Camille & Daniel's Highlights

Here are the highlights from Camille & Daniel's emotional 6/9/07 wedding at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church and reception at Oak Hill Mansion, videotaped by our newly Emmy-nominated producer Laurie Buschmann:

Congrats to our EMMY nominee!

Photo courtesy of ideavenue.net

Those of you close to the business have come to know what a huge role our resident over-achiever Laurie Buschmann has played in the success of IndyVisual ever since she entered the fold in 2000. She has shot, edited, produced, assisted and generally done everything in her power to help keep us rolling along. And all this as a SECOND job while working full-time with the types of production companies that most people in our field (including yours truly) could only dream of having on our resumes, currently as a producer for ideavenue.

She has lent her talent to every major television network and every big-name corporation in the state and beyond, establishing a sterling reputation for her professionalism and attention to detail. But most impressively to me, she has endured and overcome the most difficult of challenges along the way with complete grace and dignity, never losing sight of the qualities that made her an invaluable collaborator and one of my very best friends.

So it is with no small measure of excitement that I can announce here that Laurie has achieved what so few in our industry can claim - the status of REGIONAL EMMY-NOMINEE for her role as the producer of a program called "Steel Horse" during her recent tenure at WISH-TV. She has truly earned every bit of that title the hard way, and I am so incredibly lucky and proud to have had her as part of the IndyVisual team for the past seven years - and hopefully many more to come!

Happy 14th Anniversary!

It's hard to believe, but Chris and I have now been married for 14 years! I told her last night that she must have broken two mirrors before we got married to be stuck with me this long. She has been such a saint, putting up with my crazy hours and wrangling three nutty boys while I've been off doing such fun "work." She has been my very best friend for nearly 21 years now (maybe she broke THREE mirrors), and I wouldn't be where I am without the unconditional love and support she has given me all those years. I love you, Chris!

Ann Marie & Michael - 6/23/07

Although I was still aching from the previous day's wedding, I was very excited to get started on Ann Marie & Michael's big day for many reasons. First, this would be my first wedding and reception at the Crowne Plaza Union Station shot in HD, so it was stimulating to capture the gorgeous architecture of the historic Grand Hall from a whole new (widescreen) perspective. Second, it meant that I would be working with my good friend and photographer extraordinaire Angela Talley, who had referred the couple to me. But mostly, there was the super-nice couple themselves, who booked us a looong time ago and have been very excited this whole time about having me there, which has only made me feel more the same in return.

We all started the day by hopping onto a shuttle for some photos on Monument Circle with Angela and her ace assistant Whitney. Then we went to the RCA Dome, and for good measure, Lucas Oil Field for some more shots. I was impressed by the groom's pop-culture savvy when he asked me to capture the guys doing a "Resevoir Dogs" walk. (Angela's "Rese-what?" reaction cracked me up. Definitely a guy movie!) The ceremony itself looked gorgeous in the north end of the Grand Hall with the huge, round stained-glass window overhead and the awesome floral arrangements by Sara Thompson of McNamara Florist dotting the aisle.

A long cocktail hour combined with a spread-out dinner schedule with formalities mixed in throughout gave me plenty of time to catch my breath and get ready for the next great moment, of which Ann Marie and Michael provided many. Larry Sauer and his band etc., enhanced by a killer brass section, played some popular standards throughout dinner, but the exciting part was seeing everyone's reaction once they kicked in with the REALLY great stuff afterwards. And I don't know what it is about us when we get together, but Angela, Whitney and I spent so much time in a constant state of hysterics, cracking up for no apparent reason all night, that it's really amazing we got any work done. But indeed we did, and I can't wait to share it with this wonderful couple.

Amanda & Michael - 6/22/07

Photo by Dawn Fisher of Galleria Studios Photography

Amanda & Michael enjoyed a gorgeous wedding and reception on Friday at the Indiana History Center downtown. From the moment I first met Amanda at a bridal show, and on through a couple more meetings, I couldn't help but notice that she seemed like one of the most genuinely happy people that I had ever met. So I had been looking forward to capturing that electric smile on the happiest day of her life ever since, and through all the photos and formalities of the day, neither she nor her equally radiant groom disappointed.

The ceremony took place in Eli Lilly Hall, a beautiful space that was transformed even more by Alan Thompson of McNamara Florist and the IHC staff under the detailed eye of consultant Tonya Shadoan of Circle City Planners. We scurried off to the canal for some fun photos afterwards with Dawn Fisher of Galleria Studios. (When the guys wanted to do an "Abbey Road" shot walking across the street, who was the Beatles nut who insisted that one of them go barefoot a la McCartney on that album cover? Yep, yours truly!)

In an interesting twist, the couple chose to be introduced and cut their cake in the Stardust Terrace during the cocktail hour before sending all their guests through a receiving line back into the Eli Lilly Hall for the rest of the dinner and reception. By the time the formalities were out of the way, there was only an hour remaining for open dancing before the couple's scheduled departure by horse carriage, so DJ Sunny Moon took his usual all-killer-no-filler approach to another level and kept the dance floor packed with some great singalong classics before the couple departed through a blizzard of finger-flinger streamers.

Emily & Andrew's Highlights

Here are the highlights from Emily & Andrew's 6/2/07 wedding at Meridian Street United Methodist Church, followed by a reception at Woodstock Club:



I loved Emily's immediate response via e-mail upon seeing the clip: "I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!!!! I ABSOLUTELY love it! My mom and I just watched over the phone today and she went crazy too! She had to get off the phone so that she could forward it to all her friends…hahaha! Thanks so much!" The pleasure was all mine, Emily. Can't wait for you to enjoy the rest of the video this weekend...

Kimberly & Adam - 6/16/07

Photo by Reece Booth Photography

Kim & Adam brought me all the way out to the beautiful rolling hills of Ashland, Kentucky to cover their wedding ceremony at First Baptist Church. I had missed out on an opportunity to videotape Kim's sister's wedding at the same venue last fall, so I'm glad they kept me in mind again this time around. Adam and his groomsmen were hard to videotape, as they had me cracking up almost the entire time. They were just about the funniest group of guys I've ever covered. The couple added a uniquely sentimental touch by displaying a slideshow of the groom's photos set to a song as his parents walked down the aisle and lit their candle, followed by the same for the bride's side.

The reception at nearby Bellefonte Country Club was a great time in a classy locale, with lots of sunset photo ops with chiropractor-turned-photographer Reece Booth (I could use a chiropractor after every wedding!) on the golf course and great tunes spun by DJ Bobby Leach. Consultant Donna Graham did a great job staying on top of all the details and communicating with the vendors. My own personal non-wedding highlight was being served the tastiest sweet tea throughout the evening, status quo down there according to Reece. Even all the McDonald's drive-thrus sell large sweet teas for a buck, so I was happy to partake there many times as well. I LOVE Kentucky!

Virginia & Lars' Highlights

Here are the video highlights from Virginia & Lars' very unique 6/2/07 wedding at Bethlehem Lutheran Church and reception at Meridian Hills Country Club. Ironically, the Barry Manilow song Virginia wanted for this video was the very first song I sang in high school choir many years ago, and I had never heard the real version until putting these highlights together:



So many interesting stories emerged from this day as I looked through Laurie's footage, not the least of were the masquerade masks, the ubiquitous animal-couple figurines, and Lars' Norwegian heritage (check out the groom's cake). But I was most intrigued by Virginia's use of an excerpt from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Snow-White and Rose-Red" in their programs, as Virginia is the first bride I've ever seen wear both a white AND a red wedding gown, the latter one for the reception. Coincidence? I even suspect that the wedding and reception venues might have been designed to reflect the duality of the title characters, but I'll have to run that theory by the couple when they return from their honeymoon in Longboat Key, FL.

Anna & Michael's Highlights

We just got the following wonderful feedback via e-mail from Anna & Michael about the video of their 5/19/07 wedding and reception at the luxurious Conrad Hotel, which Laurie videotaped: "We love the wedding video!! It was so great to be able to see all the things that we missed during the day while we were doing other things! It was great working with you!" Here are the highlights from their video:



Kevin Swan just sent me a link to their online album as well, which is really cool. Check it out!

Comments

I've accumulated a lot of nice feedback lately, including this e-mail today from Jill & Kevin regarding the video of their 4/26/07 destination wedding: "Kevin and I finally got a chance to watch it all the way through. It is really unbelievable! I am so happy we had you go to capture all of that and put it into such a wonderful package. Thank you very much for everything you did. Your work is incredible, and we will never forget such beautiful memories now because of you!"

I also got this one yesterday from Leigh Ann & Kevin after I sent them a sneak peek of their 5/19/07 wedding: "Thanks!! The highlights real is awesome!!! We love it!"

This is a short-but-sweet snippet of an e-mail Melody sent me regarding the highlight video I previewed to her shortly before delivering the finished video of her 4/29/07 wedding to Colts lineman Dylan Gandy: "We LOVED the sneak peak you sent us, it made me cry!!"

Here's what Kelly & Jonathan wrote to me in a sweet card that they sent regarding the video of their 4/14/07 wedding: "We can't thank you enough for capturing our wedding so beautifully! Our family and friends have already been on your website to view the sample of our wedding video, and I can't tell you how many compliments we've received on what an amazing job you did. I can't wait to recommend you to every bride I know or meet!"

Finally, this note and a nice "present" were in a card from Kacie & Don about the video of their 3/24/07 wedding: "We wanted to thank you for everything. We absolutely love the footage and highlight reel. We wish we could say thank you in a bigger way!"

All of you already thank us in a huge way by trusting us to capture your beautiful day, sending me great unsolicited testimonials to put on our blog and website, and most of all, telling everyone you know about us. So thanks to all of YOU!

Christin & Kyle - 6/9/07

Photo by Nantz Photography

Christin exchanged vows with Kyle yesterday in her hometown of New Castle at First Baptist Church Family Life Center, a huge state-of-the-art worship facility that used to be, surprisingly, a Wal-Mart! Christin is one of the sweetest brides I have ever worked with, and that lovely spirit was reflected as well in her groom, family, friends and over 350 guests. The photomontage I created for her was shown immediately before the processional, which was unusual but set the perfect tone for the rest of the ceremony.

Afterwards, photographer David Nantz (who referred the couple to me - thanks Dave!), the wedding party and I headed out to Memorial Park for some fun photos. I rarely suggest ideas for poses, but this group was so fun, and Dave so accomodating, that I couldn't resist throwing some wacky ideas out there that I hope worked out well. (By the way, Dave's residential loft, which was converted from a three-story brick lodge, is going to be featured on HGTV's "reZONED" this Wednesday night - too cool!)

Then we drove up S.R. 3 to the Cornerstone Center for the Arts (which was beautifully converted from a Masonic Temple - I'm sensing a renovation theme here) in Muncie for a fun reception catered by MCL Catering. The chicken-over-stuffing thingy was one of the tastiest creations I've ever had, and the family-style serving of the food was a unique touch that added to the sense of community. My good friend, DJ Jim Cerone presided over the formalities with his usual spot-on class and professionalism, and everyone, including the many kids in the crowd, had a terrific time.

Camille & Daniel - 6/9/07

While I was on the road in New Castle and Muncie, Laurie videotaped Camille & Daniel's wedding and reception right up the street at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church and Oak Hill Mansion. Laurie said that the couple was so much in love and so into each other that they sometimes seemed to forget that she was in the room with them. The happy couple and their wedding party went downtown after the ceremony for some fun photos at Victory Field with photographer Ed Lausch, who was one of the people who kindly referred Camille & Daniel to us. The reception got off to a rocky start when the DJ failed to show up, but a replacement (ironically from Muncie, where I was at the time) was eventually brought in, and the couple and their guests were ready to party and seemed to be in great spirits by the time I dropped in to wish them well.

Leigh Ann & Kevin's Highlights

Here are the video highlights from Leigh Ann & Kevin's beautiful wedding at Second Presbyterian Church and spectacular reception at the Indiana Roof Ballroom.

Emily & Andrew - 6/2/07

Photo by Richard Spahr Photography

After many prayers and crossed fingers, the weather held up beautifully for Emily & John's wedding day, which kicked off a very busy month of June for us. The ceremony took place at Meridian Street United Methodist Church, which was adorned spectacularly by McNamara's. The sequence of arches that welcomed the guests down the aisle was amazing, but the same designer did the unbelievable arrangements for the Lauth reception I covered a couple of weeks ago at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, so I'm not surprised. Church coordinator David Otto did his customary great job keeping such a big wedding with so many attendants and guests running smoothly and right on time. The music throughout was terrific, and fortunately, I was able to debut some new audio accessories at this wedding to capture it all.

The 300 or so guests then packed the Woodstock Club for a lively outdoor cocktail hour and indoor reception. With the Flip Miller Band providing the music as they usually do for this crowd, I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me with everyone wanting to dance to all that great music in a limited area, but the smaller HD camera that I used made navigation much easier and gave me some fun shots. My good friend Leslie Jones did a superb job throughout the day, right up until the couple exited in a shower of rose petals at midnight. Photographer Richard Spahr hung in there with me until the very end as well, and it was a joy for me to work with him for the first time. (Laurie enjoyed working him recently, too.)

The Meridian St. UMC/Woodstock combination has become an annual tradition for us, as a lot of our clients who are members of those venues use pretty much the same vendors every time a daughter gets married, and IndyVisual has been a lucky beneficiary of that for years now. The real fun part of these events is catching up with the many former clients in the crowd every time. But it was Emily's family who kickstarted this whole run of weddings for us after we covered her sister Sarah's wedding years ago, and I can't thank the Neighbours family enough for their incredible support throughout the years.

Virginia & Lars - 6/2/07

Photo by Karen Bowling Photography

While I was covering Emily & Andrew's wedding a mile away, Laurie was at Bethlehem Lutheran Church for Virginia & Lars' beautiful wedding ceremony. I can't help but think about the song "Everlasting Love" by Natalie Cole as I write this, because the couple met through eHarmony, whose commercials prominently feature that tune. After getting ready at her sister's house, Virginia arrived just in time ten minutes before the ceremony. This has been a very unique and refreshing couple to work with since day one, and true to form, the bride surprised everyone with a change into a red dress prior to the reception at Meridian Hills Country Club. Karen Bowling and Platinum DJs provided the photography and music, respectively, and Laurie enjoyed their company throughout the day. June 2 has been by far the most inquired-about date this year (even more than 7/7/07), so I'm really glad we were able to accomodate Virginia & Lars' unforgettable big day, and I'm looking forward to editing this into a very fun video soon.