One of my favorite places for weddings in Charlottesville is The Clifton Inn as everyone there is very nice and accommodating, the food is the best in all of Virginia (maybe the universe), and in the spring it is absolutely gorgeous with flowers galore! Grier & Tad were married on April 18th, 2009 which was perfect timing as all of the blossoms were just starting to peak! Pat’s Floral Design did a beautiful job bringing in additional floral arrangements for the bouquets, garters, and tent decorations.

The ceremony was very unique as Dave Norris, the mayor of Charlottesville, officiated his first wedding along with officiant extraordinaire Claire Goodman who local brides might know from the Charlottesville Wedding Blog and Sacred Ground Ceremonies. It was a very touching and heartfelt ceremony that had many choking up and a few tears being shed. Later on that evening the party kicked off with the Kings of Swing rocking out! I don’t think I had seen a 12 piece band play at a wedding until then … it was very impressive! To add a nice little touch the tent (from Skyline Tent Company) was adorned with beautiful lanterns that really made for an awesome and unforgettable atmosphere. I definitely recommend them for all weddings and I think you will see why when you watch the video!

With that said I would like to wish congratulations to Grier & Tad, and I hope you enjoy the film!

This film was shot by Aaron Watson and Erin Manfredi on a Canon 5D Mark II and includes photography by Aaron Watson and Erin Manfredi. Editing was done by Ashley Chipman and Aaron Watson. 

I am very excited to share with you my very first Fusion Style Engagement Session! Fusion Style is a new term that we use to describe a coverage where we mix photography with cinema. With our new cameras being able to shoot both HD Video and high quality photographs we have really taken advantage of this to expand the types of coverage we offer. The one thing I really love about video is it’s ability to compliment the photographs in telling a story! I was really inspired to start offering this type of coverage after talking with The Bebbs (who were named one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world by American Photo Magazine). What they told me is that often a picture can show you a moment in time, but it might not be able to tell you the full story. LIke when you see a picture of a couple laughing during a toast, you can see that the speech was funny, but you can’t hear what was said. Now with the advances in technology it is easier than ever to share the full experience of that moment with you! 

With Heather & Chase’s Engagement Session I wanted to share a little more about them then you usually get to see. After having a fun afternoon shooting during the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC we sat down on the mall and talked about everything from what they loved about each other to a funny moment involving hot sauce and pizza! Needless to say we had an awesome time and I am really looking forward to being a part of their wedding this coming weekend! 

I would like to thank Erin Manfredi who assisted me in shooting video, Alison Harbin for helping with lights and schlepping equipment through DC, Ashley Chipman who did an awesome job editing everything together, and finally Heather and Chase for being so awesome! I hope you enjoy our first official Fusion Style Engagement Session!