Weddingbee PRO

Wow! What a great wedding this was. Brianna and Jon wanted to have a fun and laid back wedding, so they decided to have it at her parents’ lake house. And for their reception/party they had a slip’n slide! What a perfect idea for a July wedding in Texas! We shot from sunrise to sunset and documented their entire day. The final film is amazing but I here is a taste from their trailer.

Brianna + Jon’s Super 8mm Wedding Trailer from Joe Simon Wedding Films on Vimeo.

November is always a hit or miss month as far as weather goes but Courtney and David had amazing weather. The weekend started with a costume theme Halloween rehearsal dinner. It was really fun! The wedding took place at Villa Antonia on November 1, 2008. Here’s their highlights film:

Courtney + David’s HD Wedding Highlights from Joe Simon Wedding Films on Vimeo.

Marion and Bill’s wedding took place in Houston on March 15, 2008. It was awesome! Marion and Bill were super nice and there wedding was beautiful. Take a look at their trailer.

Marion & William Wedding Trailer from Joe Simon Wedding Films on Vimeo.

Jamie and Anthony’s wedding trailer was posted a few days ago, here is their highlight video.

Jamie & Anthony Highlights from Joe Simon Wedding Films on Vimeo.

This is Ashley and Miguel’s Super 8mm wedding film. This was shot in May of last year at Villa Antonia which is just outside Austin, Texas. This couple was so great to work with, and you could tell they were perfect for each other! You couldn’t of asked for better weather to shoot some old-fashion film.

Ashley & Miguel Super 8mm wedding from Joe Simon Wedding Films on Vimeo.

There are a couple of reasons that I like it when a bride gets ready for her wedding day at her home.

First and foremost, there is usually good food there and the moms always feed me. Second, is that this environment can help the bride to be more comfortable, and she also tends to reflect more on how her life has brought her to this moment. The home creates such a beautifully personal and rich background for a wedding film.

Julie wanted to be at her childhood home on the morning of her wedding. She wanted her parents, sister and the girls she grew up with to be there with her too. And, she asked me to be there to document everything. I’m glad she did. Judging by the comments from all the people I talked to, it is clear that Julie is well loved. She is a beautiful person in every way.

Jeff (also known as Opie) has a slightly larger than life persona. Everyone knows and loves him. He is fearless, funny, sincere and just an all-around great person. The two of them make a really fun couple. It was a pleasure getting to know them and their family and friends.

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Here’s a trailer for a wedding we filmed on January 26 of last year. The ceremony was at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Kyle, Texas, followed by the reception at Creekside Pavillion in Driftwood. Jamie and Anthony had such a beautiful wedding! The weather was so perfect. I love winter weddings in Texas!

Jamie & Anthony’s HD Trailer from Joe Simon Wedding Films on Vimeo.

Neema and James were so much fun to work with. The wedding was amazing! The ceremony was held at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Sugarland Texas, followed by the reception at the Town Square Marriott. These guys know how to have a good time!

There of course was some nerviness before the ceremony. When you have such a big wedding (600 guests) it can be nerve racking to get up in front of them. But everything went smoothly, the vows were said, the kiss shared and the party started.

We set off on the party bus with food and drinks to get some fun shots of the bridal party. We somehow ended up at a Specs liquor store which made for some fun and different shots. One of the most memorable of my shooting career!

The reception at the Marriott was beautiful! The lighting design was subtle with vibrant colors, it gave the ball room a fresh feel. I always recommend lighting to my clients, it will turn any old ballroom into a master piece. The wedding party had awesome dancing entrances to different songs followed by the bride and groom who just killed the dance floor! Loved it!

The cake was cut, the first dance danced and then the real party started. The music was turned up and all the guests hit the dance floor and had the time of their lives!

Thanks to Neema + James for having us out to film their wedding day, we had an amazing time!

Neema + James’s Ingredients:

Wedding Planning - www.nventiveevents.com
Photography - www.pinkposh.com
Party Bus - www.royalcarriages.com
DJ - www.djrocky.com
Lighting - www.darrylmurchisondesign.com

Wow what a weekend! Stephen and Patricia had an amazing wedding in downtown Houston Texas. The ceremony and reception were held at the Magnolia Hotel. Patricia created an amazing look and feel for her wedding. With tons of “bling” mixed with pink and green, the colors were to die for! To top it all off we had an amazing filming session at the Houston Aquarium. It made for some really unique moments and some amazing shoots!

The Same Day Edit was a surprise for the guests and bridal party, and boy was it a surprise! We played the Same Day Edit in HD just after the cake cutting and everyone loved it! Hope you enjoy.

Stephen + Patricia’s wedding ingredients:

Event Planer -www.eventologyweddings.com
Photographer - www.sharonnicolephotography.com
Photo Booth - www.annierayevents.com

I first saw this clip about a month ago and was not only moved by it but was also very moved by the story behind it.  I know Bill (the groom) from the wedding industry and had the chance to meet Jennifer at a party a while back.  They are an amazing couple.

This clip was part of a film produced by wedding filmmaker, Scott Strimple of United Wedding.  Scott is a fellow Virginia-based filmmaker and someone who is truly a confidant and friend.  He has helped me tremendously as I began learning to navigate the ins and out of the business.  He’s a good guy as are the other folks that round out United Wedding, including Martin and Stephanie.

Outer Banks Wedding/Destination wedding video from United Wedding on Vimeo.

I asked Scott to tell us a little bit about the clip.

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We’re super excited to welcome another member to the Weddingbee PRO family -Austin, Texas-based wedding filmmaker Joe Simon! Joe’s been in the business for 10 years and has many wonderful films and videography related tips to share with us. Please welcome Joe to the PRO family!

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I couldn’t believe it when I received the email from Mrs. Bee asking me to be a PRO blogger! It’s truly amazing to be a part of such an inspiring community. I can’t wait to learn from each other as we take this journey forward!

My name is Joe Simon, and I make wedding films! Now I feel like I’ve just joined WFA (wedding filmmakers anonymous). Wedding video has always been the red- headed stepchild of the wedding industry -don’t mention that horrible phrase…wedding video! Oh no, there I’ve gone and said it. When I started making wedding videos back in 1999-2000, it was one of those things you didn’t want to tell your friends about. I mean who had ever seen a cool wedding video?

I got my start shooting extreme sports, most notably BMX. It was one of those things I loved to do but not something you can make a living doing. However, I wanted to live my dream; I wanted to make films! So, in 2000 I had a friend who was getting married and asked if I could film her wedding. I said sure why not. I got paid $200 for that first wedding video, and I had no idea what I was doing. I’m sure the video was terrible, but it started me on the path to where I am now. It took many years of filming to finally figure out that I didn’t need to follow the conventional wedding video look and feel, and when I finally broke away from that ill-fated thinking I felt the artistic freedom flow!

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