JACQUELINE AND JONATHAN'S LONGSHORE WEDDING

For the people that check out my blog who are not in the wedding industry one thing you may not know is the relationship between client and vendor really does vary from couple to couple. Sometimes you know everything about them, sometimes you barely know anything other than the formal interactions over the phone and the rest unfolds on the wedding day. While Jacqueline and I conversed over e-mails and had a couple phone conversations I had no idea that her and Jonathan have a beautiful story of rekindled love over the course of many years. Best friends that lost touch for a moment and then found each other as their partner in love.

Aside from their beautiful story the wedding itself was gorgeous. Stunning flowers everywhere, subtle nautical details, including the "Jacs and Jonathan" glass as a gift. Also, Jacqueline was the star of the show but a very close second was a good boy named "Tank" who let everyone know when the bride was coming! 

Another great wedding in the books at one of my favorite venues in Connecticut. We were honored to be there and wish Jacs and Jonathan a lifetime of good memories. Cheers!

- Will 

LISA AND SHAWN SOUTH FARMS WEDDING

There are two things you can never control on a wedding day; time and weather. Weather is the tricky one, when the cards are laid out for you it’s easy to plan accordingly. For example, if it is raining, I can mentally prepare for what type of shots I can capture indoors. Or if it is blazing heat I can bring reflectors and diffusors to fend off some of that direct sunlight. Where it gets tricky is that in between, the “is it going to rain.” Nothing is more terrifying than having your cameras set up for an outdoor ceremony and hearing an impending storm in the distance; mentally preparing for what you would do if it started raining.  Needless to say, it didn’t rain but it wasn’t far away. What did happen was some particularly beautiful moody atmosphere for a gorgeous backdrop for an amazing wedding at South Farms in Morris, Connecticut designed by the incomparable Amy Jones of Amy Champagne events.

I had never worked a wedding at South Farms before and I was surely spoiled with this as my first experience. For starters I was working with all my friends, Brooke Allison was the photographer, Amy Jones was the planner, On the Marc was the caterer, Jenn Kinford did the makeup, Carrie Wilcox did the flowers and my favorite New Yorker Kristen Kiraly came through as my second shooter. Big shout out to her for traveling almost three hours to help me out. As mentioned before I think Amy is talented but she outdid herself with this wedding. Everything was so expertly designed it just seemed to flow as an extension of the farm and it’s space.

So the weather held out and was on our side, I had nothing but friends working with me and to top it off I had an adorable story since Lisa and Shawn have two adorable children that they were able to feature in their wedding. Which leads me to my favorite part of this wedding; they did this for themselves on their own terms. They didn’t abide to any traditions of time or order, they did it the way they wanted to when they wanted to. I love that.

So hit play and enjoy the highlight reel of Lisa and Shawn’s South Farm wedding!

Cheers,

Will

Also shout out to The Plumed Serpent for providing her stunning wedding dress by Bliss Monique Lhuillier

ETHEL WALKER COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY

One of the most overused words in the English diction is "amazing." People use it to describe everything from a balloon ride at sunset to a pint of ice cream. I am writing this post to say that the Ethel Walker School for young women is nothing short of amazing. When you step on campus you are greeted with the cognition that you are someplace exceptional. The campus is tucked away in a stunning part of Connecticut surround by evergreens and maple trees. The grounds are immaculate and the buildings exude personality. Immediately you know this is not just a school for young women, rather a place for them to truly grow, to become well rounded, confident adults. It's amazing. 

I am honored to have worked with them on multiple occasions including a commercial which gives a tour of the whole Ethel Walker experience (which I will also link to). For this event they asked me to document the commencement ceremony and to produce a video consolidating the experience. These are always fun because there really is only a few ways to approach the actual content and the rest is how you capture and edit the B roll. The story is there for you to miss so it's a practice of being very aware of your surroundings and being able to anticipate actions. 

Big thank you to Matt Branscombe at BSC Photo www.bscphoto.com for being a great producer and starting this relationship we have with Ethel Walker. 

My congratulations to all the graduates - "may all your hours be golden!"

-Will 

BAG IT UP FOR GOODWILL CHALLENGE FEATURING AMERICAN IDOL WINNER NICK FRADIANI

I am grateful for all the wonderful people and companies I get to call clients but I am particularly proud of the relationship I have with Goodwill. Not because of the scale or the size of the jobs but because of the impact they have on people. I don't think I am in the minority when I say that before I started working with Goodwill I had no idea what went on at the company outside of the stores and donation centers. This video of the "Bag it up for Goodwill" challenge is a perfect example of how much larger Goodwill is beyond their donation centers. 

The "Bag it Up Challenge" objective is simple, first sign up for free, then donate as many items as possible. If you donate the most items the school is rewarded with a free concert and cupcakes from Nora's cupcakes. So with that objective in mind the parents, teachers and students of Hop Brook Elementary school in Naugatuck, CT collectively donated 35,000 items! You read that correctly, your vision is fine, thirty-five-thousand items! As shown in the video there are pictures around the school of students and their parents filling their cars to max capacity with items to donate. The community really all gathered together to win a concert for the kids and it paid off with a concert from Connecticut native and American Idol winner Nick Fradiani. I would like to take a moment to mention how awesome Nick was. He put on a great show, was humble, gracious, a total gentleman and gave attention to every kid that wanted a photo or just a high five - simply put, he's a good dude. 

Documentation wise we used a three camera set up with one being on a gimbal system to really get in on the action with the kids, one mobile but stable on a monopod and another stationary in the back of the room. The only real technique used on the day of filming was proper communication between myself and my second shooter. Properly articulating what you are looking to achieve with your video to your production crew is essential if you want those desired results; never leave it up to chance. 

To wrap this up, a big congratulations to the parents, students and staff of Hop Brook Elementary School and thank you to Goodwill for the opportunity to capture such a great event!

-Will