Jeff and Stacy at La Cima Club in Las Colinas’ The Towers at Williams Square in Video Wedding Dallas

For Jeff and Stacy, one of the benefits of getting married at La Cima Club was having The Mustangs of Las Colinas as a backdrop for their wedding photos.  The view of Dallas from the twenty-sixth floor of The Towers of Williams Square was pretty spectacular, too.  As the couple walked into the building after the outdoor photos, Jeff told Stacy, “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m glad I did it.”

Jeff and Stacy met on Christian Mingle and it doesn’t take long to figure out that Jeff is completely  smitten with his bride.  He told us she had a heart as big as Texas.  “She’s a stunningly beautiful woman, but she’s more beautiful in the inside.”

Stacy was certainly stunningly beautiful in her lace wedding gown.  The Queen Anne neckline featured a sheer keyhole back and a row of teeny tiny buttons.  Around her slim waist the bride wore a dramatic sash of large silk appliqued roses studded with crystals.  Her bridesmaids wore long gowns of blush pink.  The bouquets were mixed flowers in shades of pink and white.

As the couple kissed to seal their vows an Austin Powers sound-alike shouted, “Yeah Baby!” and ended the nuptials on a light note.  From the ceremony the guests went to the reception a few steps away where the couples entwined initials on the a window created a memorable tableau.

The whole day was a festival of live music.  A stringed quartet entertained the guests before the ceremony.  A duo performed a song during the wedding.  A pianist played as the couple entered the reception.

The wedding cake’s motif echoed the flowers on Stacy’s sash.  The cake was covered in butter icing and then decorated with fondant flowers which had crystal centers.  The groom’s cake was decorated in black fondant with card suit markings in red and topped with a race horse statue.  Every detail of the wedding spoke of excellent taste and a good eye for beauty.

Behind the Scenes with LeniCam Video Productions

The jaw-dropping view of La Cima Club made for a gorgeous wedding day and it also demanded skill from our videographers.  With the bright sunlight of the June day pouring into the venue, our videographers were constantly setting and resetting their cameras.

Though light was needed to capture details, too much of it washes everything out.  After bright shots, if the next frame was in heavy shadow, it required another adjustment to add light to the scene.  In well-lit shots , if people were standing in front of a window, more adjustments had to be made to keep them from becoming dark shadows.  All these adjustments had to be made on the fly.

The audio kept us busy, too.  We hooked up to the audio feed of each musician; put a microphone on the officiant and another on groom.  We encouraged the groom to keep his microphone on throughout the evening.  We also had microphones on our cameras.

After the ceremony, the wedding party went out to Williams Square for formal portraits with the still photographer.  Though experience we’ve discovered this time can be rich with humor and sentiment, so we include a section called “Photo Fun” in our videos.  On this particular day, we kept our videocameras rolling, even after the photo shoot was over and that’s how we got Jeff’s comment about what he did to deserve a wife like Stacy.

At the end of the day all these recordings went back to the studio.  In the coming weeks we edited and mixed the sounds into the video recordings.  The result was a beautiful video that Jeff and Stacy will enjoy throughout their marriage.

We Sweat the Small Stuff So You Don’t Have To

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Katelyn and Seth at Lost Oak Winery in Video Wedding Dallas

Katelyn and Seth’s wedding, at Lost Oak Winery in Burleson, was one of casual elegance.  On a perfectly beautiful day, the comfortably-attired, guests chose chilled wine from a barrel of iced bottles.  Programs of multi-layered papers, tied with moss green ribbon were available in a nostalgic trunk.  Rows of white folding chairs provided seating between spreading oak trees and bouquets of flowers hung at the ends of the rows.

As the bride dressed, Seth shared the story of a date to Dinosaur State Park in Glen Rose, where her love and enthusiasm for everything around her, won his heart.  Wearing a tan suit and white shirt, the groom sported a bolo tie, with a Southwestern motif, made from silver, turquoise and onyx.

The bride donned a strapless chiffon gown with pleats crisscrossing the sweetheart bodice and a full skirt of soft gathers.  A belt with delicate, chiffon-petalled flowers accented her waist.  Her tulle veil, edged in white sequins, fell from her up-do of loose curls.  She and her bridesmaids carried mixed bouquets of rustic flowers.  The bridesmaids wore short, sleeveless dresses of taupe silk brocade.

Katelyn and Seth’s sweet ceremony was accompanied by live guitar music.  A tiny toddling flower girl made it down the aisle with some assistance from her mother.  The bride arrived across a wooden footbridge.  After the vows were over, the couple shared a passionate kiss.

A wonderful buffet of beautifully displayed food welcomed the guests to the reception.  Plates filled, guests found seats at long tables.  In a mix of chic meets country, the tables were covered in white linen, with continuous burlap runners.  Atop the runners were lace-and-burlap covered mason jars of baby’s breath and fragrant eucalyptus. Flickering flames in hurricane oil lamps provided a soft, pleasant light for dining.

Then, under a pavilion decorated with strings of white lights, sashes of white crepe and many white paper lanterns, spirited dancing began.  Their lovely cake was twined round and round with grapevine and decorated with live flowers and swirls of white icing.  At the end of the evening, guests waved bright sparklers as the couple stole away into their orange SUV.  As they drove away Katelyn waved a final farewell.

Behind the Scenes with LeniCam Video Productions

Cicadas sang in the trees as Katelyn and Seth vowed to love one another forever, a charming effect to the live audience.  On the raw video footage, the cicadas (and trains passing on a nearby track) overpowered the couple’s words.  To overcome this, we put mics on the groom, the officiant, the guitarist and the DJ.  Back at the LeniCam studio, these feeds were woven into the video footage to create a beautiful and natural sounding memory of Katelyn and Seth’s special day.

Like most outdoor venues, the wedding at Lost Oaks was spread out over a greater area than an indoor venue.  The bride’s arrival over a footbridge was actually quite a distance from the ceremony.  Many videographers, using only the video feature of a digital camera, would miss this shot.  LeniCam uses actual video cameras with expanded zoom capabilities, allowing us to capture the distance shots as if we were standing right next to the action, without having to re-position our equipment.

We arrived at Lost Oaks early enough to work out our logistical strategies, like getting the footbridge shot and estimating where the sun would be when the ceremony started.  Since the ceremony coincided with a bright sunset, the camera person also adjusted the camera’s settings, to get the details of the bride’s dress and the couple’s faces, in spite of the harsh natural lighting.

Our camera people always take footage of the signage and the building exteriors to convey the ambiance of a venue.  At Lost Oaks, we actually went out into the fields and hunted down a branch of perfect grapes on the vine.  The grape footage and the barrels of chilled wine bottles visually communicate the uniqueness of the site.

We sweat the small stuff so you don’t have to.    

LeniCam Video Productions – Video Wedding Dallas

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Joyce and Andrew in a Family Celebration at Plano’s Grace Presbyterian Church Captured on Video Wedding Dallas

During an intimate ceremony in a small chapel, the families of Joyce and Andrew were joined into one.  Joyce and Andrew were married at the architecturally-unique Grace Presbyterian Church of Plano, causing great joy for their children.  The chapel was the original sanctuary for the church.

Grace looked pensively into the mirror as she dressed for the ceremony.  Her dark curls were softly clasped into her tulle veil.  The white satin of her dress gathered into a V-neckline.  A beaded decoration emphasized the empire waistline of the dress and soft folds of satin hugged her body as they cascaded down to the end of her train.

In the chapel, the guests sat on folding chairs which were covered in white satin and adorned with tulle bows.  Three large urns, full of graceful gladiola stems and other flowers, decorated the front of the chapel.  A reading from Ecclesiastes assured the couple that with God, they would become a rope of three strands which could not be broken.

Tears of joy began to flow from the bride’s eyes as her groom made his vows to her and continued as she promised to love him until death parted them.  Laughter replaced tears when the rings were exchanged and Andrew tried to repeat Joyce’s part.  The lighting of a unity candle represented to two lives and families which were being joined.

As the minister pronounced the couple man and wife, Joyce’s son danced happily, waving her bridal bouquet in the air.  Each member of the newly joined family joined with the couple in the cake cutting ceremony.  The “cake” was a tower of Nothing But Bundt Mini-Cakes which were eagerly anticipated by a group of young guests.

Along with the bundtlets with their delicious icing, guests were offered a buffet of snacks which Andrew had been responsible for preparing.  Joyce asked him how he decided what to serve, forgetting his menu came from a list she’d provided.

At the end of the afternoon the newly married couple waved farewell.  Andrew thanked everyone for coming and said he thought it had been an awesome day.

Behind the Scenes with LeniCam Video Productions

One thing is for sure.  The size of your guest list has nothing to do with the charm of your wedding day. The precious moments of Joyce and Andrew’s wedding are sweet beyond measure and with this video the couple and their children will be able to enjoy the memories without forgetting a single detail.

LeniCam treats each wedding as the important event that it is, without regard for the size of the wedding party.  Our videographer arrived at the wedding an hour and a half before the ceremony, just like we do at all weddings.  He stayed until the bride and groom bid us farewell.

Our goal is to be everywhere, recording everything, while we stay in the background, invisible to the guests and participants.  Since there was only one videographer at this event, he used a tripod on wheels to get from one place to another.  During the preparation of the video we deleted the frames where the camera was moving and mixed the sound so the frames removed would not be missed.  When we were through, it looked as if there had been multiple videographers at the event.

We Sweat the Small Stuff So You Don’t Have To

LeniCam Video Productions – Video Wedding Dallas

Video Wedding Dallas Captures Jackie and Trey’s Poolside Wedding at Parents’ Home with Tent Reception 

“You look after my treasure,” Dad said as he handed Jackie over to Trey.  The love glowing from Trey’s eyes assured Jackie her groom also considered her a treasure.  Jackie and Trey were married poolside at her parent’s estate in Rockwall, Texas with Dallas Wedding Videography.

The lovely bride wore a lace-over-satin fit-and-flare gown with a V-Neck bodice, lace cap-sleeves and keyhole back.  Her unique headpiece, of feathers, beads and lace, was worn on the side of her coiffure.  She carried a large bouquet of peach and white roses.

The groom, in his tan suit and ostrich skin cowboy boots, waited in an open field for his bride to arrive for their First Look.  She slipped up behind him with her train over her arm as the groom explained all the reasons he loved her.

The wedding party approached the ceremony site across a bridge spanning the swimming pool.  The bridesmaids, carrying bouquets of mixed white flowers, wore peach-colored gowns in a variety of lengths and styles.   The flower girl was so tiny she had to be carried down the aisle.

As the bride and groom shared vows they’d written for one another, emotion overtook the bride and only a quick unauthorized kiss saved her from breaking into tears.  The recessional back across the bridge was a happy parade.  Then a golf cart carried the couple from poolside, across a field, to the reception’s large white party tent.

Inside the tent, the photographer gathered all the guests, who were dressed in white, for a group picture taken from atop a ladder.  The delicious buffet gave a nod to both Johannesburg and Baton Rouge, cities important to the bride and groom and many of the guests.  The Jambalaya was prepared by the groom and a favorite guitarist had been flown in from Atlanta.

Behind the Scenes with LeniCam Video Productions

At Jackie and Trey’s wedding, LeniCam wore more than one hat.  We helped the bride with her audio needs, along with our videography services.  We were able to do that, because over the many years we’ve been in business, we’ve accumulated a large inventory of equipment, in order to facilitate the wide variety of events we cover.

Though many venues and vendors provide their own audio equipment, Jackie’s parents’ home wasn’t wired for sound.  By providing speakers and a sound mixer, in addition to the microphones and cameras we usually take to weddings, we were able to save Jackie and Trey money; because the add-on fee was much less expensive than contracting with a separate service provider.

There was an added bonus for Jackie and Trey beyond the cost savings.  Because we controlled the audio output at the wedding and reception, we were able to produce a video with better sound.

We sweat the small stuff so you don’t have to!

LeniCam Video Productions – Video Wedding Dallas

 Chris and Kelley’s Irish-Flavored Wedding at Colleyville’s Piazza in the Village captured on Video Wedding Dallas

After an engagement of a year and a half, Chris was anxious to marry Kelley, his beautiful red-headed fiancee. Colleyville’s Piazza in the Village, which resembles a quaint square in a small European town, brought Old World elegance to the day.  Kelley’s Irish heritage provided the fancy footwork in this Dallas Wedding Videography.

Kelley looked exquisite in her drop-waist A-line gown.  The strapless, sweetheart bodice of shirred tulle, with a corset closing, was adorned in lace, crystals and pearls.  The full skirt was embellished in the same way.  The pearls and crystals continued on the edge of her cathedral length veil.  Her abundant red hair was gathered to one-side in a cluster of curls, with a long corkscrew curl on the other side.  When Kelley checked the make-up artist’s work in the mirror, you could see how pleased she was.

Each pew of the gorgeous Piazza in the Village chapel was adorned with an ivory pillar candle in crackle-crystal hurricane atop a rod iron candle holder.  Overhead were elegant crystal chandeliers.  Rod iron and frosted glass doors opened for glamorous bride.  After the ceremony, the audience offered cheers of “hip-hip-hooray.”

The reception was only a few steps away in the Piazza’s Grand Ballroom.  Kelley’s wedding cake, a tower of lacy white confection, was partnered to Chris’s groom’s cake.  The groom’s cake was covered in basket-weave chocolate fondant and featured strawberries decorated to look as if they were wearing tuxedos.  For fun, a photo booth with props was provided.  Watching over it all was a large horse-head ice sculpture.

The dance floor was busy all night.  First out were the bride and groom for their solo dance.  While making a turn, Chris’s elbow knocked off Kelley’s veil.  Chris froze in terror, only to be rescued by the bride’s gleeful laughter.  In fact, she seemed relieved to be rid of the hindrance.

More solo dances and some line dancing followed a delicious plated dinner.  Then, Kelley took to the floor with some of her friends for an authentic Irish jig.  Afterwards her bridesmaids continued the fun, serenading the bride with a humorous song and comical hand gestures.  The laughter continued when Chris tried to start a food fight during the cake cutting.  Formalities over, everyone congregated on the dance floor for more fancy foot work.

Eventually the dance floor was cleared for the Garter Toss.  Then the guests moved out into the courtyard for Kelley’s Bouquet Toss from a second story balcony above.  Then the couple made their exit under a shower of bubbles and drove away with Chris at the wheel of his Honda.

Behind the Scenes with LeniCam Video Productions

As soon as Kelley contacted us, we started planning for her wedding video.  We didn’t tell her to fill in the blanks on our predetermined template.  Instead we discussed the logistics with her to determine how to best utilize our equipment and videographers to capture her unique event.

As we talked to Kelley, we could tell she was very excited about getting dressed for her big moment.  Even though Piazza on the Village has a bride’s suite, Kelley wanted to make her preparations at home.  So after considering all the options, Kelley chose to have a videographer come by her house, before setting up for the ceremony.

We also discovered Kelley wanted close-ups during the vows.  The best way to get those close-ups in the Piazza’s chapel was to employ our custom-designed remote control camera, because there is nothing for a cameraperson to hide behind.  With our proprietary camera we got very tight shots of the bride and groom as they promised to love one another forever, without having a cameraperson a few steps away distracting from the tender moment.

As Chris and Kelley’s special day unfolded we were there, on the edges of the crowd, capturing everything and everyone, while remaining virtually invisible.  When the day was over, we returned to our studio to edit and mix the video and audio recorded.  The result was a wedding video Chris and Kelley can cherish for all their days to come.

We Sweat the Small Stuff So You Don’t Have To

LeniCam Video Productions – Video Wedding Dallas