By: Danielle Martin
As our first wedding traveling back to Michigan , it was a pleasure to experience the hospitality of the Jurgensen-Roy bridal party and The Hidden Vineyard Wedding Barn staff.  Tara contacted us after having seen our profile on The Knot, and was excited about the content that we have previously created. Groom, Dylan, brought a sense of positive energy to the planning sessions and was nothing but smiles for the whole wedding day duration. It was an incredible joy to be around two people that have described their own relationship as "Always going up, never a down moment." This love and commitment shined through in the ceremony and portrait moments at the gorgeous Hidden Vineyard Wedding Barn. More about the venue in the next paragraph. 

Pure Michigan does not begin to describe the beauty of this hidden gem located in Berrien Springs, MI. The Hidden Vineyard Wedding Barn featured the perfect landscape for a Michigan summer wedding. The rustic charm paired with the colorful flowers created a breathe taking grounds for hosting a wedding. The venue includes a 1870's built barn nestled within 70 acres of Western Michigan farmland. Tara and Roy held their ceremony under the towering Northern Catalpa tree that is over 150 years old. The barn showcases a blank canvas that allows you to create the decor your envision for your pintrest picture perfect concept. We were certain to take the newly pronounced Jurgensen's on a stroll through the vineyard as the sunset set on another beautifully captured wedding videography service. 

I do have to admit one minor mistake that I made in the early stages of booking this event. I have never booked a Spanish speaking based event, as such it never crossed my mind that this event would be in all Spanish. The phone calls and meetings leading up to the event were all completed in English, it wasn't until the day of that I realized this would be a uniquely challenging experience when it came to editing. The wedding and the culture of everyone involved was incredible and such a fun experience. Dj Dani kept the entire guest list on the dance floor all night long with salsa and meringue dancing filled with energy and excitement. 

Let me start this blog by saying I love videography, and I love working alongside photographers at wedding events. That being said I would like to announce that I will be adding limited photography services to my business. I will not be offering photography at weddings currently. What I will be offering is photo sessions like the featured piece below that I recently did with the Park family. By adding styles like  senior portraits and generally all type of non-wedding day photography I'll be able to meet new clients and grow my creative style further and in more detail. My reason for not wanting to add wedding day to my portfolio has a lot to do with my creative style.

Lets talk about what makes each photographer / videographer unique in what the do. My concept of work is about telling the story of you in a way that is you. When you look back at your time spent working with me, I don't want you to remember the pain staking 20 minutes it took to get one pose just right, for one perfect photo. Instead I want to find the perfect photos in the moments that you'll experience spending time with the ones you love. My work should allow you to relive the details of a memory made, instead of feeling like I carefully crafted an image that doesn't represent who you are. In the case of weddings, I have great partnerships with existing photographers like Amber McWhorter, Alyissa Landri, and Stephanie Lanni, these ladies know how to capture wedding photos on the day including those posed moments that most couples expect. My style tailors to the free spirit of interacting with each other and showing the emotions and connections you have that only come from genuine love for each other. I feel that I can capture that sentiment in the form of individualized photography sessions, and through video on wedding days. It has never failed while shooting wedding videography I am often asked what do you want us to do....? My answer has always been simple, forget Im here and do what you want to do. Let me capture that, photo or video, its doesn't matter those are the moments that matter the most, after all isn't that why you hired me? (Or are about too....?) Want to get a better understanding of what I mean by all of this? Great, check out my photo gallery, watch some of my highlight films, I believe the my approach will speak for itself, but if it doesn't check out my the rest of this blog and let me tell you about my connection experience shooting with the Park family below. 

If you've been reading along with the blogs as they come out you are already aware that my #1 current professional goal is to service a Disney Wedding Event. I can not begin to stress how difficult of a process this has proven to be. I have had brides reach out to me, schedule phone calls with me at their request, and then not answer the phone or return messages. I have contacted any existing vendor I can find with evidence of having been involved in a Disney event. It amazes me the reach which the current service providers have. There are international service providers booking multiple trips into Orlando each year to manage weddings, yet can't manage to find a single point of contact locally. The secrets of being considered a Disney-level wedding vendor are vast and met at every turn with a lack of information and closed doors. ​