Rave Review for Digital Media Odyssey (and a Sneak Peek of our wedding video!)

When I first started planning our wedding, I knew that I wanted a photographer to capture the day.  One of my very good friends asked me if I was also going to have a videographer.  I told her that I thought that was one of the places we could save some money, so we weren't going to.  She then proceeded to tell me how happy she was that she had gotten a videographer for her wedding.  Even though she tried to savor every moment of the day, it flew by so fast.  She loved being able to watch the video and take the time to really relive her wedding AND there were so many moments that she would have never seen if it weren't for the video.  Okay.... she convinced me.  I would probably regret it if I didn't have a video of our wedding.

So, then began my search for the perfect videographer.  I scoured the wedding websites for recommendations and did tons of my own searches online.  I have to admit that many of the videographers that I came across were... less than stellar.  The number of wedding clips that I saw that contained Celine Dion songs and questionable editing was staggering!  Did these people have their 5 year old nephew shoot the footage?

THEN... I hit the jackpot.  I happened upon the website of Digital Media Odyssey.  Owner Matt Fink blew my mind away with his portfolio.  I can honestly say that Matt has a divine gift for filming and editing the special moments in people's lives.  Here I was watching clips of strangers' weddings and getting teary-eyed!  It truly was beauty in motion.  I could feel the happiness and love that those people were experiencing... and the music!  Matt just knows how to set life to music.  It was truly touching.  I was sold.

Jumping ahead, Matt was wonderful on the day of our wedding.  He's just one of those people that makes you smile.  He's completely professional and at the same time makes you feel like it's your best buddy filming you.  He made me feel comfortable and even brought me a few chuckles after my near 'trip' down the stairs.... yes, I admit it!  I almost took a nose dive down the stairs during the bridal party introductions at our reception, but that's a story for another blog post!

Matt sent me an email the other day to let me know that he had posted a Sneak Peek video of our wedding on DMO's blog.  What a wonderful surprise to get only a few weeks after our wedding!  I did not anticipate seeing any footage until well after the wedding.  Okay, I have another admission to make.  I think I've watched that video a good.... umm... ten times in the past two days and had tears brought to my eyes quite a few of those times!  The Sneak Peek is beautiful.  I can't thank Matt enough, and I can't wait to see the full one!  I know it will be amazing.

If you happen to live in the Connecticut or New York area and are looking for a videographer, I highly recommend Digital Media Odyssey.  There is no doubt in my mind that they will fulfill all your expectations and create you the perfect keepsake from your special day.

http://www.dmodyssey.com/
http://www.dmodyssey.com/blog/2010/5/26/carrie-and-jeremy-sneak-peek.html

I'm Married!!!

I know it's been a while since I was last here, but I'm back AND I'm married!!!! After more than a year of planning, planning and more planning our big day finally came.  We had a beautiful wedding.  It was really such a wonderful and special day.

In the morning my soon-to-be husband and I went to Bulls Bridge in Kent, CT.  We wanted to have a little morning ceremony, just the two of us.  During our engagement we contemplated what marriage meant to us and what qualities we wanted our marriage to embody.  We created offerings that we would make to the river that represented those qualities.  It was a bit chilly out, but we had so much fun!  I can't wait to see the pro pics that our photographers HK Photography took there.  Here's one that my friend Beth took.

You can't tell from the picture, but I'm wearing the FABULOUS headband that KimArt made for me.  I mentioned it in my previous post.

After our hiking trail fun, it was time for our wedding ceremony and reception.  We held both at the beautiful Lounsbury House in Ridgefield, CT.

Thank you to everyone that helped make our day a special one! I couldn't have asked for a day that was more perfect (aside from the cold and wind, but we braved it like troopers!!!)

Stay tuned for my upcoming posts!  Now that the wedding is over, I'm going to fill you in on the rest of my DIY projects and introduce you to some of my AMAZING vendors.  First up will be our videographer Matt Fink of Digital Media Odyssey.  He's truly gifted.

 

Rave for Etsy Seller Kim Art

I have to give a shout out to Etsy seller Kim Art.  Kim is not only a really sweet person, but she is also ultra creative and talented.  On the morning of our wedding this coming Sunday, my fiance Jeremy and I will be heading up to our favorite hiking trail, Bulls Bridge in Kent, CT.  We decided that we wanted to have our own little private pre-wedding ceremony there.  We have contemplated what our marriage means to us, and thought about the qualities that we really want it to embody.  At our favorite spot, on the bank of the Housatonic River, we plan to make offerings to the river of items that represent those qualities and ask for blessings for our wedding ceremony and future marriage.

Well, I couldn't think of a better occasion for a second wedding dress than this! (or first one I guess).  I have my cute white sundress to wear, and I knew that I needed to find something equally cute to put in my hair.  I found Kim Art on Etsy and knew that she would be the perfect person to create a custom flower headband for me.  I have to say that Kim was soooooo passionate about making me the perfect thing to add to my wedding morning look.  Her enthusiasm for my wedding only made me more excited for the occassion! 

She made me a beautiful white double flower headband.  The flowers are made of white satin and white tulle accented with little gold dots.  She finished the flowers with little gold leaves and clear and gold beads.

If you're ever looking for something cute to accent your hair or for a perfect gift, definitely check Kim Art out!  She's super friendly and her prices are really reasonable.  Thanks Kim!

Wedding Favors

I didn't want to focus too much on my Asian heritage, since my fiance isn't Asian, but we still wanted a few touches at the wedding. We decided to use Chinese takeout boxes for our favors and filled them with an assortment of Asian candy and custom fortune cookies. I got a great deal on the fortune cookies from My Lucky Fortune. Photo share cards were also included in the boxes. I created an account on Google so that people could log in and upload to Picasa the pictures they take at the wedding. I used Vistaprint to make the cards and got 100 for free.



I finished the boxes off with a red satin ribbon and really beautiful double happiness favor tags that I had custom made by Etsy vendor fubabee.



Fubabee also made our table numbers. All in all, her products are fabulous! She's very creative, and happy to do a custom design. If you have enough time before you need your order, I highly recommend her. I was pleased with how everything turned out.

One Week Until My Wedding!!!

Hi Everyone! I have to apologize profusely for dropping off the face of the planet!!! It has seriously been a full time job getting ready for my wedding. I guess that's what happens when you decide to DIY so much of it!!! I've been crazy busy and really productive though, so I wanted to share some of the things I've made for the wedding with you! A few of the items that I've created will have to wait until after the wedding because I don't want to spoil the surprise... I'll show you those after the honeymoon!

I had a lot of fun creating our escort cards. It really took me a long time to figure out what to do because I didn't want it to just be a name card with a table assignment. I wanted it to actual mean something, so I decided to get crafty and create handmade envelopes on different patterned paper. Inside each envelope my fiance Jeremy and I have written a personalized note. We know that we won't have a ton of time to spend with everyone, so we wanted them all to know how special they are to us.

So, how I actually made the envelopes... I got large sheets of beautiful handmade paper. I then created an envelope pattern on cardstock, cut that out, and used it as a template. After some tracing, cutting and gluing, I had my envelopes! FYI, I used two types of glue for this project. The main glue was a Kuretake 2 Way Glue Pen. This pen is great because it's a ball point pen that you just 'write' the glue on with. It starts out a pale blue color, but dries clear. You can use it either as a permanent glue by gluing and sticking or as a temporary adhesive (i.e. apply glue and leave it exposed until dry). The second glue was actually Fabri-Tac. Some of the paper that I used was a very fibrous cottony Indian paper. The Kuretake glue was too watery and just soaked right into the paper. The Fabri-Tac worked perfectly to combat that! Seriously... if you ever want to invest in an amazing glue that you'll find yourself using on EVERYTHING fabric related, buy some Fabri-Tac! You can purchase both glues at Michael's and most other craft stores.




I then used oval address labels to print the name and table assignments, stuffed the little notes inside the envelopes and sealed them with a gold heart sticker.


Okay, I'll post another DIY wedding project tomorrow! Have a great day everyone!