Friday, June 17, 2011

Featured Friends Friday: Sonrise Video Productions

Vendor name and company: Steve Allen, Sonrise Video Productions

Services offered: Wedding Films

How did you get started in the wedding industry and when? Video is the absolute best way to preserve memories. In 1995 my wife passed away when my daughter was only 4 years old. Most of the memories she has of her Mom are from the videos I shot of our family playing together. In 1998 I started shooting weddings. I realized the importance of preserving the memories on this day and capturing the beginning milestone of a new family. I like to imagine their grandchildren someday watching the video in amazement. In 2000 my part-time wedding filming career turned into a full-time career.

What sets you apart from other vendors? I like to create an artistic account of the wedding day not just document the events. Over the years I’ve won several awards for creativity for my wedding films. I have an eye for getting creative shots that just seems to come naturally to me. After several hundred wedding shoots I can anticipate when that special moment is about to happen. There are always those special moments between a bride and groom that just tug at your heart strings and need to be preserved forever.

What do you do for fun besides weddings? I love to cycle for exercise. I love watching movies and the “making of” special features on the DVDs. I find myself critiquing camera angles, and coming up with new ways in my head that would have made each movie more emotional.

Why do you enjoy working with wedding planners? Don’t get me started here. Having a good wedding planner is an absolute necessity. The bride and groom don’t need to worry about how things are falling into place on their special day. The more stress-free and happy they are on their wedding day the more it shows in their pictures and video. A good planner also keeps me and the photographer aware of what’s happening next to make sure everything is captured and preserved.

What is your favorite thing about working w/ a StarDust Celebrations (SDC) planner? StarDust Celebrations planners are always on top of things. Little things will always go wrong at weddings. The SDC planners seem to spot these things before they happen. It’s these things going on in the background that no one notices. That just means they are doing a great job.

Do you have any funny or memorable stories you can share about working with one of our planners? I just always have a great time working with these ladies. Their cheerful attitude seems to be contagious. Who could not be happy to see “little” Evie smile? I love to tease Evie about being short. We get along so well.

What is the best single piece of advice you could give to brides? I have been a member of several wedding organizations and associations over the years. From time to time they have bridal panel discussions. Past brides talk about what went right or wrong at their wedding. One of the questions is always “What was your biggest regret?” Inevitably there is always a bride who regrets not hiring a videographer. The whole day will be a big blur when it is over and the only thing left will be the pictures and the wedding film.

I once met with a bride who wasn’t sure if she wanted a film made of her wedding. As she watched my wedding demo I could see her eyes tear at the emotions being brought out on the screen. I told her, “Imagine that this is a video of your young grandparents getting married years before you were born. If this was your grandparents’ video and there was only one copy, how much would you sell that copy to me for?” She told me she wouldn’t sell it for ANY amount of money. She then realized how important it was to have a good wedding film made of her special day.

Be sure to check out Steve's website for more info and to see some demos: http://www.sonrisevideo.com/!

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