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Kim-Fair Reception: Something Beautiful (and Good)

It's been a while since we've posted a reception dance video. Rather than show long, dragged out video segments of guests dancing (badly), we like to edit the dancing down to a fun, energetic video that captures the essence of the fun. Here's one we did that features Natalie and Greg. We showed you a clip from the opening to their wedding earlier. The title of their wedding movie is "Something Good" (taken from the "Sound of Music" song Greg serenaded Natalie with right before she came down the aisle). The song used in this clip is "Something Beautiful" by the Newsboys. I thought it fit perfectly. Enjoy!

A "White" Wedding

David White and Kimberly Campbell knew they were right for each other the night they met. They both have that sort of of rebel-like look about them. But don't let Kim's tattooed, Rizzo-like exterior fool you. Beneath beats a sensitive heart that cries at weddings and has rehearsed this day ever since she was a little girl (her mom even said so). Likewise, don't be put off by Dave's clean-shaven head and goatee. His twinkling smile and cool nature is evidence of a man filled with compassion and sensitivity. This opening to their wedding movie reveals just a little bit about their personalities and how much they are loved. Filmed at the Jack London Lodge in Glen Ellen, CA. Enjoy!

"The Book of Love" (Full wedding movie)

Madeleine and Craig are two of the most gracious people I've met in this business. From the first day we met face to face at that Starbucks in Novato, CA, I knew their was going to be a special wedding. As their two families blended, the love shown between Craig's children and Madeleine was as if  she were with them from birth. She's as natural as a mom can be.  The love between them is amazing and so neat to see. They had us produce one our our shorter "matinee" style wedding movies, so you get a treat. Here is their entire wedding movie. You'll find it incredibly touching, with a fair share of humor too. Enjoy! Click image to play.

Another Contemporary Hip Wedding

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. We've been away on business for a couple of weeks. But we have some exciting clips and other news to share with you. First up, "Contagious Love." This is a "Contemporary Hip" style wedding movie starring Chyi Chyi Chang and Eric Lee. Not necessarily the names you'd expect attached to a wedding movie with a funky flava vibe, but we love to make movies that match what our clients like. And this hip Asian couple loves hip hop. What I love about weddings is the ability to make so many different videos to match our clients' personalities. I hope you enjoy this one.

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Photographer: John Griffin
Ceremony: Crystal Springs Golf Course
Reception: Ming's Restaurant

An "Indie" Wedding Film

We're always pushing the envelope when it comes to creating wedding movies. We want every one to be unique. Each one to evoke strong emotion. And each one to excite our clients. One way we do all of this is by editing each wedding movie in a particular style, or genre. Some are classic romance, some fairytale romance, some contemporary romance, and a popular style is the romantic comedy. These are all mainstays that for over five years have been constant choices.

Every now and then we'll come out with something that doesn't really fit any of our previous styles. Like Shawn and Hilarie's "Marvel Comic Style." Well, today we're rolling out our very first Independent Film or "Indie" style. For those of you who are fans of small, arthouse style films like "Amelie" or "Life is Beautiful", I think you'll really enjoy this piece. It was conceived and edited by one of the newest members to the team, Marlon.

Enjoy! (Click image to play)

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Vendor and locales:

• Photography: Chung Photo
• Ceremony and Reception: Argent Hotel, San Francisco

"The Amazing Wedding"

Nicole did not want one of those "foo-foo" cute and cudly wedding videos. She was all about the comedy and all about the fun. And since she and her man ("Edge") were big "Amazing Race" fans, we dreamt up this fun and unique wedding movie opening highlights. WARNING: This is not your typical wedding video. This is not something we'd do for every client. It was tailor made for Nicole and Edge. Do not try this at home. :-)

Enjoy!

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Photography by Michelle Walker.
Wedding design and coordination by Taylor Nguyen of Ha Lé Events.
Location Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay.
DJ Calvin Lathan of Bay Area Entertainment

An Oldie but a Goodie

The past few posts I've shown some clips from my own wedding movie in honor of my anniversary. Seeing those old Cinematic Studios productions has left me nostalgic for some of our other older projects. So, as we wait for some of the newer weddings to come online, I thought from time to time I'll share with you some of our early productions. Ones that really helped set the foundation for the company in terms of style and uniqueness.

"Love's Journey Home" - A Momentous Occasion
The first blast from the past I'll share with you is from a wedding we shot back in May of 2004. This wedding was special for a couple of reasons. One, it was the very first wedding where I hired an entirely separate crew to shoot the wedding. We already had a booking for the same date and I knew I wanted to grow the company in such a way where we could handle multiple weddings on the same day (and franky, I just didn't want to lose the business).  The second reason this clip is special is because it's the first time I ever edited a wedding in an edgy, contemporary and avant-garde style. It was so well-received by perspective clients, that it remained on our demo DVD up until just earlier this year. It's still one of my favorites. I think you'll like it too. This is the opening highlights clip.

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A Hot Couple

As you may recall, last Friday was my fifth wedding anniversary. Tasra and I had a great time celebrating in Napa before coming home back to "reality."  Naturally, one of the things we did was reminisce about memories from our wedding day. (Thanks goodness for our wedding video!) Anyway, one of our fondest memories was the little case of the "Infamous 99 cent Candle Incident." To fully appreciate the clip you're about to watch, understand that just the night before, Tasra and I were bragging proudly how we made our own unity candles with a 99 cent candle and some ribbon, instead of paying $30/candle for the ones at the wedding store. I guess the moral of this is "You get what you pay for." (Notice may witty comeback at the end as I point to the totally blackened and burnt candle and the other unscathed candle. It made the day.)

Ron's 5-Year Wedding Anniversary

Today is a big day! Five years ago today, somewhere between 2 and 2:30 pm PST, in the little old chapel of Saratoga Federated Church, Tasra and I publicly proclaimed our love for one another and became husband and wife. (And no, I'm not blogging on my anniversary. I wrote this two days ago and had it timed to post today. I'm chillin' in Napa right now with my woman.) What an amazing day that was. It was a simple wedding. Just about 50 guests. The ceremony was in the old chapel and the dessert buffet reception was in the courtyard. Wow! It seems so long ago. Naturally, I had it video taped. We were a young company then. The business had only started three months earlier. I couldn't operate the camera myself so I hired another company to shoot it. I edited it later. I want to share part of it with you today. It may not be as cool and cutting edge as our current work but I still think it's pretty special. And after five years, I still think it holds up pretty well even against new stuff that's out there.

A special part of the ceremony for me was when I said vows to my step daughter Imahni (seven at the time). To get the full power and meaning, you have to know that Tasra was a single mom for seven years. And, as you can tell from the video, Imahni is half African-American. It's hard enough being a single mom. But it must be harder when you're blond with green eyes and your daughter is black. But Tasra was a trooper and the best mom in the world. Part of what made me fall in love with her was seeing how amazing her daughter was. And now, when people see us together as a family, their natural assumption is that I'm Imahni's biological dad. How cool is that. I know that God planned it that way. I am truly blessed. It just gets you all verklempt. (Tito...can you pass a tissue.)

Tasra, I love you even more today than I did five years ago (if that's even possible). Thank you so much for being an amazing mom, a best friend, a loving wife, an awesome business partner, a woman of God, and a soulmate. Te quiero muchisimo mi Chiquitita.

Enjoy!

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technorati tags: Saratoga_Federated, Wedding_Anniversary, Ron_Dawson, Tasra_Dawson, Cinematic_Studios

Music, Memories, and Matrimony

So, you're walking towards the aisle on your wedding day. Dad on one side, mom on the other. In seconds you know you're going to hear Etta James singing the classic "At Last". Your stomach is full of butterflies at the anticipation. Then you get to the aisle and your parents stop you. What's wrong? Why are we stopping? This wasn't in the plan. Down at the other end of the aisle you see the reason. Your beloved. The man who will soon become your husband, has stepped forward and starts singing (and considering he's a classically trained opera singer, he sounds amazing). It's a surprise serenade. He's singing "Something Good"—you know, the song that Captain Von Trapp and Maria sang to each other when they realized they were in love. Now, your love is singing it to you! Is this a dream? Nope. It's very real. And it's how this latest wedding opening from Cinematic Studios begins....Enjoy!

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Vendor highlight:

• Venue: CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, California
• Photography: Jane Morba of Amazing Jane Photography
• Cinematography: Cinematic Studios
• Menus: Greg, the groom. (He's very proud of them. :-)

technorati tags: CordeValle, Amazing_Jane, Wedding_Cinematography, Sound_of_Music, Etta_James, At_Last