A Fireworks Finale

I was really excited when Lauren contacted me about putting together her wedding highlight video. Lauren and Andy married in June 2008 and had fantastic photographs taken by Wedding Belles Photography (Kansas City) to show their friends and family and treasure for a lifetime.

Her Maid of Honor was my co-worker Melissa, the bride featured in the Lucky 7.7.7 highlight video below. Lauren, who was also in Melissa's wedding, saw how video and photos could come together to make a wedding highlight video and asked me to put together hers. Lauren and Melissa were in the same boat, in that they both had video shot by a friend or family member and beautiful wedding day photos — but were lacking an artistic way to watch them both at the same time.

That's where I come in. No matter what video you might have, there's always a way to put your video and photos together in a way that you'll want to watch it over and over again!

The couple was just absolutely stunning and while I was editing their video together, I could feel the excitement and love while watching their video and browsing through their wonderful photographs. Lauren and Andy had a beautiful wedding day filled with love, family and friends that ended with a bang - literally! Check out their wedding highlight video below and see for yourself.

Meet the McKedy's

Cara (Davidson) McKedy and I met through a mutual friend, Darbi (Gibson) Hebrank. In fact, we were both bridesmaids in Darbi's wedding back in June 2007. I met Cody shortly after meeting Cara and I thought they were an adorable couple — always smiling at each other whether they were a foot apart or across the room from each other.

I was excited and honored when Cara and Cody asked if I would tape their wedding highlight video. They had a beautiful ceremony and reception at the Whitmoor Country Club in St. Charles. It was my first video wedding shoot when the bride and groom met and took photos before the ceremony — this gave the bride and groom lots of time to get priceless photos and memories together before exchanging their vows. Check out all the locations Cara and Cody and their wedding party went to in their photography session in their wedding highlight video below.

This was also my first interaction with photographer Clary Pfeiffer (who was given rave reviews by Darbi). Clary takes absolutely amazing photos whose images seem to just wrap you up in the moment the shot was taken. You feel like you were there with the bride in groom while browsing through their photos.

I really enjoyed capturing Cara and Cody's day for them and putting together their wedding highlight video. Cara and Cody were a dream couple to work with, their wedding party provided me with tons of laughs throughout the day, and with the help of my lovely assistant Steven (my new fiance'), I was able to create something Cara and Cody will have and be able to share for a lifetime.

Lucky Number 07.07.07

July 7, 2007...probably one of the single largest wedding days in history. I always thought getting married on this lucky day would be a memorable and fantastic day to become man and wife...and just think, your spouse would never forget your anniversary!

So when I found out one of my newest colleagues at my day job got married on 07.07.07, I wanted to hear all about it. Melissa and her husband Micah even gave me the honor of putting together their wedding highlight video.

Now, granted, I didn't know the Melissa and Micah when they got married. However, they happened to have a family member capture their special day on video and had a great photographer (Kansas City photographer Chris Cummins — http://www.glowimagery.com/) to take their wedding day photos.

Many brides and grooms are in the same shoes as Melissa and Micah — they have their wedding day memories on video, but don't really have it in a format where they can sit down with friends and family and watch their day with music and photos intertwined in an artistic fashion.

No matter who you choose, I think putting your wedding day memories in a highlight video format is a great way to look back and your special event and relive the memorable day year after year — never forgetting the way your love was shared with those who care about you most.

I know Melissa and Micah's love has brought them more than just luck, and I do believe that their lucky wedding day was a great start to a life with fun, happiness, and laughter — all of which you can see for yourself in their wedding highlight video.

Darbi and Neil's Omaha Wedding

Off to Omaha I went in June to be a bridesmaid in Darbi and Neil's beautiful wedding. By scrolling down through the previous posts on this blog, you'll realize Darbi is the talent photographer (Darbi G. Photography) behind many of the wedding highlight videos that I have posted. And Neil is the rockin' drummer in Confindent Years, the band featured in the Trash the Dress video below.

I knew with Darbi — being the amazing photographer she is — that she would pick photographers who would capture her and Neil's big day just the way she wanted. Dallas, Texas, wedding photograher Stacy Reeves and Omaha wedding photographer Lara Adkins teamed up to encapsulate Darbi and Neil's wedding day — the stunning features, their warm-hearted family and friends, and of course the man and woman of the hour, Darbi and Neil.

I ran into the same issue I had in the last wedding I was in...I really wanted to put together the bride and groom's wedding highlight video...but since I was in the wedding, I wasn't able to be behind the camera to capture many of the can't-do-without video segments. Luckily, Brian Henry, a friend of Neil's and one of the ushers in the wedding, manned my camera while I was fulfilling my bridesmaid duties.

I abosolutely loved editing together this wedding highlight video. I can't count how many times I told Darbi that I had fallen in love with the Hebrank wedding all over again. And once you watch this video, I know you'll feel the love and emotion from the couple's amazingly perfect day. Darbi and Neil - thanks for letting me be a part of your wedding!

A Beautiful Wedding Fit for Two Fellow Bearcats

While I was at Northwest Missouri State University, I met some of the most amazing people that have made my life rich in many ways. Two of those very special people became man and wife in April this year.

I met Brant and Michelle while at school in the broadcasting department at Northwest. I cannot count how many priceless memories I have shared with them, which made it even more special when they asked me to be their maid of honor.

There were about 20 fellow Bearcats invited to share the big day with Michelle and Brant, including our good friend Jodie, who was also a broadcasting student at Northwest. Not only was Jodie the bride's personal attendant for the day, she also manned my video camera when I was fulfilling my maid of honor duties. It was amazing looking back at the footage Jodie shot and seeing how she captured the precious moments of their day — I think she did a fantastic job! Thanks to Jodie's great attention to detail and the *images from Kansas City photographer Julie Fahrni of Portraits by Julie, I was able to edit together Brant and Michelle's wedding highlight video.

I can only conclude this post by saying "Once A Bearcat, Always A Bearcat."
*A few of the images included in the video are candid shots supplied by Michelle and Brant's family members.

From One Van De Something To Another

I once again teamed up with Darbi Gibson of Darbi G. Photography to capture Paige and Joel's big day and edit together their wedding highlight video.

Paige was a co-worker with Darbi and that's how I met her. But it didn't take long to find that important bond — that thing that happens when you know you'll remember that person for the rest of your life. You see, Paige is (or should I say was until she upgraded to a simpler, easier name to spell) a fellow Van De Something.

It's always fun to meet a fellow Van De Something — comparing horror stories of how teachers butchered your name in school and laughing about how you hate spelling the name over and over again to the lost soul on the other end of the conversation...did you say B?..no V...Z?...no V! I've always said I'll marry a Smith...if I could be so lucky!

Paige and Joel have since moved from the mid-Missouri area all the way to sweet old Georgia, but I know they are greatly missed.

Check out their wedding highlight video (taped in April 2008), which includes two — count them two — preparation segments, the ceremony, the photography session, and last but not least, the reception.

Breaking In The New Camera

After the last wedding I taped, I decided to upgrade and buy a Sony HDV 1080i Mini DV camera. I absolutely love it...don't love making the payments on it, but I love it regardless.

My friend Darbi ( of Darbi G. Photography), once again, referred me to an awesome couple (Stephanie and Brad) who was getting married a week before Christmas 2007. They decided to book me and I was really excited to use my new camera for their wedding...I wasn't so excited about the predicted weather conditions for their big day, snow...and lots of it. But that's okay. I wrapped my new camera in garbage bags (classy, huh...but it worked) and captured some of the most brilliant video for the bride and groom on their wedding day.

This video was also my first chance to work with a wide screen format, as my last camera did not allow me to do that. Because I add photos and graphics throughout the video, this was definitely a learning experience for me because of the format change. After talking with the groom and finding out how much he and the bride loved the video, I knew I had made the right decision in buying the camera and adding more options for future clients.