Focal Point Video Blog

Siobhan & Brandon’s Trailer at Garden Vineyards

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:48:34 -0700

It’s about time for another sneek peek... so here’s a quick look at Siobhan and Brandon’s awesome Garden Vineyards wedding from last Saturday. The bride was absolutely stunning in Vera Wang, and just wait until you see Brandon’s reaction the first time he saw her; you’ll immediately see that he agreed (and just about fell over in shock)!! Following their rehearsal dinner full of touching speeches which we filmed at Portland City Grill, the couple enjoyed a crystal clear, sunny Oregon day at the vineyard for their wedding. First class wedding professionals included Eric from Holland Studios working his still image magic, Art of Catering, and Geranium Lake Flowers. Rodney from Digital Audio DJ kept the party hopping late into the night... at least, when guests weren’t busy hitting the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream stand! Congratulations Siobhan and Brandon!!

If you would like to see more of this or any other Focal Point wedding film, please contact us to set up a no-obligation consultation at our studio. We’d love to hear about what you have planned for your own wedding day and how we can be a part!

Oregon Bride Magazine's "Best All-Around Vendor 2010" and “Best Videographer 2010”!!

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:15:10 -0700

We’re just a little bit excited about this one: for the second consecutive year the readers of Oregon Bride magazine voted us “Best Videographer” and in even BETTER news this year also voted us “Best All-Around Vendor,” the top overall award given at this year’s Best of Bride awards gala!! We are extremely pleased to win both and are particularly shocked with the Best All-Around Wedding Vendor honor; thank you so very much to our brides, their families, friends, and fans that voted!! We truly appreciate the support of every one of you!

The very cool Best of Bride gala was held this year at Pure Space, an open and airy new event space in Portland’s historic Pearl District. The sharp-looking crowd of wedding professionals, brides-to-be and others mingled and sipped delicious local wines and mixed cocktails, Dosha Salon Spa sponsored a killer fashion show featuring many of the dresses from the magazine, and of course Oregon Bride editor Liz Hummer named this year’s winners and debuted the summer/fall issue of Oregon Bride magazine. Overall it was a super great night out with friends and colleagues, made even better with the award!

Each year the Best of Bride Awards are determined exclusively by the voting of Oregon Bride’s readers. The brand new “Best of 2010” issue featuring all the winners was released last night at the party and hits newsstands next week, so be sure to check it out! Oregon Bride magazine is the leading bridal publication in the area, with a readership of 95,000 per issue. A full listing of the 2010 Best of Bride winners is also available online by clicking here.

A big congratulations to our many good friends who were honored as well, some of whom included “Best New Wedding Vendor” Champagne Wedding & Event Coordination, “Best Day-Of Coordinator” No Ordinary Affair, “Best Caterer” Willaby’s Catering, “Quintessential Oregon Reception Site” Abernethy Center, and “Best Hair & Makeup” Face Body Beauty, plus Jordan from Blüm: Design in Flowers who repeated as “Best Florist” for the second year and Ben and Laurel Powers of Powers Studios who won again for “Best Photographer.” Way to go friends! =)

For more complete information on our 2010 awards for Best Videographer and Best All-Around Vendor, please click here to view our news release in PDF format.

Jessica & Adam Trailer at BeckenRidge Vineyard

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 18:47:12 -0700

With the bride and groom and nearly every guest hailing from Wisconsin, Jessica and Adam couldn’t have possibly picked a more perfect day than last Saturday to show off Oregon’s mid-valley wine country for their destination wedding at BeckenRidge Vineyard. Beautiful blue skies, a view for miles, row upon row of verdant grape vines, a slight breeze and mid-70s weather... it’s pretty tough to find a much better place to spend a June day than Oregon!

The wedding was a blast from start to finish, with a fun and sassy wedding party (partly comprised of University of Wisconsin cheerleaders, including Jessica and Adam) plus a great lineup of top vendors including wedding coordinator Sue Hamilton of S.H.E. Designs & Events, Salem photographer Kris Stalnaker, hair and makeup by Face Body Beauty, and tunes from Northwest Mobile DJ Service. With a team like that, our job hardly felt like one! As you’ll see in this theatrical trailer, the couple were clearly enjoying every minute and I’m not sure I ever caught Jessica without a huge, infectious grin on her face the whole day! What a fantastic event to be a part of... Enjoy this sneak peek at what’s to come as we begin editing their wedding film!!

If you would like to see more of this or any other Focal Point wedding film, please contact us to set up a no-obligation consultation at our studio. We’d love to hear about what you have planned for your own wedding day and how we can be a part!

WeddingWire Gold Rated 2010

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:40:30 -0700

Thanks to the many kind words and positive reviews provided by our past brides we’re proud to be Wedding Wire Gold Rated for 2010, placing us among the top vendors in the entire WeddingWire network for the third year in a row! Only one other studio in Oregon received the Gold rating this year, so thank you very much to everyone who left us a positive review in the past year!! If you would like to read some of the reviews we’ve received on WeddingWire just click here or to view comments we’ve received directly from past clients on our own website just click here. Below is the full text of the news release issued by WeddingWire earlier today:

Focal Point Digital Media is now WeddingWire Gold Rated for 2010

Salem, Ore. - June 29, 2010 – WeddingWire, the nation's leading site for wedding reviews, has just announced that Focal Point Digital Media is WeddingWire Gold Rated 2010 for videography. WeddingWire Rated is an annual award program for wedding professionals based on hundreds of thousands of recent wedding reviews.

WeddingWire Rated, the industry's first formalized review program, is the most recognized and trusted brand among engaged couples looking to locate wedding businesses. The award program recognizes wedding professionals across the country, like Focal Point Digital Media, that have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to service.

Focal Point Digital Media has 30 reviews with an average 5.0 out of 5.0 on WeddingWire, making them one of only two studios in Oregon to receive the coveted Gold Rated award for 2010 (requires 25+ reviews). These reviews have been written by past clients of Focal Point Digital Media, and include detailed ratings and insightful descriptions of the newlyweds' experience. From quality of service to overall level of professionalism, these reviews showcase the high level of service newly engaged couples can expect from Focal Point Digital Media. These reviews not only enhance their credibility, but also help differentiate Focal Point within the WeddingWire Network.

"We are excited to unveil WeddingWire Rated, now in its fourth year, as a way to recognize wedding professionals for their commitment to service," said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire's CEO. "WeddingWire Rated allows wedding businesses to clearly differentiate themselves in their market, while providing engaged couples an easy way to find the best services for their wedding."

Focal Point Digital Media would like to thank their past clients for sharing reviews of their weddings on WeddingWire. Reviews for Focal Point Digital Media can be found across the entire WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee.

For more information, please visit Focal Point Digital Media on WeddingWire at www.weddingwire.com/focalpointvideo

Janet & Charles Trailer at Youngberg Hill

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:00:36 -0700

Wow, what a way to kick off the June wedding season! Janet and Charles were married on the most gorgeous day Oregon has seen in months, high atop vineyards and rolling hills at the beautiful Youngberg Hill Vineyards & Inn. Every detail of this wedding was immaculate: from the giant white dinner tent and lounge area provided by West Coast Events clear down to the little hand-written place cards by calligrapher Alesia Zorn and the many gorgeous arrangements by Lavish Flora. Not a thing was missed; the event looked as if it were straight out of a bridal magazine! The many out-of-town and out-of-country guests were even treated to bags of Portland’s own Stumptown Coffee... okay, and so maybe I stole a bag too. ;)

Amy Nuttman of Blush Bridal Consultation Group assembled a dream team of vendors for the affair, and it was so fun to be a part of. We had the pleasure of working once again with the incredible Lauren Brooks of Lauren Brooks Photography as the couple and their lively group of guests danced the night away to the sounds of The Groove band and wrapped up the event in the wee hours of morning with an afterparty at McMenamin’s Hotel Oregon. Such a great celebration, start to finish! Please enjoy this brief preview clip of their wedding film, and congratulations once again Janet and Charles!!!

If you would like to see more of this or any other Focal Point wedding film, please contact us to set up a no-obligation consultation at our studio. We’d love to hear about what you have planned for your own wedding day and how we can be a part!

Style Me Pretty... Again!

Wed, 26 May 2010 23:09:41 -0700

So I’ve made an important discovery: apparently having a bride named Nicole is the trick to getting mentioned on the popular Style Me Pretty blog! Last month Nicole and James’ gorgeous Abernethy Center wedding was featured on SMP, and then today our Nicole and Beachum’s super hip West End Theater wedding showed up too! If the combination of a cool urban venue + Vera Wang + skulls + Prada + tattoos sounds like your kind of a wedding then be sure to go check out the post! As is always the case, it took amazing photography to get Style Me Pretty’s attention and all of that credit is due to the fantastic eye of Jessica Hill from Jessica Hill Photography. Her consistently out-of-the-box work is among the best you’ll find, and it’s no surprise Style Me Pretty agreed! We’re just happy to get a little credit at the end of the article. =) And Nicole and Beachum, thanks again for making Focal Point Digital Media a part of your wedding day!

Genny and John at St. Mary's Cathedral and The Nines Hotel

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:21:46 -0700

The biggest surprise of Genny and John’s wedding is what you’ll hear in the first few seconds of the above clip: the vows that they never expected to be allowed to share during their wedding ceremony at the gorgeous St. Mary’s Cathedral in Portland. Imagine how completely shocked they were when the priest asked them to come forward–impromptu–and read aloud what they had earlier written... You’ll hear the passion in their words and feel the goosebumps on your neck as soon as you begin watching!

This clip is just a few minutes of their overall wedding video, and later I may post another clip or two of their super-fun reception at The Nines Hotel, featuring the live music of Design Band. But in the meantime this will have to hold you over! Genny and John’s wedding was coordinated to perfection by Amy Nuttman of Blush Bridal Consultation Group, with photography by our good friends Amy and JP of AJ’s Studio.

If you would like to view the rest of this or any other Focal Point wedding film, please contact us to set up a no-obligation consultation at our studio. We’d love to hear about what you have planned for your own wedding day and how we can be a part!

Nicole and James’ Wedding Featured on Style Me Pretty

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 09:26:44 -0700

Thanks to the photography of the extremely talented Lauren Brooks (among our FAVE photographers to work with) one of our recent weddings was featured this week on Style Me Pretty, one of the most-trafficked wedding blogs in the known universe! Last fall Nicole and James travelled to Oregon from Washington DC to be married in Abernethy Center’s Abigail’s Garden, a gorgeous setting hidden away among the trees in Oregon City (and coincidentally the single location where we’ve filmed the most weddings!) Stay tuned to this blog in the coming weeks for a sneak peak of their wedding film, and in the meantime head over to Style Me Pretty to check out Lauren’s amazing photos of the wedding!

Fun Choreographed First Dance!

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:05:40 -0700

Dana, Eric and their wedding party get crazy during the couple’s first dance at Congregation Neveh Shalom!! You’ll get a kick out of this... and it could only be captured on video! Thanks to Shawn from Event Team Entertainment on the mic, plus our old friend Mr. Neil Diamond for the song. ;)

If you would like the memories and events of your own wedding day preserved in the same way, please contact our studio and we’d be happy to answer any questions you have about our wedding films or set up a no-obligation consultation.

Considering Wedding Videography? A Bride and Groom’s Perspective

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:21:29 -0700

Laura and Jerod have a lot of insight to share about the Focal Point experience, having hired us to film their own wedding in 2008 as well as having been at (or in!) several other weddings we’ve filmed for their family and friends. So if anyone understands our product and process, it’s them! If you’re considering wedding videography in general–or Focal Point in particular–and would like to hear firsthand what real couples really think, then this series is for you! Click below to view each brief topic, then feel free to give us a call or drop us an email if you’d like to learn more. We’d love for YOU to be our next happy client, and would be thrilled to hear about your wedding day plans! (Be sure to click the Play triangle on each clip.)

Clip 1 - Is The Quality Worth The Investment?
Clip 2 - What’s It Like Shooting On The Wedding Day?
Clip 3 - Should I Consider A Love Story or Same Day Edit?
Clip 4 - I’ve Got a Photographer, Should I Have a Videographer Too?
Clip 5 - The Final Product: Laura & Jerod’s Favorite Shots
Clip 6 - Why Choose Focal Point Specifically?
Clip 7 - Viewing Samples and Visiting the Studio

Please also check out our WeddingWire reviews as well as the Raves & Reviews page on this site for additional insight and comments from former Focal Point brides and grooms. Also, video clips from Laura and Jerod’s wedding film are available on our Samples page if you’re curious!