On my birthday a few years ago, my wife bought me a beautiful leather bound notebook. “What’s this for,” I asked? “It’s to write all these ideas you have down, so you don’t forget them” she told me. What a gift it was. I have a lot of ideas in my book. There’s a few that have been in there for a long time and may never come to life. Others ideas, like the letters I like to have the couples write to each other the night before the wedding, I use all the time.
I had an idea for an epic movie trailer, but didn’t feel like I had the right backdrop. I needed a location with ornate architecture and a feeling of grandeur. Then Sara Ranson called from Viva Bella Events to ask if we were open for a wedding at Plum Street Temple with the reception held at the breathtaking Hall of Mirrors at the Cincinnati Netherland Hilton. I had what I needed and the idea has become a reality.
Meet Amber and Michael, who’s wedding was amazing. Everything is coming together and we still have few more weeks before we finish. Here’s a little preview of things to come.
Sometimes I hear the words “Well, we really don’t have a wedding video in our budget”. “Why” is all I ask. Think about it, your wedding photos are going to be it, well that and what you remember. Nothing against all my photographer friends, they capture you day differently, one frame at a time. We really do work together as a team.
Which brings up another point, hired a great photographer, you’re only going to do this once. (There’s a few of my personal favorites off to the right).
A wedding video (or film as I prefer) is a time machine that takes you back to the movement, sight and sounds of your greatest day. The cool part of our job at Lifetime is to put the three together. I love to have the couples write a letter to each other the night before the wedding and have them read it to me right before the see each other the day of. In the clip you’ll see below, I just asked Teresa at question. What follows is an amazing journey of this couples day.
Think of your wedding budget as a pie and you have to cut out slices. Make sure you cut one out for the people that can take you back. You’ll have this forever and you might even show it to your kids someday.
Meet Teresa and Jeremy, one of my personal favorite couples of all time. They were nothing short of amazing to work with. We just clicked from the get go. We’re almost at the half way point and I know you’re dying to see what we’ve been working on. Here’s a quick preview. I’ll be in touch soon,
This is just an opinion I have formed after almost 20 years of observing weddings. I believe a successful and enjoyable wedding is based on how things move. Are you organized? Time is your enemy on the wedding day. Things do go by in a blur and you’re trying to get so much into one day. If you can, think of all your wedding vendors as one unit or a team. For one day we will quietly cheer on you and your future “teammate for life.” We want your wedding to rock. Here’s a couple suggestions that I think make a successful wedding day:
Suggestion #1 “Why can’t we be friends?”
I have mentioned a few times here on the Lifecasting blog about the photographer and videographer working well together on your wedding day. If we’re not clicking as a “team” then we’re working against you. All of your vendors should “click”. Ask vendors who they enjoy working with. Assemble your own “Dream Team”. Off to the right hand side and down a little of this post are categories of vendors we know and love to work with. They all have proven track records in their given fields.
Suggestion #2 Who’s the quarterback?
Hire a great planner/coordinator!! This is the quarterback of your vendor team, watching the clock and keeping things moving. He or she can alleviate so must stress on this one day. Even if you only do a “Day of” coordination, you’ll be amazed at how well a top notch wedding coordinator can keep things on track.
All these things came together in October with Ashley and Brian’s wedding. Chris Joecken continues to impress with his seamless editing; this time putting together a precise timed highlight from the whole day.
I love to chat with brides before we start editing their production. The reason is, I want to see what you remember from your entire wedding day. Beside your photographs and your memories, your wedding film is it. My goal is to give our brides a time machine to go back to this one day. I also love to ask “Do you remember what your husband’s reaction was”? “Kinda, but I couldn’t see him when I first started down the aisle” is the most common response.
Meet Dana and Stephen. Just as I happened to catch this stunning woman looking at herself in the mirror minutes before seeing her future husband. I told her “I guarantee he’s gonna cry when he sees you” “If she was in sweats he’d cry…” one of the bridesmaids replied. After I found this gem in time, I decided to build their wedding trailer around Stephen’s reaction.
Some fantastic camera work by Lifetime lead Chris Joecken. He’s just in the right place at the right time as you’ll see.
Some of my great wedding friends and some of the absolute BEST wedding vendors in all of Cincinnati teamed up for this one:
Outdoor weddings are my personal favorite. There isn’t a better light designer than God. Although you do run the risk of having rain while celebrating outside, when the weather does cooperate there’s absolutely nothing else like it. I love the sun shot Dan Shallenberger captures in this latest Highlight Reel. Laurie & Mohammed, you’re production still has a couple of weeks before we deliver, but as you can see, it’s coming along very nicely.
What gets me excited is music. Epic music that is seamlessly timed out to the visual scenes from a beautiful wedding. Meet Christine and Nathan, who had an incredible day as you’ll see here.
Nearly everyone but myself from the Lifetime team help put this latest wedding trailer together and I am so proud, this is great! Some fantastic shooting by Dan, Greg and Mark with Chris Joeken’s editing make this fast paced trailer so fun to watch.
What an amazing couple this is. They seriously look like they fell off of a fashion magazine cover, and were a complete joy to work with. Kelly & Greg your production is finished and it’s wonderful. Please contact me when you get a chance. We thought you’d like another preview to hold you until tomorrow
We have been wanting to showcase the Cincinnati Art Museum as a venue for a wedding for a while. It was absolutely a perfect fit for Bethaine & Michael who had most of the Lifetime team on their wedding day. Dan, Mark and myself were a shooting tag team from morning until night. Our newest member Chris Joecken shows off his editing skills putting this highlight together. A nice debut Chris.
A sincerly thanks to Jen Daut of Your Wedding by Jen for recommending Lifetime for this one.
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