Happy Mother of the Bride

Just sent out Allison and Eric's video. They were married at St. Mary's Church in Longmeadow, MA, with the reception at Longmeadow Country Club. Got this e-mail from the Allison's mother:

"The videos arrived today. What an absolutely wonderful job you did capturing so much detail as well as all the warm feelings. Everything is clear and beautiful and the sound is fantastic. Thank you so very much. It was worth the wait!!!!"

Gingerbread House

No, we did not make this. As much as we mean to be ambitious each year, we never got around to making our own. But each year, we bid on a house (or two) at the Hartsbrook School Holiday Fair in Hadley, MA. This is what we won this year, put together by some students at the school.

Cookies

My daughters and I made a traditional holiday cookie this past weekend. I don't know the "real" name of the cookie, but it's one my mom always made, and still does. I think it's a Slovak recipe.

They're a rolled pastry cookie, filled with apricot, apple, or prune butter (which sounds better if you use the Hungarian or Slovak word "lekvar"). Serve topped with powdered sugar. Yum!

First Churches Northampton

Northampton regained a beautiful wedding venue when First Churches Northampton reopened after a long, 2 million dollar repair project. If you're looking for a location for your Northampton wedding, you'll want to have this on your list of places to see.

Slow Turkey

Well, I tried Mark Bittman's fast-cook turkey recipe (NY Times blog). My turkey turned out fine, taste-wise, but it took almost 2 and a half hours (instead of the estimated 1 hour for my 16-pound bird) and delayed our dinner. Luckily, our guests were in no hurry and were gracious about the wait.

Wedding at St. Michael's in East Longmeadow

On Friday, I was at St. Michael's Church in East Longmeadow, MA, to tape Theresa and Ben's wedding. Theresa's cousin flew in from Ireland to celebrate the wedding Mass. Though it was raining on and off most of the day, the bride and groom seemed to avoid the heaviest downpours. The reception was at La Renaissance in East Windsor, CT—a great place to accomodate a large wedding.

Totally new to me was the Photo Booth, which you can rent for weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, reunions, etc. It's one of those boardwalk photo booths that take your picture four times, then spits out a strip of black and white photos. It was a huge hit! There was a steady stream of guests using it for all six hours of the reception. Guests were encouraged to leave their favorites in a basket for the bride and groom. Scissors provided.

Speakers' Bureau Demo

Did a quick job last week editing together some clips for a client in Las Vegas. He was putting together a demo DVD of public speaking appearances for submission to a speakers' bureau. His producer is from Northampton, so it was convenient for her to drop in for approvals at various stages of editing.

Hotel Northampton Video, Happy Bride

Why Didn't I Post This Earlier? Am I out of my mind? I received a fabulous note from a wedding client in April, but never posted it. Laura and Jeremy were married at the Abbey Chapel at Mount Holyoke College, with the reception at the Hotel Northampton, in Northampton, MA:

Dear Tom,

My husband and I are completely blown away by your work. You really captured the essence of the day. When you asked me what sort of feel I wanted the video to have, I told you "fairytale." I was so impressed by the way you added those fairytale/magical elements without it becoming cheesey or silly. You still retained the elegant/romantic quality while infusing a magical/fairytale element, and it truly is a work of art. A great example of this balance between elegance and fairytale is in the opening you created for the video. In this opening, you took shots of the outside of the chapel before people have arrived, and you allow us to hear the wind blowing, the birds chirping, and to see the trees swaying in the wind. It feels so magical and at the same time sacred, and it is such a brilliant way to begin the story. It felt like the opening to an epic romance film!

And you go on to capture so many moving moments throughout the day. We were truly impressed to find that watching the video felt like we were stepping back in time. The way you captured the walk down the aisle was just so beautiful. And the way you edit the ceremony was perfect. We feel there is nothing missing from the ceremony and yet at the same time it is certainly edited in a way so that the ceremony does not feel long.

We also love what you did with the highlights section. You really surprised me when you went from black and white to color as I walked down the aisle and changed the music from the original "A Dream is A Wish Your heart Makes" to the contemporary pop version to match the color change. That was a really inspired choice and I really love it. The highlights feel like a music video of all the best moments of the day.

I don't know if you did this on purpose, but Jeremy noticed that the first words we hear spoken in the video is Jeremy saying to the groomsmen "let's move forward" (meaning let's go into the chapel.) It is such a symbolic way to begin the video. We also love how in the opening, when you are showing the chapel and the nature around the chapel, you show two of what I think are lilies of the valley. They look like little wedding bells and there are also two of them. Again, it just seemed very symbolic.

We also loved how you used the music requests we had. The change to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" fit so perfectly with the change of mood. And we did notice how the lyrics matched different moments of the film. And we love how you used the instrumentation of "Storybook Love."

I think one of my favorite moments is the first dance between my husband and I. You really captured all of the intimacy and emotion of the moment. It was lovely to watch and to remember what we were feeling and thinking as we danced. You just struck such a perfect balance between capturing the funny and light moments and capturing the emotional and romantic moments.

We think we may want to order the raw footage just so that we have it, but we feel like you really captured everything. And the editing is so flawless, and it truly feels more like a film than a boring/long wedding video. My husband, to be honest, was fairly indifferent to the idea of a video since he is camera shy, but he has rewatched this video over and over again because he loves all of the memories and moments captured.

You were definitely one of the best investments and choices we made for that day. You far exceeded our expectations for the wedding video.

Thank you so much for making this truly a work of art. And I know that when we watch this on our 50th anniversary, we will still feel so much gratitude that we had such a wonderful artist capturing our day for us.

Sincerely,
Laura

Massachusetts Horticultural Society

Located just outside Wellesley, MA, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society boasts a gorgeous setting for wedding or corporate events.

The weddings I've taped there have all been amazing events. There really isn't a bad angle for shooting outside. And I love the Hunnewell Building, where the receptions are usually held. As a videographer, I appreciate that the room stays pretty light for shooting, so I don't have to resort to adding gain, which adds grainy look to the video.

I highly recommend checking out their site if you're planning a wedding in the Boston area. They are also looking for donations to their Annual Fund, if you'd like to show your support.

Mount Holyoke College, Hotel Northampton

1st Anniversary thank you from a bride's mother:

Dear Tom,
Okay, I know I already sent you an email about the wonderful job you did on my daughter's and son's-in-law video, but I just had to write again. Because they just had their first anniversary, and because we were together with relatives for the fourth of July, we played the video for everyone. They couldn't get over how truly beautiful it is. We are amazed that you took a whole day and managed to condense it into a beautiful work of art. I guess in these days, anyone can point a camera and record an event, but your artistic choices on what to film and how to edit it (I suspect the most important part of the job) made it stunning. Thank-you again.
Lorraine

(Laura and Jeremy were married at Abbey Chapel on the campus of Mount Holyoke College, with a reception at the Hotel Northampton.)

Fairmont Copley Plaza

Posting some video stills from Amy and Vivek's wedding at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston in late April:

Local First

Attended a meeting last night at The Northampton Brewery, the oldest operating brewpub in the Northeast. Independent business owners were gathering to hear about Pioneer Valley Local First, part of a nationwide network encouraging people to buy into their local economies and support their local businesses. The emphasis is on sustainable, environmentally-conscious ways of building strong local economies. Defintely worth checking out their website, and that of their parent organization, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE).

New Thank You

Just received this e-mail from Susan and Anthony:

Hi Tom,
I have been travelling for business and was pleasantly surprised with
our video when I returned. We love it!!! Thank you so much for your
great work. It is an awesome documentation of our entire wedding and
captures exactly how we felt that day. It was so nice to watch it and
relieve it! We look forward to making it a tradition to watch it each
year on our anniversary.

The Bradley Home

The Bradley Home video has been finished for a while, but now is online on their website.

Built in 1938 to serve the aged community of Central Connecticut, The Bradley Home is located in Meriden, CT. The staff were great, and the residents were amazing. Everyone we talked to couldn't stop praising the place. They have some beautiful gardens which the residents help maintain. We spent a day and a half there shooting a promotional video which they will use on their website and distribute on DVD to potential residents and their families.

Fairmont Copley Plaza

Videotaped Amy and Vivek's wedding yesterday at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston. They had their Hindu ceremony in a great ballroom, with balconies all along the one side. It made for many great angles. After the ceremony, during cocktails, the ballroom was made over for the reception—they worked fast!

Another nice note

Received lately from Rosanna and Joseph, married in NY last year:

"We just wanted to thank you for the beautiful DVD. We will have this wonderfully crafted memory for the rest of our lives! Thank you!"




This was the first wedding I shot with my new Canon XH A1 camera, and I was very happy with the results—the picture was very sharp, and I really enjoyed composing shots in the 16x9 format.

Thank you note

Just received from Kelly and Ryan, who were married at Elms College Chapel in Chicopee, MA and had their reception at the Yankee Pedlar Inn in Holyoke:

Dear Tom,
Wow! What an amazing job you did creating our wedding video! Not only are Ryan and I thrilled with the results, you also impressed my mother and my mother-in-law! We are so happy with your work and we are certain the DVDs will get plenty of use. Thank you so much!!

Lord Jeffery Inn

Met with Anne and Jiuming last night about doing their wedding video. They are getting married at St. Brigid's Church in Amherst, MA with a reception at the Lord Jeffery Inn, also in Amherst.

The question of high definition (HD) came up, and we talked about how important is it, is it worth the extra cost, what are the differences between standard def and high def. I thought Jiuming made a great point when he suggested that the video be shot using the typical technology of the day, which, in this case, would be standard definition. Your parents' or grandparents' wedding might have been captured on silent black-and-white film, placing it in a cultural and historical context. In the same way, shooting in standard definition now places your wedding in a specific cultural and historical context—so maybe you don't need to fret about high def versus standard.

To be sure, I love to use the new technology, I can shoot in HD, and I enjoy HD projects, so I'm ready for the next era of wedding video, too.

Bridal Sale Blowout!

Just heard about this bridal gown sale through the DJ Network:

Wednesday, Feb. 27th 4-9pm, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Springfield, MA (next to the Basketball Hall of Fame). All bridal gowns are on sale for $199 (originally $800-2500).

Violin Audition

On Tuesday, I videotaped an audition for a violin camp. Apparently, certain camps are getting very competitive, with students expected to submit a professional-looking demo. The 13-year-old violinist sounded great, playing two very complex pieces (a little daunting for me, since I just got a violin for Christmas and I'm having trouble with "Twinkle, Twinkle").

I had done another one of these a couple of years ago for someone doing a singing demo for another camp. I love doing these just to see the talent that's hiding out here in the valley.

Bridal Show Coming Up

March 9th I will have a booth at the Western New England Spring Bridal Show at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. The show will include a fashion show by Bancroft Bridals of Agawam and live wedding bands.

Look for my booth—I will be offering an iPod nano loaded with your wedding highlights to anyone who books a date with us at the show!

La Renaissance

Met with Theresa and Ben in West Hartford today about producing their wedding video. They are getting married at St. Michael's in East Longmeadow, MA with a reception at La Renaissance in East Windsor, CT.

They are expecting a big crowd with 350 guests—not to worry, the La Renaissance can handle up to 800!

The Log Cabin

Met with Mirella and Rich today about producing their wedding video. They are getting married at The Log Cabin in Holyoke, MA. It is located on Mt. Tom, and has spectacular views. They will be in the Southampton room, which has a huge bank of windows with a southern exposure. Their late September wedding should give them beautiful views of the autumn leaves.

The Hartsbrook School

Taping today at the Hartsbrook School in Hadley, MA. Got a little bit of wet-on-wet watercolor painting in the two kindergarten classrooms. So sweet! Also, some of the kindergarteners were hauling around big wooden boards and things to make slides and pirate ships in their classroom.

Then, off to the eighth grade for a physics class. Learning about water displacement, their challenge was to shape a 8-by-8 inch sheet of aluminum foil so that it could hold the maximum number of pennies while floating in water. Looked like a lot of fun. When I left, one group had reported floating 104 pennies in their boat. Try it at home!

Costofwedding.com

Have you seen this site? You can enter a zip code or city name from anywhere in the country and get a look at the average wedding cost for that area. Here are some I entered:
Hartford—$33,700
Norwalk, CT—$56,740
Boston—$40,900
Springfield, MA—$26,780
Providence—$27,940
Brattleboro—$24,480