We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again and again, your wedding day flies by and having a videographer to capture the moments that you may have missed or want to remember forever is necessity! Having a professional photographer is one thing you can’t go without, but when you want to go back and hear your vows and the sound of your grandmas voice, there’s nothing that preserves that better than a professional videographer. Ambient Sky is sharing with us today a little about why video is so important and some to die for samples! Enjoy!

Champagne: How would you describe your videography style?

Ambient Sky: Highly stylized, artistic with a cinematic flair.  Engaging, heartfelt and timeless.

Wedding Day Highlight

Champagne: How did you get into videography?

Ambient Sky: Our backgrounds are pretty varied.  Between the two of us we have extensive experience in Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Event Planning, Photography, Audio Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Music Theory and Composition.  About 8 years ago Scott decided to go back to school where he studied Multimedia, Graphic Design and Filmmaking. Amanda’s love of weddings and events lead to the idea of creating wedding films.  The more we got into it the more we realized it was the perfect blend of our talents and our passions and we love working together.

Wedding Trailer

Champagne: Often times we have people tell us, well my parents have never watched their wedding video, I doubt I would. What’s your response to this?

Ambient Sky: Wedding video as an industry has evolved incredibly fast in the last 10 years from virtually unwatchable home video, fly on the wall style wedding videos, to a true cinematic experience like we offer with our Couture Wedding Films™.  With our films, the days of the wedding video that never gets watched is over.  Our clients regularly rave about how many times they watch their wedding film.  We pride ourselves on the timeless experience we create for our clients and their families.  We spend a great deal of time and effort on each wedding film making sure it’s something that they will want to watch again and again.  Our advanced style of shooting and our engaging edits make our vision of a wedding film unlike anything most couples have ever seen before.

Same Day Edit
The short highlight of the wedding day that we show at the reception.  One of our most popular offerings.

Champagne: What sets you apart from other videographers?

Ambient Sky: Everything!  Our creativity in storytelling, in shooting, in editing.  Our sense of the moment, and capturing the really important ones when they present themselves thru-out the day, then weaving these together with the rest of the days events into a feature style wedding film.

Being the trend setters of the wedding film industry in the area, it is somewhat flattering to see our style and techniques show up in the work of many of our competitors.  However, it’s our internal drive that keeps us always learning, evolving and pushing the envelope in our wedding films.  We are always looking for a better way to shoot, to edit and to tell our clients stories in a more engaging way.  We introduced the Portland/Vancouver markets to the concept of a highly stylized and enthralling Same Day Edit video shown on a big screen at the reception.  It provides the couple, their family and friends with an entertaining vignette of the days events that is unparalleled.  We were even the first wedding filmmakers in Portland to blog!  Check ours out often, as we are proud of every film we produce which means we are always filling the blog up with our latest and greatest.

All aspects of our company focus on the style and elegance that we portray in our films.  You won’t see pictures of our cameras or our gear in our advertising.  The majority of couples we work with simply want a great wedding film.  While we do use some of the most advanced visual and audio capture equipment in the filmmaking industry they are all just tools that help us create better wedding films.

Our expertise in showing our brides in the most flattering and elegant way garnered us a WEVA Creative Excellence award in the highly competitive Bridal Spotlight category, making us the only studio in the Pacific Northwest to ever win this incredibly difficult category.  WEVA (Wedding and Event Videography Association) is an international organization that is the most prestigious in our industry to win an award from.  It’s basically our Academy awards. We’ve also won a variety of other awards including a Telly for our Fashion Style Video of Miss Oregon 2007, Kari Virding.

Bridal Elegance Film

Champagne: What do you do when you’re not doing what you do?

Ambient Sky: Try to keep up with our 3 year old daughter who is quickly becoming a force of nature.  Spend time with our friends and family.  Discovering new music and watching movies (but that’s “research” for us)!  Dancing and playing Hockey (not at the same time)!

Engagement Film

Champagne: What’s one tip or advice you have for couples as they plan their wedding?

Ambient Sky: Don’t skimp on preserving your memories.  You put so much time, money and heart into planning your day and it goes by in a flash.  Photography plays an important role but it serves an entirely different purpose in the moments it captures.  The truth is, people rarely have the emotional connection to a photo that they do to our finely crafted wedding films.  It’s not uncommon for couples visiting us to tear up while watching one of our previous clients wedding films.  And it’s not often, if ever, that people do the same looking at wedding photos of people they don’t know.  We always recommend to couples that they should prioritize both photography and a wedding film in their budget.

Champagne: Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

Ambient Sky: Our overall professionalism, passion and creativity that we bring to each wedding and event we shoot comes thru in the experiences our clients have with us and in the final movie they get to enjoy.  We are also a husband and wife team and we have great respect for marriage and family.  Having been married for 10 years now with our wedding a very distant memory, we have a very intimate connection to the value of what we provide to our clients.  Needless to say we don’t have a wedding film from our wedding because there was no one in the area creating anything worth paying for when we got married.  We don’t remember our vows, we don’t remember Amanda’s father’s performance during our ceremony, we can’t remember the toast my brother gave that brought us to tears.  If we could somehow go back and shoot and edit our own wedding film with all the experience and knowledge we have now, it’s value would easily be priceless to us.

If you are unsure about videography for your wedding day, simply watch our work and we would love to talk with you more about creating a timeless wedding film for you!

Champagne: Thank you, Ambient Sky, for sharing more about videography and your company with us! We look forward to working with you soon!

Cheers,

Mandi, Rachelle & the Champagne team

With wedding season among us, many brides for 2010 have done most of their planning, but may be trying to decide whether hiring a month of coordinator would be worth it. Being wedding planners, we, of course would say, “YES! Don’t hesitate! Hire a professional wedding coordinator to ensure your wedding plans are taken care of the day of so you, your friends and family can relax and enjoy!” Make sure to find the right personality match to work with you on your wedding day! Here’s an article that we posted a few months ago about the different types of coordinators that’ll be a part of your wedding day to help you decide if hiring a Month of [Day of] coordinator is right for you! Enjoy and if you have any questions- please don’t hesitate to ask!

With the title “coordinator” used so often in the wedding and event industry, it’s no surprise that the duties of these different people can get a bit confusing. We were talking about this recently with other vendors, and it is clear that people have a lot of questions about the different types of coordinators that might work with them on their wedding day. We’ll unravel these different terms for you!

Catering Coordinator: This person works for your catering company or as a manager at a venue that offers catering.
Your catering coordinator will make sure:
      o your menu selections have been made
      o plans for your bar and beverages has been arranged
      o receive and maintain your payments for the catering
Many catering companies offer rental items such as dinnerware, linens, and glassware. Your catering coordinator may assist you in selecting those items. On the day of your wedding, the catering coordinator manages the timeline for food preparation and food service. The catering coordinator will also oversee the serving staff.

Venue Coordinator: This person is employed by the venue, and knows the inner-workings of the space. Your venue coordinator will most often do a walk-through with you and point out typical layouts for your floor plan.
Your venue coordinator will know answers to questions, such as:
      o “what time can our vendors start setting up?”
      o “Where are the power outlets in the building?”
      o “How many chairs and tables do you have, and do you provide linens?”
      o “Am I allowed to use candles?”
      o “Where can vendors park for loading and unloading?”
      o “When is our final payment due?”
Some venue coordinators are on-site during your wedding day for part of all of the day. Make sure you ask them what their role with be on the day of.

Church Coordinator: If you are marrying in a church, you might have a church coordinator.
Your church coordinator will:
      o schedule your rehearsal time
      o advise you on etiquette of that specific church as well as its rules
      o run your rehearsal (for example, tell you how you should line up/walk into the church)
      o refer cantors or musicians through the parish
      o your church coordinator will be there on your wedding day to guide you down the aisle

Wedding Coordinator: A wedding coordinator/consultant/planner is one and the same.  A wedding coordinator differs from the afore mentioned coordinators because he/she is hired directly by the bride/groom/family which means their first and foremost job description is to provide to you the services that you need to make your wedding planning experience enjoyable. He/she can not only answer questions about your venue, rentals, catering, and church customs, but can also aid you with subjects such as design, budgeting, vendor selection, timelines, and etiquette. A perk is that most wedding coordinators receive discounts with vendors that get passed on to the client as a savings, rather than marking them up and costing the client more money. This comes from the experience that a professional wedding coordinator has, as well as the extensive research and networking that he/she maintains on a regular basis to continue to learn about the vendors that are available to their clients.
Most wedding coordinators offer day-of coordination in their list of services. When hiring a Day-of Coordinator they manage the details of your wedding day for you.
This includes, but not limited to:
      o preparing a timeline and ceremony processional/recessional sheet
      o organizing day of information details
      o communicating details between all vendors making sure they are on the same page
      o running the rehearsal or assist officiant and church coordinator
      o set up and clean up
      o trouble-shooting any and all situations throughout the day
Many day-of coordinators offer packages that include meetings to prepare for the wedding day and more.

If you have a coordinator at your venue, church or catering company that uses the title wedding planner/ wedding coordinator/ wedding consultant please inquire about all of the different things that they plan to do for you on your wedding day, as well as throughout your planning timeframe, so you are not left disappointed on your wedding day. We are happy to answer any questions you may have. Every company is different, so some coordinators may vary from the above description.

Happy planning!

Cheers,
Mandi, Rachelle and the Champagne team

Local event:
Eco-friendly wedding event! Portland:
Monday, June 28
6:00- 8:00 pm
New Beginning Salon Spa
503-645-2950
http://www.nbsalonspa.com

Woo hoo… we made it 30 days! It was such a blast sharing these vendors with you!!

Thank you to everyone who followed along, the vendors that made it possible and all of the vendors we know and love!! We can’t wait to share with you the things we have in the works over the next few months! Check back tomorrow to enter in our “Week of Love” contest!

If you missed any of the “30 days of vendors” posts, make sure to check them out!

Day 30 of 30: Urban Studio
Day 29 of 30: Brandon Perron Photography
Day 28 of 30: Passionflower Floral Design
Day 27 of 30: Bakery Bar
Day 26 of 30: Solstice Video
Day 25 of 30: AJ’s Hair design & Makeup
Day 24 of 30: Honeysuckle Photography
Day 23 of 30: West Coast Event Productions
Day 22 of 30: Gorge-ous Weddings
Day 21 of 30: The Wedding Cottage
Day 20 of 30: The Photo Lounge
Day 19 of 30: Fioribella Floral Design
Day 18 of 30: Shields Films
Day 17 of 30: Yasmin Khajavi Photography
Day 16 of 30: Vista Hills & Red Ridge
Day 15 of 30: Lori Raines Calligraphy
Day 14 of 30: Peekaboo Portland
Day 13 of 30: Vibrant Table Catering & Events
Day 12 of 30: Joel Bock Photography
Day 11 of 30: True Love Sound
Day 10 of 30: Blum Floral Desgin
Day 9 of 30: Becerra Photography
Day 8 of 30: Black Butte Ranch
Day 7 of 30: Cupcake Jones
Day 6 of 30: Mosca Photo
Day 5 of 30: Vibrant Table Flowers
Day 4 of 30: Premiere Catering
Day 3 of 30: Paul Rich Studio
Day 2 of 30: Bon Moment Inivitations
Day 1 of 30: Bryan Hoybook Photography
See what the 30 days of vendors is all about!

Cheers,
Mandi & Rachelle

Thank you for stopping by our blog! We’d love to meet you! We offer free no obligation consultations so you’re able to see if you’re in need of a wedding coordinator and if we’re the right match! .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) us now to set up an appointment!

Every wedding day is unique… like a snowflake, there’s no two exactly the same, but one thing that is true for all, is the day flies by.  Having a coordinator can definitely help so you are able to relax, enjoy and soak up all of the memories of the day, but a videographer will capture the day on film allowing you to see moments you may have missed and relive the first day of the rest of your life, anytime… Greg from Solstice Video is passionate about preserving memories into a video that your grandchildren’s children will want to watch… Get to know Greg and view some samples below…

Champagne: How would you describe your videography style?

Greg: I am mostly known for my documentary style of doing things. That is a “tell the whole story” approach, but done in with a tight and entertaining edit. I use all the elements of music, dialogue, and stunning imagery to craft each client’s unique story. It’s not my goal to make cheesy wedding videos, for sure.

See video clip: Guys Getting Ready to First Look

Champagne: How did you get into videography?

Greg: I have been working with film and video since I was 15 years old. I made my first feature film right out of college at the age of 22, and have gone on to produce a number of short and feature films. I fell in love with wedding documentaries when I began the business about 6 years ago. I started out as an actor and then later found myself getting behind the camera. I love every facet of video production and have done just about everything that can be done with a video camera.

Champagne: Often times we have people tell us, well my parents have never watched their wedding video, I doubt I would. What’s your response to this?

Greg: Video is way different today then it was when our parents’ received theirs. The technology we have available to us is extraordinary, and if you find a videographer who really knows his stuff, the result can be a stunning treasure to remember your day by. I can guarantee you will want to watch your video over and over again [as well as your kids and their grandkids someday!] to pick up all the subtle nuances and vivid imagery that is sewed in to edit the story. Not only will you want to watch it, I have had many clients call theirs the “best movie ever made”! Photos are incredible in their own right, but there truly is no substitute for video when capturing the reality [motion, audio] of your fast-paced day. If you want to truly remember how it was, video is an absolute necessity.

See video clip: World Trade Center Wedding

Champagne: Have you won any awards?

Greg: I have won many awards for my filmmaking by national publications and film festivals. I even produced one of the top cult films of all-time as was stated on “Roger Ebert & The Movies”. However, I have never had the desire to enter my wedding work for awards. Maybe someday I will take the time to do it, but it has just never been necessary when people are able to see what I do. Awards can be great, but seein’ is believin’.

See video clip: Wedding Music Video

Champagne: What sets you apart from other videographers?

Greg: Besides actually knowing how to use my camera? Just kidding. Not only do I do wedding and event work, I also have a commercial side of our business, called Blue Couch Media , in which Solstice Video is a division of. Others may proclaim proudly that they “only do weddings,” as if that is a huge advantage over the competition. However, by me continuing to do commercial and narrative work, I bring this wealth of experience and techniques into my wedding documentary work. And, clients can really tell the difference.

See video clip: Circle of Petals

Champagne: What do you do when you’re not doing what you do?

Greg: I spend pretty much the rest of the time with my wife and 4-year old son, as well as friends. We are big on dinner parties. I like to get out to a movie or concert when I can, and then zone out to the tube or a book at night. I also love traveling, riding my bike, going to the gym, and going camping with friends whenever we can.

Champagne: What’s one tip of advice you’d offer to brides as they plan their wedding?

Greg: Schedule enough time throughout the day so you can stay as relaxed as possible, and then let yourself go with the moment!

See video clip: Bride Tells It

Champagne: Anything else you’d like our readers to know?

Greg: There are many people still out there that think, based on their past experiences, that capturing video is a luxury that can be done without, and there still is not enough communication about its necessity. A lot of people tell me they regret having never got a video of their wedding day, and if they had only known how great it would be to have a video, they would have done it. Some people think they are doing someone a favor by eliminating videography from their client or friend’s budget, noting that having a photographer is enough. But when they see what video can do [after seeing what Solstice Video did for a friend or family member’s recent wedding], then the client often regrets not having done it. Imagine showing your kids [and grandkids] someday the DVD of you in action, craftily told in a story format, of the most incredible day of your life. How cool is that?

Champagne: Thank you, Greg, for telling us more about Solstice Video! We look forward to working with you soon! Make sure to check out Solstice Video’s website and keep up to date with their blog!

Check out previous posts from our 30 days of vendors:
Day 25 of 30: AJ’s Hair design & Makeup
Day 24 of 30: Honeysuckle Photography
Day 23 of 30: West Coast Event Productions
Day 22 of 30: Gorge-ous Weddings
Day 21 of 30: The Wedding Cottage
Day 20 of 30: The Photo Lounge
Day 19 of 30: Fioribella Floral Design
Day 18 of 30: Shields Films
Day 17 of 30: Yasmin Khajavi Photography
Day of 16 of 30: Vista Hills & Red Ridge
Day 15 of 30: Lori Raines Calligraphy
Day 14 of 30: Peekaboo Portland
Day 13 of 30: Vibrant Table Catering & Events
Day 12 of 30: Joel Bock Photography
Day 11 of 30: True Love Sound
Day 10 of 30: Blum Floral Desgin
Day 9 of 30: Becerra Photography
Day 8 of 30: Black Butte Ranch
Day 7 of 30: Cupcake Jones
Day 6 of 30: Mosca Photo
Day 5 of 30: Vibrant Table Flowers
Day 4 of 30: Premiere Catering
Day 3 of 30: Paul Rich Studio
Day 2 of 30: Bon Moment Inivitations
Day 1 of 30: Bryan Hoybook Photography
See what the 30 days of vendors is all about!

Cheers,
Mandi & Rachelle

Thank you for stopping by our blog! We’d love to meet you! We offer free no obligation consultations so you’re able to see if you’re in need of a wedding coordinator and if we’re the right match! .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) us now to set up an appointment!

Often times Videographers and Wedding Coordinators are put last on the budget list… I find this unfortunate for a few reasons…
one: Wedding Coordination/Planning is our job
two: Wedding Coordinators more often than not save their clients: money [Sometimes more than the cost of the coordinator], headache, stress…
three: Videographers allow you to be able to relive your wedding day over and over…
four: The moments you missed… being able to see your grandma talking after she’s no longer around…Videographers capture the moments you’ll want to see again!
five: Whether you’ve planned your wedding since you were six or just last month, a coordinator makes sure the ones you love can enjoy the day with you and a videographer makes it so you can experience the day, time and time again with the ones you love…
The reasons go on, but fall in love with video, as you get to know Travis Shields of Shields Films...

Champagne: How would you describe your videography style?

Travis: Fun. Real. Authentic. I’ve always said that if your going to all the trouble of planning a wedding then your day should be a reflection of you as a couple. Your wedding doesn’t have to look and feel exactly like the latest weddings in magazines or your girlfriends wedding. That’s what’s so great about Portland, we are a creative group of people that look for real authentic experiences. And that’s who I am as a filmmaker. I’m drawn to the documentary approach to filmmaking…capturing your weddings small moments as well as the big epic looking shots. I want your DVD to be a movie that you will want to watch every year on your anniversary and be excited about.

Champagne: How did you get into videography?

Travis: I went to school for TV news production and quickly grew tired of the news world. I needed something more personal…and being a part of someones wedding does that for me. I get paid to go to parties!

Champagne: Often times we have people tell us, well my parents have never watched their wedding video, I doubt I would. What’s your response to this?

Travis: I wouldn’t watch your parents wedding video either! It’s probably really boring and on VHS. Do people even have VCR’s anymore?

Champagne: Have you won any awards?

Travis: I recently won a Telly Award for a short documentary that I made. It’s a pretty sweet award that I’m proud of and kind of validated for me that what I’m doing, shooting films, truly is what I’m supposed to be doing in life.

Champagne: What sets you apart from other videographers?

Travis: The first reason is that I have a beard. A really sweet beard too. The second reason is that I shoot with the best cameras you can imagine. I have the best HD cameras on the market that give you a really nice movie looking feel. And I also shoot with vintage super 8 film cameras that give you a real organic vintage feel. Yes, film—like they used in olden days. Even with the wide availability of High Definition video today, brides are enjoying the softer more nostalgic look and feel of film included in their wedding packages.

Champagne: What do you do when you’re not doing what you do?

Travis: My wife and I have two awesome little boys, that are 5 and 2 1/2, that keep us really busy. My house is full of Transformers and cars, and it’s amazing. I wish you could meet my boys! We just got a Border Collie/Lab mix puppy named Tabor that has made our life insane!

Champagne: One tip or advice for couples as they plan their wedding:

Travis: Don’t book anybody just based on price alone. As you make your rounds visiting different wedding video vendors, be sure to ask a lot of questions and see as many samples as possible. Make sure your vendors are the right fit for you! Mandi and Rachelle will be glad to help with that…

Champagne: Thank you, Travis, for telling us more about Shields Films! We look forward to working with you soon! Make sure to check out Shields Films website and stay up to date with him on his blog!

Check out previous posts from our 30 days of vendors:
Day 17 of 30: Yasmin Khajavi Photography
Day 16 of 30: Vista Hills & Red Ridge
Day 15 of 30: Lori Raines Calligraphy
Day 14 of 30: Peekaboo Portland
Day 13 of 30: Vibrant Table Catering & Events
Day 12 of 30: Joel Bock Photography
Day 11 of 30: True Love Sound
Day 10 of 30: Blum Floral Desgin
Day 9 of 30: Becerra Photography
Day 8 of 30: Black Butte Ranchy
Day 7 of 30: Cupcake Jones
Day 6 of 30: Mosca Photo
Day 5 of 30: Vibrant Table Flowers
Day 4 of 30: Premiere Catering
Day 3 of 30: Paul Rich Studio
Day 2 of 30: Bon Moment Inivitations
Day 1 of 30: Bryan Hoybook Photography
See what the 30 days of vendors is all about!

Cheers,
Mandi & Rachelle

Only 6 days left to take advantage of our current promotion!! Book your wedding or event coordination before January 30th, 2010 and receive 5% off your package!* Dates are booking quickly!

Don’t forget, we offer free consultations so you can learn if hiring a wedding planner would benefit you and if we’re the right match! We’d love to learn more about you, your fiance and your upcoming wedding plans!

*Not valid on previously booked packages. Contract and deposit must be returned by January 30th, 2010.