The Thrill of the Day: How Videographer Wedding Dallas TX Saved Cornelia and Cameron’s Ceremony

Life is full of ooops moments. Some are small, insignificant situations erased with laughter. Others require a little more effort to rectify. As we video events throughout North Texas we capture a lot of ooops moments. Some are edited out of our finished product. Others are the highlight of our video and become the favorite memory of our clients.

Cornelia and Cameron

Cornelia and Cameron’s love story had more airline miles in it than most of our brides and grooms’ romantic tales. The Navy had Cameron stationed in Japan. Cornelia was here in the States. When Cameron tried to declare his love for Cornelia over the phone, she was having none of it. She wanted to look him in the eye when he confessed his love for her. So Cameron flew her to Japan and did just that.  With a story like that behind their nuptials, we were excited about shooting their wedding.

Setting Up for Their Big Day

On Cornelia and Cameron’s wedding day, LeniCam arrived an hour and a half before the ceremony to set up our equipment and to capture the pre-ceremony excitement, just like we always do. The big, bright Texas sun was still shining outside and the venue was hopping with vendors preparing for the event.
In those crazy moments we always try to touch base with the other vendors, because we view weddings as a team sport. The day can be even more magical for the couple and their guests if there’s synergy among the vendors. Conflicts can be resolved easily, transitions occur smoothly and spirits are high. Because we’ve been filming weddings for over a decade, we’ve become friends with many of the wedding professionals in the area. We enjoy the opportunity to reconnect with the vendors we know and to meet those we haven’t worked with before.

Capturing the Pre-Ceremony Activities

LeniCam videographers visited both the bride and the groom before the ceremony. Cornelia wasn’t the only one wearing white. Cameron donned his Navy Dress White’s to marry his best girl.
As the bride dressed, a present from arrived from her groom which included the key to his heart and a vintage timepiece to mark the happy hours of their life together. It’s not surprising a gift like that would bring tears of joy.

The Wedding Ceremony

As time for the ceremony approached, our videographers made their way to main area of the venue and made sure everything was ready. By that time that big, bright Texas sun had set and the only illumination was candle light.

We weren’t worried, because our cameras provide the light we need, but the musician didn’t have enough light to see his keyboard. When we figured out what the whispers at the back of the room were about, we positioned one of our cameras next to the musician, so he could share our light and kept the other camera close to the ceremony.
Cornelia appeared none the wiser and the ceremony went on without a glitch. It was an oops that never actually happened, because the wedding vendors pulled together and we had the honor of being the hero of the hour.

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

We don’t have to save the day at every wedding, but our brides still think we’re heroes. We tell them that no matter what happens on their wedding day, both good and bad, they’re going to love their wedding video – and they always do.

Our experience and our equipment allow us to film good footage. Our compassion allows us to produce remarkable wedding videos. Call us now at 972-378-0446 or email info@lenicam.com to set up your videography appointment.

LeniCam Video Productions – Videographer Wedding Dallas TX Saves the Day

They Said It: Glady’s Review on The Knot

Videographers Wedding Dallas TX Reviewed by a Satisfied Bride

Videography is a unique kind of business. Every week LeniCam Video Productions is invited to weddings, game days, dance recitals, banquets and other events throughout North Texas. Sure we have a job to do there, but we also have the blessing of participating in the special moments of some very wonderful people. Nothing pleases us more than to know we’ve satisfied the hopes and desires of our clients.

Here’s what Gladys had to say about her video on The Knot:

Best Vendor on my Wedding Day – 5 out of 5 Stars

“It felt good not to have to micromanage at least one of my vendors on my wedding day. LeniCam was that vendor for me. Let John know what is important to you to be captured on your day and it will happen. I barely even knew he and his crew were there, they were so professional and prepared.

“After our wedding my husband and I were surprised by a series of unforeseen events which put our wedding on the back burner for several months. So we had no time to see any video footage or pictures, send thank you cards, even open our gifts! John was so courteous and accommodating with us and gave us as much time as needed to be in a good place to review our video and make all my extremely detailed video editing requests. This alone meant so much to us.

“I would very much recommend LeniCam to everyone.

“(My wedding took place in Dallas/Addison TX. I had a church wedding with a separate reception location. Blu-ray Hi def video is available! I very much liked this. Our package came with both Blu-ray and standard Dvd’s. I requested a third camera for the ceremony to get the view from our guests perspective and also to capture the great view of our church and us as we left.)”

Things Happen

No matter what we plan in life, things happen. Gladys and her husband ran into a road block immediately after their wedding. Here at LeniCam we have schedules and deadlines just like any business, but more than other businesses, we’re involved in people’s lives. When we made our first post-wedding contact with Gladys we realized their situation was out of the ordinary and we rearranged our schedules and our deadlines to accommodate their challenges. When things got back on track, we were there to finish the job we’d started and Gladys loved our video.

Every wedding is unique. At LeniCam we don’t try to stuff you into our box. We have developed wedding video packages to help brides compare the value of our product, but if, like Gladys, you want to make adjustments to our packages, what you want is what’s important to us. Call us now at 972-978-0446 or email info@lenicam.com to set up your videography appointment.

LeniCam Video Productions – Videographers Wedding Dallas TX

Here’s a promise we make to all our brides: No matter what happens during your wedding day, both good and bad, from beginning to end – you’re going to love your wedding video. How can we make that promise? Allow us to explain.

We Record a Lot of Video Footage

LeniCam Video Productions, Wedding Videographer Dallas, will arrive at least an hour and a half before the ceremony and shortly after we arrive we’re ready to start shooting. We offer a variety of packages, so the actual number of cameras and camera people will vary, but our mission doesn’t. We work to be everywhere, see everyone and record everything – and remain virtually invisible while we do it.

We Tape a Lot of Audio Recordings

During our set-up, we’ll hook up to the venue’s audio feed, put a wireless mic on the groom and go through the order of the service to make sure that everyone who will be speaking as a part of the ceremony will be recorded. We take extra care to insure the music and musicians you’ve selected will be captured.

If we’re a part of your reception, we take down the equipment from the ceremony while your still photographs are being taken and then hurry to the reception site and set everything up again. When the reception starts, we’ll have set up our audio feeds and microphones to do the same thing for the reception activities.

We Spend a Lot of Time in the Studio

With so much recorded, we have plenty to choose from when we get back to the studio. We pick the very best moments from your wedding and piece them together into a visual feast, which tells the story of your wedding day just the way you wanted it to be. If there were wardrobe malfunctions, they disappear. Any awkward expressions vanish. Embarrassing mishaps? Erased! All you’ll see is the wedding you imagined in your mind all along.

Just as much time is devoted to the audio track. The beautiful music you selected will be interwoven with the magical moments of your ceremony. If the splashing of a fountain kept your guests from hearing your vows, those words will be on the video. We’ll also tame the fountain’s noise down to a pleasant background sound. If a train came by your outdoor reception just as the best man made his toast, the train will be minimized in your video.

Aperfect example of what we can do is the video of an outdoor ceremony which was rained out moments after the first set of parents lit their candle for a unity candle observance. Everyone ran inside and we just kept filming. Soon the second set of parents lit their candle inside the venue. The transition was so seamless no one realized what we’d done until we asked them if they liked the way we had handled the interruption on the video.

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

LeniCam can’t promise you that your wedding day will be perfect, but we can promise that your wedding video will be. Call us now at 972-978-0446 or email info@lenicam.com to set up your videography appointment.

What is a Wireless Lavalier Microphone?

The term “lavalier” is borrowed from the jewelry world, but the more you research the actual use of the word, the more confusing it becomes. (To compare various definitions visit http://www.memidex.com/lavalier.) Apparently the word originally came from the name Louise, Duchesse de La Vallière, a mistress of King Louise XIV. However, the use of the word for a type of jewelry is directly related to an actress whose stage name was Eve Lavallière.

Even the jewelry world can’t make up its mind about the necklace. If you search “Tiffany Lavalier”, sorority and fraternity pendant jewelry is what you’ll find. However, several sources quote Hans Nadelhoffer from Cartier: Jewelers Extraordinary (http://www.amazon.com/Cartier-Hans-Nadelhoffer/dp/0500513619) and he describes it as sort of lasso necklace.

Jewlery aside, the first lavalier microphones were actually worn around the neck and were quite awkward looking, but the devise freed up the hands. Today a lavaliere microphone is not worn around the neck, but will be found clipped to the edge of clothing or hidden behind a lapel. For this reason, they are also referred to as lapel or personal microphones. You see them used frequently in public speaking and entertainment.

A wireless lavalier microphone comes in three parts. The first part is the clip which picks up the sound and transmits to larger transmitter. We usually affix the clip to a lapel, but we’ve hidden them in everything from a podium to a flower arrangement. The transmitter is a small box, which is usually attached to a belt or slipped into a pocket. The third part of the microphone is the receiver; it is located on the camera and receives the sound for broadcasting or recording or both.

Why You Should Invite at Least One Wireless Lavalier Mic to Your Wedding

Over the course of a wedding day, LeniCam may use many types of microphones and audio feeds, but there is one we always use and that’s a wireless lavalier mic on the groom. We’ve found it’s the absolute best way to capture the vows during a wedding ceremony. That’s justification enough for the mic, but we’ve also found it serves other uses.

Though we try to capture every single detail of a wedding, from exterior views of the ceremony venue to the couple’s departing vehicle, our primary concern throughout the day is keeping up with the bride and groom. If there is any question about where we need to be to get our shots, it’s possible to get several different versions of the couple’s whereabouts. The wedding coordinator may tell us one story, the DJ may explain it another way and the mother of the bride will have a completely different idea about it. When the groom has on a lavalier mic, we can turn to his frequency and listen in to his conversation. Usually within a few words we can decide whether we need to move the cameras or just wait a moment.
Perhaps the best reason for the lavalier mic is how easy it is to forget it’s there. As the bride and groom make their way through the wedding festivities, they share private jokes, whispered endearments and funny little secrets. These off-the-record words inevitably become the favorite moments of the video for the bride and groom, even if they have us hide them on a portion of the video no one else has access to.
We’d love to show you other ways our equipment is used to capture the special moments of your wedding and explain how our compassionate approach to vidoegraphy will make a difference in your wedding video. Call us now at 972-978-0446 or email info@lenicam.com to set up your videography appointment.

LeniCam Video Productions – Dallas Wedding Videographer

Good Relations: Videos Wedding Dallas TXRecommend Colleen Harkins & Associates, Wedding and Event Planning

Brides have a lot of decisions to make, from how to announce their engagement to what stationary to choose for thank you notes. Selecting a wedding planner early in the process may be the best decision of all.

Do-It-Myself vs. Do-It-For-Me

When it comes to wedding planning, brides differ greatly. While some want do to it all themselves, there are just as many who want someone else to be in charge. Filling the gap between these extremes are all kinds of brides with varying attitudes.

No matter where you lie on this spectrum, a wedding planner is a great asset to your wedding. Whether your wedding is a small affair in your home or a gala society event, it could benefit from the expertise of a professional. In fact, if a tight budget is your primary concern, a savvy wedding planner can save you a lot more money than they cost, because they can steer you away from common costly pitfalls.

The Proof is in the Pudding

LeniCam Videographers attend a lot of weddings – many with planners on board, many without. Brides with wedding planners have weddings with these hallmarks:

• An absence of faux pas, social gaffes and chaos
• More unique features in the ceremony and celebrations
• Greater cooperation between venue staffs and service providers
• Calmer brides, grooms, families, officiants and wedding party members

But My Venue Has a Wedding Coordinator

Wedding coordinators and wedding planners have very different jobs. Wedding coordinators are provided by many venues to help a bride through her wedding day. These important people will bend over backwards to integrate your wedding ceremony and/or reception plans with their facility. Wedding planners know that getting married is more than a one day event. They guide you through every facet of wedding planning, from engagement party venues to a travel agent for your honeymoon.

But My Mother/Sister/Best-Friend is Going to Help Me

Having family and friends who want to help with your wedding is a great asset, but sometimes the closeness of those relationships can create awkward situations. Wedding planners can take the sting out of disagreements, differences of opinion and the need to say no. They keep you on track and on budget. Their only agenda is providing you the wedding experience you want to have.

Your Wedding – Your Way – Your Day

A good wedding planner puts you first – your budget, your taste, your traditions, your preferences, your sanity. They will be just as involved as you want them to be. If you want to do all the research and make all the decisions, then just have the planner execute your plans – they can do that. If you’d prefer someone take a few notes, plan your wedding and then send you the bill – they can do that too. You’re in charge and they’ll do it your way.

No matter how much help you get from a wedding planner before the wedding, nothing is more important than her presence on your big day. You can enjoy every moment without worrying how things will turn out or having to face some unexpected situation. Your planner will have it covered.

So Who Should I Call?

Brides in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex are very lucky. There are hundreds of wonderful wedding planners to turn to and many resources for finding them.

One of our favorites is Colleen Harkins Associates. She brings twenty years of wedding experience to your wedding. We’re always glad to discover Colleen is the planner of a wedding we’ll be filming. We know she’ll act as a liaison for us with the venue’s staff and with other vendors. We know we’ll be informed of everything we need to know ahead of time and if changes occur, we’ll know before they happen. In other words, we’ll know our job will be easier and our videos will be better because of Colleen.

Another important vendor for your wedding is your videographer. A wedding planner will help you have the wedding day you’ve been dreaming of. Your videographer will capture your day on a video you will treasure forever. Call us now at 972-378-0446 or email info@lenicam.com to set up your videography appointment.

LeniCam video Productions – Dallas Wedding Videographers

They Said It: Byron’s Wedding Wire Review of Videographers Wedding Dallas TX

Videography is a unique kind of business. Every week LeniCam Video Productions is invited to weddings, game days, dance recitals, banquets and other events throughout North Texas. Sure we have a job to do there, but we also have the blessing of participating in the special moments of some very wonderful people. Nothing pleases us more than to know we’ve satisfied the hopes and desires of our clients.

Here’s what Byron had to say about his video on Wedding Wire:

“5.0 out of 5.0 Stars * Quality of Service: 5.0 * Responsiveness: 5.0 * Professionalism: 5.0 * Value: 5.0 * Flexibility: 5.0

“LeniCam completely made our event so special! As any good videographer, he guided us through each shot as we did our traditional poses. But, what really sets LeniCam apart is what we didn’t expect. We had a whole series of shots that he just invented to include the beauty of our wedding location. He took us around the property – posing us all over for some amazing shots incorporating all of the natural beauty. And, when we got the DVDs to review – we were just so happily surprised. There were so many shots where we exclaimed – “Wow – I never even saw him standing over there”. While we were focusing on enjoying the time – we completely trusted LeniCam to handle every detail and we were absolutely overwhelmed.”

Thank you, Byron!

Location, Location, Location

Byron was particularly pleased, because we captured the natural beauty of his wedding at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano. We’re glad, because incorporating the unique attributes of a venue is something we work to achieve in all our wedding videos. Location is one of the most important decisions a bride and groom makes. It sets the tone for everything else.

Indoor, outdoor. At church, at home. Hotel or event space. The choices are myriad and we’ve had the opportunity to film weddings at all kinds of spaces and places. Each venue brings special characteristics to a wedding and we want these qualities to be part of the memories of your wedding day.

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

Byron honored us with his trust and we take that pretty seriously. We enable a bride and groom to focus on each other and on the people with whom they’ve chosen to share their day. LeniCam can handle the small stuff. Call us now at 972-378-0446 or email info@lenicam.com to set up your videography appointment.

LeniCam Video Productions – Videographers Wedding Dallas TX

Preparing for Wedding Videography

Whether a wedding is a result of years of planning or a spur of the moment whirlwind, a wedding videographer has to be ready for anything. At LeniCam Video Productions, we know that on your special day, we need to pack more than a camera.

Experience Helps

Every wedding is unique, yet all weddings share a common rhythm. Like a lifeguard peering across a pool of swimmers, an experienced videographer can recognize potential hazards and will be ready to overcome them, before anyone else even has a hint anything is awry.

In more than a decade of wedding videography we’ve had the opportunity to tape weddings in a wide variety of venues: backyards, cathedrals, hotels, gardens, chapels, vineyards and many more. Chances are good we’ve taped a wedding at your venue and if we haven’t we’ve been somewhere similar. What’s more, we’ll gladly preview any venue ahead of time and our experience allows us to know what to look for. We will enhance your video with the venue’s unique characteristics and will know how to avoid any potential difficulties.

Another variable at each wedding is its cultural frame of reference. Some wedding day practices are based on family or faith traditions. Others have their root in a particular country or state. At LeniCam we’ve had the opportunity to interact with couples from all over the world, so we’ll recognize many of the ceremonies and rituals you’ll include in your day.

We’ve also learned that each bride and groom comes to their wedding with their own personal frame of reference, as well as a new outlook that they’ve formed together. These new rituals, customs and preferences are something we look for and try to capture on our wedding videos.

Technology Helps

Sometimes all it takes to save the day is the right technology. Like the day a musician showed up and discovered there wasn’t enough light for him to see his keyboard. Since LeniCam’s video cameras have lights, we positioned one of our cameras near the musician. We were able to tape the wedding and keep the music playing.

When LeniCam arrives at your wedding, the first thing we do is unload our equipment – and there’s a lot. We don’t just bring what we know we’ll need, we bring items we might need and we also bring back-up (with back-ups for the back-up). Yet whatever equipment you see at a wedding is just a fraction of our total inventory. Our inventory is part of the reason we can effectively film all kinds of events in all kinds of places.

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

The most important thing LeniCam takes to any wedding is the desire to capture special moments for important people. For that reason, we are acutely aware of nuances we see in brides, grooms, wedding party members, officiants and guests.

At a recent wedding, we were capturing the excitement as finishing touches were added to the bride’s hair and dress. The bride, who’d been enjoying the banter in the room, suddenly became very quiet. Before the bride’s mother could say, “I think the bride needs some quiet time,” our cameraperson was folding up his tripod and ushering extraneous visitors and vendors out of the room.

It didn’t matter what shot we were about to take. What mattered was the bride’s need for privacy. Brides love our finished product and they appreciate our sensitivity to their needs on their special days.

Our experience and our equipment allow us to film good footage. Our compassion allows us to produce remarkable wedding videos. Call us now at 972-378-0446 or email info@lenicam.com to set up your videography appointment.

LeniCam Video Productions – Wedding Videographers Dallas

LeniCam videographer Jonathan shoots with professional grade HD videocameras.

Tech Talk: Cameras for Wedding Videography Dallas TX

John Lenihan, owner and co-founder of LeniCam Productions, taped his first event in 1977. That event just happened to be his own wedding and the recording was an audio cassette.

Technology Then and Now

John’s first video was a slideshow of still photos synched with the audio cassette recording. Wedding videos have changed a lot since then, but John’s desire to capture precious memories with the latest in audio and visual technology has not changed.

Today, LeniCam uses professional-grade, high-definition video cameras and industry-standard wired and wireless microphones, as well as a full suite of software and hardware. A dedicated server room at our studio office safely stores all of our clients’ wedding videos.

What Brides Want

As we talk to brides about their wedding day, we hear two things over and over again.
• Number One: The bride wants us to capture every single detail of the day.
• Number Two: The bride wants the cameraman and equipment to be virtually invisible to the guests, participants and officiants.
Here at LeniCam we believe both are important.

Today’s Technology Choices

One of the easiest ways to capture absolutely everything at a wedding is to use consumer-grade DSLR still-cameras which include a video feature. Many wedding photographers have begun to include videography in their list of services by utilizing this technology. With these smaller digital cameras, the photographers can put themselves in the middle of the action and move quickly from one area to another.

LeniCam prefers to use professional-grade, high-definition video-only cameras for virtually all our events. For weddings, this is especially important, because we are sensitive to the bride’s second request – invisibility.

At close range, both the DSLR and the video camera record beautifully. Because of limited zoom capabilities, the DSLR must stay up close. To capture a bride’s walk down the aisle, a cameraperson with a DSLR would have to step out into the aisle with the bride and then physically move with her.

Our video cameras, which are much larger and heavier, have a greatly expanded zoom capacity. We can tape both close-ups and long shots without ever compromising video quality. These cameras, set up on tripods out of the guests’ line of sight, follow the bride from the vestibule to her groom’s side with crystal clear clarity. Meanwhile, the camera and the cameraperson remain in one spot, out of sight.

Because our cameras are stationary, vibration and movement are eradicated. Though DSLR’s may have a feature called Digital Stability Control, the feature cannot compensate 100%.
LeniCam videographers and their equipment stay out of sight and produce a higher quality video for your wedding memories.

What will the future bring?

In 1977 videography was the stuff of science fiction and no one had even dreamed of High Definition Blue Ray technology. Now it seems as if each day another impossible idea becomes an everyday necessity.

At LeniCam, John and his team are committed to capturing your precious wedding memories with the best technology available. Call us now at 972-378-0446 or email info@lenicam.com to set up your videography appointment.

LeniCam Video Productions – Wedding Videography Dallas TX