Escondido Golf & Lake Club | The Dog Stays In the Picture - Sidni & Jay Preview

Sidni's engagment ring

Sidni's engagement ring.  Yowza!  It is a gorgeous square cut diamond flanked by smaller round diamonds with smooth edging.  Lovely!

Bridesmaids boots

The bridesmaids looked lovely in golden cowboy boots.

Sidni's entrance

Jay's preppy tie, navy striped and a little nautical in color, looked sharp next to the soft blues and golden tones from the rest of the florals.

Sun flare at Escondido

While the guests milled around during cocktail hour, the kids entertained themselves with a very competitive round of "duck, duck, goose."  The sunlight in their hair is magical.

Centerpieces

I was so excited to see tulips paired with hydrangeas at the reception.  Tulips are classy.  Paired with the white linens and simple wooden chairs, the reception had the ambiance of the most elegant sunset picnic you'd ever attend.

Sunset at Escondido

Drake, Boom, and Miller

Jay is a fan of hunting, fly-fishing, and their three dogs--so Sidni had the cake decorated with a very special cake topper with each of their three dogs.  The chalk board around the first dog's neck with their wedding date is an inspired detail.

See more groom's cakes that we find amazing.

Fireworks

Sidni's dad gave a really sweet toast, and afterward, he surprised Sidni with a firework show.  As you can see from her facial reaction, she was genuinely surprised, and even shed a few tears. It was really beautiful.

Sidni and Jay, thanks so much for having us to your wedding.  We loved being a witness to your devotion to each other and to your creativity during the reception.

-kourtney amelia

Photography: Cory Ryan Photography

Venue: Escondido Golf And Lake Club

Floral: Freytag's Florist

Reception Entertainment: Pardi Gras

Houston Ranch Wedding | Liz & Mark

Liz & Mark were married this past week in the countryside of Texas at Liz' beautiful family ranch. Spring was all wild with beauty this year thanks to much needed rain, and the fields rewarded us with many beautiful wildflowers to mark the special occasion.

Liz and Mark have a sincere passion for both each other and for their families, so it was only fitting that nature would rise up with such a beautiful gift for their day. This is the second wedding the family has hosted in the past year; Sarah, Elizabeth's sister, was married to Colby there earlier this past fall.

If you like the music in this wedding video, the song is "Odd Place to Be" by Holly Maher, provided by licensing through The Music Bed (themusicbed.com).

Houston rustic outdoor wedding pic 09 white bouquet

Houston rustic outdoor wedding pic 10 bride

Houston rustic outdoor wedding pic 08 flower girl

The bride got ready for the day at a nearby home down the street from her parent's house.  She put on her dress at the ranch right before the ceremony.  The groom and his groomsmen got ready for the day at some guest rooms near the horse stables.

Houston rustic outdoor wedding pic 07 bridesmaid brown

Houston rustic outdoor wedding pic 22 bridesmaid

 The groomsmen wore boutonnieres made of green succulent aeoniums & bells, and dark brown ties with their tan colored suits.  It was a perfect complement to the bridesmaid's dusted mocha brown colored dresses.  Each bridesmaid wore a dress in her own cut of choice.

Houston rustic outdoor wedding pic 19 succulent

Houston rustic outdoor wedding pic 20 bouquet

CEREMONY

The Outdoor Christian ceremony included readings from family members, hymns being sung, and the bride and groom took their vows in front of a wooden cross wrapped in white flowers and ivy.

Houston rustic outdoor wedding pic 05 ivy cross

Houston rustic outdoor wedding pic 06

Update: to watch Liz & Mark's full film, click here.

You can watch more of our videos in couch mode on vimeo, or catch up with us on facebook. We'd love to hear from you.

-kourtney amelia

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Academy of the Sacred Heart | "Look at You, Baby!" - Celeste & Michael the full film

"Home, let me go home.    Home is wherever I'm with you."

-from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

While many will choose to unite their lives with a destination wedding, sometimes, there's just nothing like coming home...literally.

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While Celeste's bow on her Vera Wang wedding dress (courtesy Mimi Nola) proved to be the most challenging part of her morning as a bride (have we mentioned how much we love that our brides are the most laid back, relaxed chicas in the world?), nothing was quite as sweet as the moment her dad, dressed in tux, stood on the staircase and took in the sight of his daughter as a bride.   "look at you, baby. Look at you," he said lovingly.  Wow.  Those moments where a father of the bride expresses so much pride in his daughter are really special.   The family gathered up the bridesmaids and headed to the Academy of the Sacred Heart, wherein the chapel, Celeste would be married 2 hours later.

Celeste grew up attending the school, but upon graduation, many of Celeste's friends went their separate ways. Celeste ventured to the University of Virginia, then to the LSU school of Law, then back to New Orleans to further her career.

Michael, from Lake Charles, followed a similar trajectory.  After attending the University of Virginia, he made stops in Dallas and Birmingham before the pull of home led him to settle in New Orleans.  Home is where the heart is!

new orleans bride wedding vera wang dress pic 01

With "home" being another character in their story, it was only fitting that the arc of the wedding day run through the locations that embody that sense of place.  From Celeste getting into her dress upstairs at her parents house, to walking down the aisle at the chapel in the academy, to taking her first dance with Michael in the backyard of her childhood home, there was a rooted-ness in family history throughout the day's events that few couples experience.

Celeste and Michael, thanks for inviting us to come home with you.

new orleans nola wedding video pic 04

Photographer: Elizabeth Dondis Dress: Vera Wang, from Mimi Ceremony: Academy of the Sacred Heart Reception Entertainment: Sauce Band (from Austin!) Makeup: Tisa from Tisa's Beauty Bar Event Planning and Flora: Ted Viator, The Gardenaire Catering: Audubon Tea Room

Super 8 Vintage Wedding | "You Add to His Life" - Mara & James, the full film

Filmed by Chris P. Jones

Edited by Kourtney Amelia Schopper

Being hired by a family more than once is truly an honor.  We filmed the groom's brother a few years ago when he got married, and so we were so pleased to come out and celebrate with this family again as James married Mara. 

In college, Mara's sister was friends with James; that was how Mara met and fell in love with him.  Mara's sister was also the maid of honor, and all of the bridesmaids wore grecian inspired pink gowns.  The best man, James' youngest brother, played guitar and sang for their first dance at the wedding, and the father of the groom, James' dad, prayed over the couple at the ceremony.  It was truly intimate:  an event that celebrated family and love.

Super8 Vintage 8mm Film Wedding Video Pic 12

Super8 Vintage 8mm Film Wedding Video Pic 11

Vintage Wedding Dress Ruffled skirt

Thoughts on film from the editor:

My goodness! No matter how long we have been filming on Super 8 film, I am always amazed at the beauty of the images we get back from the developers.   This video is beautiful! (I can get away with bragging about the footage because I didn't film it, Jones did.) 

If you're not familiar with super 8,  the process is simple, but different than digital filmmaking: with digital, we have all the footage that instant--which is what allows us to do fun things like same-day-edit films on site at a wedding.  But film takes time.  After we come and film with you on your day, the film has to be processed at a developer (just like the old days!), who then digitizes it at the highest quality so that we can put together a video that has the true look and feel of film, but doesn't require you to own a projector. Win-win. 

Another bonus that you'll have over your parents 1960s film is that we can record audio during your day and sync it up--so you still get to hear your vows, toasts, and other moments that matter to you.  Win-win-win.  So, if what you like is the vintage look and the feel of film,  this is for you!

-kourtney amelia

Super8 Vintage 8mm Film Wedding Video Pic 02 ring set

Vintage Wedding Dress Ruffled skirt

The afternoon light is gorgeous reflecting on all those ruffles in the skirt!

Vintage Groom boutonniere

James in white bow tie and boutonniere before the ceremony.

Blue ribbon Gold seal

The tiered wedding cake had a very 1920s glamour with the blue ribbon on every tier and gold seal accent. Almost a little Great Gatsby!

Super8 Vintage 8mm Film Wedding Video Pic 04

This is the other side of the sign that was carried down the aisle during the ceremony. On the way into the ceremony, we saw the side of the sign that says "here comes the bride" and on the way out of the ceremony, it was carried by the ring bearer with the "introducing Mr & Mrs." side facing out.  Mara did a great job making sure the sign fit with her gold & elegant decor.

Engagement Ring

Mara's engagement ring.

The couple left in a sparkler exit.  Make sure to watch this moment in the video---sparklers produce a really cool effect on film.

Sparkler Exit

Houston Wedding Video at Montesito Ranch | Sarah + Colby, the full film

Houston, TX -     It's been two and half months since we began creating the wedding video for Sarah and Colby, and we've been chomping at the bit to weave it all together.  One of the biggest priorities for every documentary videographer anywhere in the world is coming away from an event with content and finding moments to weave together a cohesive, emotive documentary.  After leaving Sarah and Colby's rehearsal dinner, Kourtney and I had no doubt that the Benjamin/Smith crowd was going to deliver the goods.

Heavens, we could've made an entire feature film out of the rehearsal dinner toasts alone - they were the perfect blend of compliments, zingers, and epic adventures recounted, and they set the stage for what we were to observe the following day.

Usually, when structuring together the framework of the story with toasts, we deliver the emotional pinnacle from either the groom or the father of the bride, but that was not the case in this instance.  Who delivered the lines that best drew out the story and the emotion of the event?  Watch and see!

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/34081345[/vimeo]

The groomsmen, all active military, huddle around the groom before the ceremony.

Sarah and her gorgeous bridesmaids in cowboy boots and yellow sundresses.

The cake was natural with white buttercream and real roses with sprigs of berry.

Wheat lined the aisle leading up to a wooden cross.

With a military groom, a camo garter is perfect for the bride to wear on their big day.  The dogtag reads, "sarah & colby" with their wedding date beneath.

When you're done watching their wedding video, you'll be certain to want more from the Benjamin family. We can take care of you in that regard--There's another adventure to be had.

Sarah's sister Liz will be getting hitched on the ranch March 24th.  Mark your calendar for their wedding video preview which will land at 1 p.m., March 28th, 2012, and the feature film, which will premiere June 24th, 2012.

Thanks again, Sarah and Colby, for choosing Mason Jar Films as your wedding videography team!

Invitations: Bella Figura Events
Cakes: Kathy Warnecke
Photographer: Christianne Taylor
Dress: Priscilla of Boston
Houston Wedding Videographer: Mason Jar Films