As often happens, I didn’t get the chance to meet with Pia and Micah until the day before their wedding.    I did however have several really great and insightful conversations with Pia on the phone and though emails.   What struck me from the start was her amazing awareness of why documenting the wedding day with photo and video is so important. 

I liked her quote so much, it is now on the back  cover of my demo dvd.

 “It is more than just the event, it is about how these people came to be who they are, how they found each other and the impact of the moment on those closest to them.” 

-Pia

I love that quote.  Pia really gets it.    And, if I didn’t   understand why she gets it, all I had to do was to meet her, Micah and the people that love them.   Pia and Micah’s family made it very clear how important those two are to them.   They are everything.

It was a great event. 

All of the the wedding activity was in and around the New York City area.

Pia and her bridesmaids got ready at the beautiful W Hotel in Hoboken while the ceremony and reception were in Brooklyn.   The reception was at Stage 6 at Steiner Studios, a working film and television studio that happens to have a great view of Manhattan and the Brooklyn  Bridge.

I also had the pleasure of meeting photographer Punam Bean.    That in itself was a great experience.  Her work is breathtaking.    You can always tell when a photographer really loves life and loves people, not just by where they aim the camera or what moments they release the shutter but also by the photos they choose to show on their blog.  Punam is one of those photographers with a joy and style that has a way of reminding my of why I love photography.

Thank you to  Tracey Goldstein  of Polka Dot Events for all of you help.   I also wanted to thank documentary filmmaker,  Alexis  Neophytides for making herself available to film the event with me.  She is not only very talented, but a lot of fun to work with too.

And, thanks most of all to Pia and Micah for asking me to take part in this weekend.  Congratulations.

Planner: Polka Dot Events – Tracey Goldstein

Venue: Stage 6 at Steiner Studios

Photography:  Punam Bean

All photos in this post by Punam Bean.  Video to come soon!

Oh my!  I was totally shocked to hear this news.

The nominations were just announced for the 30th Annual Emmy®  Awards in the News and Documentary categories.    I was so thrilled to hear that Documenting the Face of America received the nomination for Outstanding Historical Programming-Long Form.

http://www.emmyonline.tv/mediacenter/news_30th_nominations.html

The film was produced by Jeanine Butler of Butler Films and was edited by William Gaff (me). 

It was really an incredible experience to work with Jeanine, Catherine and Alistar of Butler films on this project.  

It was also a great opportunity to work with a good friend and amazing designer, Dave Swain.  Check out his work.

A dramatic story of how an unlikely group worked together for social change and ended up creating one of the most astonishing portraits of America ever compiled. The Farm Security Administration /Office of War Information photographic archive chronicled the heartbreak of the Dust Bowl era through the forced relocation of Japanese-Americans at the outset of WWII. This vast collection of photographs remains hauntingly relevant to our lives today. -PBS

“Documentary TV at it’s best”  -NY Daily News

For more information on the film visit.  

http://www.documentingamerica.org/Program.html

The film will be broadcast again nationally on PBS on August 10th.  Check your local listings for times.   It is available for purchase on ShopPBS

Congrats to everyone who put their time and their hearts into this film.   You should all be very proud.  I know I am.

Julia and Ryan got married at Celebrations at the Reservoir just south of Richmond Virginia.   Which happens to be less than a mile from my home.  Gotta love that!

Like a lot of outdoor weddings, everyone was afraid of what happens if it rains.   Well,  it rained and I hear to tell you that all was still  went very well.   A few people got a little wet and the harp player had to race the 7 foot harp to cover.   But the rain stopped, they dried off the chairs and the harp and went on with the ceremony.   Rather than getting stressed about it, Julia and Ryan just rolled with it and trusted that, no matter what, they were going to get married.     

Julia and Ryan had friends and family there to help them to enjoy their day.    It was great to see everyone pitch in and get involved in making sure that Julia could just enjoy the day and not worry about anything.      Alyssa from Celebrations was also there to contribute to that end as well.     Alyssa made herself available to help me and the other vendors too.   It is such a pleasure working with her.

Julia and Ryan have a really nice story to tell.   I was especially impressed with the great lengths that Ryan went through to make the proposal one that she would never forget. 

Julia is the last of 3 girls to get married.   Her older sister Angela, an ordained minister, was the officiant of the ceremony while her other sister Dana,  was the matron of honor.      Ryan is an only child but has some very close friends that  stood up for him as did his father as the best man.

This was the first time I got to work with Eric Cunningham of Choice Entertainment.

Eric was a great guy to work with and really turned the reception into quite a party.   This includes his coordination with Ryan and Julie in their “surprise first Dance” (See below)

The event was photographed by Bruce Ellis.   It was a pleasure working with Bruce.        

I really had a great time.   Thanks Ryan and Julia.     

Take care.

William

There are a couple of reasons that I like it when a bride gets ready for her wedding day at her home.

First and foremost, there is usually good food there and the moms always feed me.

Second, is that this environment can help the bride to be more comfortable and she also tends to reflect more on how her life has brought her to this moment.  The home creates such a beautifully personal and rich background for a wedding film.    

Julie wanted to be at her childhood home on the morning of her wedding.   She wanted her parents, sister and the girls she grew up with to be there with her too.   And, she asked me to be there to document it.    I’m glad she did.    Judging by the comments from all the people I talked to, it is clear that Julie is well loved.  She is a beautiful person in every way. 

Jeff (also known as Opie) has a slightly larger than life persona.   Everyone knows and loves him.   He is fearless, funny, sincere and  just an all-around great person.   The two of them make a really fun couple.    It was a pleasure getting to know them and their family and friends.   

May Lee shot the event with me.  May is absolutely one of the most talented video journalists I know.  During the shoot,  we each went in our own directions gathering a ton of great interviews and footage over the course of the weekend.   When we shoot a wedding film, we often come away with 7 to 10 hours of footage and interviews that we then weave together into the story of the couple and of the day.     May is a real storyteller and a good friend too.   I am grateful  for her and the amazing work that she does.

I also had the great pleasure of working with Maria Cooke of Ritzy Bee Events. Maria did the day of coordination for the reception.    I have been wanting to work with her for quite a while and was thrilled to have the chance.   Thanks Maria for helping to make it a great experience for me.

The wedding was held  just outside of Baltimore at the Towson United Methodist Church.  The reception was at the Valley Mansion in Hunt Valley, MD. 

Congratulations Julie and Jeff.   Thanks for the stories.

The first time i met Jamilah and her family, it was her brother Mahmoud who was the one getting married.

I was thrilled to find out several months later that not only was Jamilah also getting married, but that she wanted me to shoot the event for her as well.

During the filming of these two events, What really stuck me was the incredible and strong relationship Jamilah has with her parents and two brothers. There was no questioning the importance of family to them.   They would do anything for each other.

What struck me even more was their love for Wissam and his family. In the eyes of Jamilah’s family, Wissam was now a son and a brother.  There was now no difference than if he were blood related. And, for them, this was not just something you say on a wedding day. It was the absolute truth and always will be.

Another bonus for this shoot, for me, is the fact that I was able to work with Don and Lindsay Mears of Don Mears Photography. Two wonderfully talented photographers. They are so great to work with and always do an amazing job.

I also had the pleasure of shooting the film along side May Lee.  May is not only a great video-journalist but truly one of my inspirations and mentors as well.

The event was at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington D.C. in the Georgetown area.

What a great day to shoot a wedding.

Congratulations Jamilah and Wissam!

  Not only did Liene have tons of information about blogging, she encouraged and got the participation of the attendees, which was also a wealth of information.

 There were some really great people attending.   Everyone I spoke with was so warm and friendly.  What a pleasure.   

Andrea Jacobson of The Observatory photographed the event.  I will see if I can get some photos to post here.

Thanks Liene and thanks also to Sara Bauleke of Bella Notte for recommending this to me.

Happy blogging!

This year I seem to be doing more traveling than ever shooting weddings.   I have to admit that I really have enjoyed these shoots quite a bit.   Not because I am traveling to exotic locals.  I am not.   In fact, I have travelled to many small towns and even some places that I have never heard of.  

What I have grown to love about these traveling weddings is the experience of being totally  immersed in the events of the whole wedding weekend.   To meet and interview family and friends on the rehearsal day and the wedding day.    To feel the excitement when people come together for the  first time with people they haven’t seen  for years.   I see how they interact during the rehearsal and the dinner that usually follows.  I see the big moments and the quiet intimate ones too. The event is actually much bigger than just a one hour ceremony.  

Not too long ago, I saw the film Rachel Getting Married.   That film reminded me that,  not only are families wonderfully complex, but  it also reminded me of how  all of the amazing and moving and funny and strange family stories seem to bubble to the surface during the wedding weekend.    It is an incredible thing to witness as an outsider.

I attended a wedding last fall in Staunton, Virginia, a beautiful town in the Shenandoah Valley.     I was invited to document the wedding weekend of Jamie and Greg.  They are a fascinating couple with a great story.   However, it was all of the stories told by the family and friends that really made me appreciate the fact that the wedding was not really about just this couple.      It was also  about  their families and friends.  It was about  the past and present and, most certainly, about the hope for the future.    But, somehow, this wedding was also about me.   Somehow, watching a wedding weekend unfold  like this  affected how I look at the story of my own life.   It’s funny how that happens.  

I have had several wedding weekends I have attended this year and several more to come.   It is really amazing how each one is so different and each shows me a little bit about the world that I didn’t know existed just a week before. 

I guess it is always possible to get tired of traveling, to forget about the importance of these events.   I really hope that never happens.  Or if it does, I hope that I have someone who cares about me enough to give me a kick in the ass to remind me of how lucky I am.

Take care.  Gotta pack.

Most of the time, a marriage is not fully tested until well after the wedding.  However, Erin and Earl’s  relationship would be one that would last though many years of trials, all before the proposal even  took place. 

They supported one another through high school graduation, college,  the passing of loved ones and being separated by a call to duty that took  Earl halfway around the world.  Somehow,  though all of this,  their relationship not only held together but grew stronger.  They grew up together.

The wedding day was beautiful.   It took place at The Gardens at Sunday Park in Midlothian Virginia.   The weather was absolutely perfect for the ceremony and reception.    The reception venue allowed for a great view of the sun setting across the lake.  Simply breathtaking.    The event was less  about the formality of ceremony and more about the coming together of a small group of people that are forever connected by the lives of this couple.

Meeting some of these people at the wedding was a truly great experience for me.   This event really reminded me that weddings are about much more than ceremony or tradition.  They are a celebration of complex stories of life, love, family and friends.   

What a great story to help tell.

The event was the creation of Michelle Kilgore of Weddings By Michelle.   It was really an amazing show to watch.  Michelle, with the help of  her staff, the hotel staff and many of the top vendors in the area came together to pull off the amazing task of  using an entire re-enactment of a wedding to help give  an audience of brides-to-be some great wedding advise.

I was able to bring a camera and grab some footage of the event.   The following is a short film, or more so, a portrait of the event, it's creators and the attendees.      (note: I was testing out a new camera as well and had some close focus issues on the interviews.  Sorry about that)

Without any further ado, here's  i do.

It should be quite an experience.  Check it out here.