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"Magic" at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay

"And then I felt her hand on my shoulder...and then I turned around in anticipation and she looked absolutely gorgeous. It was magic." Carl Hewitt, Groom, commenting on seeing his bride Larisa for the first time.

I love shooting at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay.  It is one of the most majestic venues in the bay area. Seaside bluffs. Rolling green hills. Seagulls in flights. A magnificent building. Then, when you add the incredible event design from Taylor Nguyen of Ha Lé Events, the whole thing gets taken to a whole new level. So, here we have two videos in one. The opening highlights to Carl and Larisa's wedding (we showed you their same day edit last year) and their artistic ceremony edit. And what a fitting day to show this to you, on this, their one year anniversary.

Seven Years to Santa Clara

It was a beautiful June day when Nicole Calio joined Brian Glynn in matrimony. For seven long years, she had waited for this day, when they would say their vows to one another and become husband and wife. Having met in Santa Clara, filming at the Santa Clara Mission on the university campus was a perfect locale. But not before she and the ladies got ready at the chic Valenica Hotel of Santana Row. Below is their opening highlights video. It's fitting that we post it today, on Brian's birthday! Enjoy!

Watch the larger, higher quality QuickTime version. QuickTime 7 required.

Love Will Find a Way

One of the most majestic locations we've had to pleasure to shoot at is the Mission Inn. The architecture is stunning and the imagery is breathtaking. If you frame your shots just right, you'd swear you're in an Italian villa as opposed to old town Riverside, California. This was the wedding of Nora and Reno. Theirs is a classic tale of how love almost didn't happen. Bad timing for when they first met should have closed the chapter on this romance. But, as fate would have it, things worked out in a way that opened up the opportunity for Nora and Reno to take a chance. Love always will find a way. The words you hear being read by the MC are letters Nora and Reno wrote to each other. This reading was the first time each had heard what the other wrote. Wow! It gives me chills every time a watch it.

This video is rated a "3-hankie movie." :-) Enjoy!

Click To Play

• Director/Editor: Ron Dawson, Cinematic Studios Weddings
• Second Camera: John Goolsby. Note: this was a special pleasure for me because John is an icon in the professional event videography business. He's an industry leader, inspiring speaker, and one of the most gracious people I've met. To put it in perspective, having him as my second shooter would be analogous to Luke having Obi Wan Kenobi fight alongside him. Sorry for the geek reference, but it's apropos here because Nora and Reno played the Star Wars Throne Room Song during their recessional.
• Photographers: Troy and Marjorie of Imagery Concepts
• MC/DJ: Paul Harms of Main Event Productions

technorati tags: Mission_Inn, Riverside, Wedding_Cinematography, Beautiful_Bride, Imagery_Concepts, Main_Event_Productions

NY Wedding Same Day Edit

Well, I'm here in the financial district of Manhattan. I'm literally one block from "Ground Zero." As I mentioned last week, we had the honor to produce the wedding movie for Sylvia and Osomo. They are a handsome couple, both with roots in the Caribbean (he Jamaica and she the Dominican Republic). After ten long years, they have finally tied the knot.

This had to be one of mine and Tony's most physically exerting weddings. We were shooting all day, from the Ritz Carlton on West Avenue, to the beautiful Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (say that ten times fast), to the Queen of Saints Catholic church in Brooklyn, and finally ending up at the ever so cool, Stage 6 at Steiner Studios. Being a filmmaker, having a wedding reception at a film studio was very special.

What made this day particularly challenging was all the equipment we had to lug around: two tripods, a steady tracker, two heavily loaded video cameras, my audio bag, a projector, a backpack, and a MacBook. And we had no assistants! Why did we have a projector and MacBook you ask? Because we produced a Same Day Edit to show at the reception. I just barely got it finished in the nick of time. I only had 2.5 hours!! Many, many thanks to uber-photographer Gene Higa for lending us his MacBook to edit on. He literally saved the show. He'd probably be blogging his images right now if I didn't have his computer. :-D So until then, you'll have the video.

By the way. The very beginning is Sylvia playing a voicemail from her best friend who couldn't make the wedding because she is on bed rest. I added this segment when I returned to my hotel. The actual same day edit starts with the music. Thank goodness for the same day edit, though. Now her friend can enjoy the wedding the very next day. And so can you!

Click image to play. 6:17

I also edited a short 2 min highlights clip of the reception. I'll add that when I get back into town. You'll just have to tune back in to see it.