2023 January Wedding Spotlight

Alrighty. So I have decided to write a blog post for at least one wedding/event per month of the year for 2023, starting with January. The wedding I have chosen to write this blog post about is Layne and Francis's Mountain Chateau Wedding at Della Terra in Estes Park, CO. Without further explanation, here is their film for reference for the remainder of this post.

"How did I live so long without you? And why did it take so long to find you?" --the opening lines of Francis's vows--

CUE ALL THE TEARS. I mean come on?! I remember when I was trying to figure out how I wanted to start this film and was going through my normal routine of how I decide. For those who care, that usually looks like me going to the couple's questionnaire to see what they answered for how they wanted their film to feel, both in a music sense and a vibe sense. Here's a screenshot of what Layne wrote:

The first thing I noted was that they like oldies, so I decided that doing a super 8 intro would establish that old, vintage love story vibe. I also noted that they wanted it to start off slow and they liked a couple of female singers, which inspired the super 8 introduction song choice "You Are All I Need" by Handsome and Gretyl off MusicBed.

I actually created that whole introduction without Francis's vows to begin the film to start with. Initially, I really liked the flow and felt like it fit them as a couple. That is, until I got to my next step in determining how I wanna tell a love story: the vows.

As I sat there listening to these two's vows, I am pretty sure I cried, again. Just those first words of Francis's vows hit me like a ton of bricks. So much emotion, wondering, and longing for a soul mate in just 18 words. I mean man. Anyways, I knew that segment needed it's own moment and after editing some more I decided that I wanted it to set the tone for the entire film, so I placed it right at the beginning. You're welcome :)

Layne also had this adorable letter she had written down, or I guess more of a wishlist from her heart about the man she wanted to marry. She had it with her and wanted to give it to Francis so he would know the fullness of how much he fit the role of her husband, even before she met him. SO sweet and special if you ask me.

At the 4:38 minute mark is where some serious music doctoring came into play. Full credit goes to Multiply Media's sound pack for being able to take the root song "Deeply" by Ryan Taubert from Musicbed and turn it into the magic that it is from 4:38-5:12 before their first look. Without this build up, I felt like the film was missing the value of his words "You flood my world with light" as well as the weight that is felt by the bride and groom as they anticipate seeing the other for the first time on their wedding day. I needed a fast pace break in there to make it come to life.

The final song of the film is "Burn" by Night Traveler (again from Musicbed) and it fit their desire to have an oldie type vibe. The lead singer from this band gave me a serious Bryan Adams feel so it just needed to be in there. The send off for this wedding is a great example of why listening to your vendors can really make or break a scene in your film / photos. Della Terra wanted them to do a send off into the hotel hallways, which is a terrible yellow light and would be super awkward for guests to have a good place to stand. So when I found out this was their plan, I asked Layne and Francis if they wanted to pivot and do it outside to a golf cart, yes in January, in Colorado, yes in the cold. But they went for it and you can see how cute it turned out!

All in all, this wedding and this couple was such a sweet one to capture. Can't wait to see what the future holds for these two!

Wedding Vendor List:

Photo: @flatland.photo Venue: @dellaterramountainchateau Dress: @lilliesbridal Video: @bripoehlerfilmsn (now @bripoehlermedia) Alterations: @themisssewitall Catering: @serendipitydenver DJ/Photobooth: Stage One Events Dessert: Donut Haus Estes Florals: @callalaneflorals Hair: @c_hollemanhairandbeauty Makeup: best sissy in the world @mims_lynsey