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 June 11, 2007
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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
 June 10, 2007
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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
 June 10, 2007
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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.

Emily & Andrew – 6/2/07
 June 3, 2007
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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
 June 3, 2007
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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.

Our family photos
 May 24, 2007
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Tiffany Stoner and Nate Rowe of Nathaniel Edmunds Photography just gave my family the coolest “thank you” gift ever for the video clips I put together for their new website. Nate met us at Holiday Park last week to capture some images of the boys romping around at the huge play area, and of all of us wandering around the woods. I’ve always loved bringing the kids there, but it also has significance to me because I shot my first wedding in front of the park’s beautiful ruins with the fountain running, and it is also the last place Chris and I played with Matthew right before the twins were born. The kids are much older now and pretty tricky to wrangle for pictures, so I’m amazed at how many great shots Nate was able to get out of all that craziness. Thanks, Tiff & Nate! There are many more shots on their blog, but here are a few of my favorites:


Leigh Ann & Kevin – 5/19/07
 May 20, 2007
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Almost ten years after videotaping Leigh Ann Lauth’s graduation ceremony at Second Presbyterian Church and reception at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, it only seemed meant to be that I would have the honor of covering Leigh Ann & Kevin’s wedding and reception last night at those same venues. The couple certainly came ready to party, and their early first meeting gave them plenty of time to get some great shots in and outside the church with photographers Dan & Brooke Brand of Brand Photo & Design. The ceremony took place in front of about 400 guests, who easily filled this normally hard-to-fill sanctuary. The balcony was pretty full, too, as I shared space with a sizable orchestra whose beautiful music set a majestic tone for the whole ceremony. I was pleasantly surprised to see my talented friend Michael Vaughn of the Fishers Chamber Players there in the orchestra. (Our oldest kids are going to marry each other one day – they just don’t know it yet.)
The reception at the Indiana Roof Ballroom was simply breathtaking! This was also my first wedding with uber-designer Gary Bravard in almost ten years, and he came back better than ever and even outdid himself in a big way with this one. The huge ballroom is virtually impossible to truly fill with decor (not that it needs it), but Gary and his team did exactly that, transforming it into an extravagant forest of floral arrangements. One of the many highlights of the night was a surprise by the bride’s father Bob Lauth – an amazing Celtic dancing troupe to celebrate the couple’s Irish heritage. The band High Society Orchestra came down from Chicago to show everyone how it’s done in the Windy City, keeping the majority of the huge crowd – and the couple – on the dance floor for hours on end. I can’t thank Gary Bravard enough for making me a part of his great team at this event, or my buddy Rich Johnson for his invaluable help. And my kids are thankful for the favors that the couple had waiting for guests at the exit – boxes of Krispy Kreme Donuts!

Anna & Michael – 5/19/07
 May 20, 2007
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Anna & Michael share a mid-street kiss for photographer Kevin Swan.

While I was covering Leigh Ann & Kevin’s reception at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, Laurie was videotaping Anna & Michael’s beautiful wedding and reception right down the block at the luxurious Conrad Hotel. At the rehearsal, they had toyed with the idea of squeezing their slightly smaller crowd into a third of the ballroom, but I think they made a great choice instead to spread them out over a larger section of the room. After all, you can’t have an event in a fancy venue like that and then not show it off, right? Anna gave me the impression that theirs would be a pretty subdued crowd, but they turned out to be quite the fun-loving bunch on the dance floor, aided surely by DJ Sunny Moon‘s experience at keeping the party moving. (Thanks to Sunny for the referral, as well as for inviting me to be part of your bridal open house earlier in the week!) The always-animated photographer Kevin Swan was there to cover the event as well, so I’m sure that much fun was had by all!