Kate & Misha’s grand romance wedding

Words truly can not describe the beauty of Kate & Misha’s Russian-Canadian wedding day celebration. Their intimate affair was drenched in gorgeous and custom details and every moment filled with passion, romance and joy. The couple was married under a canopy of fresh flowers in blush, crimson and butter with vows shared in two languages. They then dined with their guests at dusk in a secret garden lit only by candlelight. Kate and Misha then celebrated their union with an impressive display of fireworks before dancing all night long. Now these are just a few of my favorite things about this wedding, but I invite you to watch the film to experience so much more…

~ Filmed on Kodak super 8 and 16mm film ~

Crystal & Aaron’s turquoise dream wedding

I looooooove sun-drenched weddings, and the sun shone all day at Crystal & Aaron’s summer wedding. A vibrant shade of turquoise was C&A’s cheerful wedding colour of choice and beautiful white lilies were everywhere.

I first met Crystal and Aaron at the Wedding Palace Bridal Show and it was the groom-to-be who first watched one of our super 8 wedding videos and immediately decided, “We need to have this at our wedding.” It’s so adorable when I see a groom excited about planning their big day! C&A planned their wedding down to every last detail and selected two gorgeous venues: their ceremony took place at Ottawa’s most stunning basilica and then the celebration moved to the lovely grounds of Orchard View Wedding & Conference Centre. Watch the trailer to get a glimpse their perfect day.

Congratulations Crystal & Aaron and thank you for the honour of choosing { First Kiss Films } as your wedding filmmaker.

~ Filmed on Kodak 16mm and super 8mm film ~

Photography: AMBphoto
Ceremony: Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica
Reception: Orchard View
Wedding coordination including florals, decor & cakes: Toast Events

Bride’s Choice Award winner!

Great news! { First Kiss Films} has been selected to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards 2011 for cinematography!

This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate quality and service excellence within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites such as Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee.

Award winners were determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in North America. Thank you to past clients who made this award possible! See the full list of award-winning Ontario wedding vendors here.

Seeing the big picture

Wedding season is here! I know, because last-minute inquiries are starting to come in.

I’m not surprised when a couple decides only a month or two before their wedding to hire a wedding filmmaker.  Afterall, they have spent so much time and energy planning their wedding that sometimes it is only once all the details come together do they realize that while great photography is important, it cannot fully capture the mood and special moments the way a wedding film can.

You might be surprised to hear that even we waited until a few months before our wedding to decide to include motion picture film. Just like a lot of couples we already had a great photographer onboard and we were trying to keep costs low.  But once our guest list was created and our wedding started to take shape we realized photography would not be sufficient. We also knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime moment and unlike traditional videography our film would be something we would watch and share time and time again months and years down the road.

So we decided to have our wedding filmed (by a { First Kiss Films } associate) and our day came and went and it was everything that we had hoped for. Our photographs and film are all we have to remember our wedding. Having our wedding filmed was possibly the best decision we made.

Knowing how much we cherish our wedding film, I certainly hope to be able to accommodate any other last-minute couples wishing to book our services. Why invest so much into one day without doing all you can to make it last?

{ First Kiss Films } – a new blog is born!

Photo courtesy of Natasha Moine Photography

Okay, it’s time to make this statement public knowledge: Ottawa’s only wedding film company will be blogging weekly to keep you updated on the latest news, showcase film samples and share upcoming giveaways!  

Above is a photo of me doing what I love: capturing people’s weddings. I made my first wedding film after a friend had asked me to shoot hers and at that moment I knew I had found my calling. It’s such an amazing feeling! Even while planning my own wedding I kept thinking about { First Kiss Films } and documenting other people’s weddings! I am thrilled to be marrying (is there a better word?) my film background with the capturing the joy and beauty of a couple’s most precious celebration. I look forward to meeting you and hearing about your love story!

Here’s a sample of a { First Kiss Films } wedding film shot entirely on 16mm and Super 8mm film. Enjoy!

♥ Bridget

~ Filmed on Kodak 16mm and super 8mm film ~