It's always nice to find an amazing venue so close to home. This will mark my first trip to The Venue at the Grove, but hopefully not my last. A stunning property that really comes to life once the sun goes down. Especially if you shoot with anamorphic lenses. I arrived early to scope out the property and was immediately greeted by staff who were kind enough to show me where the photo and video teams typically store their equipment. The photographer, Andrea, had also just arrived and was unpacking her equipment. Being a preferred vendor at the property, Andrea was kind enough to walk me around the property and show me some of her favorite locations. As we were heading back to the main area, our bride, Lindsey, was just arriving. Wanting to give her some time to settle in, I started capturing the venue's staff putting the tables and ceremony together. I love capturing this kind of BTS content. It offers a perfect opening to my feature films. I checked in with Lindsey and the bridesmaids to grab the flat lay details and got started, or should I say passed it off to Andrea to get started. Photographers have an eye for posing details that I just don't have. Luckily, they are typically nice enough to lend their creative genius long enough to allow me to capture a few of their arrangements. One area I excel in, however, is hanging the dress, mainly because I am tall enough to reach areas where the dress can hang without touching the ground. We try to keep the dress as clean as possible for as long as possible. Returning the dress, I stumbled upon the mother of the bride, Stacy, telling a story of a special heirloom locket she was passing down to Lindsey. Coming into the day, I knew about this detail; however, having supporting audio like this allows me to build out an otherwise simple moment into a storied point in the final film. Wanting to keep things ahead of schedule, Lindsey stepped into her dress, and with the help of Stacy, put on her various pieces of jewelry. Once ready, I had Stacy and Lindsey tie the gifted locket to Lindsey's bouquet. A perfect moment to complement the audio captured earlier. On the other side of the property, Ryan, our groom, had arrived. I headed over to introduce myself and ask that we recreate his getting ready moment for the camera. I pride myself on filming 90% organic real content on the wedding day, but this is one area I bend the rules. The content is just too important for the storyline of the film, and the guys typically always arrive on property completely dressed. Ryan was nice enough to comply with the request, and with the help of his best man and brother, Travis put the suit he had just taken off back on for the cameras. Back over at the bridal suite, Lindsey's father Todd was patiently waiting for his first look with his daughter. This is my new favorite wedding day tradition. Not only did Todd give me a fantastic reaction, but he also gave an amazing speech later in the day that complemented the moment perfectly in the edit. We then gathered the girls together and headed to the back of the property for some bridal party photos. The couple opted to forgo a first look so we would be shooting the bridesmaids and groomsmen separately. The property really shined for these midday portraits, offering us plenty of shade to pose in. Guests soon began to arrive, and before long, the ceremony was underway. The wedding was officiated by the groom's uncle, Brian, who delivered a fantastic ceremony mixed with some funny and sweet sound bites. I always love when an officiant starts the ceremony off with a lighthearted sound byte; it gives me a perfect opening for the film. The couple opted to exchange fantastic personal vows, both of which ended with the same final line, "I love you infinity times infinity.". Judging by Ryan's reaction, I think it was an unplanned line. After a kiss and pronouncement, we led the couple out for some sunset photos while the rest of the guests headed to the cocktail area. The forecast had called for rain all week, but what we got instead was a perfectly stunning Arizona sunset. Having about 30 minutes after we wrapped with portraits, the couple decided to join their guests for cocktail hour as I headed to the reception to capture details. I still had a bit of sun in the sky and managed to capture some of the most stunning detail shots of all time. Still geeking out over them. After some hilarious introductions from the bridal party, the couple was introduced and headed to the dance floor for their first dance. Dinner and speeches followed, and this crew absolutely delivered on speeches. Good audio is the mark of a good film, and this project had so much good audio! It's probably why it ended up being one of my longer feature films to date. Like I said earlier, this venue truly comes alive at night. The grove of trees that encompasses the property is covered in lights, giving the background of every shot a beautiful bokeh. Stunning. The couple shared a dance with their parents and a slice of cake before starting the real party! DJ Sterling crushed the dance floor, and the crew partied the night away. The evening was set to conclude with a final sendoff, so guests grabbed a sparkler and headed to the front of the property as the couple shared a final dance alone on the dance floor. Sparklers lit, the couple made their way through the cheers and the glow of their guests, concluding a truly beautiful wedding day.

Venue: The Venue at the Grove
Photographer: Andrea Neff Photography
DJ: DJ Sterling
​​

Interested in having AZ Film Company film your big day? Get in Touch
​
​Check out this other Arizona Wedding Video

Back in Arizona to cover this week's wedding in Mesa. My day started at the couple's home, where Brian, the groom, was getting ready with the couple's four boys. I knocked on the door and was greeted by some friendly barks and Brian, who showed me inside. Brian was in the middle of crafting his vows with the help of his friend and officiant, Chad. I grabbed my camera to capture the moment and, of course, film the pups who were also wandering around the yard with us. I love candid moments like these, and I have recently started using them with their natural audio in the film to break up the much more crisp, clean, formal audio from the ceremony, speeches, and other mic'd-up moments. I feel as though it adds a raw feeling to an otherwise polished film. Back inside, the boys started to change into their custom blue-lined suits as Brian floated around the room helping as needed. After they were all dressed, Brian got into his matching suit with the help of his dad and best man, Bill. A perfect circle of life moment. After everyone was dressed, I made the short drive over to the brides getting-ready location. As I walked in, Becci, the bride, was just wrapping up her makeup process. The makeup artist knocked it out of the park, going as far as gifting the bridesmaids touch-up makeup kits and a bottle of tequila. Not wanting the gift to go unused, Becci gathered her girls for a quick toast. Bethany, the photographer, soon arrived, and the two of us got started shooting the dress and details. Becci decided to lean into the something blue tradition with a beautiful blue pair of heels for the occasion. After wrapping up with the dress shots, we handed it over to Becci to step into it in private. As she stepped into another room to change, her boys arrived. The plan was for Becci to share a first look with the three of them after she was all ready. We ushered them into another room as Becci stepped out. With the help of her mom, Mindy, Becci got all buttoned up and put on her jewelry. We tucked Becci back into a spare bedroom while we placed the boys for the grand reveal. Eyes closed, Becci gave the boys a three-count before opening. This was truly such a sweet moment to be a part of. I quickly packed up and made the last short drive of the day to the venue just down the road. As I made my way into the venue, I was greeted by two familiar faces. First was the DJ for the wedding, AJ Campbell, of Lubelle Entertainment. AJ is always so fun to work with! The second was another DJ friend, Gilbert of Genuine DJs. Gilbert was running the cold sparks and photo booth for the wedding. Awesome! It's always so fun to work with vendors you already know! Time was limited, so I quickly got started filming the ceremony site before guest arrival. The couple had originally met in high school, where they both ran track together. Although their romantic relationship didn't start there, their story did. Guests soon arrived and took their seats, and the ceremony was soon underway. Brian's boys escorted the bridesmaids down the aisle before Becci, flanked by her two sons, made her way down the aisle. Certainly a sweet procession I'll remember forever. Chad guided guests through their fun relationship story before the two exchanged their personal vows to one another. The two also opted to sign their marriage license during the actual ceremony, a fun touch I had not seen before. A kiss was shared, and the couple made their way down the aisle before sharing another halfway down. The second kiss is a great way to get a big group shot with all of your guests. Cocktail hour kicked off with a champagne tower poured by the couple. Pro tip: If you decide to do a champagne tower, pre-fill the lower glasses. This helps the champagne level in each glass be consistent. The reception kicked off with a sparkler grand introduction and first dance before we rushed the couple out to grab some shots in the last bit of daylight. We were shuttled around the area by Brian, who smartly brought the couple's golf cart to the venue. Arizona sunsets never disappoint, and we got some truly breathtaking content. We returned back to the reception where AJ had been keeping guests busy with his signature wedding scavenger hunt. Speeches were shared before the couple shared a dance with their parents and cut their wedding cake. Open dancing carried us into the night, and before long, the last dance was shared with Brian and Becci. I said my goodbyes to my friends and the couple before officially departing. Another perfect wedding in the books! 

Venue: Mountain Bridge Owners Club
Photographer: Bethany Longmire
DJ: Lubelle Entertainment
Photo booth/Cold Sparks: Genuine DJ Entertainment
Hair/Makeup: Lisset Cuevas Artistry 

​Interested in having AZ Film Company film your big day? Get in Touch
​
​Check out this other Arizona Wedding Video