idaho) - An Idaho wedding crasher is charged with helping herself to more than just a piece of cake. A home video of Sciara and Charles Dougherty was taken at their wedding in Rigby, Idaho.

While the unsuspecting bride and groom enjoyed their first dance, an uninvited guest was captured in the background trying to blend in. Kim Cooper reportedly introduced herself to friends and family and even helped decorate the bridal car.

It wasn't until the newlyweds discovered dozens of gift cards and envelopes with cash missing that they considered the uninvited guest a suspect.

"We said, 'What if she took them?' Then we thought, "No, nobody would do something like that, that was our day, that's all about us," said Sciara Dougherty.

Cooper was caught cashing in the gift cards at various stores. She's charged with burglary

Plexiglass Chandeliers

2007-10-08T10:46:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, this is a photography, video, entertainment site, but I'll talk about what I want to talk about on my blog.

Cynthia Basker of Celebrated Events in South Bend, IN is my favorite wedding coordinator. Her creativity is just breathtaking. Presently I am working on an article for our sister site Michiana Weddings about a tornado that nearly destroyed a very elegant wedding in Culver Indiana. Cyndi was hired to make the event go off flawlessly at the Culver Military Academy and on Wednesday night, 2 days before the wedding everything they had done up to that point in decorating the 3 tents that comprised the reception facilities was destroyed by a twister. Cyndi had 2 days to recreate a weeks worth of work and pull off this wedding and that is exactly what she did.

But the article is not the point of this post, what is is the clever ideas I saw in some pictures I go from Burns Rent All to use in the article. Cynthia for this wedding created chandeliers of Plexiglas, candles and flowers that are just too cool!

Then over the head table they created a canopy of Plexiglas, rose petals and candles with pink light hitting it, that was mirrored on the table below.

-Amy

Sex & The City

2007-10-08T10:23:00.000-04:00

If you are like me next year isn't getting here fast enough so we can find out what happened with Mr. Big and Carrie. But after the wedding pictures leaked last week, I just want to run up to Sarah Jessica Parker and say EAT SOMETHING! Has Sarah gone anna? She is pretty close to it in my opinion.

And I hope that wrinkled mess of a gown isn't the future of high fashion. Blah! Maybe a healthier looking person would make it look better... No I doubt it, especially with that feather head dress.

This is a bad flashback to the 1980's, without the Cinderella sleves.

Why Men Marry..

2007-10-06T20:02:00.000-04:00

Well poking around on Amazon and...

Evidenly "Love" is the sequal. :-)

-Amy

Why Men Love Bitches, the book

2007-09-28T09:30:00.001-04:00

I was looking through our Amazon reports and this book came up

as having been purchased a dozen times off our links. I have never heard of the writer? Anyone know anything about this book or Sherry Argov?

Book description:
-------------------------------
Contending that some women are "too nice," comedian and radio show host Sherry Argov has written Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl-A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship. "I'm not recommending that a woman have an abrasive disposition," Argov writes, "The woman I'm describing is kind yet strong. She doesn't give up her life, and she won't chase a man." Her sassy book is filled with scenarios and advice aimed at making women subtly stronger and self-empowered. Argov's principles, which range from the farfetched to the downright absurd, include "If you give him a feeling of power, he'll want to protect you and he'll want to give you the world" and "A little distance combined with the appearance of self-control makes him nervous that he may be losing you." The book, which has already been featured on The View and The O'Reilly Factor, should make waves with its controversial view of relationships.

-Amy

Trash The Dress!

2007-09-23T16:11:00.000-04:00

We have a new video streaming on Bridal Films TV! Our friends down in New Orleans at the Wedding Planning Experience had a show all about Trash the Dress back in August. We are now broadcasting the show on our 24 hour internet tv station.

I'll let Julian St. Pierre describe it to you:

"Post Wedding Photo Sessions?"

If you missed our August 26th TV Show here's your oppurtunity to view it at your leisure. The response has run the gamut of emotions - just as the clips run the gamut. Each segment is a depiction of the bride's personality and vision for her final product. You'll see traditional New Orleans locations - the French Quarter - St Lous Cathedral - Jackson Square and then you'll see the extreme - South Louisiana swamps where we dealt with spiders and alligaotors PLUS the final segment shot in a place... Well let's just say it's the most "extreme" music video we've (Studio Vieux Carre ) has ever created.

Thanks to photographer Julia Bailey for inviting us to capture her sessions, Urban Earth for their floral contributions and John's Tuxedos for providing the tuxedos.

The Origin: The sessions Trash the Dress sessions originated in Nevada where a local photographer facing challenges with his bride not wanting to soil her dress during her formal photo shoot prior to her wedding day. He suggested that they do the session "post wedding day" which allowed them to become very creative with the locations and the situations he could put the bride in and the birth of the "Trash the Dress" parties evolved into what you're going to view here. These are the first TTD sessions held here in New Orleans.

Click here to go to Bridal Films TV and enjoy a New Orleans Trash the Dress session. The video will repeat about every hour and a half.

-Amy

The Key To A Really Successful Reception

2007-09-23T10:08:00.000-04:00

With the summer passing into memory I thought I would share with you one of the things I have noticed attending weddings this year. If the reception is a full blow party with dancing, the success of the dancing portion is up to the bride and the groom. As with any function, the guests of honor and the hosts set the tone for any function, but most especially the dancing at a reception. Do not get me wrong, the quality of the entertainment is as important and by some degree more important because if you hire the wrong DJ, band or orchestra for your reception, then there will be nothing you can do to salvage the evening.

But if you have chosen the right entertainment that plays the music that clicks with your guests and you then how much the success of the evening is is up to you. By this I mean that if you as the host/guests of honor/bride and groom do not get up on the dance floor and dance every so often then the party will be far less than it could be. The most successful wedding receptions I witnessed this past summer were the ones where the bride and groom nearly lived on the dance floor for three or four hours. The host/guests of honor/bride and groom set the tone that their guests will follow. If the entertainment is good there will be dancing, but not nearly as much or as fun as when the bride and groom are participating on a regular basis. If you are outside smoking or do nothing but talking to people around the room then that is what your guests will do. If you are up on the dance floor on a regular basis then your guests will follow you onto the dance floor.

So even if you think you have two left feet, if you are having a band/orchestra/DJ for your wedding reception, then get up on the dance floor and have fun! Your guests will do the same and you party will be all the success that you dreamed it would be!

-Amy

Special thanks to River City Productions and McDonald Studio for the pictures.

This is so cool!

2007-09-20T11:15:00.000-04:00

Our intrepid Brian Peterson emailed me these links to check out this morning. This is so cool! Panorama views of a specific time at a wedding! If you scroll up in panorama #2 you can see the bouquet in the air even!

Panorama 1

Panorama 2

I'm surprised more photographers don't offer this, in fact Jensen Wedding Films is a videography company.

-Amy

You Get What You Pay For

2007-09-18T11:01:00.000-04:00

Ladies, if you are going to hire a vendor, don' t hire the cheapest one you can find! As a friend of mine says, the ones who under price the market know their value and by willingly underpricing the market their services are usually worth nothing in the end.

I attended a wedding in Chicago this weekend. The identities are changed to protect the guilty. ;-) Stacey went all out for her wedding. She contracted the best country club reception hall she could find. Hired the best florist, the best pastry chef, had a cake that was to die for. The wedding was gorgeous, the reception a fantasy from a dream. The photographer and videographer were from hell! The photographer claims to have had 20 years in the wedding industry but evidently never learned to bring backup equipment. His digital camera died during the formals after the ceremony. He declared he he had to run home and get a backup and would see everyone at the reception. We did not see him again until the cake had been cut nearly 4 hours later.

The videograher was something else. They showed up 1 hour before the wedding as they were contracted to and beside setting up their equipment, they did nothing until the wedding started. Lost was the bride arriving by carriage. The groom arriving with his frat brothers. They actually carried him into the church. No with this videographer he started filming when the processional started.

At the reception he filmed the introductions, the toats, the cake, the first dance, the father daughter dance, the mother son dance, then sat down during the bridal party dance and did nothing and sat there for another 2 hours until the bouquet and garter tosses. Oh and I noticed when the frat brothers serenaded the bride, his camera was pointed at the floor. This took place between the bouquet and garter tosses so it wasn't like he wasn't standing there!

So he missed Stacey dancing with her grandfather, John dancing with his grandma. Stacey's mom dancing with her new son-in-law and the list goes on and on. At one point during the reception I asked Stacey what he was hired to do and she said "film everything". She was really too preoccupied to notice my hint and nothing was ever done. And after the photographer went missing in action I didn't have much of a heart to say anything. Maybe it's my bad for not saying anything but when you are a guest what is the proper thing to do.

This wasn't a cheap wedding, their budget was $50,000 but i the end, two of the most important services, the ones who document the memories, Stacey went cheap on. The photographer was $950 and went missing for 4 hours and the videographer was $500 and didn't do anything, missing tons of memories.

-Amy

What happens when...

2007-09-03T12:43:00.000-04:00

A bunch of the bridal party/guests/band at a Philly wedding get stuck in the elevator?

Dave Williams one of the best videographers in the nation, shares that in this outtake.

It's too funny!

Thieves in California

2007-09-03T09:41:00.000-04:00

Brian just posted on his Ask The Expert Blog about two thieves who have been hitting California Weddings and stealing the equipment of the photographers and the videographers. Please check out his links to images of these two thieves and if you have seen them, contact your local police!

Place Card Ideas

2007-08-03T10:52:00.000-04:00

Looking for a unique way of displaying your guests place cards than just laying them out on a table in rows. Martha Stewart has a few ideas, as she always does.

For an outside or tent reception run some clothesline and suspend the cards from clothespins.

IF you are in a hall, set them on a flower bed. In this picture they are resting on Carnations with a foam core interior.

New Trash the Dress Videos!

2007-07-19T11:11:00.000-04:00

Trash The Dress explores a dark side!

Peter Chung of Kairos Moment Wedding Films has been kind enough to let us stream two of his videos from Trash the Dress events on Bridal Films! One of them for his own customers and one from an event in Atlantic City where the subject matter was a little macabre as a new Traveling Shovel was christened. You can read up on the Traveling Shovel here. Enjoy everyone!

Amy Taylor

Introducing 3-D Photo Montages by David Robin!

2007-07-04T10:44:00.000-04:00

BridalFilms.net is all about the creativity and artistry available within the Video and Photography
industries. So I am very happy to announce a short interview with one of the greatest, most creative wedding videographers in the nation, David Robin, talking about his 3-D Photo Montage technique with our very own Brian Peterson. And he has been gracious enough to share with us three of his 3-D Photo Montage Videos. Check it out

-----------------------------------------------------

Introducing The 3-D Photo Montage!

Since the advent inexpensive video cameras being introduced in the 1970’s, wedding and social event videographers have been creating photo motages on video. Initially a photo montage consisted of the picture being recorded to video for a few seconds and then a new image would pop up. Then Ken Burns and his Civil War documentary in the 1980’s introduced panning across the photo to give the appearance of movement. This technique was quickly imitated by the wedding and social event industry. And that is where it stood until about four years ago when two companies, Pixelpops in Dallas Texas and Boulevard Video Production introduced similar techniques that took traditional 2-D photos and broke them out into a 3-D environment. Developed independant of one another, the similarities in techniques prove that great minds do think alike.

---------->Click here to read more

Wedding Films TV!

2007-07-01T21:22:00.000-04:00

This is very exciting for me and oh so cool! BridalFilms.net now has it's own internet television station Wedding Films TV! I am so excited, we already have several of the videos from our Creative Excellence Awards page already showing on what we are calling Wedding Films TV and more award winning videos will be coming. Also on there we have 16 music videos off of YouTube by the original artists from songs listed in our Music for Montages and Love Stories.

We will be adding programing quickly so check back often! A new day has dawned at BridalFilms.net!

-Amy Taylor

Trash the Dress

2007-06-27T17:18:00.000-04:00

I have seen a lot of comments on online forums about Trash the Dress but this is the best one over at unclutterer.com:

For three years after I got married, my wedding dress sat in a lump on the floor of my closet. It had chocolate icing smeared down the front of it, a bourbon and coke stain on the train, and half of its lining ripped out as a result of my husband’s superb dancing skills. Eventually, the dress made its way to the dry cleaner’s where they did a little magic on it. The stain on the back of it remains clearly visible, but the icing was removed and the tear was repaired.

-----> click here to read the rest

The Best Wedding Reception... Ever!

2007-06-21T12:23:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, I just got done posting a new book review on the site! I really enjoyed this one, Peter Merry is a fantastic writer and no slouch as a wedding entertainer either! I highly recommend this book, and if you ever have the opportunity to see him in action as an entertainer as I did in NY over a year ago, you are in for a real treat.

Review:

We have been promoting this book on the site since it initially came out a few months ago, I finally got the time to sit down and write this review. So...

How do you plan the best wedding reception ever? Peter Merry of Merry Weddings has set out to give you, the brides planning advice to accomplish exactly that with the Best Wedding Reception… Ever! .

‘Creating a fun, unique, and memorable wedding reception can be very similar to creating a blockbuster movie.’ The Best Wedding Reception. Ever!

Click Here to Read the Rest

-Amy

Trash The Dress - DVR Alert!

2007-06-14T16:01:00.000-04:00

Joshua Smith owner of the company Cinematic Bride is a young up and coming wedding videographer and at the age of 20 already has won a Creative Excellence Award. Accordig to his blog he will be featured in an interview on Good Morning America on Saturday in conjunction with the Trash The Dress website! So set those DVRs and watch for what I'm sure will be some excellent video footage of what looks like a really fun idea, Trash The Dress.

Check out a video clip by one of our favorite studios, Studio Vieux Carre'. Terry and team were on the New Orleans Trash The Dress photo shoot and captured all the fun!

Below is a favorite image of mine from the Trash the Dress blog!

Thank you to Jason Magbanua

2007-06-13T00:32:00.000-04:00

Jason has graciously allowed us to stream his Creative Excellence Award wining Same Day Edit in our WEVA's CEAs section! Jason's video joins other excellent award winners from Watermark Studios and D Vision Video.

Thank you Jason and good luck with this years competition!

Amy

Music for Montages and Love Stories

2007-06-10T17:02:00.000-04:00

There seem to be two constants in life:

1 Everyone loves a list, even if they don't agree with it they love a list.

2 Brides have a hard time choosing music for their related events.

Check it out ladies, under our planning pages we have a brand new list for you, of songs that can be used in photo montage productions and love stories! The list is broken down into 3 categories to make it easy for you. Category one is music for the ladies. Category to is one of the hardest to fill in, music for the guys and of course category three is music for both of you. We have attempted to assemble as many songs as possible in many styles and tempos. Also included is links to Amazon.com to listen or purchase the music listed!

We have more of these lists coming! Presently we are working on the Top 300 Dance Songs, Top 200 Wedding Songs, Songs for the Bride and Her Father, and Songs for the Groom and His Mother. Check back often!

Amy

Interesting Introduction Idea

2007-06-08T00:24:00.000-04:00

Over at The Best Wedding Reception Ever blog, there is an interesting idea for introducing the bride and groom at the reception. Check it out!

-Amy

YouTube and Family Weddings

2007-06-04T23:49:00.000-04:00

I love poking around on YouTube, I can waste hours on the site looking at all the memories caught on video. Today I was poking around in the weddings section when this little clip appeared.

The Wedding of George Fulford and Helen Goettsch on Sept. 7, 1935 in Minneapolis.

This family is so lucky! I'd love to have a video clip of either set of my grandparent's wedding! To see my grandfather in his prime strutting around. My grandmother, beautiful and full of life.

Wouldn't you love to see moving pictures of your granparent's at their wedding with friends and family? It's sad really, today when moving pictures and audio are available to every bride and groom through video only a small percentage are having one made. From my sister's wedding her video is her most treasured possession followed by the photos and the hanky dad wiped away her tears with before walking down the aisle. (The tuxedo shop charged dad $20 for that hanky! So dads if you think you may need on make sure you have one besides the pocket hanky that comes with the tuxedo rental!) I know we all want to make money but $20 for a cheap $2.00 hanky! Yesh!

But I digress.

Ladies, if you are thinking about having no video produced, watch that video again and ask youself, "If I could would I want to watch my grandparent's video?" If you say yes, then it's time to call one of our professionals!

And please hire a professional! So you don't end up with a pelvic trust into the camera by the groom. Not to mention all the earthquakes they seemed to be having during the dance.

Welcome to Bridal Films!

2007-06-03T13:58:00.001-04:00

I finally decided that a blog announcing the happenings around the site was needed, so welcome to Wedding Happenings. The title may be changing, I am not quite happy with it.

On the planning side we have a fantastic new article on what membership in professional associations should mean to you the consumer in choosing your vendors and service providers! Make sure you check it out.

To go along with our new association article we have decided to now list membership in the associations by displaying the association's logo in the company's listing. The logos of the professional associations are now shown at the lower right of the company's listing. For videographers WEVA, disc jockeys the ADJA and Wed Guild, photographers the PPA and the WPPI, plus the Association of Bridal Consultants since the allow non-consultant vendors in.