When it comes to documenting your wedding day in a way that will last forever, there is no replacement for a talented videographer.  After you meet Michael and Shanna with Nostalgia Film, you will know exactly how awesome videography truly is.  You’ll be adding a videographer to your list of vendors in no time.

MEET MICHAEL & SHANNA:

What made you want to be involved with the DIY wedding industry?

Michael and I were planning our own wedding in 2010 when we started brainstorming one night about the idea for Nostalgia Film. He had been in the video/film industry his entire career and I had studied film and made my first Super 8 film in college. We were both seeking a little more creative fulfillment in our lives and careers… and really wanted to be able to collaborate. All of this intersected with the fact that while planning our own wedding, we found this niche for a new perspective on wedding videography that we thought really needed to be filled. We weren’t being inspired by what we found–we did the bridal expo and all of that–and nothing really spoke to us in terms of artistry and documentation of how we wanted to look back on our own wedding day.

Read More at DIY Bride…

Bryan & Sherry were married February 10, 2012, in an intimate setting near Wimberly, overlooking the Blanco River, in the Texas Hill Country. Surrounded by close friends and family, Cynthia Black Weddings & Events officiated the wedding and nathan russell photography photographed it. Here’s a lovely photograph from the day.

Vendors

Cinematography – Nostalgia Film

Photographer – nathan russell photography

Event Planner/Officiant – Cynthia Black Weddings & Events

Venue – Lejos,  Wimberley, Texas

For the bride-to-be, it would be a perfect treat to feel extra fabulous for engagement photos or save-the date videography. They offer up-dos and all manner of bouncy curls for the big day for the bride and bridesmaids–they offer blo bridal services and blo on the go ($160-$195) as well as options for parties with your gals for bridal showers or bachelorette parties.

I have some flyers and coupons, so I’d be happy to bring them along to our consultation or next meeting.

1. Get It On Film
So many brides told us they wished they’d sprung for a videographer, or given their wedding photographer more specific directions. Your wedding will be RIFE with special moments – make sure you capture as many as possible!

“My husband and I really regret not recording the speeches. They were so loving and beautiful, we were moved to tears again and again! It’s one of the best memories I have of that day and I wish we had a better record of all the kind things our family and friends had to say. A few gave us their typed notes but most strayed and added in some great anecdotes. Nothing about hair/makeup/venue or cakes mattered to me once I realized there were so many people there who loved us so much!” – Isabella

Read more at One Wed.

Sometimes we get asked questions, like: Why Super 8 film at all? Aren’t video and videography cheaper than Super 8 film? Why film when there are video effects for that now anyway? Hey, isn’t there even a Super 8 iphone app?

So… Let me tell you about my lifelong love affair with film, and film’s unique way of capturing memories, and why I love Super 8 the way I do.

Super 8 has a magical quality to bring you right back to how you felt in that moment, whether just weeks or months ago or 20 or 30 years ago. I watch Super 8 films from my childhood, and honestly, even though I was three, maybe four, I can suddenly remember what it felt like sitting on the back porch next to my grandmother, now almost deceased for 30 years, and babbling and singing into the little microphone that came with my dad’s Sears Super 8 sound camera. More importantly than how it looked, old home movie film has the ability to transport in time, activate long-forgotten memories, and recall how a particular moment in time felt. (Not to mention, this film sat untouched for decades in my parents’ closet, then my own, and is an amazing archive that I just had transferred. Yet another wonderful quality of film: whereas that DVD or Blu-Ray may be unplayable in a decade or so, film is archival for about 100 years when kept in temperate conditions.)

And, now, when we watch our wedding film – captured by a friend – amateurish and not really in focus and shaky on that very same Sears camera, we are still instantly transported back to all that giddy excitement of walking down the aisle and getting married to each other by a beautiful river, surrounded by almost a 100 of our favorite people with little sparking mirrors hanging in the trees and papel picado flags blowing in the wind. Yes, we have some video, too, also shot by friends that captures every word of our very sweet ceremony, but when I want that dizzy, happy, giddy feeling, I want to see the film. Again and again.

It’s an amazing quality that film has that video can’t touch. Whereas video gives you a very literal moment-by-moment documentation, and both employ the phenomenon of persistence of vision which accesses visual memory in the brain, to me only film has an almost intangible quality which works with the mind to create iconic memory and transport us in time–allowing us to fill in the blanks between frames with our own thoughts, impressions, feelings, and memories.

And Super 8 doesn’t give you everything, every single moment. I think there is beauty in that. A cartridge lasts about two-and-a-half-minutes, so there’s thoughtfulness and a real presence as to what to capture. Shooting Super 8 is almost a mindfulness meditation (another reason I love it); it has a way of making you to be truly in the moment. I think watching a Super 8 film conveys a little bit of that, too.

I have also noticed, too, personally, that some of the most beautiful, dramatic, defining moments of my life take on a filmic hue when colored by my memory. And some of the best moments in life have always felt cinematic, like a movie, when they are unfolding. Maybe that just speaks to my lifelong love of film, from childhood (seeing Peter Pan and Star Wars on a Super 8 projector in my living room) to college where I studied filmmaking and film theory and shot my first Super 8 film on black and white Kodak film, to today where I am a movie fan and small-format filmmaker. But I have a feeling that memory is cinematic for others, too, explaining many of our love affairs with movies.

Maybe that’s a glimpse into why I adore Super 8 film like no other. And that we count ourselves so very lucky that we get to be the preservers of those magical memories for all the amazing couples we meet.

We also picked up some info from some local fishing outfitters while we were there. A fishing trip would make a great groom and groomsmen outing before the stress of the big day (or a bachelor party for those who prefer to keep it mellow and about bonding with the guys.) Here are a couple of resources:

• Living Waters Fly Fishing – Offers classes like fly tying every Wednesday night and a guide service for the Llano, San Gabriel, Guadalupe, and Brushy Creek rivers.
• Orvis Fly Fishing Classes and Sporting Adventures – Classes, trips, and more, like “Austin City Limits on the Fly” and even a Scotch tasting!

The films that the tour featured were full of beautiful cinematography and locales and lots of fishing action–enough to satisfy any serious fisherman or filmmaker.
Here’s a trailer from one of our favorite of the films we got to see the long trailer for -

For more fishing videos and info on the tour, check out Orvis’ blog post film wrap-up or the Fly Fishing Film Tour Vimeo Channel.

Super 8 film still by Nostalgia Film

According to some industry chatter, weddings are going to be more laid back and smaller this year. I am seeing a lot of more casual, outdoor weddings with fun, bonding camp-themed activities like games, tug-of-war, and ropes courses and a trend of moving toward two- or three-day weddings to really introduce and reunite friends and family and enjoy the experience.

Outdoor and rustic weddings are popular this year:

The rise of rustic, organic farm-centered, barn and garden weddings means that unusual and earthy venues are now not only acceptable, but even preferred by the modern couple.

We’re still seeing very more traditional weddings, too, that are keeping things classic in beautiful venues.

I can’t wait for some of the weddings we have coming up in April, May, and June. We’re about to kick off a very busy spring wedding season!

Super 8 film still by Nostalgia Film

What about you? What are some of your favorite 2012 wedding ideas and trends?

According to The Wedding Report, most couples are keeping wedding parties under 150, autumnal celebrations are on the rise, and tuxedo rentals are down 11 percent over 2010 numbers. Perhaps we are just harkening back to an earlier era where the exception was huge society weddings, not something every commoner (in the parlance of our times, that’s the 99 percent) tried to emulate. Whatever the reason, weddings seem to have chilled out — which is great news for anyone planning their nuptials in the coming year.

Source: “2012 weddings will be greener, less expensive and more intimate,” Mother Nature Network

I feel a lot of gratitude to everyone who made the event possible and to every one who came out and made it fun! We are so lucky to live and work in such an amazing town where an event like this is possible and we are surrounded by so much talent and passion.

Have you seen Heather Curiel’s photobooth photos yet? They are so very good!

We’ll have HD video and Super 8 film from the evening to share in the coming weeks, too! I can’t wait to share it all with you–everything looked so incredible!

Here are the talented people who helped make it possible:

Cake: Loraine’s Cakes

Catering: Mari Cooks

Cinematography & Videography: Nostalgia Film

Event Planning: Inspired Events and Designs

Flowers & Decor: HarperMadison Designs, Austin Flower Company, Vickery Wholesale Greenhouse

Invitations: inviting letterpress boutique

Jewelry: SoCoDivka Designs

Linens & Rentals: Cleopatra Wedding & Party Rentals

Lingerie & Bachelorette: Kuhmillion Lingerie, VAMPS

Music & Entertainment: DJ Munk, Grabbable Entertainment 

Officiant: Nikki McCullough

Photography: Heather Curiel

Waxing/Esthetician: Wax That!

Wedding Dresses & Accessories: Mélange Bridal

This piece off JJ Abrams’ SUPER 8 Movie Blu-Ray highlights the magic of the beloved 8mm/Super 8mm film formats. It discusses the history of the format, how it impacted the lives of the filmmakers, and how it is still a thriving format today. Shot and directed by M. David Melvin. Telecine, edit, color and VFX by Cinelicious.

Featuring Interviews by:

JJ Abrams (Writer / Director / Producer – “SUPER 8″)

Steven Spielberg (Producer – “SUPER 8″)

Brian Burk (Producer – “SUPER 8″)

Larry Fong (DP – “SUPER 8″)

Paul Korver (Principal – Cinelicious http://cinelicious.tv)

Norwood Cheek (Founder – Flicker http://flickerla.com)

Dennis Murren (VFX Supervisor – “SUPER 8″)

Michael Giacchino (Composer – “SUPER 8″)

Joel Courtney (Actor “Joe Lamb” – “SUPER 8″)

Riley Griffiths (Actor “Charles Kaznyk” – “SUPER 8″)

Michael Giacchino (Composer – “SUPER 8″)

Joel Courtney (Actor “Joe Lamb” – “SUPER 8″)

Riley Griffiths (Actor “Charles Kaznyk” – “SUPER 8″)