Lillian and Zen got married on a beautiful day in DC. The ceremony took place at the Washington DC Buddhist Culture Center, which was actually surrounded by all sorts of different embassies and right across the street is a Russian Orthodox church my mother and I shot at in 2008, so it was a familiar area:) The ceremony went off w/o a hitch and the footage turned out great! This was a traditional Buddhist ceremony so there were some challenges as you're not supposed to photograph or video the altar directly, but I was able to set up a nice spot off to the side of Lillian and Zen to film from most of the time during the more traditional parts of the ceremony. So it turned out great! I thought the photo shoot afterward was going to get rained out as it had started to drizzle as soon as the ceremony ended, but that quickly moved out for some great pictures!
This wedding had a first for me... the ceremony in DC and the reception in Baltimore. My biggest concern was traffic, but it turned out to be a light traffic day around 495 & 95 so that wasn't a problem! And just when you thought you've filmed everywhere in your home city, I was introduced to the Pazo Restaurant, just east of the downtown district. This place was SUPER cool... I've even been meaning to go there on my own time to enjoy an evening one night soon. Anyway, the reception at Pazo didn't have a traditional type layout as it's typically a restaurant, but you can rent the place for all sorts of events and for weddings it is really nice! The ceilings are a couple stories high... the entire place is clad with all sorts of art-deco, traditional paintings and had a great European feel in general. There are even private rooms on the second level for the bride, groom and bridal party to retreat to. If you're into something a little less traditional for your wedding reception, or just want to hang at a pretty cool spot in Baltimore, check out Pazo.
Lillian and Zen were great throughout the day! Zen is actually a big Raven's fan and I was keeping him posted on the score of the game that day... haha. At the reception, they both had practiced Salso dancing and really got the crowd riled up with their first dance! I even got some footage of them practicing before the reception in their private room which is going to look really good in a segment of the video. Finally, and I think I've mentioned this before in another post, but at every wedding there's always a guest that looks like a celebrity. Usually it's a random guest, but on this day, Lillian's father took that prize! I know he's of Latin heritage, but boy, he sure looks a little like Ronald Reagan to me! Gave a pretty good toast too:) He makes the cut in their Spotlight video on a few occasions during the formal pictures and the father/daughter dance at the reception. Check it out and see what you think!
Anyway, great wedding all around. Good luck to Lillian and Zen and bravo on the reception location... super cool place... food was awesome too!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Megan & Michael Up!
Filmed for another familiar family here! Lots of great little personal backstories on this one, but I'll get into that later. Megan & Michael wed at the same place Mike's sister Melissa got married, Sacred Heart of Mary in Baltimore. My mom and I filmed Melissa and Ivan's wedding back in 2005. This time around, my mom and dad, Sandy & Mike, handled shooting on this one as I was already booked for another wedding. I'll let my mom talk about the wedding more (if she can ever figure out how to post on this blog), but I can say her and my father got some great shots! I think my dad is the best 'tripod' camera guy in the world... at least on the Buerhaus Design staff. He always gets fantastic shots from the main camera, especially if he's on a balcony. I also used yet another new editing technique in Megan and Mike's Spotlight video:) I'm finding more and more that I'm trying something new with every video I do now. This time around I tried a 'quad' screen for the opening scene. Turned out pretty cool!
Anyway, the backstories...
I grew up in Baltimore and ironically went to Catholic school, and Mass, at Sacred Heart of Mary through the 4th grade before moving to Bel Air. Every day we'd head over to the church from the school building right next door and say a rosary. I think once a week we had confession. Although I'm not a huge religious guy now (I call myself a C&E Catholic... Christmas and Easter... get it?! Um... err), I have a lot of fond memories of Sacred Heart. From the Christmas plays and chorus where I was always an angel (still remember my cardboard wings wrapped in aluminum foil), to the summer festivals (you know... the ones with a ferris wheel and random games set up) to even getting slapped on the knuckles with a wooden ruler from time to time for throwing spitballs.
Am I getting that old? Do they even make wooden rulers anymore? Don't they lock up people now for correcting kids with a ruler?!
Anyway, when I filmed for Melissa and Ivan in 2005 (seems like yesterday), I was shocked to see the school had closed! It was kind-of a bummer to realize:( I always pictured sending my kids one day to a school like that. My first crush was realized at Sacred Heart too. The same girl that was in my class for years (you stayed in the same class from year to year with maybe a couple of faces changing) I fell in love with. Can't remember her name, but can remember her face (time to go rooting for my 'baby box' and see if my old class pictures are in there!).
Well, as if the world wasn't small enough, it turns out that at the Reception of Melissa and Ivan's wedding, Melissa's (and Mike's) mom, Diana, began chatting with my mom while she was taking a break from filming. They put two and two together and low-and-behold, they both not only went to Sacred Heart, but were in the same class together! Really amazing stuff:)
Anyway, that's enough for my trip down memory lane for the night. I need to get some rest and dive right back into editing on Thursday. This was an extremely busy fall season and I'd like to get as many videos as I can back to folks by New Years! At least all of my clients through October. Right now I'm on a 10 week turnaround, but that figure is closing fast. I'm totally in a groove editing wise with no corporate work during the week to tie me up, which has been the case the last couple of weeks.
Anyway, the backstories...
I grew up in Baltimore and ironically went to Catholic school, and Mass, at Sacred Heart of Mary through the 4th grade before moving to Bel Air. Every day we'd head over to the church from the school building right next door and say a rosary. I think once a week we had confession. Although I'm not a huge religious guy now (I call myself a C&E Catholic... Christmas and Easter... get it?! Um... err), I have a lot of fond memories of Sacred Heart. From the Christmas plays and chorus where I was always an angel (still remember my cardboard wings wrapped in aluminum foil), to the summer festivals (you know... the ones with a ferris wheel and random games set up) to even getting slapped on the knuckles with a wooden ruler from time to time for throwing spitballs.
Am I getting that old? Do they even make wooden rulers anymore? Don't they lock up people now for correcting kids with a ruler?!
Anyway, when I filmed for Melissa and Ivan in 2005 (seems like yesterday), I was shocked to see the school had closed! It was kind-of a bummer to realize:( I always pictured sending my kids one day to a school like that. My first crush was realized at Sacred Heart too. The same girl that was in my class for years (you stayed in the same class from year to year with maybe a couple of faces changing) I fell in love with. Can't remember her name, but can remember her face (time to go rooting for my 'baby box' and see if my old class pictures are in there!).
Well, as if the world wasn't small enough, it turns out that at the Reception of Melissa and Ivan's wedding, Melissa's (and Mike's) mom, Diana, began chatting with my mom while she was taking a break from filming. They put two and two together and low-and-behold, they both not only went to Sacred Heart, but were in the same class together! Really amazing stuff:)
Anyway, that's enough for my trip down memory lane for the night. I need to get some rest and dive right back into editing on Thursday. This was an extremely busy fall season and I'd like to get as many videos as I can back to folks by New Years! At least all of my clients through October. Right now I'm on a 10 week turnaround, but that figure is closing fast. I'm totally in a groove editing wise with no corporate work during the week to tie me up, which has been the case the last couple of weeks.
Tiffany & Greg now up on the Spotlight!
Yet again, more familiar faces in this wedding! I filmed Greg's sister Kristi's wedding back in 2004 at the Belvedere in Baltimore. It was nice to see so many folks I became acquainted with at Kristi's wedding! I'm not sure how much of a hand Greg had in the planning (let's face it guys, the women usually take care of everything! We usually gotta pull out our check books though... haha), but I had the pleasure to work closely with his mom Sue during the planning stages on this one. Needless to say, everything went smoothly! Well... except for the weather maybe. More on that later.
This wedding took place at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, my 'home' venue:) Erin Janes was the coordinator on this one and about the only thing out of her control was the weather. It rained pretty good for most of the day, and Erin could have done the ceremony inside if necessary, but Tiffany was set on doing the ceremony outside on the bay! Didn't matter if it 'were a Hurricane', I thought I heard her tell her father at one point! So, the guests needed umbrellas and I needed something to waterproof my cameras! The main camera was fine under an umbrella, but my B-Cam was completely exposed. I was going to wrap it in a trash bag (I know, high-tech, huh?), when one of the wait staff recommended saran wrap. What a great idea! Not only did the camera wrap up watertight with it, but it functioned perfectly. So, saran wrap is always with me from now on!
The rain turned out to be pretty awesome... everyone had multi-colored umbrellas and it really made for interesting video and photos. You can see the scene in the Spotlight video here, but I think Don Bryant has a bunch of pictures posted over on his blog. Really cool! Always a pleasure to work with Don and his wife too:) Thankfully it wasn't raining hard which would have been a total bummer... so it turned out nice! Definitely a first for me. Usually the mere hint of rain forces everything inside... not this time! I'm glad Tiffany decided to go ahead with things on the lawn. Besides, they say rain is good luck on the wedding day, right?
The reception was great featuring yet more familiar faces on the turntable, John Paul from Absolute Entertainment kept the dance floor jam packed. He was also sporting yet another suit I've never seen before. I think he could rival Deion Sanders for the most suits in one man's closet (if anyone is familiar with Deion's show on the NFL Network). Let's just say both guys like variety! Subsequently, Jason Canaan from Absolute is handling 'the noise' at my brother Brandan's wedding in July... can't wait for that!
As for the food and staff at the Beach Club, what can I say? I'm hoping they let me move into one of the loft's down there:)
Good luck to Tiffany and Greg going forward!
This wedding took place at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, my 'home' venue:) Erin Janes was the coordinator on this one and about the only thing out of her control was the weather. It rained pretty good for most of the day, and Erin could have done the ceremony inside if necessary, but Tiffany was set on doing the ceremony outside on the bay! Didn't matter if it 'were a Hurricane', I thought I heard her tell her father at one point! So, the guests needed umbrellas and I needed something to waterproof my cameras! The main camera was fine under an umbrella, but my B-Cam was completely exposed. I was going to wrap it in a trash bag (I know, high-tech, huh?), when one of the wait staff recommended saran wrap. What a great idea! Not only did the camera wrap up watertight with it, but it functioned perfectly. So, saran wrap is always with me from now on!
The rain turned out to be pretty awesome... everyone had multi-colored umbrellas and it really made for interesting video and photos. You can see the scene in the Spotlight video here, but I think Don Bryant has a bunch of pictures posted over on his blog. Really cool! Always a pleasure to work with Don and his wife too:) Thankfully it wasn't raining hard which would have been a total bummer... so it turned out nice! Definitely a first for me. Usually the mere hint of rain forces everything inside... not this time! I'm glad Tiffany decided to go ahead with things on the lawn. Besides, they say rain is good luck on the wedding day, right?
The reception was great featuring yet more familiar faces on the turntable, John Paul from Absolute Entertainment kept the dance floor jam packed. He was also sporting yet another suit I've never seen before. I think he could rival Deion Sanders for the most suits in one man's closet (if anyone is familiar with Deion's show on the NFL Network). Let's just say both guys like variety! Subsequently, Jason Canaan from Absolute is handling 'the noise' at my brother Brandan's wedding in July... can't wait for that!
As for the food and staff at the Beach Club, what can I say? I'm hoping they let me move into one of the loft's down there:)
Good luck to Tiffany and Greg going forward!
Paula & Enzo now up!
This was a fun wedding in DC! I actually filmed for Paula's sister, Christina, way back in 2006 (can't believe how fast time is flying). It's always nice filming for family of clients from the past... lots of familiar faces:) Anyway, Holy Rosary church is either really easy to get to or a real mystery to find. When I filmed Christina's wedding back in 2006 I got completely lost... which isn't the norm for me as I'm very familiar with DC. You have to take the 395 underpass off of NY Avenue and it's the second or third exit. That ramp takes you almost literally right into the sanctuary of Holy Rosary. Miss that exit though and you're suddenly on a wild-goose chase as it's not easy to backtrack! Learned my lesson from Christina's wedding though so I found where I was going with no problem this time.
My cousin Bailey worked this wedding with me. She's got a few under her belt now and it seems like everyone in my family is just a natural with filming:) I also got the opportunity to work with one of my favorite photographers, Sandi Foraci, who subsequently is who my brother Brandan and his fiance Meghan chose to do the pictures for their wedding coming up in July:) Sandi does absolutely amazing work and is always a pleasure to work with... a true professional.
Some highlights from Paula & Enzo's wedding was our shoot at the Capitol building. We were kinda bummed because Sandi and I have a friend that works on the Capitol police force. We had been in touch with him and he said to give him a buzz when we were on our way to the Capitol for the 'VIP' tour for some great shots. What he forgot to tell us is he changed his cell phone number! So somebody with our friend's old number got a few texts and voicemails from us... lol. We still wound up getting some great shots though. One of those double-decker tour busses was parked out front and the driver let us 'come aboard' for some cool poses. It's always fun to do something spontaneous like that... Sandi and I are always looking for that sort-of thing. Makes each shoot more unique. The weather was outstanding and it wasn't that crowded so we got great images and video with the Capitol in the background. Enzo even broke out his Redskins jersey for a few (GO RAVENS!!! haha).
At the reception, things went as planned. I put together a full blown montage for Paula and Enzo which Bailey and I set up and projected during dinner... it really had people laughing and of course, got a few eyes a little welled up:) Montages are always a great way to bring two families together!
All-in-all, a great shoot! Worked with awesome vendors, the weather was great, Enzo, Paula and their families were very accommodating and most importantly, the Ravens won that day! I root for the 'Skins too though, so hopefully they can put it together next year, Enzo!
My cousin Bailey worked this wedding with me. She's got a few under her belt now and it seems like everyone in my family is just a natural with filming:) I also got the opportunity to work with one of my favorite photographers, Sandi Foraci, who subsequently is who my brother Brandan and his fiance Meghan chose to do the pictures for their wedding coming up in July:) Sandi does absolutely amazing work and is always a pleasure to work with... a true professional.
Some highlights from Paula & Enzo's wedding was our shoot at the Capitol building. We were kinda bummed because Sandi and I have a friend that works on the Capitol police force. We had been in touch with him and he said to give him a buzz when we were on our way to the Capitol for the 'VIP' tour for some great shots. What he forgot to tell us is he changed his cell phone number! So somebody with our friend's old number got a few texts and voicemails from us... lol. We still wound up getting some great shots though. One of those double-decker tour busses was parked out front and the driver let us 'come aboard' for some cool poses. It's always fun to do something spontaneous like that... Sandi and I are always looking for that sort-of thing. Makes each shoot more unique. The weather was outstanding and it wasn't that crowded so we got great images and video with the Capitol in the background. Enzo even broke out his Redskins jersey for a few (GO RAVENS!!! haha).
At the reception, things went as planned. I put together a full blown montage for Paula and Enzo which Bailey and I set up and projected during dinner... it really had people laughing and of course, got a few eyes a little welled up:) Montages are always a great way to bring two families together!
All-in-all, a great shoot! Worked with awesome vendors, the weather was great, Enzo, Paula and their families were very accommodating and most importantly, the Ravens won that day! I root for the 'Skins too though, so hopefully they can put it together next year, Enzo!
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