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Tom — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:15:25 +0000

Hello blog readers! We apologize for the lack of posts lately. Why are we lagging so much? First, we're frantically working to get finished with all the weddings from 2011 before the 2012 season gets REALLY busy. Second, we have a new policy now for blog posts. We are making a transition into using music that we either have licensed or permission to use. We get requests from couples quite frequently to use music that we don't legally have the rights to use. While we respect the couple's wishes to use quality music for their wedding film, we also respect the right of the recording artist who works hard to make a living. It's a tricky situation, but the law is clear. So from now on we won't be blogging videos with unlicensed music tracks. Don't fret though! Some great artists such as Ben Rector, Lovelight, Drew Barefoot, Amy Seeley, and many others have all made their music available for licensing. The films we create with licensed music will have the same amount of emotion, style, and relevance that we have been producing for the past 4 years. We'll be posting some new stuff soon!

Ryan + Jane Same Day Premiere

Tom — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:26:19 +0000

Hello friends! We had one wedding to film in January and it happened this past weekend! We showed up a bit early and captured some of Jane and her girls doing a yoga session...something different right? That's not all that was different! They chose a song by Foster the People called "I Would Do Anthing for You" and it makes you want to dance. So this edit called for a lot of quick cuts and dancing! Jane and Ryan held their wedding at the San Diego Children's Museum - such a cool spot for a wedding! Jane and her sister did all the wedding design, which turned out wonderful, and we're very pleased with how their Same Day Premiere turned out! Here's what we showed to their guests that night.

Tyler + Minglie

Tom — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:04:48 +0000

Ending the night with a simple, honest, and elegant wedding we shot last year. Tyler and Minglie wanted a very small wedding with just their immediate family a few close friends. We flew up to San Francisco and met up with them while they were getting ready in the city. Not long after that we headed down to city hall for their intimate ceremony. San Fran has the most amazing city hall I've ever been in! Really high ceilings with sweeping arches. We capped the night off at the Wayfare Tavern for a delicious meal. A few of their friends and family gave some heartfelt speeches around the dinner table, a very wise decision which added a lot to their film. We sat, ate, drank, and laughed with everyone - we truly felt like part of the family!

Before the wedding I sat down with them and caught their story on film. They told me their wonderfully hilarious and charming story of how they met and eventually decided to get married. They instantly became some of my favorite people I've ever worked with. By the way, they custom design and build gorgeous furniture and other beautiful creations - their company is called KillStress Designs. Sometimes you meet people who inspire you, and these are those types of people. I think by the time the film is over you will love them too! May I present to you, Tyler and Minglie!

Chris + Erin Same Day Premiere

Tom — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:37:25 +0000

Happy New Year! We rang in the new year in Palm Springs, and what better way to do it than by celebrating a marriage? The weather was amazing - 80 degrees in late December! You gotta love Southern California. This wedding was a little different for Matt and I, we brought our wives along with us and made a mini-vacation out of it. After eating breakfast they headed off to do some shopping while we started to shoot. Erin's bridesmaids let us know how excited Erin was when she booked with us. Always nice to hear things like that! There were lots of tears even during the preparations. The joy was evident and everyone was having a great time together. We found out the ceremony was planned to start at 6:30 PM, which made me a little nervous. I was hoping there would be some lighting so we weren't shooting in complete darkness. Thankfully, the lighting was beautiful and provided plenty of light for everyone! Some guests were blowing bubbles as Erin walked down the aisle and made for some pretty sweet imagery. I loved how the light played off the lens as the bubbles were backlit - they ended up looking like fire flies guiding her down the aisle. We showed this right before midnight and it sounded like all the guests enjoyed it - lots of hooting and hollering! Thanks to everyone who reads the blog and watches the videos and here's to a joyful 2012!

2012 Wedding Promotion - UPDATE

Tom — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:57:36 +0000

Well, we haven't even reached the end of the year and our promotion has come to an end. We have filled all our available spots. What a great turnout! Thanks to all who passed the info along to make this promotion a success and congratulations to the lucky couples who will get a free wedding video!

If you are still looking for a videographer who is doing promotions, please check out www.forreyfilms.com and contact Matt. Good luck!

2012 Wedding Promotion!

Tom — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:33:57 +0000

Image Courtesy of Studio Castillero

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend! I'm pleased to announce a special promotion we're offering at Aqua Vivus for the start of the 2012 season. We are training up some new talented cinematographers and need some ready and willing couples to be our guinea pigs! Here's the details:

- We will shoot your wedding. Tom and two interns will arrive as you are getting ready and will leave after all the formal events have finished and they have covered some of the open dancing.

- After the wedding one of our interns will edit a 4-7 minute Highlight Film and we'll post it on the blog.

- And lastly, we'll do it for free...Yep! Free!

This promotion is only available for weddings in January and February 2012 in Southern California. We are only taking a limited amount so inquire soon! Please send an email to tom@aquavivus.com and tell us about your wedding. Remember to include the date, venue, a rough outline with times, and any other details you're excited to share about!

Doug + Ashley Same Day Premiere

Tom — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:03:18 +0000

It rained in San Diego! It might seem crazy but it happens from time to time. When we woke up to get ready for Doug and Ashley's wedding it was already coming down and we knew it would be a wet and wild wedding day! I have a confession to make: I was actually a little bit excited to shoot in the rain...you know, since it hardly ever happens here! I tried to contain my excitement around everyone else who seemed to still have hope that it would clear up. I can definitely put myself in their shoes - it nearly rained on my wedding day too! I remember the anxiety of that whole situation and wouldn't wish that upon anyone. Ashley and Doug handled the situation with as much grace as anyone could, truly amazing!

I had also been wanting to use this song for a while - "Shelter" by Ray LaMontagne, but I was saving it for a rainy day...literally. I thought the lyrics would tie in beautifully with the imagery of rain falling and the couple holding umbrellas over each other. Well, I got my chance to use it! During the ceremony Doug became pretty emotional and I thought that was just so powerful. Amidst the rain and weather (and all the stress that comes along with it) here were two people surrounded by their loved ones and they were announcing their love and commitment to each other. Ray's lyrics echoed through my mind while I was editing:

"All of this around us will fall over, I'll tell you what we're gonna do...You will shelter me, my love...and I will shelter you."

I hope that when the storms of life come around, you two will continue to shelter each other. Congrats!

Josh + Cathy Wedding Film

Tom — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:07:06 +0000

Good afternoon folks! This past weekend was rainy...very rainy. What does that mean? Our first wedding this year in the rain! More on that later, I'll be posting the video soon. Today we're going to get to know some new friends of mine - Josh and Cathy. They really are two peas in a pod! When they told me about their wedding I was surprised to find out the ceremony would be very small...just them, an officiant, photographer, and videographer. Sort of a planned elopement you could say. Before that, I interviewed them about their story and gathered some pictures. They were so nice and took me out to dinner afterwards! We really got to know each other and they are awesome people. Their reception banquet was this past weekend and they were able to show the video to all their friends and family - and now it's time to put it online! I'm so happy for them and glad to have made some new friends. Here's their video!

David + Jennifer

Tom — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:38:11 +0000

We had a great time shooting this with our friends Rico, Rachel, Brent, Megan, and Mariah. It was a marathon-of-a-day but we had plenty of energy thanks to the company surrounding us. David and Jennifer were very accommodating and even let us eat dinner before any of the guests arrived for the reception! Thanks so much! We had plenty of nice footage to choose from thanks to the different locations, styles of dress, and environments at their ceremony venue (The Fullerton Arboretum). Here is the video we showed that night.

Ryan + Abigail Highlight Film

Tom — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 05:13:21 +0000

I can't believe November is here already! Last night we were in Macy's and there was Christmas music playing...crazy! This is the time of year that we start shooting less and editing more, so expect to see lots of new blog posts. Sometimes clients will ask me if they can order a video that is short like the Same Day Premiere, but they don't want to show it at their wedding. Well, we have just the thing for them - a Highlight Film. It's the same price as the Same Day Premiere, but we put it together after the wedding and make it run a couple minutes longer. We can also include footage from the reception, which is a bit harder to do on the same day. Tonight I present to you Ryan and Abigail's Highlight Film. They got married at a beautiful venue in Laguna Beach called Tivoli Too. It was a lot of fun putting this together for them because they had a lot of fun sound bytes throughout the day. We blended it with a song by Snow Patrol called "Open Your Eyes". Congrats to the lovely couple, Ryan and Abigail!