Colorful African Clothing Brightens Wedding Ceremony in Video by Wedding Videographer Dallas TX

Kehinde and Akin – An American Wedding with African Roots at Stonegate Mansion

Amid friends and family who were dressed in a bright sea of colorful African cultural clothing, Kehinde and Akin were married under a huge tree with wide-spread limbs at Stonegate Mansion in Ft. Worth.

Kehinde looked lovely in her white satin, empire-waited, strapless gown with sweetheart neckline and corset closing.  The form-fitting dress was shirred through the torso and then spread wide at the knee.  The empire waist was highlighted by crystal beading and a large crystal decoration gathered the shirring to the side, just before the dress spread out.  Kehinde’s elaborate up-do showed off her crystal necklace with matching earrings.  She finished off her look with a crystal-edged veil and burgundy suede pumps.

To escort Kehinde down the aisle her father wore a burgundy-colored cultural costume.  Kehinde’s face was obscured by a heavy veil.  The setting was beautiful:  bright green grass, white folding chairs, the huge tree and all the colorful outfits of the guests.  Kehinde’s bridesmaids wore long red satin dresses in a variety of styles and they carried bouquets with roses of several colors accented with eucalyptus pods.  In the tree was a huge basket filled with flowers.

During the ceremony, the groom and the father of the bride chanted part of the ritual in their native tongue.  When the minister invited Akin to kiss his bride, the groom lifted the veil and offered an affectionate embrace.  Kehinde said, “You look so handsome!”  Then she was embarrassed, because she realized everyone heard the comment.

The reception began with the bride and groom’s families dancing into the room.  The colorful parade preceded a similar performance by the wedding party, followed by the bride and groom.  The unique multi-tiered cake had one layer decorated with diamonds of color.  Others had white icing with dark filigree decoration.  The top was a bright bouquet of flowers and the entire cake was surrounded with rose petals.

Dancing was an important part of the reception and whenever the bride and groom danced they were showered with dollar bills from the guests.  After a while the bride and groom disappeared to change into their own cultural costumes in a deep orange hue to establish their own family color.  Then the showers of bill multiplied.

Behind the scenes with LeniCam Video Productions

We love outdoor weddings – especially on a day as beautiful as Kehinde and Akin’s wedding day – even though it means some extra work for wedding videographer Dallas TX.  Outdoor weddings mean greater distances to cover and a use of more different camera settings to get high quality video.  The results are so stunning that we relish our labor.

Whatever effort we put into filming a wedding, we like to be invisible while we’re doing it.  We use professional-grade HD videocameras because they allow us to stay at the edge of the crowd and still get wonderful close-up.  Some videographers choose equipment that requires them to be next to the bride and groom to get that kind of close-up.  We think that’s too invasive.  The bride and groom should have the spotlight alone.

Another technical device we used for Kehinde and Akin’s wedding was lavalier microphones on the groom and minister.  The purpose is to clearly record the words of the vows and we love it when we capture comments like Kehinde’s “You look so handsome.”

Because we’ve recorded so many African weddings we’re familiar with the exciting dancing that would kick off this reception, so we were ready.  We had our camera on a wheeled dolly to help us follow the dancers into the room and capture their performance.

We were everywhere, capturing the sights and sounds of Kehinde and Akin’s wedding, but our technology helped keep us invisible to the guests and participants.  We love it when our couples can’t believe the shots we got, because they didn’t remember seeing us there.

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

LeniCam Video Productions – Wedding Videographer Dallas TC

Fort Worth’s Historic Thistle Hill Hosts Wedding with African Roots in Wedding Videography Dallas

Juliette and Umaru – African Traditions at the Historic Thistle Hill in Fort Worth

Umaru and Juliette’s wedding day was ten years in the making.  They met at graduation ceremony of one of Juliette’s nieces and over time, the casual introduction grew into love.  Juliette and Umaru were married at Thistle Hill, a beautiful historic home in Fort Worth.

Thistle Hill is a fitting venue for a wedding, because the lovely edifice was built as a wedding gift back in the early 1900’s.  The gorgeous home features a large stairwell in the front entry hall which served as the site of the wedding.  As guests entered the hall they were greeted by a tasty buffet of candies and offered seats in the entry hall.  The ceremony took place on the stairwell’s landing, in front of a colorful stained glass window.  The bride and groom with their attendants standing on the steps below them made a dramatic tableau.

Juliette was a lovely bride.  She wore a white satin ball gown with a strapless corset-style bodice.  The tulle overskirt was gathered into pick-ups.  A crystal tiara with matching necklace and earrings added sparkle to her look, along with very high heeled sandals covered in glitter.    She finished her ensemble with lace-covered fingerless gloves and carried a bouquet of white roses.  Her most beautiful accoutrement, by far, was her dazzling smile.

Juliette’s tulle veil with wide lace trim was worn over her face for the ceremony.  During the her vows, the bride kept her eyes demurely cast downwards until the last few promises. Then she looked at Umaru and the love in her eyes shown through the sheer fabric. To symbolize the joining of their lives the couple lit a unity candle.  After exchanging rings the officiant asked Umaru to kiss his bride’s hand, which he did very elegantly.  When he was able to lift the veil, he offered a more enthusiastic sign of his affection.

A lively reception with a buffet dinner was held on the lawn.  The couple danced into the gathering and onto the dance floor where guest showered them with money.  Many of the guests were wearing cultural costumes with elaborate turbans and colorful dresses.  The wedding cake was made to look like a white castle with turrets and was decorated with red and black emblems.  The groom’s cake resembled a soccer ball.  At the end of the evening the couple thanked everyone for sharing their day.

Behind the Scenes with LeniCam Video Productions

This video features some beautiful close-ups of Juliette during her vows.  Because the ceremony took place on the tight stairwell, we had to use all kinds of ingenuity to get the shots.   Though we have a huge inventory of equipment to help us capture events, in this situation, technology wasn’t the answer.  Only our many years of experience allowed us to create this video.

First we carefully filmed through the banister as the couple moved from the bottom of the stairs to the top.  Then back in the studio we took extra care with our editing and mixing.  The result is a video which gives the viewer a better view of the ceremony than anyone attending the wedding enjoyed.

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

LeniCam Video Productions – Wedding Videography Dallas

Dara and Bisi – Eastridge Park Christian Church in Mesquite Wedding Videography Dallas TX

Wedding videography Dallas TX caught a celebration embracing an American homeland with Nigerian traditions.  Dara and Bisi were married at Eastridge Park Christian Church in Mesquite.

Dara and Bisi began their day together in a photo session across the street from the church in Town East Park.  A gentle breeze lifted Dara’s veil just like the wind machines do for models in magazine spreads.  After Ivy Weddings photographers got all the shots they needed, Bisi helped his bride cross busy Town East Boulevard.  Inside the church, guests in gorgeous Nigerian caftans and headdresses were eager for the bride to come down the aisle.

Dara looked stunning in a ball gown with a ruffled halter which fell into a V neckline.  The shirred bodice was gathered into a beaded belt and then spread out into a full skirt.  She carried a bouquet of pink and white roses.  Her bridesmaids in short black dresses, carried red roses and wore red pumps.

To escort Dara down the aisle, her father wore a spectacular woven caftan with bright orange ornamentation and a golden cap.  Throughout the congregation other family and friends wore turbans in turquoise, hot pink and other colors, each color representing a different family unit.  To honor these various families Dara and Bisi lit a unity candle during the ceremony.

The reception was held in the fellowship hall of the church.  Tables were covered in white linens with a red topper and the chairs were draped to match.  The guests enjoyed a buffet meal and the couple’s beautiful wedding cake.  Soon thick rolls of greenbacks came out and the guests showered the couple with bills peeled off the rolls.

Since the wedding established a new family, Dara and Bisi disappeared for a while to change into cultural clothes made of a soft pink – the color for their new family.  After more celebrations the couple drove away in their mini-van.  Gabe Villalobos of Biel Events should be proud of this wedding and reception.

Behind the Scenes with LeniCam Video Productions

Budget is an important factor in planning a wedding.  Dara and Bisi needed to watch their budget very carefully, so we worked with them to trim our cost to a price they could afford.   One of the ways we kept costs down was by using only one cameraman.  The fact that both the ceremony and the reception were at the same location also helped.

An important part of Dara and Bisi’s reception was the formal introduction of the bride and groom and their families.  As each family unit was introduced, they would enter the reception dancing. In order to capture the groups as they entered and follow them through their dance we used a wheeled dolly.  Our cameraman would more with the family as they entered the room.  When a group’s presentation was over, we would then roll back to the entrace to capture the next group.

Using only one cameraman limits the amount of footage we can shoot and the number of locations we can cover, however, we don’t allow it to effect the quality of the video we produce.  We still use professional grade HD vidoecameras and the best in audio equipment.  We meticulously edit and mix the video in our state-of-the-art studio.  The finished product is a wedding video we can be proud of and the couple can enjoy for years to come.

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

LeniCam Video Productions – Weding Videography Dallas TX