Having spent college in a school in Katipunan Avenue, it piqued my interest no end whenever I passed by the Mormon Temple along White Plains. What did they do in there? Call it dumb Catholic ignorance.

And so I was very excited in shooting my very first Mormon wedding last weekend.

Greg explained to me that nobody else was allowed to enter the temple and witness the ceremony. I was antsy as to what to put in the SDE.

That said it was great that they decided to hold another “ceremony” just before the reception. It was a simple vow and ring exchange. Being Filipinos, they felt the need to share the moment with the guests even though that actual ceremony did not have any legal or religious bearing. It was a great sequence to put between when they got inside the temple and when they went out.

I also learned that getting wed in the main temple was essential to a Mormon’s faith. It would ensure that that man and wife as well as their children will still be together even in the afterlife.

Here’s their Onsite Video.

Gretchen of mywedding.com gave me a heads up in an email to tell me I’ve been featured in a brief article in their US based wedding site.

Check it out - article.

Thanks for the props!

It is always a privilege and an honor when clients contract our services for their wedding. But there is something extra special about being hired by co-suppliers. They, who know the landscape of the industry and practically know everybody else.

Last Friday, Katrina Arce Kuhn, owner and head chef of Cuillere Catering, tied the knot with Marco.

(photo nicked from MangoRed)

Like most supplier weddings we’ve shot, the chance to shine at their given field cannot be passed up. The guests were treated to a sumptuous seven course dinner apart from the cheese buffet.

The interesting twist was that after the formal dinner, a couple hundred more of the newlywed’s guests started to arrive to the party which was setup on the other half of Blue Leaf. DJ music and a midnight buffet on one side, a sit-down dinner and live band ballroom dancing at the other.

View the same day edit here.

Oh, Thanks to Jong of the Write Impression Paperie and Press for sending me the menu card.

La Salade de Roquette au Chèvre
Arugula & Goat Cheese Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

La Petite Soupe a l’Oignon Gratinée
Mini French Onion Soup with Gratineed Gruyère Cheese

Le Loup de Mer et son Risotto a l’Encre
Pan-Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Black Ink Seafood Risotto

Le Sorbet Fruit de la Passion
Passion Fruit Sorbet

Le Confit de Canard
Duck Confit with Caramelized Onions, Puréed Potatoes & Garlic Confit

Le Buffet de Fromages
Fondue au Noix, Pecorino with Pepperoncino, La Peral, Mascarpone Eborinato,
Brie de Meaux, Mimolette, Monte Enebro, Mahón,
White Stilton with Blueberries, Manchego

Les Gâteux de Mariage
Croquembouche

Bride’s Cake
Mango Apricot Lime Shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake
Chestnut Cream Cake

Groom’s Cake
Dark Chocolate Cake with Caramel
l’Opera
Milk Chocolate with Hazelnut & Caramel Cream

Le Buffet de Mignardises et Petits Fours

Generals may be tough as nails and eat bullets for breakfast. But this General couldn’t contain himself while his first-born was walking down the aisle.

Everything about this wedding was “grand” (like Marlon’s name). 50++ people in the entourage, 3 cakes (Bizu, Pastry Bin, Alex Franco), 2 gowns, a 15 piece musical ensemble and 2 photographers (Mangored and Wally G). I swear, the cake was fifty feet tall!

Ok you’ve seen Jaguars, Rolls, Horse Carriages, Beetles and maybe even trains as backdrops to portraits. But have you seen a plane taking off the tarmac just a hundred metres behind a newlywed?

But despite the majesty, it was the quiet moments that counted.

Here’s their Same Day Edit.

Another week, another ball player =)

This time it was RJ Rizada of the Coca-Cola tigers.

Mae and RJ below, doing their choreographed first dance while a Peninsula Manila waiter looks on.

Watch out for the stop-motion, the awesome windy veil shots, and wild lomo colors.

Check out their video.

Many many thanks to my friend and kumpare Boss Bob Nicolas for lending me his dolly.

Church: Santuario de San Antonio
Reception/Dinner: Peninsula Manila
Planner: Chinkie Uy-Agregado
Photo: Dino Lara
Makeup: Makeup Studio

The SMS from Kitten Zapanta, Managing Editor of Wedding Essentials, read like this …

You have been chosen by Wedding Essentials to be featured and glammed up for it’s next issue!

I never say no these people nor pass the chance to ham it up in front of the camera. But what did glamming exactly mean?

Did it entail clipping my nose hairs? Wearing the latest collection from Paul Smith and doing Blue Steel? Or perhaps being oiled up and and posing au naturel?

Read the rest of this entry »

Mia and Leyton’s wedding was eagerly anticipated by many as Mia operates the in-house flowershop in Makati Shangri-la (Bloomwoods). She was going to do her own flowers and stylings - can you imagine the pressure?

If you were keen entering the hotel that day, you would notice something was different. The whole lobby was bedecked in White Phalaepnosis orchids (same as her bouquet’s) instead of the typical flower arrangements.

Saint Michael’s Church in Fort Bonifacio never looked so dressed up -

But the piece de resistance was the reception setup. Rizal Ballroom oozed pure class in red and gold.  Don’t you just love subtle?

All photos generously provided by Nelwin Uy.

Check out Mia and Leyton’s Onsite Video.

Serious about your wedding videography? Sign up for the must-attend seminar your creativity and business need to soar to greater heights. Limited slots available.

Patrick Moreau of Still-Motion and Phil Bloom are leading the Re:frame Collective pack to Austin, Texas.

Re:Frame 08 sold out in less than a week. I’m flying out to New Orleans on October to headline the workshop. What an incredible privilege!

More details here - Re:Frame Blog

Sometimes, it takes weddings like these to remind you why people get married in the first place.

The ceremony was powerful. Not just powerful powerful. But tiny little kitten hit by a Pantranco Bus powerful.

The moving words expressed and exchanged throughout also reminded me to lock-down and just record, to set aside the money shots and eyecandy, to focus on the essentials and preserve the memory of it all.

For a guy like Larry Fonacier, hardcourt superstar, to say ‘I love you more than basketball‘, now that takes some major cojones. And it made him even bigger than the giant he already is.

And Lora? Lora was vivacious, anxious, excited, accommodating and just really really happy. And let me not forget stunning!

It was harrowing to edit such a piece in a very short amount of time but we had to prevail. The couple was awesome, the venue was spectacular, the weather cooperative and all the people beautiful. We couldn’t deliver anything less.

And as a bonus, Alaska won their game against Air21 on the day of the wedding. =)

Watch the video - here.

venue: Balai Taal
gown: Veluz Reyes
planners: Blushing Bride
photos: MangoRed
favors: Cliquebooth

I rarely re-post junk I find on the internet. But make this an exception, I’ve been visiting and revisiting SeanBaby’s Superfriends page since 2000 and it never fails to make me laugh.

Take our good friend Batman - (hey the Dark Knight is coming out real soon)

The one thing that was really notable about Batman was the 5 toolsheds he had somehow jammed into his Utility Belt. I’ve seen him pull out bugspray, boomerangs, inflatable batrafts, 80 feet of batrope, and if Robin was lucky, tiny bat nipple clips. Batman could fall asleep and his belt would keep fighting crime.

For a few good laughs this Thursday morning - The Superfriends.

I remember Saturdays were devoted to the Fun Machine in RPN-9. Space Ghost, Shirt Tales and tons of other cartoons from breakfast to lunch.

Say what you will but the Eighties truly rocked!