photography courtesy of Erik Leise

From William Gaff at Humanstory Films, Andrea and Brendan’s wedding day ~

andrea and brendan preview from humanstory on Vimeo.

When Brendan and I met we instantly connected to each other; it was like a scene from a romantic movie where sparks flew and music played, metaphorically speaking of course, and I couldn’t believe it was happening to me. We were, and still are, inseparable and completely infatuated with one another, which explains why we fell in love so quickly. After five months of spending every free moment we had with each other and shamelessly head over heels in love, he proposed to me during a picnic breakfast at our favorite place in Richmond, Virginia, Maymont Park. He had a book made with photos of the two of us that told the story of our love for one another. We sat down on a bench together and he read me our story with tears in his eyes. I was clueless until he got to the final page and read, “The day I met you was a dream come true. Please say you’ll be my soul mate for life. Andrea, will you be my wife always and forever?” He turned the page there was a picture of the ring, he got down on one knee, pulled the ring out of his pocket and asked me to marry him. As my eyes filled up with tears, I quickly and ecstatically said “Yes, yes, yes!!!” That was the day that I became the luckiest girl in the world because I was going to marry my soul mate and best friend.

Our faith, families and friends are the most important things in both our lives and it was imperative that it show in our wedding. Throughout the whole wedding planning process these values and the support we had from everyone, including a truly wonderful wedding planner,Windy Jennings of Weddings by Windy, helped us to keep our focus on the importance of the day — that while the wedding is one day, a marriage is for a lifetime.

We are both Catholic and being married in the church where I grew up with a full mass was a given. My sister had her wedding reception in this beautiful mansion in Richmond, the Bolling Haxall House, and Brendan and I both loved it so much that it became venue for our reception as well. Everything else was just as simple to decide because of the help from our families and our wedding planner.

We love to take pictures, so although we opted against taking engagement photos it was important that we find a photographer for the wedding who we could connect with and who had a style that suited us. After we met with Erik Leise and saw the passion he had for photographing weddings through his portfolio, we knew he’d be perfect. Having a videographer was something else that was really important to us. William Gaff shot my sister’s wedding in a documentary style and it was beyond amazing and extremely touching, so having him do our wedding was a no-brainer. We wanted the memories of our wedding to be beautifully and emotionally captured; Erik and William made that dream a reality.

The music was especially important to us and my dad as well. Our wedding planner told us about a band, Right Foot Red, and one Sunday we sat down with my dad and went over their list of songs and it just got us extra excited about the reception. The band did not disappoint at all. Everyone was dancing and having an amazing time. The band even brought Brendan and me up on stage to sing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing — it was incredible and so much fun.

The day was more than either of us could have dreamed of; a real-life fairytale. It was a beautiful day and only rained slightly during the reception, which no one even noticed since we were all inside having a blast! Our families and friends were very much included in the wedding: my dad walked me down the aisle and I saw a smile on Brendan’s face that I will never forget; our moms lit the tapers of the unity candle before the ceremony began; my sisters were both the maids of honor and their speech was perfect; Brendan’s dad was his best man and his two childhood best friends gave the best man speech on his behalf; my dad’s welcome speech during the reception was heartwarming and exceptional; Brendan’s sisters carried the gifts for the mass during the ceremony; we had close friends say the readings; and my sister and her husband sang a tear-jerking duet during the ceremony.

Every moment of our wedding day is especially treasured by us, not just because we can look back on those first memories we shared as husband and wife with amazement and delight, but because throughout the entire day we were so closely connected through the love and support of our faith, families and friends as we had wanted it to be from the very start. It was the best and most amazing day of my life — the perfect beginning to what I know is going to be a wonderful marriage filled with all the love I could ever dream of.

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Post tags: Bolling Haxall House, Erik Leise, humanstory films, Richmond, Right Foot Red, Virginia, Weddings by Windy, William Gaff
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Cinematography

photo courtesy of Larissa Cleveland

We are inundating you with wedding films this week! Films from some of the top event filmmakers in the business that we are PROUD to call our own ~ members of Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book. ALL of our LBB members are ~ in our opinion ~ the elite of wedding professionals. We wouldn’t recommend them if they weren’t!  But this particular group of cinematographers was named as the Top 25 event filmmakers by Event DV.  This is a HUGE honor ~ and one that you guys need to be SO proud of!

A little bit about our next acclaimed cinematographer …

William Gaff started filming weddings about 3 years ago after years as an editor for documentary and commercial work. Looking for something more meaningful, he decided to give wedding films a try and formed what would become humanstory. The humanstory approach to wedding films has been to capture the raw and honest story of the couple and the wedding day using a documentary style approach to filming and editing. A sincere interviewing style contributes making each humanstory film unique. Humanstory is based in Midlothian VA but is available to be commissioned anywhere in the U.S. and internationally.

From William Gaff at humanstory films …
Sometimes, you can’t get to know who a bride truly is until you see her through the eyes of the people who love her. Debbie is one of those brides. She is easy to talk with and fun to be around, but the true depths of her personality really come out in her actions as witnessed by her family and friends. Debbie and Damien originally met at Ithaca College in upstate New York but didn’t cross paths again until years later under very unusual circumstances. Even though they live in Washington DC, they still decided to marry in the Ithaca area at the Aurora Inn on Cayuga Lake. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful story. There is so much more to Debbie and Damien than this short clip or even a full film can truly convey. They really are an incredible couple. For more of the story, watch the complete film at http://vimeo.com/10808610.

Moments like these … the love and friendship that surround you on your wedding day … these are the memories you must never lose. These are the moments that only a wedding filmmaker can give you ….

Congratulations, William! A well-deserved honor!!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Aurora Inn, Cayuga Lake, humanstory films, Ithaca, Virginia
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Cinematography

Photographs do much the same. But capturing cherished moments on film … well, it’s just intangible.

photography by Don Mears

William at humanstory films knows all about it. That’s what he does. He captures the emotions … on film and in words. He, like so many other film makers, has a passion for his art. The art of preserving your family’s history on film.

A little bit about William …

I produce documentary style films that use interviews and cinema verite style footage from the day. I am extremely passionate about the storytelling part of the craft. Everything, from the music to the pacing to the choice of footage supports the story. How families and friends interact on the wedding day provides some of the most moving stories for me. I am a sap for family stories …

Brett and Jennifer met by a chance encounter on a spring break trip neither wanted to attend. When she first met him on the beach, Jennifer was less than impressed but, as she got to know him, well the rest is history. Jennifer and Brett both have amazingly close families and we tried to show that in the film.

A brief clip from humanstory films … Jennifer & Brett

humanstory films is based in Virginia … but as is the case with most all wedding artists, they’ll go anywhere for a great story!

A huge thank-you to Little Black Book photographer Don Mears for the beautiful photos and to William for sharing this snippet of Jennifer & Brett’s story. He has an amazing website and blog. But I have to warn you, you’ll need to pull out some tissues before heading over there.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Don Mears Photography, humanstory films, Virginia
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Cinematography