This wedding season was one of the most epic in my history of shooting wedding films. It seems that old friends were getting married off, older friends children were growing up. I had the privilege of working with one of my dearest friends, Greg & Kim Lawless, Greg was one of the first people I clicked with upon my move to Oregon, he played in a band called Adam Again that have I always admired. That was about 12 years ago, well many encouraging conversations and countless cups of dark coffee later. My wife Lorrie and I watched their kids grow up all too quickly, and then this past summer, first their daughter Kelsey, and then their son Ryan took the marital plunge all within a 48 day period. Wow!

Here are a few shots from Kelsey & Kyle’s wedding, we will post some of Ryan & Lauren’s day down the road. One of my favorite things about shooting wedding films is that every couple is different, and those differences always come through in a finished wedding film, from the music to every subtle detail. I am looking forward to hitting the editing suite for my favorite Lawless kids soon.

TZ

I got the chance to shoot another old friends wedding film in Portland earlier this year as well, Aaron and I met at a christian music festival called TomFest back in the day. Aaron is a great filmmaker in his own right, and we dig the same music, we went on to work on a couple of video projects together for Michael Knott. Aaron is an outstanding individual, then he finally met his match in Lyndsay…what a fantastic couple and I also had an opportunity to work with their photographer Jelani Memory, here are a couple of shots of Jelani’s from the gig and thanks to both Aaron & Lindsay for their friendship and collaborative spirit.
TZ

We were invited this past weekend to showcase our films at a wedding show in Bend Oregon at the Tower Theatre check it out as a cool retro Bend venue for your wedding. Kerry & Sara at Events By Mint of course put on an incredible show, if you are in the Bend area, talk to Mint for over the top event coordination. We introduced the SDE to a lot of new brides and grooms and everyone was really into it. It was also great meeting lots of other Bend vendors at the show, thanks to all of you for making the Tower event a success….check out a few shots from downtown Bend.

Yesterday, we filmed Tara and Zack’s wedding out at Northern Lights in Pleasant Hill. It was one of the most unique weddings we’ve ever filmed - a “fall” theme that included a live band, horse carriage rides, a traditional Japanese Lion Dance, a little rain and a whole lot more. Thanks to Glen Johnson from Aperture Photographics - who is always great to work with - for coming up with some great ideas for art shots of the couple. I know the video we captured was great, and I’m sure his photos will turn out amazing also. 

We’ll post a vignette in the next few weeks.

We’re closing in on Fall here in the Northwest. For us here at Vivid, that means cooler days, changing leaves and finalizing the last of the summer weddings. We just completed the edit for Michael and Casey - a July wedding that took place in Florence, Oregon. Here’s a short vignette from their Feature edit.

This is why we love doing what we do, validation that what we do here at Vivid Wedding Films means alot to our clients, which in turn means the world to us. When our crew is invited to share in one of the most intimate, meaningful days of your lives, we take it seriously. We work hard to create a wedding film that is memorable, and captures the essence of your day. Thanks again Laura + Ross for allowing us to collaborate with you on your SDE recently, it was a blast.

Todd, Ryan & Ryan!

Quote: ” Dear Todd, Ryan & Ryan,

We want to thank you for creating such a great SDE video. It was the highlight of our reception and we have received numerous compliments on it. It exceeded our expectations. Thank you for all of your hardwork.

Sincerely, Laura & Ross Bottem”

Hey Folks, Todd Here!

This summer has literally been a fast paced blur of motion, madness and WEDDING FILMS! From SDE’s to plenty of Feature Film Packages the team @ Vivid Wedding Films has been slammed this wedding season. We have had the fine pleasure of working with some great couples, photographers, vendors and the like, every weekend is a new adventure. I want to take just a second and thank my fellow wedding filmmakers with whom I have the good fortune of collaborating with on a regular basis, Ryan Welch, Ryan Rossman and Erik Talbert. They all continue to inspire me, and raise the bar on new innovation in wedding filmmaking. When you work with a team of people who are passionate about their craft, it makes you realize how blessed you truly are, and of course behind every good man stands a supportive wife, who is willing to give up their husbands nearly every weekend of the summer. So thanks also to my Lorrie, Susan, Brittany and Kelly. YOU GUYS ROCK!

All for now.

T.A. Zeller

Here’s the ‘getting ready’ section of Andrew and Stephanie’s Feature edit.

Steph and Andrew Feature | Getting Ready from Vivid Wedding Films on Vimeo.

Here’s a look at Ross and Laura’s Same-Day-Edit from Saturday.

Ross & Laura’s SDE from Vivid Wedding Films on Vimeo.

Just finished shooting Jenna and Nathan’s wedding on the banks of the McKenzie River in Springfield, Oregon.

It was a beautiful wedding that was unique because it was in Jenna’s parents backyard, and the two neighbors on either side as well. A very cool set up.

Jenna and Nathan were great to work with and seemed to be really enjoying their day. I just wish we could have stuck around to see more of the dancing - it was going to be a rockin’ group.

It was also great working with photographer Eric John from Salem. Below are a few photos taken with my iPhone when I could get away from the video for a moment.

It was quite the treat to be involved in Mike & Casey’s day. It was a beautiful wedding at Casey’s grandparents home (The Jones Family Cabin, situated on a private lake) in Florence, Oregon. Mike and Casey live in Washington DC now, so there were a large number of people out from the east coast - it was neat to talk with some of them and see how much they were enjoying their visit to Oregon. 

It didn’t hurt that is was an amazing Oregon Coast day, 70 degrees and hardly any wind. The conditions were great and so was the ceremony and party. They had a live band, The Essentials, in from Eugene that kept the party going long into the night. It was great working with photographer, Bruce Berg, who did a great job capturing the day.

Here are a few stills from the day. We’ll be posting a vignette when we get a chance.

 

 

 

I just received an email from Andrew thanking us again for the Same Day Edit at their wedding: 

“Anyway, I really want to thank you again!  You did such an amazing job.  Steph has probably watched the video or shown it to someone everyday since we have been home.  People were really impressed with the wedding but the number one thing people have talked to us about is how amazing the video was.  So be proud of your work!”

 It’s been about a week since we’ve produced their same day edit. Both Andrew and Stephanie were in tears watching it and we’ve had numerous people tell us that the video was one of the highlights from the wedding. That got me to thinking: why are these Same Day Edits so powerful?

The main thing I came up with, in its simplest form, is that the SDE video allows the bride and groom 5-10 minutes to pause in the middle of a whirlwind day and reflect on what has just happened. And not only do they get to reflect, they get to see it and relive it just hours after it has happened.

The groom gets to see his new wife prepping for the wedding, doing makeup and hair and putting the final touches on her dress. The bride gets to see herself walk down the aisle, and to see his face again as she walks towards him. They get to hear their vows and see things they may have missed due to their schedules that day.

Add that to the fact that they’re getting to share ‘their story’ with their friends and family, and you’ve got for a pretty emotional, powerful moment.

Here’s a quick clip of Andrew and Stephanie watching their Same Day Edit. You can see the complete video here. 

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Learn more about our Same Day Edits

Todd and I were out this weekend to shoot Cassidy and Sef’s wedding here in Eugene. It’s rare that we get to shoot together because we’re usually working separate weddings on any given Saturday. But this being May, not quite the full wedding season, we had the chance to do so.

Their ceremony took place at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on University of Oregon’s campus. It was a small ceremony - mostly just family - that took place in this courtyard-type area in the middle of the museum. It was, for sure, one of the most unique places we’ve filmed a ceremony. It provided some really cool shots - we’ll try to post some stills and video here soon.

After the ceremony the bridal party, photographer and I, loaded up in the limo and headed to 7-11. No lie. Both Cassidy and Sef got out - in their wedding uniforms - and went inside to buy some ice cream and champagne. A pretty funny sight to see, but the guy behind the counter wasn’t laughing. He wouldn’t even let them buy the champagne because neither of them had their IDs (Any of you underage kids thinking you could stage a wedding, rent a limo and then buy some beer with no issues, had better think otherwise).  Luckily, the limo driver did have his ID and was able to get them their champagne. 

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We just finalized Sef and Cassidy’s wedding film. 

Their ceremony took place at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on University of Oregon’s campus. It was a small ceremony - mostly just family - that took place in this courtyard-type area in the middle of the museum. It was, for sure, one of the most unique places we’ve filmed a ceremony. It provided some really cool shots.

Here’s a look at the intro. 

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What an amazing weekend it was! We just got back from the Portland area where we spent 2 days working with Andrew and Stephanie and their wedding film. We did a Same Day Edit for them that included a love story and short slideshow. You can view the finished version below. 

Their wedding, easily one of the top 5 weddings we’ve filmed, was at Garden Vineyards just west of Portland. Most of the pre-wedding events/getting ready took place at McMenamin’s Grand Lodge in Forest Grove. The couple put the entire wedding party up at the Lodge (including us - thanks!) which added to the weekend festivities. 

Once the ceremony was over, I headed up to edit (see photo below) while Todd took care of capturing the reception. Thanks to Shawn at Event Team Northwest for putting on an amazing event and also to Molli at Soiree for being so helpful throughout the day.

Below are some photos from the day as well as the Same Day Edit.

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