Music licensed from The Music Bed

What makes a wedding perfect?  Is it the details?  The pretty dresses, the perfect venue, delicious food?  If everybody has a fun time and dances all night long, is that it?  Maybe heartfelt vows and eloquent speeches?  Think about it for a second.  What do you think makes a wedding perfect?  My guess is that the perfect wedding in your mind does not involve torrential rain, or a possible venue change 3 hours before the ceremony.  For most people that would be a disaster.  Not for me, not for Megan, and not for Tim and Nikki.

This is what I think makes a perfect wedding.  Two people that truly love one another.  Two individuals that have chosen to stand up in front of the most important people in their lives and proclaim that through good times and bad, their love with keep them on course.  That is what a wedding is all about.  It is a single moment in time where you stop living your life alone and dedicate yourself to sharing everything that you are with another person.  The power of that commitment is incredible.  It fills us each up with hope and joy.  That is why we celebrate, because we know that the bride and groom have embarked on the journey of a lifetime.  They have become the beginning of their new family.  Details can be beautiful, food can be delicious, and weather can be perfect, but the only thing, and I mean ONLY thing that matters is the purity of your love and the sincerity of your commitment.

In case I have not convinced you what makes a perfect wedding, please watch Tim and Nikki’s film and tell me that it was not perfect.  Watch their faces as they share their first dance and tell me that you do not find yourself wishing that you were there, right in that moment.  And listen to Tim’s words at the end and feel as if he has put words to your own feelings towards your loved ones.  And to Tim and Nikki, thank you for loving one another wholeheartedly.  Without the two of you, this day would have been a very sad story.  Instead it is one of the happiest stories we have ever had the honor of telling.

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Jason and Janelle contacted us just days after Jason got down on one knee in Squaw Valley.  After an awesome Skype meeting, Jason and Janelle proposed to us.  No seriously.  Their email read, “Will you and Ian be our videographers at our July 28th, 2012 wedding?”  And of course we said YES!  The excitement of working with Jason and Janelle has not died down either.  They have kept us going with creative ideas for the Save the Date and Love Story (which is coming later this year…and includes snowboarding).

Jason and Janelle had the idea of doing a slideshow at their wedding, but they wanted to elevate the idea.  So we figured out a way to capture the sentiment of a slideshow while being more original.  Here’s the result!  A fun and creative way to share with their wedding guests how they came together and announce their wedding date!  Save the Date everyone!

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Ian and I were very excited when Bakersfield Life Magazine called us to do an article about our business.  We grew up in Bakersfield and also started our business there, so it seams fitting.  Each year Bakersfield Life dedicates a part of their edition to weddings.  They cover everything from wedding planning to catering.  From photo booths to real couples’ wedding proposals (including our clients Kristen & Ross who are getting married later this year).  We were lucky enough to be a featured business!  (And it’s even more exciting, as this is our first publication to feature our own photos!)  This article is all about our business and our philosophy behind wedding films.  This is a fantastic article about what we do was written by Gene Garaygordobil, I’ve posted it below in case you wanted to read up on us.  And of course, some images of the article in print! Flip through the gallery and enjoy!

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Watching a wedding film from Couture Motion takes you away from whatever you were doing just moments before, and pulls you into the emotion and experiences shared by the happy couple on-screen.
To say it’s like no other wedding video you’ve ever seen is an understatement. The highlight film is more like an extended Hollywood feature film trailer, leaving you wanting to run out to watch the entire motion picture.
And that’s exactly what Megan and Ian Swanson want you to feel. They recreate the wedding day for not only the couple, but for everyone who watches. The film serves to tell the journey the couple went through, including the love story leading up to that special day, as well as moments of the wedding itself.
Megan and Ian have a very interesting story, themselves.  They met as high schoolers acting in community theater in Bakersfield, despite the fact Megan went to school at Stock- dale High, and Ian attended West High.
Both attended Cal State Fullerton, where Megan got her bachelor’s in fine arts in musical theater, and Ian received his bachelor’s degree in directing. Then, Ian went on to Columbia University in New York where he received his master’s in film. Meanwhile, Megan was acting on a national tour.
While both lived in New York City, Megan developed a love of photography, and Ian followed his passion for filmmaking. During that time, Ian landed a job filming a wedding.
“I thought it was an interesting way to create art, while providing value for people,” he said.
Soon, the couple began to film together, finding it a good way to merge their passions.
“We create pieces of art that matter to people,” Ian said, sitting at his desk in his downtown Bakersfield office.  “We sought to create a film for each couple, really to recreate the experience for them, while telling the story the couple went through, and allowing them to relive it,” he said.
They are quick to point out they are not videographers.  “We consider ourselves filmmakers,” Megan said.  Ian said they treat each job as if they are creating a film.
Wedding films should be watched and cherished for years to come. The wedding films they create do just that.
In addition to the highlight and feature films, they also offer other films to add to your collection such as the love story, the interview featurette, the full ceremony fea- turette, save the date films, thank you films and many more.
“One of our most popular and signature film elements are our interviews,” Megan said. “We sit the couple down individually and interview them about their relationship milestones. With these memorable stories of how the couple met, fell in love, and got engaged, we interweave the interviews with the material we film on the wedding day, in order to provide a prologue of sorts to the wedding films.”
“We also offer a love story, which is a more elaborate set of interviews intermixed with footage of the couple enjoying a slice of life Saturday together,” she said. “This love story is filmed and delivered before the wedding and often shown during the rehearsal dinner or right before the couple’s grand entrance. That way, you can get everyone invested in the couple’s special day,” Megan said.
The Swansons only do 15 to 20 wedding films a year, because sometimes the relationship with their clients can last for a year or more. And 90 percent of the time, it’s just the two of them who will be filming a wedding, although sometimes a third shooter is involved.
Their clientele ranges from small intimate weddings to huge affairs, such as one the couple shot in New York at a private estate castle.
“We go all over the place, and do all levels of events,” Megan said. “We stylize to each couple.”
When the Swansons started their business in October 2009, they started to focus on weddings, but have also done small family documentaries, and have slowly broadened out to other things, Ian said.
Although they moved back to Bakersfield to launch their business, Ian said as far as clientele goes, it’s not strictly Bakersfield.
“We just did one in Mexico,” he said. The couple has filmed many in Central California, New York City and even Minneapolis. As a matter of fact, Couture Motion did only one wedding in Bakersfield in 2011.
Couture Motion also offers wedding photography.
“We have hybrid packages for our clients, so that they can get photos and video from our company,” Megan said. “It has become increasingly more popular with our clients.”
Despite their feature-film caliber wedding films, the couple actually has a low-key, style blend of documentary and narrative film.
“Our main focus is the experience,” Megan said. “We don’t want to get in the way of the couple on that special day.
“We don’t carry a whole bunch of equipment and lights,” she said. “And sometimes, they actually forget we are there.”
Megan said they are not limited to weddings, and will basically do any kind of film.
“We recently went out to South Dakota to film a family that just began saying, “I love you,” to each other. Apparently, they had never said it before.”
Those kinds of stories make it necessary for the Swansons to become intimate with their clients.

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In the midst of the holiday season we decided to do something crazy.  Between Christmas shopping, filming a love story in Tahoe, spending time with visiting family, arranging a family photoshoot with said visiting family, wrapping presents, prepping a move to LA, and some various elements of life…Ian and I decided that why not add a Couture Motion photoshoot onto that pile of madness!  I mean why not right?  So that’s what we did.  We left a family vacation a day early so that we could do this photoshoot the day before we moved to LA.  We thought we were crazy and even as I was curling my hair I contemplated postponing until we had more time to prep.  But I am SO glad that we didn’t!

We met Ginnie McMillian, of Roots Photography, and her husband Carson in a dingy alley in Bakersfield right before the new year.  I have known Ginnie for many many years.  More than I’m sure both of us would like to admit.  It was so great to have her take our photos.  We were absolutely confident that even if we weren’t prepared for this shoot, she would most definitely be.  She has a great eye and she made us feel so comfortable!  We are so used to being behind the camera that we were nervous to be where our clients usually are, in front of the camera.  But we felt like we were simply hanging out with Ginnie and Carson.  The photoshoot was so fun!

For the photoshoot, we had an idea of throwing popcorn at the camera, maybe incorporating some film and our CM anthropologie letters we have in our office, and utilizing our theatre chairs that we refurbished.  Beyond that we didn’t have much.  That’s where Ginnie & Carson totally came through!  They brought their awesome popcorn machine and vintage film reel.  And with those additions, Viola!  We were having our own little stylized shoot in a dingy alley.  Ian and I are so happy with these images!  A huge thanks to Roots Photography!!

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We have been  blessed to film a lot of special couples since starting this business. We have formed a lot of connections & beautiful friendships. But this wedding was so much more than one special couple on one special day…

When Eric and Jess got engaged, they decided that they wanted an intimate wedding.  One where their closest friends and family could join them in a three day long celebration of life, love, and marriage.  To do this, they needed to find the perfect venue.  And let me tell you, they found their perfect venue.  Rancho Pescadero is a small 27 room boutique hotel near the tucked away town of Todos Santos in Baja Mexico.  After a two hour dirt road drive from the airport you eventually reach wedding venue Shangri-La.  Within feet of its own private beach, Rancho feels like it is in the middle of nowhere, outside of time and space.  As you cross its threshold, an invisible force field eradicates every aniexity and stress and troublesome thought you have and leave you in a buzzing sense of bliss. It was at this garden of eden that Eric and Jess decided to have their wedding.

It was here that they decided to invite about 45 of their closest friends and relatives to participate in their three day festival of marriage.  Luckily for us we were friends of the bride and groom.  (Megan toured with Eric.)  Because we were friends and because we were at Rancho for three days with the bridal party and all the guests, we got the chance to experience this celebration from a much more visceral position than usual.  If words could describe the experience then I would write you all a novel… but it just would not suffice.  It was the feeling that we were all left with that encapsulates this joyous occasion.  To truly share in two people’s love is intoxicating.  To spend three days giving them your support and in return being granted the opportunity to be part of who they are and their experiences is a grace that I wish you could all experience.  Rather than crack open my thesaurus and try and relate to you in words who these people are and they experience that they had, I will let the words cease.  Watch this film and maybe, just maybe you can be transported back to 11.11.11 with us to participate in the wedding of Eric and Jessica.  Hell of a way to end our 2011 wedding season if you ask us…

{wedding day details}
Rancho Pescadero: venue
Nicole Miller: bride’s dress
Laura Marie Duncan: photography
Cabo Flowers: cake & flowers

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Music Licensed from The Music Bed 

As event filmmakers, we have a very unique perspective on these incredible days.  For the bride and groom there is typically a very long build up and then the actual day tends to blur by.  They are left with a vague impression of what the day was actually like and what they experienced.  Our view point is completely the opposite.  We show up the day of and then for weeks and months afterwards we pour over every last second of film we created.  We analyze each and every moment so that we can find the right shots to put into the wedding film.  In many ways, we have a much better perspective on what happened and how the bride and groom felt than they do themselves.  I would like to take this opportunity to tell Jerry and Natasha that they experienced their wedding day with utmost perfection.  It can be very easy to succumb to the pressure of this day, but Jerry and Natasha did not.  In fact they soaked up each and every moment.  The amount of moments that we captured was so staggering that it took us twice as long to go through footage than it normally does.  They lived their day.  They experienced and appreciated how beautiful all the details were.  They shared their love with their families and loved ones.  And most importantly of all, they looked into each other’s eyes and connected with one another.  The ceremony is what is supposed to unify two people, but Jerry and Natasha were inextricably bound well before they ever said, “I do.”   As we watched the footage of them from their wedding day, we could see it.  In each and every frame.  The sheer delight at the sight of one another.  The open and supportive arms as they held each other.  The tone of their voices as their volume dropped so that no one could hear them but each other.  These two were meant for one another.  I could probably write a book on what love is and only use these two as examples, but I’ll stop right here because I can say it all with much more eloquence and pathos with a film.  Watch.  Experience.  Enjoy.

P.S. We would very much like to thank Jerry and Natasha for finding us.  At the time that we first met them we were not going to take on any more clients due to some serious family medical issues.  With the help of Jodi Cohen at JOWY Productions we met with them despite our reservations.  Upon meeting them we knew that we would love to work with them.  They are passionate people and their passion fueled our passion.  Working with them and creating this film have opened us up to our creative fire.  They have allowed us to live in our imaginations and to remember that this is why we do this.  So thank you.  Speaking of creativity…if you haven’t watched Jerry & Natasha’s Love Story then you absolutely MUST!  This film is a perfect example of our dream collaboration with a couple!

{wedding day details}
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel: venue
JOWY Productions: planning
Heather Kincaid: photography
Eric Buterbaugh: flowers
The Butter End Cakery:cake
James Gang Encore: reception band
Jasmine Alise: makeup
Shann Beeman:hair
Kenneth Pool: bride’s dress
Vince Camuto: bride’s shoes
Dolce & Gabbana: groom’s tux
Salvatore Ferragamo: groom’s shoes
Amsale: bridesmaids’ dress

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Weddings aren’t perfect.  In fact 99% of the time something will go wrong that’s completely out of anyone’s control.  BUT we always tell our couples, “As long as you get married, nothing else matters.”  We truly believe this and so did John & Carolyn.  The day of their wedding the clouds opened up and rained on San Diego almost the entire day.  But that didn’t matter to Carolyn & John.  Nothing could ruin this day.  Even though their ceremony had to be moved inside, that did not damper their spirits.  The only thing John & Carolyn were concerned about was marrying their best friend and partner in life.  Elation and excitement was what everyone witnessed in John & Carolyn.  During the ceremony, John came alive when he saw Carolyn walk down the aisle.  I dare say he became giddy!  And it goes without saying that Carolyn was just as giddy as John, if not more.  You could almost hear their hearts fluttering…for reals.  In their Love Story, they talked about how they couldn’t wait to start their lives together and being there on the wedding day, I can say without a doubt, that they really couldn’t wait.  In fact John and Carolyn were so eager to kiss during the ceremony that the officiant broke the rules and let them kiss right away!

 

{wedding day details}
El Cortez Don Room: venue
Jim Hjelm: bride’s dress
MaxStudio: brides shoes
Perry Ellis: groom’s suit
Ann’s Plans: coordination
Betwixt Studio: photography
Artistic Productions: dj
Artquest Catering: catering
San Diego Flower Patch: flowers

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It has been a crazy year (both for the business and our life).  Ian and I were in the midst of one of our busiest months this year when he woke me up at the crack of dawn.  (Ian is a much earlier riser than I am.)  I rolled over and said, “Why are you waking me up?!  It’s too early!”  Ian replied in a whisper, “I figured I could wake you up for this…we just received an invitation to join Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book!”  I shot straight up,  “WHAT?!  For reals?!”  And that’s when I grabbed my phone to read the invitation email.

Style Me Pretty is the end all be all of wedding blogs.  To be a part of their highly exclusive Little Black Book is a huge honor for us.  We were shocked that this happened so soon (this year being only our second full season) and we are utterly grateful that Style Me Pretty had been secretly watching our work!  Check out our listing.

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Where do I even begin about Jerry & Natasha?!  These two people are spectacular people.  They have a spectacular relationship.  And they have a spectacular love story.  (You will see what I mean when you watch the film.)  Since Jerry & Natasha were having a red carpet, Hollywood themed wedding extravaganza they wanted to star in their own film as well!   They collaborated with us every step of the way to create an amazing film that really got to the heart and soul of their relationship.  They premiered this film on a huge screen at the rehearsal dinner that was at the Sony Pictures Lot.  Everyone who was invited to the wedding was at the rehearsal dinner, so every guest was able to see how Jerry & Natasha came to be.

I really could go on and on about them and their wedding that was last Saturday, but I won’t.  Instead I ask you to make sure you have an uninterrupted 11 minutes to watch their film.  Close your door, put on those headphones, grab a box of tissues and watch this.  You won’t be sorry.  We are so proud of Jerry & Natasha for opening up to us, trusting us, and allowing us to capture their story.

And while you’re at it, don’t you want to watch Jerry & Natasha’s wedding highlight film?

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