artisan wedding videos by studio msv

Wildflower Linen Spotlight

I won't say too much... you can read all about it on The Wedding Chat. But remember when I posted about visiting Wildflower for a special project? Well, here it is...

Check out The Wedding Chat and Wildflower Linens!

St. Paul's Church Instant Video

Last Saturday was my long-awaited wedding with Starla and Jimmy.

Their wedding was held at the historical St. Paul's church in SF and their reception at the ready-to-rock San Francisco Design Center Galleria. On hand was the talented Hilary Hopkins to capture photos and Michelle Barrionuevo-Mazzini to design and coordinate.

Starla had won an Instant Video (same-day edit) from me at the Promises and Pearls event back in February so now was finally the time to redeem her prize! With less than an hour and a half from the end of the ceremony to the announcement of the bridal party at the reception, I knew I had to work SUPER fast to get something up for the guests to enjoy. Here's the resulting video I edited together in less than 90-minutes! This had to be the fastest edit I've ever done. I wish I had more time, but check it out and let me know what you think! :-)

Cheers!

Hollywood Hosts

Yesterday I attended the Hollywood Hosts silent auction to benefit the Peninsula Youth Theatre (PYT) some great industry friends, Lea McIntosh (of The Wedding Chat), Stacie Tamaki (the one and only Flirty Girl), Kathy Goodman (of Well Rehearsed), and Michael Soo (of Soo Photography.)

Kathy, Lea, and Stacie

I had donated my Professional Covert Proposal Video (a Bay Area first!) to be included in the "Pride and Prejudice"-themed proposal table along with Lea's "Ready to Propose" Proposal Coach services and other fine tableware. Our table - dare I say it!? - was easily the most beautiful at the auction. And by casual observation, the most hotly contested as well.

 

I didn't get to stay to the end because I had a dinner party to attend, but hopefully we were able to help raise some money for the PYT (whose members, incidentally, did a great job performing sketches, songs, and musical exerpts throughout the afternoon to the delight of all the attendees!)  If I here more about how everything turned out, I'll be sure to report back here!

Bently Reserve

A little while ago I shot a beautiful two-day Indian wedding and spent Saturday evening at the palacial Bently Reserve in San Francisco.

My friend, Brandon Cruz, owner of Elle-Music and Events did all the lighting for that event and the venue looked gorgeous after he and his crew got done with it. Check out some pictures here below.

If you're still planning your wedding event, you should definitly consider professional lighting as a great way to upgrade your venue's overall ambiance. And if you're going to consider lighting, then consider Brandon and Elle!

Monaco Glitz

Remember not too long ago I mentioned a secret project that was going to be inspired by Bond, James Bond? Well, you guessed it; the secret project has to do with a photoshoot with a team of awesome collaborators. I won't mention too much about the shoot just yet, and the images have yet to be revealed, but just know that we decided to pursue a James Bond look-and-feel because of the triple-helping of suave and oozing sexiness that Bond consistently brings.

Dang. Look out smooth Bond is!

Here are some snapshots of the behind the scenes at the shoot (all taken with my iPhone)
The gals' all here! Wait... where's Jen?

There she is! Sorry for the blurry photo :-(

You know how if you stay up too late past your bedtime you start to get delirious? Yeah. 'nuff said.

So what did the actual shoot look like? OK... here's a teeny tiny sneak peak...

More to come!

Nestldown Teaser Trailer

Here's a short teaser trailer of the wedding I did with Nicole D'Ambra at Nestldown...

Enjoy!

Amazáe Special Events

Today I returned to my old stomping grounds to have an early lunch at the Elephant Bar restaurant in Fremont with my new friend, Crystal Lequang.

Crystal is the owner of Amazáe Special Events and she is an amazing event designer and wedding consultant based in San Jose but works events all over the Bay Area. I had met Crystal in passing at various events (including Una Bella Sera, the bridal showcase that she and Nicole Ha hosted, and Tanja Lippert's little house party last week.) But even though we've met a few times, I hadn't had the chance to - as Crystal put it, "get to know each other for reals".

So today we had lunch together to get acquainted.

The sense I got from Crystal is that her background in the corporate world gave her a defined air of professionalism. It was rather refreshing to see because sometimes we small-business owners and self-employed folks tend to forget how to interact with "co-workers." My wife pointed out to me the other day that I've been gravitating toward my wedding vendor friends because I don't have "normal" co-worker with which to talk shop and banter. I think that's an astute observation.

Here's us (with Tia Reagan and Tanja Lippert) at Tanja's house last week.

Anyway, Crystal was a joy to hang out with and I look forward to working with her in the near future. (We already have one wedding on the books for August of 2009, but hopefully we'll work together sooner than that!) So, if any of you brides are looking for wedding consultants, add Crystal to you list of people to check out!

All Work and No Play...

... makes Andrew a dull boy. :-)

This last week was a busy one for me - not only have I been editing like crazy and trying to launch a new project, I was invited to three different parties! It's always great to have some time to relax and hang out with great friends.

Let me recap:

Monday was Michelle's birthday party at Bliss Bar in San Francisco. I couldn't take any pictures there because it was too dark for my poor little iPhone. (I did manage to catch on shot outside though.) For many great photos of MB's party, visit Augie Chang's blog HERE. Maria of Professional Makeup Artistry, Skogie (that's my pet name for Jennifer Skog) of Jennifer Skog Photography, and Augie carpooled in my car from our 'hood in the Tri Valley to the City. It was really fun just to hang out and get to know each other better.

 

Then Wednesday I had a blast at my friend Tanja Lippert's house where Tanja and her husband Ryan hosted a great little cocktail party - just because! Tia Reagan, the other half of Tanja and Tia (a.k.a., T&T Dynamite) was in town from Oregon and it was great to see her again too. I can't name everyone that I met or that was there that night, but I was happy to meet some new friends like Jen from Jen's Cakes and Gabbi from Gabrielle's Bridal Boutique in Los Gatos. Gabbi and I had collaborated on a project but until that night, we hadn't met.

Here's Jill Johnson and Tanja with Flamingo (who is becoming increasingly famous.)

 Here's a picture of Nicole D'Ambra and her husband Matt. (Great guy! We talked about video games all night.)

Here is Jason, Tia, Tanja, and Braylon checking out some of my videos...

Ryan, Crystal, Jonathan, Linnae, and Skogie

Sunday night was Laura's birthday party (Laura as in Laura and Beth from Dekker/Muse) and that was fun too. There weren't a lot of the usual suspects (because, I suspect, many people were still working receptions and such) but I did meet many of Beth and Laura's friends from back in their Sausalito days. A real fun group of people, for sure! Very nice, too.

Here's me and the birthday girl.

Beth and Justin Ferar of Weddings on Film... bona fide rockstars!

Me, Georgina, Jessica, Eric, and Justin.

Oh, did I mention there were go go-dancers? Great idea!

It was a busy but fun week and now I have to REALLY get back to editing... :-)

Una Bella Sera Recap

I wasn't invited to participate, and I went anyway. (But I didn't talk to a single prospective client because that was the sole priviledge of those vendors on the Great List. Hey, I know my business ethics! :-) Anyway, I really just went to say hi to my friends and have a few laughs.

Quickie recaps:

(Awesome photographers from left to right) Rhee Bevere*, Jill Johnson, Mark Stagi, and Tanja Lippert!

Some beautiful designs by Nicole Ha Designs and Amazae Special Events:

Above pictured (left to right) Alyssia Jones (of Casa Real), Nicole Ha, and Crystal Lequang.

*Funny story about Rhee Bevere...
In the last few months I have been hearing Rhee's name more and more frequently. But each time I hear it, I think to myself that surely I must have heard of her before since it just really rings a bell. Well, yesterday, at the Bella Sera event, after I had introduced myself to Rhee once, I came back later to snap that picture you see above and she immediately asked, "what is your last name?"

I told her my last name is "Hsu" and without missing a beat, she exclaimed, "I knew you looked familiar! Chiaty and Andrew!" And suddenly everything clicked! Chiaty is my cousin (her husband's name is also Andrew) and Rhee had shot their wedding a few years ago in Scotts Creek. I did introduce myself to Rhee at that event and make it a point to let her know I was a videographer/guest, but nevertheless, I am very impressed that she remembered me!

Martini Madness: Delicious New South Bay Flavor!

Duncan Reyes, founder and proprietor of F. Duncan Reyes Events By Design, is the mastermind behind the SF Bay Area networking cocktail hour called Martini Madness. Martini Madness, created specifically for San Francisco wedding vendors has been so successful and beneficial to those who attend; Duncan has begun spreading Martini Madness to other regions.

"The reason I decided to start MARTINI MADNESS in the South Bay is because I wanted to expand my network of venues & vendors; particularly now that I'm receiving a lot of wedding inquiries for the South Bay," said Duncan of why entertaining South Bay wedding vendors is important to him.

"Secondly, it has always been my plan to hold MM not just in the South Bay, but also in the wine country and east of San Francisco," he adds.

That's a brilliant decision. My studio is located in the Tri-Valley area of the East Bay. There isn't a lot of networking and swanky partying going on in this portion of the Bay Area.

You wouldn't necessarily guess it, but there are actually several very talented wedding professionals located in the East Bay/Tri-Valley. (To name a few of my neighbors, Elle-Music and W Photography are both within four miles of my home studio and Augie Chang of Augie Chang Photography lives in the same town.) There is a ton of talent and a ton of great winery or country club venues in the East Bay that are well worth tapping in to.

Afterall, says Duncan of his brainchild, "the real purpose of holding Martini Madness is to network among event industry colleagues, reciprocate business referrals, and strengthen the industry community."

Heck, if you're going to share knowledge, referrals, and business, why not do it over a drink and a laugh?

Duncan, the consumate professional, wanted to give a shout out to some key individuals for their role in the successful inauguration of Martini Madness South Bay.

"I personally want to thank both NICOLE D'AMBRA of NICOLE D'AMBRA CONSULTING and STACIE TAMAKI of THE FLIRTY GUIDE for encouraging me and being instrumental in getting the South Bay contingency to this first successful soiree. Nicole, Stacie, and I are now looking into hosting the second event in June - details and invitation to follow."

Can't wait!

In Duncan's words, "until the next soirée!"