November 20, 2013

Houston Backyard Wedding || Never Too Late To Live Happily Ever After || MaryEllen + Rob, the full film

November 20, 2013/ Kourtney Amelia

The romance! The dogs! The Art! Get ready for a sweet film. Rob waited a long time to find MaryEllen--in fact, he gave his bride a ring on the wedding day with a diamond for each decade that he waited for her. Between Rob's sweet romantic gestures, MaryEllen's stunning beauty, their flower girls' antics, and the ways they incorporated their love for art and for their dogs into their wedding day, their story is sure to make you smile.

When we arrived at MaryEllen's Crown Plaza hotel room, photographer Taylor Lord was also just arriving to document the day. We've worked with Taylor before, and she's always great to work alongside. Edric's crew from Vanity Lounge was already in the midst of styling MaryEllen's hair and makeup. Her flower girls scampered about like little fairies, bringing delight with each sparkle in their eye and each grin. Meanwhile, at the house, the bartenders, chef, and waitstaff were already prepping a food course that just to describe will make your mouth water--including bite size smoked sausage with spiced poached apple, potato truffle waffle duck confit, tomato water shooters with buffalo mozzarella and basil foam, bacon wrapped jalapeño, and quail with sweet potato hash (and that's not even half of the hors d' oeuvres list). Mouth watering yet?

The dessert table towered with a variety of cookies and cakes, including cookies designed to look like Gracie and Barcley, the furry pups that are owned by MaryEllen & Rob. As the flower girls marveled at the dog-shaped cookies, adult guests were able to enjoy signature cocktail drinks named after Gracie and Barcley.

Seated on wooden pews in the backyard, friends and family gathered together all dressed in cream and buttery soft hues to celebrate the happiness of the bride and groom.

Gracie and Barcley looking dapper and sitting patiently for portraits after the wedding.

This white wedding cake by 'Who Made the Cake' has frills for days, and peonies to match.

Custom water-color style script signage by Houston creative studio Papellerie beckoned guests to leave their mark on the large oil painting being created at the wedding reception. The bride commissioned the groom's favorite artist (Taft McWhorter) to create an oil painting on site at the wedding, and it was an awesome surprise gift for the groom.

The bride and groom have already collected several pieces of Taft McWhorter's abstract work, including a large typographical style painting with the lyrics to one of their favorite songs by Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors. It seemed to make perfect sense to us that we had to license that particular song for MaryEllen & Rob's wedding film once we saw what a beautiful vision its lyrics were casting for their home. (P.S. Fun Fact about our crew: both Jones and Kourtney Amelia got to participate in the filming of Drew Holcomb's music video for "The Wine We Drink" in Jan 2012 through a workshop with The Music Bed. We love that band!) The lyrics say:

If I had a great big mansion

I'd rather live in a shot gun shack with you

If I drove a red ferrari

I'd rather ride in an oldsmobile with you

If I won a million dollars

I'd give it away to spend more time with you

If I had a million lovers

I would trade 'em all for just one more night with you

With you I can be myself

With you I don't have to be somebody else

It's like putting on my favorite pair of shoes

I like to be me when I'm with you

Their officiant told the couple during the ceremony: "The bible says, 'you saw me before I was born, every day of my life was recorded in your book, every moment was laid out before a single day has passed." The ceremony is over in a few moments, but what really matters is the lifetime that you're going to spend together."

We couldn't agree more! Congratulations to MaryEllen & Rob, and thank you for choosing us to create an heirloom artwork to help you remember each moment of your very special day for a lifetime.

Venue: Private Houston Home

Coordination: Paul Pritzen with Keely Thorne Events

Photographer: Taylor Lord

Caterer: The Forest Club

Baker: Who Made The Cake

Florist & Stylist: Events In Bloom

Stationery & Signage: Papellerie

Supply: Aztec Events & Tents

Rentals: Swift + Company

Valet: First Impressions Valets

Pianist: Hank Taylor

String Quartet: Chamber Music Unlimited

Oil Artist: Taft McWhorter

Caricature Art: Satirical Effect Caricature Co.

Soundtrack:

"Nirvana" by Chris Zabriskie chriszabriskie.com

Licensed by CC-BY-3.0

"I Like To Be With Me When I'm With You" by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors

Used through licensing by The Music Bed themusicbed.com

November 04, 2013

Safari Texas || Pucker Up and Let's Get Married! || Kacy + Jason, the preview

November 04, 2013/ Kourtney Amelia

first united methodist church wedding video picture 07b

"Are you nervous?" they asked each other as they exchanged wedding gifts around a corner just before the wedding ceremony. Their hands were a little shaky, but Kacy and Jason were all grins. As the sound of the boys' choir practicing their performance echoed through the halls of the church, Kacy and Jason began their journey through a day that they had been looking forward to for many months. Jason opened his gift--a pair of custom converse shoes--and Kacy opened hers--a pandora bracelet, with a hot air balloon charm that symbolizes an earlier part of their story--the proposal. Here's the sneak peek of their wedding video that we're currently crafting:

Jason is a musician who also happens to drive a Tesla and teach robotics at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and Kacy is a Texas A&M graduate (whoop!) with an independent, committed, and kind personality. We had been looking forward to filming this wedding since we first heard from Jason, the groom. Not only is he a model of a thoughtful groom who has diverse hobbies and a hilarious personality (love the comic timing on that speech!), but he's also got a keen understanding of filmmaking aesthetics. From the moment he started talking to us about the artistic qualities he envisioned for his wedding film, we knew we'd have a blast putting one together for this precious couple.

During Kacy's preparation for the wedding day, her ring bearer and flower girl wandered about the bridal room at the church while the adults cheerily sang them songs. Her bridesmaids joked and exchanged stories. The atmosphere wasrelaxed and intimate as her aunts gathered around to admire the dress as the last few buttons were being fastened. Here are some screen-shots from the video:

first united methodist church wedding video picture 06

first united methodist church wedding video picture 02

first united methodist church wedding video picture 11

"Get that dress on, pucker up, and let's get married!" -from Jason's note to Kacy

safari texas ranch rustic elegant wedding video picture 03

safari texas ranch rustic elegant wedding video picture 04

safari texas ranch rustic elegant wedding video picture 05

safari texas ranch rustic elegant wedding video picture 06

safari texas ranch rustic elegant wedding video picture 07

safari texas ranch rustic elegant wedding video picture 08

The reception was held in the rustic Safari Lodge, whose patio and gazebo rest on the edge of a pond that overlooks fields filled with wild animals, including zebras and peacocks. Guests were able to stroll past this field as they entered the lodge for cocktail hour, where Kacy and Jason had an assorted Tex-Mex buffet and DJ Johnny Bravo from Houston to keep the music pumping.

safari texas ranch rustic elegant wedding video picture 09

I love the little dots of icing scattered across the lines on the cake tiers of this groom's cake. They remind me a little of sheet music--like small notes & a melody, even without staff marks.

safari texas ranch rustic elegant wedding video picture 13

safari texas ranch rustic elegant wedding video picture 17

The getaway car--a TESLA.

Did you know that you can have Chuck Taylor shoes customized? If you're a huge fan of the classic converse shoe, you'll love what Kacy put together for her wedding day present for Jason, her groom. She had a special pair of the spunky sneakers embroidered with their wedding date, and Jason was so pumped to wear them for the wedding reception that he busted out some amazing dance moves:

groom-gift-custom-converse-tennis-shoe-dance

And--you guys---the dancing just didn't stop. This crowd was so fun, we were sorry to see the night end. All generations crowded the dance floor with their smiles and fearless dance moves.

safari texas ranch rustic elegant wedding video picture 10

We loved so many things about this wedding, but as we were driving home to Austin on Sunday, the thing that kept coming back to our minds were the beautiful and hilarious toasts from the Father of the Bride, the Matron of Honor, the Best Man, and the groom himself. Each speech was filled to the brim with hilarity and respect.

Humor, honor, love. This is what makes a wedding special, and it is what makes a life together wonderful.

Wedding Details:

Ceremony: First United Methodist Missouri City

3900 Lexington Blvd Missouri City, TX 77459

Reception: Safari Texas Ranch

11627 FM 1464 Rd Richmond, TX 77407

Photographer: Daniel Colvin

Videographer: Mason Jar Films

Florist: Floriography; Ines Negrin

DJ: Johnny Bravo

Wedding Bands: Tiffany

Wedding Gifts: Converse & Pandora

Soundtrack: "And Then Came A Sudden Validation" by Austin, TX band and national darling, The Quiet Company

Musical track licensed through The Music Bed

October 28, 2013

First United Methodist Church Lubbock || Keep Her! || Kelcee + Andrew, the preview

October 28, 2013/ Kourtney Amelia

lubbock caprock winery church wedding photo 11

Every father is probably nervous about the moment he'll meet the young man who wants to marry his daughter. At Kelcee and Andrew's rehearsal dinner, we were treated to the story of the moment that Kelcee's dad met Andrew for the first time:

Kelcee & Andrew met after Andrew graduated from college, and we were thrilled to film their wedding video in West Texas recently. We had already filmed the wedding of Andrew's older sister Elizabeth several years ago, and when Andrew's mother contacted us about filming her youngest son's wedding weekend, we were so thrilled. First, it is an honor to be brought back to film more than one event for a family, but secondly, the Webb family is a treasure, and they have great stories worth keeping!

lubbock caprock winery church wedding photo 08

lubbock caprock winery church wedding photo 31

Under the West Texas skies, the two families gathered to celebrate with a rehearsal dinner at the rustic CapRock Winery, where its historic-looking architecture and interior hall with barrel-lined walls echoed with laughter and well-wishes long into the night. As the staff sauteed up a raspberry sauce to top small chocolate dessert cakes and vanilla icecream, Andrew's siblings told stories of his adventurousness and wild tricks from growing up. Kelcee's family spoke of both her open heart and her determination to serve others through the profession of nursing, just as nurses had been such a comfort to her own family when she was young and they lost her younger brother. In fact, Kelcee's reputation for compassion so strongly preceded her that the groom's mother told Kelcee, "see, we loved you before we even knew you."

The next day, the groom and his groomsmen began the day with a round of golf, and the girls got ready at the church. Andrew's friends and groomsmen got a special surprise at the reception--because Andrew ran track while studying at University of Texas, his groom's cake was made as an almost exact photo-replica of the track field at the Texas college.

university of texas groom wedding cake photo

The gothic limestone features and ornate stained glass windows were a perfect setting for the event, and Andrew's mother drew her inspiration from the church for a special gift she had made for the bride.

lubbock caprock winery church wedding photo 19

lubbock caprock winery church wedding photo 18

Andrew's family has a tradition of gifting a unique piece of jewelry to each bride in their family and that marries into it--a cross bracelet that reflects the style of their wedding. The cross on Kelcee's bracelet was designed to look just like the cross that sits in the sanctuary at First United Methodist.

lubbock caprock winery church wedding photo 24

lubbock caprock winery church wedding photo 05

lubbock caprock winery church wedding photo 21

Ceremony Venue: First United Methodist Church Lubbock

1411 Broadway Lubbock, TX 79401

Rehearsal Dinner Venue: CapRock Winery

408 E Woodrow Rd Lubbock, TX 79423

Reception Venue: The Historic Baker Building

1211 13th St Lubbock, TX 79401

Florist: Box of Rain Floral

Reception Entertainment Band: The Atlantics

Photography: Helen Byrd

Wedding Videographer: Mason Jar Films

p.s. join us on facebook! We'd love to hear from you.

October 19, 2013

Memorial Drive United Methodist Church /// Love at First Sight /// Natalie + Adam, the full film

October 19, 2013/ Kourtney Amelia

Some people want to entertain you. Some will encourage you. Others want to go on adventures.

Adam will do all of these things, and the person who he loves to do these things for (more than anyone else in the world) is Natalie.

One thing we learned about Adam during their rehearsal dinner (gorgeously planned and executed by his parents) was that he is known for many things: goofy feats with his buddies, planning elaborate birthday adventures for others, and using adjectives like they're free. But one thing that he's most known for is the way he dotes on Natalie. He tells anyone in earshot how gorgeous she is at every second that he can. You can read about how the wedding weekend began with a private rehearsal dinner banquet at The Corinthian (one of Houston's finest locations in historic downtown) and how the wedding day began at the Omni Hotel in our first blog post about Natalie and Adam.

On the day of the wedding, the bustle and flurry of the morning's activities was just calming down as Natalie put the final touches on her outfit and Adam handed out gifts to his groomsmen in the Omni Hotel. Just before they left for the church, Adam received an envelope from Natalie. The letterpress card that he opened read "for my groom" in bold cursive on the front, and as his groomsmen realized what was happening, they gathered around him. "You're makeup's going to come off!" some teased as they watched Adam, the groom, begin to tear up. Watch here to see the story unfold:

Memorial Drive United Methodist Church is a towering grey brick church in Houston, TX. Its modern, expressionist stained-glass windows line the sanctuary, and they cast a golden glow over everyone when the sun is just right in the late afternoon and early evening. Natalie and her mother arrived from the hotel by limousine to this sunny view of the church steeple.

Natalie and Adam broke tradition and kept it at the same time---they chose not to have a first look, but they did want to have a brief second to meet for a quiet moment alone before the ceremony began. The church has a prayer garden with gorgeous stained-glass sculptures that form a privacy wall. Natalie waited there for Adam while he was blindfolded for their meeting.

A wedding day can often be filled with a flurry of activity, and it is important to us to allow our clients to feel they have room to breathe in any moment where they have an opportunity to be quiet. We love to film these kind of moments from a little ways back to give the couple a sense of privacy while they speak to each other for the first time. Our microphones and long-range lenses pick up those sweet words that are said and close up images perfectly for the edited film, and this allows us to keep the more quiet and intimate experiences of the day feeling very precious for the couple.

memorial united church houston wedding video photo03

"Dry all your tears now," Natalie smiled as she said, "I can't wait to see you up at the altar." "I'm the luckiest man alive," Adam replied to his bride. Before we arrived for the weekend, Lynn (their wedding coordinator) told us how much we would love Adam, Natalie, and both sides of their families-- and she was right. We can't get enough of how Natalie's dad kept mentioning how much he not only approved of but also very much loved his son-in-law, and Adam's parents just beamed with smiles all weekend as they looked at their son. Natalie's mom had the

Omni Hotel

ballroom decked out in truly elegant decor, and when Adam and Natalie walked into the ballroom before the guests were allowed in, they walked around in amazement. Natalie teared up with gratefulness as she thanked her mom for how beautiful the flowers and candles looked. Landry's florist in Houston designed the stunning floral arrangements:

Adam's cake featured a rope lasso border and the logo of

University of Houston

, plus it had a cowboy hat on top! They also had a photobooth provided by Image Cinema to grab some fun and quirky images of their guests, too.

At the wedding reception, Natalie's maid of honor spoke of how she had traveled the world with Natalie on many adventures. She congratulated her on having a new partner for adventures, and we join her in that sentiment!

-kourtney amelia

Rehearsal Dinner Venue:

The Corinthian

Rehearsal Dinner Catering & Fine Dining Service:

Jackson and Company

202 Fannin Street, Houston, Texas

Wedding Ceremony Venue:

Memorial Drive United Methodist Church

12955 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079

Wedding Reception Venue:

The Omni Hotel

Four Riverway, Houston, Texas 77056

Phone: (713) 871-8181, Fax: (713) 871-0719

Event Planner & Design: Lynn Lary McLean

Florals:

Lary's Florist

Videographers: Mason Jar Films

Photographers:

Photobooth:

Wedding Dress:

Jewelry:

October 17, 2013

Possum Kingdom Lake | "Once In A Lifetime" - Kellye + Dustin, the preview

October 17, 2013/ Kourtney Amelia

Once in a lifetime. That’s how Kellye’s dad, Lowry, described the experience of walking his daughter down the aisle. As he stood on the pier next to his lake home, surrounded by friends and family, Lowry gave a toast to the newly married couple celebrating their lives together. As the scent of the hydrangeas mixed with the delicious smells of the down-home cooking from Sissy’s Southern Kitchen, we were mesmerized by this family’s appreciation of each other, their cowboy humor, and the beauty of the night. Enjoy this preview of their wedding film.

Don't you just love the confetti guns they gave their guests to use during the ceremony kiss? It looked so gorgeous in the early evening light! Click here to see the perfect rustic wedding photos that Genya from Vue Photography took at the event.

When we arrived at the lakefront house, the band members from ATX band The Good Nights were tuning their instruments and practicing sweet tunes like ‘Landslide’ on acoustic guitars. The sunlight bounced brightly off of the lake, and as we peeked around at what Tara Wilson’s team had set up, we were met with visions of hanging lights and garlands of magnolia leaves. The dining table was stationed on the waterfront deck with a solid row of hydrangea arrangements that cascaded onto the floor at each end as if it were a luxurious curtain made of flowers. The team had also brought the indoors outdoors by setting up a faux living room arrangement next to the dance floor. The antique furniture in white and burlap provided a fun place in the party area for guests to lounge and chat during both cocktail hour and into the late hours of the night when not dancing the night away.

web_Tara Wilson modern rustic possum kingdom wedding video photos 42

web_Tara Wilson modern rustic possum kingdom wedding video photos 46

Inside the house, family members (and several doggie friends) bustled about, and Kellye, the bride, was peering out the window watching "Vaa," the officiant, practice outside in the backyard. When we noticed that Kellye had air plants mixed into her bouquet of succulents, she told us that when she was dreaming up her ideal bridal bouquet, she told the designers at Branching Out Events that she was flexible with her vision and fun, and so to please "put something wacky in it." We love it, too!

a web_Tara Wilson modern rustic possum kingdom wedding video photos 16

web_Tara Wilson modern rustic possum kingdom wedding video photos 04

web_Tara Wilson modern rustic possum kingdom wedding video photos 21

web_Tara Wilson modern rustic possum kingdom wedding video photos 07

Kellye told us how she and Dustin met. She said, “Dustin and I have known each other since I was 3 and he was 6, we actually were next door neighbors. It seems crazy to think back then we would have been together. We started officially dating when I was a senior in high school in 2007, we have been together now nearly 7 years."

a web_Tara Wilson modern rustic possum kingdom wedding video photos 34

Kellye & Dustin have such a precious story of how their lives have been interwoven through childhood, and it was such a joy to film their family celebrating all the good things that are to come in the future.