Karen Cosenza and Wesson Oil?

Speaking of Hockey...

This was a long time ago, but like a classic song it is timeless. I’m not going to comment much on this other than the fact that I was never 100% sure that those funny phone scams on the radio were real.

That was until my wife (then girlfriend) decided that it would be funny to pull one over on me!
She did… VERY successfully!

A Hockey Love Story!

In the spirit of the NHL post-season, we're going to post a

Hockey oriented clip this week.

Let's take a look at Anita and Scott's "Love Story".

Anita and Scott's story was a fascinating one to say the least; and it sure does their NHL themed wedding day justice. I won't tell you much about their story, because the video will do that for you!

However, how often can you say that the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils actually brought a wonderful couple together?

We shot their Love Story on the same day that we shot the "Final Fitting" for Anita's gown. If you have time, take a look at their "Retrospective" clip as well.

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We work in New Jersey on a fairly regular basis, but this was the first time we worked at The Madison Hotel, it was a fabulous place. And it looked absolutely fantastic in the early summer!

Since this was not the first event we attended for Anita's family, we had already enjoyed the pleasure of working with MMP Entertainment, Marcello was the consummate professional we knew him to be and his team did a great job, everyone was thrilled.

Anita and Scott had done a lot of searching for a photographer in New Jersey, but they didn't find what they were looking for. That was until upon our suggestion they met with one of our Long Island colleagues (and now back in New York) Paul Marino, from Paul Marino Photography. Paul's work and creativity speaks for itself.

Pope Benedict XVI and Saint Ignatius Loyola

We had a wedding at Saint Ignatius Loyola on Park Avenue in New York City last Saturday. This was the first time that I had ever been to this church. I had heard that it was historic and quite beautiful. I was very much looking forward to being there until I heard that there will be MANY road closures in Manhattan that day due to Pope Benedict’s travels throughout the area.

Frankly, it is difficult enough to navigate and park a vehicle when we do weddings in NYC, but having roads closed put me in alarm mode. I studied the NYC.gov site to see exactly which roads would be closed and exactly when they would be closed. I plotted out three different travel routes in case of sudden changes of schedule. I packed an equipment dolly in case I had to walk several blocks to reach the church. I even asked my wife Lee Ann to chauffeur me because I was so panicked that even if I get to the church, where on earth would I have to park the car. She agreed to chauffeur me (on her day off) and I was totally relieved.
So, GPS ready, pages of varied directions printed and a two-hour earlier than normal departure… off we went to Saint Ignatius Loyola Church on Park Avenue! It was an incredible day, the temperature was perfect, the sky was blue and the Long Island Expressway was clear and moving. Make the move on to the Grand Central Parkway and heading towards the Triborough Bridge; we were making great time and enjoying the ride… over the bridge and into uptown Manhattan in no time at all. But I knew what was coming.

Make right on to 96th said Karen our Australian GPS voice. Still enjoying the ride and wondering where we’ll finally be stopped… we made the right and a few minutes later we made the left on to Park Avenue. Ten more blocks and we’d be at the church. However, now we can begin to see policemen and police vans EVERYWHERE and they are directing traffic. But they didn’t stop us from turning on to Park Avenue and we can basically see the full NYC skyline and the incredible view of Grand Central from Park Avenue. There is NO traffic and no closures… we are carefully counting down each block as we get closer and closer to 84th, where St. Ignatius Church is. Four blocks to go… two blocks to go… There it is… there is St Ignatius… We slow down to evaluate the situation; there are already “Wedding Today” signs in the road blocking vehicles from parking in front of the church.

“Watch out for that van” says Lee Ann. As she says that, I realize that the van she is referring to is backing up towards us; but it is parked in a legal parking spot on Park Avenue, directly in front of the church. Is it possible that we can move into his parking spot? Is it possible that we can get THE FIRST parking spot in front of the church? We stop to allow the van to move out of his position and allow him to depart. We look at each other in disbelief, we make sure we are clear of the “Wedding Today” no parking signs and make our move. Not even a parallel park… we pull straight in to the first parking spot in front of St Ignatius.

A week of stress trying to determine what to do, what will happen… how will I get there, where will I park, how will I get the equipment from the car to the church? Where will the police stop us from proceeding? And we pull straight into the best possible parking space. We got to the church in less than an hour and had NO ISSUES what-so-ever! NONE!

As I put the car in park, we looked at each other in amazement… then I looked the church… and thanked Saint Ignatius and God himself!

Twenty Things

Many years ago, I was speaking with one of our brides about a variety of topics regarding her wedding. It seemed to her that I had a quality suggestion for virtually any of the issues that she wanted to discuss about her wedding; mainly because almost every aspect of a bride’s wedding decisions affect her wedding movie in one form or another.

Anyway, after the fifth or sixth quality suggestion that she wrote down, she half jokingly said that I should write a book. Well, while I did not think I was capable of a book, I did realize that I had a LOT of suggestions that would help ANY bride prepare for her wedding day and without even realizing it, she’d be making her wedding movie better as well.

So I started documenting a variety of suggestions; and in a very short time, I had created an article that I titled “Twenty Things You Can Do To Make Your Wedding Video Better, Without Even Trying”, or TTYCDTMYWVBWOET for short (just kidding). I usually refer to it as my “Twenty Things” article.

Intermittently I will be posting some of those suggestions here on this blog. Here is the first…

GOWN SELECTION –

When choosing your wedding gown (and bridesmaids dresses too), consider the fact that you will be dancing much of the night. While it may look appropriate for the “Chicken Dance”, clutching your dress under your arms and lifting is not necessarily the best shot for your wedding video. Strapless gowns may not be the best choice for all brides… unless you like “popping out”!

Simply stated, when trying on gowns, DANCE IN IT! With or without music, dance around as if it were you were screaming out TWIST AND SHOUT! Then you’ll know for sure that you will be 100% comfortable all night.

What did Kristen think about Treasured Memories Video?

Look for Kristen and Brendan's Wedding Day Music Video... will be posted soon!

Receptions: MTV or Endless Dance Sets!

When Christine and Mike said they didn't want to see (and hear) EVERY single song the DJ played at their reception on their video, I knew we were speaking the same language. Similar to ceremonies, most couples only "think" that they want to see every reception moment as it actually occurred. Keeping it interesting, fun and exciting to watch without making anyone feel like something is missing is the key to a great reception video. The fast forward button is the enemy.

Mike builds surfboards for a living; in this reception highlight, we were able to showcase Mike and Christine's surfing theme as well as virtually all of their friends and family. I'm sure Christine's dad will be reminded of what a great job he did doing the "worm" for years to come,. As receptions go, Christine and Mike's was a crazy time. Matching the great time her Matron of Honor, Roxanne and her husband Bill had when we recorded their wedding 13-years ago.

Chistine and Mike's reception site was Lands End, where they do an incredible job; and their photographers, who I have had the good forture to work with several times was Photos by Verdi.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage...

First Comes Love,
then Comes Marriage,
then comes Chloe in the Baby Carriage!

It was back a few years when Paul Findlay and his fiancée Deborah Hewitt were waiting at Fortunoff’s for their bridal registry appointment. Being recommended by Fortunoff’s, Treasured Memories videos were playing on the monitor in their waiting area. Struck by the uniqueness of what they saw, we were inevitably commissioned to create their wedding movie. It was a great wedding, we produced and projected their “Love Story” and created an awesome wedding movie for them.
Some time passes and we receive a call from Deborah who asks us to block off a few different dates and insists that we document the baby shower and christening that will be occurring sometime the following year. After the natural congratulations and excitement for them we book the dates and decide to discuss details as the time approaches.
While meeting with Deborah shortly before the shower, she had mentioned that she wrote letters to her yet unborn child. After the chills ran down my spine I asked her if she would mind reading them for me to record. She obliges me without knowing exactly what we’ll do with the recordings.

“A Baby Story” Starring Chloe Harper Findlay.