So we ended 2009 at a casino and jumped straight into 2010 with our first wedding of the year in yet another casino – Pala Casino Spa Resort, located here in Southern California! The sky was clear blue, and the weather; warm and comfortable – a perfect setting for Abby + John’s intimate and elaborately detailed wedding.
When I first met with Abby last summer, she came to our meeting with a gift for us – a Red Velvet bundt cake from “Nothing Bundt Cake.” I was surprised because we don’t usually receive gifts on our first meeting with a couple, but Abby insisted for us to take it. Needless to say, the cake was delicious! And every time we met with Abby from then on, she had always had some kind of fancy dessert to give us! :)
Obviously then, the wedding reception would be complete with the most delectable array of mouthwatering cuisines! And we were definitely not disappointed! I would say that the salad served was the best salad I have ever had – poached salmon salad with watercress and frisee lemon oil dressing. Mm’m! The main entree was chicken marsala with asparagus, artichokes, marsala wine, and rosemary. And dessert was plentiful, ranging from the strawberry mango bavarian, and the flowing belgian chocolate fountains, to the bar of candies and assorted sweets!
Not only was the food very detailed. The decor itself was an amazing sight to be seen. In both the ceremony and reception, every corner of the rooms were lavishly decorated by Fancy That! Designs – truly amazing and awe-inspiring work by the groom’s sister, Christine.
The whole setting of the venue was indescribable, so perhaps the video can speak for itself…
Abby + John \\ Same-Day Edit from Starcross’d Creative on Vimeo.
Venue \\ Ceremony & Reception: Pala Casino Spa Resort
Photography by Atrero Photography \\ DJ/MC by Sound Prodigy \\ Coordination by Beverly Calalay
Hair & Makeup by Raschel Borja \\ Floral Creations & Decor by Fancy That! Designs
Song \\ “Smash Into You” by Beyoncé
Last week when I checked to see how cold it was going to be for our weekend stay in Las Vegas, I thought we prepared well enough for the 40°-50° weather. Apparently, since coming from warm and sunny Southern California, we weren’t as prepared as we thought! On the first night, we decided to do some time lapse sequences with our Canon 5DmkII. After visiting the famous “welcome” sign and getting some footage there, we drove around looking for a good vantage point for our time lapse. We ended up atop a parking structure just outside the Strip, overlooking the bright lights of Las Vegas Boulevard – somewhere past midnight. It took about an hour to complete the time lapse, and boy was that hour cold! It was so well worth it though!
The day of the wedding was so much fun. We had the privilege to work with Marcel Cabrera and his team at Studio 64 Photography – Marcel is one of the warmest personalities you’ll ever meet.
Sandra + Ray’s two sons, Bryce & Nathaniel, were so adorable! They remind me of my son – so curious and full of energy! They definitely helped add personality to the video. I was amazed at how welcoming they were to the cameras. I loved the footage we took of them throughout the day – priceless.
The outdoor wedding ceremony began at 6:00pm at the Angel Park Golf Club. As cold as it was again that evening – maybe even colder – the images we witnessed in that ceremony were truly heartwarming. From Sandra’s brother, Marvin, walking her down the aisle on behalf of their father who had passed… and Ray’s eyes welling up as he watches Sandra walk that green path of the golf course towards him… to the two little boys looking on as their parents renew their love for each other… Like I said earlier, standing in the cold was so worth it!
Sandra + Ray come from a very small town in Alaska called Akutan; population – right under 1,000. However, their love for each other and their two boys are way bigger than Vegas itself.
Sandra + Raymond \\ Same-Day Edit from Starcross’d Creative on Vimeo.
Venue \\ Ceremony & Reception: Angel Park Golf Club
Photography by Studio 64 Photography \\ DJ/MC by Untouchable Entertainment
Song \\ “Fireflies” by Owl City
When I first met with Chor + Davey, they had told me that they originally were not going to have their wedding filmed. GASP! I obviously believe that no wedding should ever go undocumented, and when they described what their wedding was going to be like, I was shocked that that thought had even crossed their mind.
Chor + Davey wanted to highlight their cultural backgrounds in their wedding – Chor being Chinese and Davey, Filipino. So, of course, they had to have two ceremonies. In the tea ceremony, I loved how Chor wore a traditional Chinese formal gown while Davey wore the traditional Filipino formal attire known as the “barong tagalog.” After a fun photo shoot with the incomparable Chaz Cruz, and a quick dress change, Chor + Davey walked down the aisle atop the beautiful Omni Hotel – set to the backdrop of Downtown San Diego for their traditional American wedding! Their anxiety and enthusiasm was infectious.
Afterwards, the guests moved from the Palm Terrace down to the Grand Ballroom where the reception was held. As I sat in my little corner editing the same-day edit just outside the ballroom, I was constantly tempted to sneak back in because of all the fun and commotion I kept hearing inside. The guests were treated to a first-dance serenade by popstar, Ashley Robles! Later in the evening, I was startled when I heard a loud cymbal crash followed by a steady, energetic rhythm of a drum. I quickly rushed inside and saw two lions dancing amongst the crowd – performed by the Lucky Lion Dancers! Incredible!!
So what’s the moral of this story? Don’t ever count out cinematography for your wedding. Otherwise, this is what you’ll be missing…
Chor + Davey \\ Same-Day Edit from Starcross’d Creative on Vimeo.
Venue \\ Ceremony & Reception: Omni Hotel
Photography by Chaz Cruz Photography \\ DJ/MC by Allan “DJ Rage” Reyes \\ Coordination by Ojesa Clark
Floral Creations by Jocelyn Cancel \\ Officiant Aline Rozok
Song \\ “Breathe” by Angels & Airwaves
Our final concept film of the year!! This one is extra special for us because our cousin, Leo, is the groom and Marilyn’s cousin, Lorelee, is the bride. Ever since Leo proposed to Lorelee a year ago, we’ve been working on the story for their video, and it practically wrote itself! Leo was inspired by the movie “The Wood” starring Omar Epps and Taye Diggs (see if you can spot our homage to this movie in our film).
Their story began in 1996 when they met for the first time at Scripps Ranch High School – which also happens to be my alma mater. Brainstorming ideas for this film was nostalgic – from blonde tips for the guys and bangs for the girls to pagers and letterman jackets – the pre-production process was just as much fun as the actual filming of the movie!
By the way, recognize the guys in the movie? They’re from our other concept film “A Sin City Love Story“! These guys have been best friends since high school. I consider them all my little brothers. Two of them are still unmarried… that means more epic movies to come in the future!
Scrippies from Starcross’d Creative on Vimeo.
Beverly + Jeffrey \\ Same-Day Edit from Starcross’d Creative on Vimeo.
Venue \\ Ceremony: Immaculata, USD \\ Reception: NTC Promenade
Photography by Brian Abiva Photography \\ DJ/MC by Sound Illusions \\ Floral Creations by Fancy That! Designs
Song \\ “Forevermore” by Side A Band
In: blog
Karen + Mikey \\ Same-Day Edit from Starcross’d Creative on Vimeo.
Venue \\ Ceremony & Reception: Bel Air Bay Club, Santa Monica
Photography by Gloria Mesa Photography
Song \\ “Heart On My Sleeve” by Michael Johns
Kathy + Ruben’s wedding greeted us with familiar faces! When I arrived to the bride prep, I was greeted by the one we dubbed “Best Man of the Year 2007″ – MJ Toledo! Always a good start to the day when MJ greets you at the door. Heh heh!
I also found it funny when the other half of my team got “kidnapped” to go to the mall to “pick up something real quick,” only to find pictures of them later on Facebook hanging out at a restaurant. (*Nudge, nudge* Sarah and Adam, I saw you guys in the pictures too – tsk tsk). Oh well, I guess it was fine since there was such a large gap between the ceremony and reception. But I digress…
And what’s with all the body rolling??
Kathy + Ruben \\ Same-Day Edit from Starcross’d Creative on Vimeo.
Venue \\ Ceremony: Holy Name of Mary Parish, San Dimas \\ Reception: Hyatt Garden Grove, Anaheim
Photography by Charles Ng of Time On Film Photography \\ DJ/MC by J&M Entertainment \\ Make-up Art & Hair by Kimi.V
Song \\ “Closer To Love” by Mat Kearney
09 Sep, 2009
the man who can’t be moved \\ heidi + joe’s same-day edit
by: Chris Dumlao | 
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I spoke to Joe before the wedding ceremony and asked him how he was doing and how he was preparing himself for the big moment. On the outside, he seemed to be doing okay – very calm and prepared. Then he told me how nervous he was for his vows. Since they each wrote their own vows, he was worried that he might get emotional and sound weird. I told him not to worry about that, and just focus on his words – let the moment take him in, and everything should sound fine.
So he got up there, pulled out his paper with his vows written on it, and began with these words, “I’ve spent many nights writing this, but what it says on paper is not what is important.” Then he folded it back up again, and began to freestyle his vows. What he ended up saying was one of the best vows I have ever heard – simple, emotional, and from the heart…
Heidi + Joe \\ Same-Day Edit from Starcross’d Creative on Vimeo.
Venue \\ Ceremony & Reception: Mission Bay Hyatt
Photography by Richwell Correa Photography \\ DJ by DJ Flexander
Song \\ “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” by The Script
I hope everyone had a fun and safe Labor Day Weekend. What did Starcross’d do? Why, we worked of course! And not only did we just work and film three weddings, but we challenged ourselves and knocked out 3 same-day edits for each of those weddings, and also did a shoot for our next concept film on the 4th day! Whew! And we had a great time doing it.
Day 1 started on Friday with Heidi + Joe’s wedding at the Mission Bay Hyatt here in San Diego. At the end of the night, our four-man crew drove up to Anaheim where we stayed the night and prepared for Day 2 with Kathy + Ruben’s wedding in Chino Hills, San Dimas, and finally back to Anaheim for the reception. Day 3 took us up the California coast on Pacific Highway 1 where Karen + Mikey’s wedding took place in beautiful Santa Monica. The night ended with fireworks, and we finally drove back home to San Diego, where Day 4 was filled with fun and laughter as we began principal photography for Lorelee + Leo’s concept film (premiering in October).
Odd as it may sound, but it was a great way to spend our Labor Day weekend! The Starcross’d team reunited with some old friends and met a whole bunch of new ones. And now, it’s time for me to upload all these videos online!
Continuing from our last post – here’s day two of our San Diego ocean-front wedding weekend with Mary Ann and Lester. Days like this is what makes you proud to say you’re from San Diego! The day couldn’t have been any more perfect. God truly showed off his artistry that day.
They rented the entire Ocean View Villas for their reception. The place was literally on a cliff – no fences or rails stopping you from falling to the beach below. The evening reception was catered by Da Kine’s, and they even had bamboo utensils and plates! When the sun went down over the horizon, the bonfire pit and tiki torches were lit, and the festivities continued on underneath the warm summer night!
Both Lester and Mary Ann could not stop smiling the whole day.
Mary Ann + Lester \\ Wedding Trailer from Starcross’d Creative on Vimeo.
Venue \\ Ceremony: Sacred Heart Church of Ocean Beach \\ Reception: Ocean View Villas
Photography by Sarah Joy Photography \\ DJ/MC by Project•3