Archibald Films

We met up with Christella and Derrick this weekend via webcam to share with them their wedding highlight film for the first time. Coming into the meeting, all of us who filmed their wedding were truly excited to premiere their film with them. And judging from the tears in Christella’s eyes just moments after the video began playing, I’d say they were excited to see it too.

When producing a wedding film, there is no template that can be followed to put together a great wedding film. Every couple is different and each wedding has its own unique story to tell. For this highlight film, every video and audio sample was carefully chosen to tell the story of the day both contextually and emotionally. We could have easily put the best video clips of the day together with some hit adult contemporary music to produce a great looking video slideshow, but almost all of the story behind C+D’s wedding would have been lost. The deep and affectionate love they share for each other, their close family relationships, their Christ-centered ceremony, and the humorous moments with Derrick’s father as the officiant could have never been shared any other way.

Having worked with C+D since December on their wedding’s engagement film, we certainly have gotten to know them more personally than a typical vendor would over a wedding. Through interviews and filming, we have come to know their loves, passions, quirks and hobbies… all in an effort to tell a story that is accurate and genuine of the couple.

From the feedback we’ve received from viewers of this film already, it’s clear that they entered into 4 minutes of Christella and Derrick’s lives… to laugh as they did when Derrick’s father raised his camera… to cry as they did when Derrick proclaimed his deepest love for Christella… and to be joyful as Christella and Derrick shared their first moments of marriage together on the dance floor.

And this is what we hope to do with each and every wedding film we make.

-KA

I was really looking forward to this wedding. Having gotten to know Lusi and Kevin while making their engagement film a month prior, I knew they were going to throw one amazing wedding. Their purpose for holding the wedding in the Dominican Republic was specifically to give their friends and family a chance to have a little adventure while celebrating their wedding. The entire week leading up to the wedding was full of activities, excursions, great meals, and plenty of quality time making new friends.

But what was evident the entire weekend was that their love for their friends and family stemmed from their love and devotion to Christ Jesus. It was a real blessing to watch as Jesus took center stage all weekend long in the casual discussions amongst friends—and not just during the ceremony’s message and prayers before meals.

For me personally, I feel blessed by being able to help share with you Lusi and Kevin’s story because it’s not this couple that is ultimately glorified, but Christ alone.

I feel I don’t need to describe how gorgeous the Dominican Republic was… I’ll let the film speak for itself.

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As for the technicals, this wedding was filmed by 1 filmmaker (yours truly) with the Canon EOS 7D, T3i, and T2i with a set of 5 L-series lenses: 14 f/2.8, 24 f/1.4, 50 f/1.2, 100mm f/2.8 macro, and 70-200 f/2.8 IS.

Jay and Kristi grew up in the same city. They attended the same high school. They even went to the same university (go Bruins!). But Kristi was Christian and Jay was not. Thankfully, God called Jay not long after coming to UCLA. And shortly after, Jay and Kristi started dating. =)

During the next six years, God grew Jay and Kristi by leaps and bounds. During their wedding day, every single speaker at a microphone commented on the work Jesus had done in their lives. I was truly impressed by their love and devotion to Jesus—both individually and now as a couple.

When trying to decide what story to tell for this highlight film, it didn’t take long to see that Jesus was at the center of their relationship. This was made most clear when Jay so smoothly corrected Pastor Cliff’s incorrect reading of Jay’s vow to live first unto God and then to Kristi, his beloved bride.

I feel blessed in having the privilege to tell their story and share it with you.

Alvina and Tim met while perusing graduate degrees at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Tim proposed to Alvina on the day before Alvina moved back to San Francisco after graduation, and since then, Alvina spent much of the following year at home dreaming and planning for their special day.

Alvina has always loved to plan parties and gatherings, and for her this one was going to be the ultimate. Everything from the table numbers to the outdoor decorations were hand made and truly exhibited the loving and creative personalities of these two amazing individuals. There was even fresh fruit lining the aisle! You can read all about the adventures and details that went into this wedding at timandalvina.blogspot.com.

On the day of the wedding, despite all the planning that could be done, San Francisco streets and Memorial Day weekend traffic got the best of the bridal party. I spent several hours with Tim and the groomsmen waiting for Alvina to arrive with the photographer as they inched across the Golden Gate Bridge. It almost seemed that the pre-wedding photoshoot would have to be canceled, but they arrived just in time to do a quick session and then head over to the actual wedding.

At the wedding reception, the principle attraction was the photobooth. Everyone from the the grandparents to the kids enjoyed the experience. And really, that was Alvina’s goal as a “professional” party-tuned-wedding planner. As a personal friend of Alvina, I can truly say that her love for people, driven by the unmeasurable love poured out on her by our savior, made this the most enjoyable wedding I have ever attended.

On a side note, this is the first wedding video I have ever produced. Only having a rough idea of what story I would tell coupled with the compressed schedule left me with less footage than I would have liked to capture. Despite the challenge, I really wanted to accurately portray the emotion and energy of that day for everyone to enjoy. I hope that you like it.