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When it comes to wedding coverage, whether it is photo or cinema, why is it just one day? Wor obvious reasons, the wedding day itself has tremendous value, but why do we limit ourselves to just that?

We often cover the bride and groom preparing things, such as presents or their vows, the morning of the wedding. Something has always irked with the timing of it all. Let’s say Chrystalle decides to write her vows to Michael the morning of the wedding. That is something that we would certainly focus on and would potentially be a big part of their SDE or main feature (assuming it meant something to them). But what if Chrystalle decides to put together her vows the day before the wedding // does it not have just as much meaning? Does it not contribute to the story just as much?

There are so many details that go into every wedding, but we often only see them when they come together. Before the bride can put on the dress, she had to go shopping, choose the right one, and go for several dress fittings. Each and every detail has a similar story. As story tellers, we started feeling like we were only capturing the tip of the iceberg and leaving so much behind.

With that the idea of Michael + Chrystalle’s film was born. We always ask ourselves // what do we not see at every single wedding we shoot? As we look at our own paradigms, one of the biggest things we never considered was why we weren’t looking beyond the wedding day itself.

Over a tasty east Asian inspired Indian lunch, we started plotting with Michael and Chrystalle. The idea for their film was rather simple. The execution of it, as is often the case, wasn’t nearly as straightforward as we had originally thought.

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On November 11th we boarded the Sea Dream yacht in Puerto Rico for Kim and Adam’s wedding; what a treat we were in for. I was first contacted by Adam to film their wedding just a few weeks earlier. He had seen a Cinevate ad that featured us in DV magazine and decided to contact us. Before we knew it, we were on the way to Puerto Rico!

We sailed from Puerto Rico to St. John overnight and woke up with the amazing scenery of the Virgin Islands. The wedding and reception were held on the Sea Dream yacht as it was anchored just off the shores of St. John.

Kim and Adam are a super cool couple from New York that wanted to have a wedding that was unique and different. The Sea Dream made for an amazing backdrop to host their wedding with 100 of their closest family and friends. The food was amazing - every meal offered something different but it was all to die for. Lobster, steak, mango jerk chicken and roasted duck are just a few of the savory courses that were offered.

Festivo handled the flowers and decor settings, creating a fun and tropical vibe for each location on the boat. Mary Bartolucci with Island Style Weddings did an amazing job of keeping the party going and making sure everything was perfect. And Table 4 Photography and I had a great time capturing everything as it happened!

The ceremony was held on the back deck - it rained at the beginning of the day but then became perfect for the ceremony. It ended with “mazeltov!” and on to the dinner portion of the reception.

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So much thought often goes into the bridal foot wear. All of the bridal details for that matter. The groom? Often some variation of a black dress shoe. But not for Michael. He needed some classic high tops to make his trek through downtown Toronto, across hot dog vendors, past a series of push-ups and a bad Bryan Adams remake, and finally, to Cypril // all with a hot dog still in hand.

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michael + cypril from stillmotion on Vimeo.

Vanessa & Tony had a super elegant wedding in Houston TX; everything was top notch from the beautifully amazing flowers to the 15 person band that had guests dancing all night long.

The ceremony was held at St. Annes Catholic church followed by the reception at the Corinthian in Downtown Houston.

Vanessa wanted a mix of HD and 16mm film to give their video a unique and nostalgic feel. 16mm film has such a beautiful texture and it really compliments skin tones.

The day was amazing, I’m so glad we were able to be apart of it!

Here is their Short Wedding Film!

Vanessa & Tony’s Short Wedding Film from Joe Simon Films on Vimeo.

Vanessa + Tony’s ingredients -

Event Planner - Lisa Newburn Events
Photographer - Donna Newman Photography
Flower Design - David Kurio
Lighting and Sound - Go Pro Sound

Phyllis had one of those feel good weddings. You know, the ones were you wear a huge smile on your face the whole way through. From her scandalous present to Adam in the morning, to their rather intense entrance into the hall, we had such a great time the whole way through.

It should be said the Phyllis is also Filipino. one cannot do an SDE for a Filipino bride without having her know about jmag. For those that don’t know, jmag is the godfather of the SDE. Back when we were wondering how something so complicated could even be possible, him and his team were churning out miracle edits. Years later, as SDE’s have become a staple for us, jmag has inspired a country, and it is amazing what they are doing over there.

Back to Phyllis. Knowing of the jmag influence and the high standards that come along with that, we were so happy when Phyllis chose us. It made things a little extra special knowing what we had to live up to.

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phyllis + adam // same day edit from stillmotion on Vimeo.

Christine & Charles were married in Houston Texas this past Saturday, October 3rd. The wedding took place at St. Annes Catholic Church followed by the reception at Hotel Derek. What a fun wedding!

The ceremony was actually short, about 25 mins. As they were walking back down the aisle Charles said “I can’t believe it went by so quickly”. From there they went on a photo shoot around DT Houston where they were chased by a few afternoon showers.

The cocktail hour started at Hotel Derek around 6pm where the guests were greeted by a candy buffet! Boy, all the green candy look really good, especially the rock candy. But my teeth said no and I had to pass. Once they made their grand entrance dinner was served and everyone danced the night away.

I really enjoyed shooting at Hotel Derek; it was nice to have the DJ set up off the dance floor. This created a cleaner look for the room as well as aided in making both my and the photographer’s shots better. I wish more events were set up like this.

Christine and Charles invested in one of our new offerings called the “Next Day Edit”. What we create is a 5-6 min highlights film from the wedding. We also edit the film right after the wedding, so you will receive your online version in 4-7 days. As you will see it takes you through all the emotions of the day.The pacing, music and shots are carefully selected and weaved together to create a one of a kind story. Enjoy!

Christine + Charles Short Wedding Film from Joe Simon Films on Vimeo.

A couple weeks ago we got a call from Canon. They had a new camera coming out, and they wanted us to give it a test drive. Sounds exciting right? But, having a camera before it’s announced, not being able to take it outside with any labels showing, and needing to be ultra top-secret certainly has its pressures. Nonetheless, we felt so lucky to get that call and were just waiting for the right oppurtunity to see what the camera could do.

Enter JC + Esther.

If I had to choose one word to describe these two it would be, without a doubt, organic. The dress Esther chose to wear was made entirely by her aunt Norma. Not only did she make the dress, she also helped Esther get into it on her wedding day. The beer at the reception was one of JC’s home brews. Their cakes stood atop towering stumps, their place cards set amongst a tray of grass, and the present JC got for Esther was unmistakeably original and very organic. All of this, and I haven’t even got to their so very touching vows.

Armed with two pre-production 7ds, I don’t know if I was quite prepared for all that I would experience that day. I’ll start with the imagery from the 7d, their highlights film, and follow up with some of our first impressions later in the week. If you’re interested in more technical details, follow the link to vimeo for a complete write-up.

Sorry for the tech speak at the beginning and ends, Canon asked us very nicely to share that with you since it is a pre-production camera.

jc plus esther // all 7d highlights from stillmotion on Vimeo.

I was super excited when Miss Kitten said they wanted to do a TTD (Trash the Dress) shoot the day after the wedding. I knew we had to find some cool locations and I started brainstorming right away.

We arrived to Grand Cayman Island 3 days before the wedding, which gave us time to scout some locations. We were staying in West Bay on the North side of Seven Mile Beach. Right around the corner from our place was an awesome beach and pier away from the tourist resorts. It made a great location and was empty the day we shot. The other building locations were on the same road as the cottage we stayed in; we even borrowed the bike from the owners to do the shot of Mr. and Mrs. Kitten riding! That was so fun!

Mr. and Mrs. Kitten were so awesome to work with, they smiled and laughed the whole time. I can only imagine how it felt to be in the same dress that just the day before was going down the isle towards Mr. Kitten and was now playing in the surf of the Cayman Islands! What an amazing two days!

So here it is, Mr. and Mrs. Kitten’s Trash the Dress!

Weddingbee’s Mr. and Mrs. Kitten were married on Grand Cayman Island on April 4, 2009.

We shot for three days over the event and captured so many great moments. The wedding was held at the Grand Old House on Grand Cayman Island. It had an amazing outdoor deck that ended at the water’s edge. Every day there was a beautiful sunrise and sunset which added to the great island atmosphere.

Mr. and Mrs. Kitten wanted a modern and unique wedding film that had both HD and Super 8mm film. We blended them together during editing to give the film a vintage twist. Here is their highlights film.

Mr. and Mrs. Kitten’s ingredients -

Wedding Planner - Celebrations
Venue - Grand Old House
Photographer - The Nichols

This weeks featured filmmaker is Ray Roman of Ray Roman Films.

Ray has become well known around the country for his extraordinary camera work and cinematic storytelling.   I have been following Ray for the past year and am constantly amazed by the quality of his work.

I asked Ray to let me feature some of his work and to tell us a little bit about the couple, the event and how he approached the creation of this piece.

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