Is your groom this brave? A solo dance performance surprise for the bride at this wedding!

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/32538779[/vimeo]

Straight from the Austin wedding video of Whitney and Geoff, enjoy this special clip.

In recent years, it has become quite popular to among couples to fake out the crowd by starting their first dance or their father daughter dance with a more traditionally paced tune, then transitioning into something more saucy to the surprise of the wedding guests.

The first few times this made its way to Youtube, the videos went viral.  But since then, one has to ask one's self, if one wants to shock their family and friends without going too overboard, how can they do it without imitating someone else?  With the prevalence of wedding video online, their friends are certain to recall similar shenanigans and label their latest exploits as a rerun.

Whitney and Geoff obviously thought things through, and in keeping with their unique wedding style, they made a new spin on an old (in internet years) tradition.

So their challenge is not unlike anyone planning their wedding.  How do you make an event all your own when there is truly nothing new under the sun?  How do you make your event memorable without being labeled as an imitator?

As with all great wedding videos, it all comes down to story.  Start with your story, and let the style and the surprises flow from there.

In Geoff's case, begin with a toast from a groomsman, introducing a real, specific occurrence from days of yore, and then bridge that into the funny wedding tradition.

It's more about the journey, not so much the destination.

At your wedding, how did you put your own spin on something that may be familiar from other events, making it memorable in your own way?  Let us know in the comments below.

Spicewood Vineyards | "Like Fine Wine" - Jessica & Ron, the full film

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/36292490[/vimeo]

It took me a little while to finally meet Jessica and Ron after our first contact this past summer.  Jessica has a busy, thriving career, and Ron was actively picking grapes from his vineyards before the record summer heat would swallow them up.

Over some ceviche and guacamole at La Condesa, I heard of their travels to Greece, their love of music, and their appreciation for fine comestibles.  Jessica, having lived in most time zones in the U.S., had spent some time in an ashram in India as well.  Ron, with a law degree pedigree, had successfully operated his own record label.  Between the two of them, they were planning a vintage wedding that combined all their favorite things:

music - Barton Strings was set for the ceremony, The Darin Layne Jazz Trio at Cocktail hour, and Robert Earl Keen and Dysfunkshun Junkshun (separately :->) for the reception.

food - Primizie was planning an elaborate feast to be enhanced with bottles of wine from Ron's Vineyard

travel - Spicewood Vineyards is a hop and a skip out of town, but having a wedding and reception in one location away from the city gives it that destination wedding feel.

super 8 film - Ron & Jessica thought it was best to have a good portion of their day preserved in actual super 8mm film, to give their wedding movie the authentic "wonder years" style nostalgia that they were looking for in their vintage wedding.

But most of all, it was evident that Ron and Jessica valued their family and friends, and while they wanted their union to represent their story, they wanted more to serve the people who have brought them to this place in their story.

There are those who can pick out a fine wine.  There are few others who can turn water into wine.  And when you're in the middle of a drought and there's no water to be found, there are those whose lives are like wine to others.  Jessica and Ron, your relationship is a fantastic vintage, the perfect blend, aged to perfection, and poured out to their family and friends in just the right measure.

Thank you for having us along to document the fellowship that transpires from a bottle of y'all.

<<click here to see some of the amazing official photos by Diana M. Lott>>

<<<screengrabs below are from the wedding video>>>

Event Planning and Design: CLINK Photographers: FOUR Ceremony/Reception: Spicewood Vineyards 1419 County Road 409, Spicewood, TX 78669 (830) 693-5328 Catering: Primizie Bakery: Michelle's Patisserie Tents/Rentals/Linens: Marquee Rents Lighting: ILIOS Stylists: Niki Hayes and Marie Malone Calderon Ceremony Music: Barton Strings Entertainment Booking: Emerald Entertainment Cocktail Music: Darin Layne Jazz Trio Reception Entertainment #1: Robert Earl Keen Reception Entertainment #2: Dysfunkshun Junkshun DJ/Ceremony Sound: Penguin Entertainment Florist: PRIVE Austin Wedding Videographer: Mason Jar Films Guest Transportation: Transconsultants

Park Cities Baptist | "Love Like Wine" Laura + John

Laura & John met by chance, despite how many years their friends had been trying to get them together.  They are both people who don't proceed in life without a clear vision for what lies ahead, and inevitably, they knew almost immediately that they were going to be drawn toward each other forever.  The overwhelming support for this relationship from such a large community of friends and family is one of our favorite things to see, and at this wedding, they had it in abundance.

We are sharing with you our favorite moments from their full wedding film--moments of tenderness, and moments of sheer joy.  With stunning performances from their friends at their wedding, and the live band at the reception, Laura & John's wedding will not soon be forgotten by those who had the pleasure to attend.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/30771368[/vimeo]

It was truly a red-carpet worthy Dallas wedding video, and it's time to pass out awards.

Laura and John have quite a story, and their wedding guests were more than happy to contribute to telling that story at the rehearsal dinner.  Each guest had their own little bit and piece, and woven together, we found these stories to serve as a wonderful narrative thread throughout their wedding video.

So we have to thank everyone involved at the rehearsal dinner for playing their part in this wedding film.  It wouldn't be quite the same without you!  If you gave a rehearsal dinner toast, you get the first award.

 John's parents had this handkerchief embroidered for Laura with a message of their love plus her new monogram &amp; the wedding date. What a kind present to receive from your in-laws on your wedding day--especially thoughtful for the embroidery to be a "something blue" for a bride to carry.

The 2nd award goes to Dallas Event Planners DFW Events for keeping the trains running on time.  There were a lot of moving parts to make this wedding take place, and Mary Frances Hurt, Anna Staples, and many more executed the plan to perfection.

The Grammy Award goes to Think Big and the Bulletproof Brass band.  They keep getting better year after year. Every band member could have their own solo gig where they are the featured performer, but they come together to form this supergroup that knows how to keep a party going.

Let me take a moment to praise Union Station as a wedding venue.  The (Wolfgang Puck) catering is top notch, the facilities are gorgeous, and the staff knows how to get keep you fed and watered all night long.

Park Cities Baptist Church is also gorgeous--roman columns, hand-painted scripture on the vaulted ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and stained glass.  It also has a nice wide stage to accommodate larger wedding parties.

And last but not least, thank you to John and Laura.  You represent the ideals that we hope to have in every client.  While we may document your story, you are the ones that make us look good!

If this documentary inspires you to choose a Dallas Wedding Videographer, then we would be more than happy to serve your wedding videography needs.

 Laura, the bride, sent this card to John on the wedding day with the exact locations on earth where they were born and where they met, and on the other side it had the location where they got married.

White floral Wreaths on the church doors with buttercream ribbons, by DFW events      

San Antonio Wedding Reception | "Until the Final Flicker of Life's Embers" - Cara & Josh

 

Enjoy the final scenes from Cara & Josh's film of their spring 2011 wedding, full of burlap, lace, handmade tortillas, twinkling stars, and lively dancing.

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/59844912[/vimeo]

We do love shooting San Antonio wedding videos.  There's just something about a San Antonio wedding. In Texas, if Dallas is known for being formal, and Austin for being funky, then San Antonio is known for being spirited.

Cara and Josh, thank you for having Mason Jar Films as your wedding videographer team.  We trust that the spirit of San Antonio will shine forth in your wedding video.

p.s. All Texas weddings, no matter the location, are great!

Ceremony: Alamo Heights Presbyterian
Photographer: David Sixt
Reception Entertainment: Blind Date
Rehearsal Dinner: Paloma Blanca Mexican Cuisine

New Orleans Wedding | "Look at You, Baby!" - Celeste & Michael

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/59886923[/vimeo]

Trip no further, pretty sweeting,

Journeys end in lovers meeting.

-from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night"

While many will choose to untie their lives with a destination wedding, sometimes, there's just nothing like coming home...literally.

As Celeste gathered with her bridesmaids at her house for some pre-ceremony champaign, Celeste's father, the only other man in the room, eased on over to me and pointed out that many of those in the wedding party knew Celeste since their first days of school at the Academy of the Sacred Heart, wherein the chapel, Celeste would be married 2 hours later.

After the rehearsal the night before, Celeste related to me how she had attended weekly chapel services in that very room for 13 years.  As the semesters ticked away, while her friends moved into different classrooms and wings of the campus, they would always come back to this one edifice, week after week.  Only her childhood home was a place of more consistent refuge.

Upon graduation, many of Celeste's friends went their separate ways. Celeste ventured to the University of Virginia, then to the LSU school of Law, then back to New Orleans to further her career.

Michael, from Lake Charles, followed a similar trajectory.  After attending the University of Virginia, he made stops in Dallas and Birmingham before the pull of home led him to settle in New Orleans.  Home is where the heart is!

With "home" being another character in their story, it was only fitting that the arc of the wedding day run through the locations that embody that sense of place.  From Celeste getting into her dress upstairs at her parents house, to walking down the aisle at the chapel in the academy, to taking her first dance with Michael in the backyard of her childhood home, there was a rooted-ness in family history throughout the day's events that few couples experience.

Celeste and Michael, thanks for inviting us to come home with you.  I trust that this clip from your wedding video will continue to bring you back there, time and time again.

Photographer: Elizabeth Dondis Dress: Vera Wang, from Mimi Ceremony: Academy of the Sacred Heart Reception Entertainment: Sauce Band (from Austin!) Makeup: Tisa from Tisa's Beauty Bar Event Planning and Flora: Ted Viator, The Gardenaire Catering: Audubon Tea Room