Author Archives: Bob

The “IndyVisual Tour” concluded August 26 with Katherine & Mike’s beautiful ceremony amidst the jaw-dropping arhictecture of the St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky. Ted and Sarah from Ron Shuller’s Creative Images Photography and I followed the bridal party across the river to Cincinnati’s Ault Park, where several other bridal parties were jockeying for space to pose for photos within the park’s luscious landscaping, blissfully ignoring the humid 90-degree weather. A return drive across the river brought us to the perfectly situated Drees Pavilion in Devou Park, which provided a stunning view of the Cincinnati skyline. DJ Matt Woods of Music by Request DJ Butlers did a superb job of staying in communication with the vendors and clients, running the show to perfection while keeping the dance floor packed.

Last week was a productive week at the studio during which I completed editing Debbie & Mike’s July 15 wedding and reception at the Ritz-Charles, whose highlight segment will be posted here shortly. I also nearly completed editing Ilana & Geoff’s wedding, which I flew in from vacation in Wisconsin to shoot at the Eiteljorg Museum on July 22. Editing is also now underway on Kim & Dave’s August 5 ceremony and reception at the Mansion at Oak Hill, which should be done in the next few days.

Labor Day weekend ushered in a gorgeous, almost fall-like Saturday for Jim Wyant of Wyant Photography (and the new Ami Gallery in the Carmel Arts District) and I to start coverage at Julie & Paul’s elegant home in the village of WestClay. We then drove a mile south to the beautiful new Coxhall Gardens for an emotional ceremony in a giant gazebo in the middle of the amphitheater. When consultant Mark Mattingly of Formalities referred this wedding to me, this was going to be the first wedding ceremony ever there, and judging by everyone’s reaction to the unique setting, there will be many more to come. (Note to parents: I was so impressed by the Children’s Garden on the property that I took my kids there yesterday to play. There’s nothing quite like it in all of Indy!) The festivities continued at the Bridgewater Club, where various members of The Flying Toasters took turns rocking the house at lead vocals. But stealing the show was the groom himself, who brought Julie to tears with a personalized version of “Your Song.”

I had a wonderful time covering Laura & Greg’s wedding in Bloomington on August 12. It’s always fun to visit my old stomping grounds at Indiana University, especially while doing the very type of work I went to school for, let alone at the very same church I attended as a student. It gave me the feeling of coming full circle, as did the less upbeat thought that I’m finally “old” enough in theory to have kids enrolling there now. (Fortunately, coming home to a couple of kindergarteners always helps to shave a few years off that perception – for now.) It was nice to work with some unfamiliar faces, like the good-natured yet utterly professional photographer Kip May and bridal consultant/florist Cathy Teeters, who took Laura’s unique vision for the reception and brought it to life at the Bloomington Convention Center. It was also a pleasant surprise to see the Wendy Reed Band there, as neither Wendy nor myself knew we’d be working together that night. The Love Story video that I created for the reception was a big hit as well, and it was a relief to watch everyone laugh and cry in all the right places.

During the week that followed, I finally received a song selection for the highlight segment for Annie & Nick’s June 17 wedding at the Statehouse and reception (first ever!) at the Conrad Hotel. I promptly completed their video, so look for their highlight segment to pop up here shortly. I also completed editing Beth & Jim’s lively July 8 wedding and reception that took place in South Bend. I mentioned earlier that they were probably the most fun-loving couple I’ve worked with, and that will definitely come across in their highlight segment, which is also forthcoming.

On the homefront, the boys all started school last week, which doesn’t change anything around here, but definitely gives my wife Chris a huge daily break from their craziness. What a good sport! I took my 8-year-old son Matthew to the “American Idols Live” concert Thursday at the State Fairgrounds. Like the rest of America, I’ve followed the show since the Kelly Clarkson days, but Matthew didn’t get hooked on it until this season. Chris and Taylor have been his favorites, and they certainly didn’t disappoint with their performances. As a whole, I’d say the show was – like the food we ate at the fair beforehand – a guilty pleasure.

Then my own tour continued this past Saturday, as I drove down to the Evansville area to cover Jordan and Matthew’s wedding. It’s not a quick drive – three hours minimum – but the perfect scheduling of the events allowed me to avoid having to stay overnight down there. Apparently, many others felt the couple was worth the drive as well, as about 400 guests made the trip, including a busload of the bride’s family from Minnesota. Despite the hot and humid conditions, spirits were high, and the hayride getaway provided the huge wedding party a memorable and slow-paced opportunity to cool down with a few beers before the reception at Hullman Hall.

I just returned from a nearly two-week vacation in Wisconsin, where my wife’s family covened to celebrate her grandparents’ 65th anniversary. This is always a tricky time of the year for someone in my business to take time away from work. In fact, halfway through the trip, I flew back to Indy to videotape another wedding before rejoining the in-laws the next day. It helps that this has been a relatively “quiet” July, with four weddings and two open weekends to help me avoid falling behind much with the editing. Tomorrow heralds the beginning of by far the busiest August I have ever seen with six weddings booked, and a seventh considering. As hot as it’s been lately, I hope for ours and our clients’ sakes that August is hotter than July only in the business sense this year!

The wedding I shot mid-trip on July 22 took place outdoors at the Eiteljorg Museum downtown. Rebecca Raymond of Event Fantastic, who referred the clients to me, kept the day running smoothly and everyone’s spirits upbeat, despite some heavy hearts due to the recent sudden passing of one of the groom’s relatives. Photographer Andreas Nemitsas, a talented and wonderful soul who lives in my neighborhood, captured the beauty of the day in his usual artful manner. Sarah Bean of the Eiteljorg was a picture of quiet efficiency behind the scenes the entire day, and the band Zannadoo kept the dance floor packed, including the longest horah (the traditional Jewish “chair dance”) I have ever seen – and I’ve seen many!

We made it through the busiest June we have ever experienced (and I’ve seen a lot of busy Junes) with the expectation that our two bookings in an unusally slow July would give me some time to stay on top of editing of all the June weddings. However, we received two last-minute bookings that have turned this month into a more “normal” July and put that effort to the test. So far, I have two June weddings remaining to complete, so our clients are still getting a great turnaround time compared to most quality videographers in the industry. The big test will come next week, when I’ll be leaving town for our annual summer visit to my wife Chris’ family in Wisconsin. Not much time for editing then. I will squeeze in a little work when I will fly back to Indy briefly on Saturday the 22nd (taking a vacation from my vacation) to videotape a wedding at the Eiteljorg Museum. Crazy, I know!

This past week I finished editing Leanne and Kyle’s 6/23/06 wedding and reception at the Omni Severin. I will post their highlight segment shortly. It was a relatively laid back Friday affair with no dancing, aside from a first dance under a perfectly aimed spotlight. They were a wonderful, spiritual couple, and it’s amazing how that inner beauty sometimes shines through to the surface sometimes, as it does throughout their video.

I also got a wonderful card from Nicki & Austin (6/16/06) that said the following: “We can’t thank you enough for your excellent work on our wedding video. You were by far the most professional one could be. I would highly recommend you to anyone. You are peaceful and calming. It really made our day to watch our video after all the hype was over. You are truly the best!” Thanks, guys!

Yesterday I shot a wedding and very animated reception at the Ritz Charles. Debbie and Mike are an “older” couple in their 40’s, but I haven’t seen a more youthful spirit in any couple yet this year. They were so easygoing and fun to work with, and it meant a lot to me that they thanked me in their welcome speech at the reception. (So much for being invisible!) They were referred to me by several vendors – Anne Clidence of the Ritz Charles, Dave Cohen of Jerry Goldberg Photography and Brandon & Cybil New of B&C Digital Media. (Thanks to all of you!) I was pleasantly surprised to see Jennifer Montoya of Majestic Events there, too, and then she reminded me that I had referred the couple to her! How quickly I forget. So obviously, the chapel and ballrooms were gorgeous – lots of white with elevated bursts of red roses. I had a great time working and chatting with Dave and DJ Brian Whitis, who did a superb job of keeping the dance floor packed with an older crowd while keeping things just slightly under control when, uh, shirts started coming off…

I just got this rave via e-mail from Courtney & Brian about the video of their 6/10/06 wedding in Columbus: “Bob, we wanted to thank you SO MUCH for the wedding video. It was beyond what we ever imagined it would be. We both absolutely love it as does every single person we’ve showed it to. You did a fantastic job and we will treasure it forever. We wanted to let you know how many compliments we have had on it and will gladly recommend everyone we know to you. I think ours is the best one on your site :), but I may be biased!! Thank you again so much!”

I also got this e-mail earlier from Kelly & Peter about the video from her 6/10/06 wedding at the Indianapolis Art Center: “We absolutely love it! I knew we would since we had seen your work, but it was really great to revisit the wedding from a different perspective. It made me cry more than the actual wedding day!” Someone also e-mailed me a link to a thread on The Knot that Kelly started. Apparently, her highlight clip has brought a lot of strangers to tears! She had started a funny thread prior to her wedding questioning her sanity for going outside her budget to hire us. Thankfully, a previous bride raved about us then, just as Kelly is now. The toughest sell about videography is that the importance of it is not always fully appreciated until after the wedding, by which time our clients (many of whom didn’t even initially want a video) believe that it was their best investment.

So here’s what been happenin’… After a long Fourth of July weekend during which I took the boys to King’s Island and later watched the fireworks downtown here, it was back to business as usual, and busy it has been. I finished editing the Aufmann wedding that I shot on 6/18/06 at the Ritz-Charles with consultant Tonya Shadoan of Circle City Planners and photographer Joe Defabis. I also mostly finished editing the Singleton wedding from 6/17/06 that took place at the State Capitol building and was the luxurious Conrad Hotel‘s first-ever wedding reception. The only thing I’m waiting on is a song choice for their highlight segment, though I’ll have to wait until the couple returns from their honeymoon in Africa for that.

Last night I shot a very memorable wedding and reception in South Bend. The sister of the groom, Kristen Leep, whose wedding I am booked to shoot on 7/7/07 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, called me on Wednesday “just in case” I might be available on short notice to cover her brother’s wedding, and I was! The wedding took place in a beautiful fountain area just outside the Morris Performing Arts Center downtown, and the reception was held in a grand ballroom in the adjacent Palais Royale. The event was about as extravagant as any I’ve seen in Indy, involving canine attendants, butterflies, umbrellas, apples, a very tall cake, and a former governor in attendance. I had a nice time working with Master Photographer Gary Mester, and it was a pleasant surprise to see Indy’s own Impalas bringing their brassy soul to the reception. But nothing topped the fun of simply observing the couple, Beth and Jim, who were about as wild and fun-loving a couple as I’ve ever seen. If this is how the Leep family rolls, then I’m even more excited about covering Kristen’s wedding next year!

I titled this post “Wandering Indiana” because yesterday’s wedding confirmed that that variation of our former state slogan should be my motto for the year. I’ve already shot weddings in Cincinnati (close enough), Fort Wayne, Columbus, Terre Haute and now South Bend, with more coming up in Bloomington, Muncie, Evansville, Bedford and Crawfordsville. While I hope the brides haven’t forgotten us in Indy, it’s definitely been a joy to branch out a bit. At least today I’ll be “staying home,” as I’m shooting a wedding and reception at the Omni Severin. (Thanks for the referral, Carrie!) This will be my fifth one there out of the last dozen I’ve shot. I’ll be working with the always-fun photographers Stacy and Mary, whom I just found out will be working at the aformentioned Leep wedding next year along with Jessica Strickland. The last time I worked with them, they had a wedding to shoot in South Bend the next day. Today, I’m returning from South Bend before working with them again. Coincidence?

The 8 weddings in 15 days finally passed without a hitch – well, aside from the 8 hitched couples, of course. Half the fun is working with people I already know, which is kind of like a family reunion every time. The other half the fun is getting to work with unfamiliar faces, and I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing a lot of both in such a short amount of days. Ultimately, it’s all about the bride and groom, and I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch to be around on the best days of their lives.

I spent Friday covering Leann and Russ’ wedding and reception at the Omni Severin. Jim of Henri’s Photo in FortWayne and his assistants got some great shots of the bride in the bridal suite, which offered a stunning view of Lucas Oil Field under construction. The ceremony took place in front of a stately backdrop of Greek-style columns, giving the wedding an outdoor feel. The reception was fairly subdued by design, with maximum mingling (and chocolate) and minimal dancing, save for the couple’s first dance under a perfectly-pointed spotlight. I’m getting so used to working with Carrie at the Omni that I hope she isn’t getting too sick of me yet. She was also a guest at the reception I shot at the Conrad the previous weekend. She oversaw three simultaneous events this day without once breaking a sweat or losing that big smile. What a trooper! I’ll see her again in about a week.

My Saturday wedding took place at First Presbyterian in Terre Haute under the watchful eye of consultant Teddy Lenderman and her sharp staff, with Michael Colter snapping photos. The three of us have worked with each other quite a few times recently, and it showed in the way we smoothly shuffled Cathy and Bruce through the day’s formalities. The Terre Haute Country Club provided a scenic backdrop for some fun group photos, one of which I’m especially hoping Michael will let me share. Later that evening, the bride’s father was kind enough to publicly acknowledge me after playing the photomontage I put together for them. It’s always a surreal feeling when that happens, considering how hard I try to blend in and not call attention to myself. DJ Craig James of Ultimate Entertainment also made the trip from Indy, and he did a nice job of moving through a large number of formalities in quick succession without seeming rushed.

Meanwhile, Laurie shot a wedding and reception at the Regions Bank building with consultant Gloria Boyden. Kerri had wanted to book us for quite a long time before we finally became available, so we’ll do our best to make sure we were worth the wait. I don’t know too much about how that one went yet (no news is usually good news), but the bride apparently hit it off quite well with Laurie. They’re both interested in entering the bridal consulting business someday, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this isn’t the last time they’ll work together.

I’ve been hard at work at the studio trying to stay ahead of schedule in editing some of these weddings, hence the slowness in blogging and updating the website. The upside is that several of these couples have gotten the pleasant surprise of having their videos ready upon returning from their honeymoons. The feedback has been as superb as I could have hoped for, but I’ve been too busy plowing ahead to really sit back and appreciate it. Hopefully by the time I shoot my next wedding on July 8, I’ll have all but two of these June weddings edited. Here are the highlight segments for the Wright wedding at the Indianapolis Art Center and the Hammond wedding at the Montage.

I recently purchased a DVD publishing system that automatically copies and prints onto the finished DVDs, and this new toy is showing early signs of making quite an impact on our efficiency at the studio. I don’t have a wedding to shoot this weekend, so I’ll probably take the boys somewhere fun so Mommy can have a rare (for this time of year) weekend to herself.

My recent stretch of weddings on three consecutive days went about as smoothly as I could have hoped for. Nicki and Austin’s Friday wedding took place at the Montage, with Gene Huddleson providing the design and direction, Andrew Scalini photographing, Sunny Moon handling ceremony audio and reception music, and Joe Husar of Kahn’s Katering doing a splendid job of running the facility and food service. The 8:00 start time for the outdoor ceremony made the weather tolerable and provided a beautiful dusk light over the proceedings. Unfortunately, the couple wasn’t given a chance to exchange the vows they had written to each other, so I staged a private moment afterward on the terrace for them to do so in front of the setting sun. Despite their disappointment in not having the chance earlier, they felt the full emotion of every word they wrote, and the improvised moment was one they appreciated and will always remember.

On Saturday, the State Capitol was transformed by consultant Rayna Traylor and designer Tim Palmer into a gorgeous sea of white for Annie and Nick’s ceremony. The bride surprised the groom with a gospel choir outside the building after the recessional. Bruce Livingston and his staff at the new Conrad Hotel were well-prepared for the Conrad’s first-ever wedding reception, which was written up in the Star the next day. I was surprised by the ballroom’s bold, contemporary design, and Tim Brickley‘s orchestra set the proper mood during dinner before his rock band took over when the dance floor opened up. The words “photographer from New York” fill me anxiety for some reason, but it was a true joy working with down-to-earth photographer Danny Linossi throughout the evening.

Jennifer and Russ’ Father’s Day wedding at the Ritz Charles chapel was a relatively short and sweet affair, with an abbreviated reception minus the usual dancing. The groom’s brother wrote and performed a beautiful ballad for the couple during the ceremony. Overall it was a nice, relaxed atmosphere in which I got to hang briefly with consultant Tonya Shadoan and reconnect with photographer Joe DeFabis. Joe and I were booth neighbors at my first bridal show in 1994, and I hadn’t worked with him in over 10 years. He books a lot of weddings online, and he had some good insights on search engine optimization, which may motivate me to move this blog back to my website’s server.

During the week I finished editing Kelly and Peter’s wedding, which Laurie shot at the Indianapolis Art Center on 6/10/06. They had a great engagement story that involved Kelly flying to Tokyo to find out if her friend Peter might have feelings for her, only to return to the U.S. as his fiance! They shared so many loving glances – it was an editor’s dream. I also heard from Meg Searle, the mother of the bride whose wedding I had shot in Columbus on that same day. She was blown away by the video and has promised to bring me to Cleveland to cover her next two kids’ weddings. Love to travel!

Which brings me to the home stretch for June. Friday I’ll videotape a wedding and reception at the Omni Severin. Then on Saturday, I’ll be joining consultant Teddy Lenderman and photographer Michael Colter for a wedding in Terre Haute, while Laurie shoots a wedding and reception at the Regions Bank building with consultant Gloria Boyden. (Thanks for the referrals, Carrie, Teddy and Gloria!)

Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to photographer Angela Talley and buddy Rich Johnson, each of whom called me this morning with news of newborn babies! Both kids will definitely be in capable, loving hands.

I just completed editing the video of Courtney & Brian’s wedding, which I shot last weekend in Columbus. It was fun to go through the footage I taped at the photo shoot after the ceremony. Everyone had such a great time there. The bridesmaids did a Harlem Globetrotters routine and football play with their bouquets that cracked me up. It’s nice to have a video completed so soon after taping it, while every shot is fresh in my mind. I’ll try to get a headstart on the other June 10 wedding that we covered, but the one-week turnaround time will be a fond memory once I’m done taping 6 weddings in the next 9 days. Still, I’m happy that at our busiest, we’ve been able to stick to our “weeks instead of months” completion goal. I’m still trying to figure out how some studios take over a YEAR to get their videos done!

Friday I’ll be covering a wedding and reception at the Montage at Allison Pointe, right down the road from our studio. Andrew Scalini is their photographer, so I know they’ll have some stunning images and I’ll have a few laughs. Sunny Moon will be their DJ, so I anticipate a packed dance floor and a smooth flow of events. Someday just for kicks I’m going to count how many gigs we’ve done together since the early 90’s. (THANK YOU for referring them to us, Sunny!) And Joe Husar of Kahn’s Katering, whom I worked with Tuesday as well at the Eiteljorg, always takes good care of us vendors, which we appreciate! The couple should be a lot of fun. They look like a “rock and roll” couple, if that makes any sense. They got a little emotional when they viewed the photomontage I assembled for them, so hopefully there will be much more of that on Friday!

I’m also excited about Saturday’s wedding, as it will be the first ceremony I’ve shot at the State House since I did a Hilbert wedding there about 9 years ago. It gets better, as their reception will be the FIRST reception to take place at the new five-star Conrad Hotel! I haven’t worked with Bruce Livingston since his days at the Marriott downtown, so it’ll be nice to see how he likes his new job. This will be my first wedding with consultant Rayna Traylor, whom I haven’t seen since I was in one of her Conner Prairie bridal shows over 10 years ago. Fellow videographer John King referred her to me, since the poor guy will be vacationing in Mexico!

Finally on Sunday, I’ll be at the Ritz-Charles covering a ceremony in their chapel, followed by a brief reception in the main building. (THANK YOU for the referral, Ritz-Charles!) Tonya Shadoan of Circle City Planners is their consultant, but I don’t think either of us knew we were working on this one together until a few weeks ago. I always have a great time with her, and we have a few more weddings coming up together. As if this world weren’t small enough, one of my my assistant editors also happens to work with Tonya’s brother-in-law Jim Shadoan.

I just booked two weddings for the same date in April of 2007. That brings the total for next year up to ten, which is amazing for us so early in the year. I’m usually content to have that many bookings going into a new year! By comparison, last year I only had two bookings for 2006 at the beginning of October. (We’ll still finish 2006 with the usual 35 or so weddings.) I hope what that’s telling me is that I’m doing things the right way. It certainly motivates me to continue delivering the best product and providing the best service that I can for our clients.

Total sidebar, but “Cars” is an excellent movie! The themes are actually pretty adult, and the pace a little slow for kids, but it all truly moved me, and the animation is phenomenal!

Well, so far this potentially daunting stretch of 8 weddings in 15 days has gotten off to a smooth start. I spent Saturday in Columbus covering the wedding of police officers Courtney and Brian. Courtney saw my demo video at Gloria Boyden‘s booth at a Ritz-Charles bridal show, while her mother was referred to me by Flip Miller. I had a good time working once again with photographer Michael Colter – we go way back to when he was an assistant for Geno and my business was still called On the Spot Productions. Memories of the two of us chasing a bridal party around Woodland Country Club in a golf cart come to mind whenever I see him. I’m also looking forward to working with him again in Terre Haute in a couple of weeks.

After the ceremony, we stopped for some photo and video ops amid Columbus’ famous architecture, then settled in at the Holiday Inn Conference Center. I’ve taken my kids to that Holidome several times with no idea how ornate their ballroom facilities were. McNamara‘s Alan Thompson provided a towering floral design that perfectly complemented the room’s elegance, with some additional touches provided by Kay Krober’s Invitations and Celebrations. DJ Amy Whitis, whom I was happy to finally meet after hearing so many good things about her from Sunny Moon, introduced the newlywed cops to the tune of “Bad Boys,” and the party was on. After a few formalities, the couple showed a photomontage that I put together for them, mixing in video of their engagement. (Courtney had been surprised with a helicopter ride, which airlifted her to a proposal in lights – and her future groom – on the ground below.) A line of police doing the “Loco-Motion” with handheld loudspeakers tooting was another highlight.

Afterwards, I swung by the Indianapolis Arts Center to pick up gear from a wedding that my second videographer Laurie Buschmann was covering. That ceremony was supposed to take place in the outdoor portico, but got moved inside due to the heavy rain. Fortunately, both I and the clear sky arrived just in time for their sparkler send-off. By all accounts, the couple (who had booked us from Australia) were good sports about the change, and the indoor ceremony went beautifully, so I’m looking forward to putting together that footage. I’m completely caught up with edits for now, so I should be able to finish the wedding I shot by the time the Courtney and Brian return from their honeymoon. Then comes the toughest part of this stretch – weddings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday!