Beautiful Memories 10th Anniversary Project: Marissa + Justin

There is simply no denying that these two are completely in love and in it for the long haul, not to mention utterly adorable and super photogenic! They're celebrating their 6 year anniversary today, but they've been together for 15 years. As you can clearly see, they are still as happy as they were when they first met and just as adorable!

Some of you may recognize Marissa and Justin, but might not know why they look so familiar. They have been prominent in our logo and advertising for years. We were looking to change up our look the year they got married and these two were happy to be in front of the cameras, willing to try something a little bit different and had a sense of adventure, so they were the perfect candidates for some fun and creative shoots we'd had in mind. The infectious joy they emanate made them prime candidates for our logo and the urban shots we got on their wedding day spoke to the modern shift in which we were taking our business. It was a perfect match, much like Marissa and Justin!

I always like to explore new, artistic and fun ideas when it comes to wedding video and I take inspiration from lots of different sources; from art and documentaries to movies and music videos.  Through the years of filming weddings, I'd always loved filming candid photo sessions, but even with great planning, it always seems rushed on the wedding day.  You do what you can in the time frame allotted and then have to move onto the next event.  Our couples were coming up with really great locations for their shoots, but I always left thinking of all the cool things we could have shot, if we only had some more time.  To be able to explore these ideas I had, I began asking couples to consider getting back into their wedding attire to go out to do post wedding day shoots with us.  We saw it as a way to get some really cool, artistic footage and to give the couple another day to wear the clothes that would probably be stored away in a closet for the rest of their lives. These would be for the artistic shots we didn't have time for the day of the wedding, the locations that were considered, but were too far away given the tight timeline of the wedding day or the types of shots that most couples love, but would never consider doing on their wedding day for fear of getting too dirty before the reception. My ideas were always to either create a strong juxtaposition between the beautiful white gown and the unexpected location or visit the dream locations that weren't logistically possible the day of the wedding.

This was before Trash the Dress sessions became really popular. We had asked couples for about a year and many of our brides told us that they were worried about getting their dress dirty or didn't have an interest in going out in the clothes again.  Then we met Marissa and Justin.  They seemed open to creative, artistic and outside the box ideas and we could tell that they were a fun couple.  When I asked Marissa if she would be willing to get in her dress again after the wedding, she was very excited about the idea, wasn't concerned about ruining her dress at all and was willing to do just about anything in it, including get wet or muddy. The spring following their wedding, we did two days of shooting with her and Justin. The first shoot was a post wedding/anniversary session, where we didn't get the dress dirty, but revisited the City of Poughkeepsie to find locations we didn't have time for the day of their wedding day and to check out other nearby, fun locations, including the newly opened Walkway Over the Hudson.

We had to wait a few months and let the weather get warmer before we attempted the second shoot. For this one, we asked photographer Cheryl Bolton-Reuter to come along. She not only happened to have been their wedding photographer, and ours coincidentally, but she is also a great collaborator, shares a like minded sense of adventure and loves the outside the box, artistic nature of these shoots. This was going to be the shoot where we could really get creative and not be overly concerned about the condition of the dress at the end.  We started the day with artsy, fairly clean setups and as the day progressed, we got more bold and adventurous and, in the process, got Marissa and Justin wetter.
 

In the final moments of the shoot, we asked Marissa to get into the water and ultimately into a waterfall. We were surprised and delighted when Justin decided to jump in too at the end.  The entire shoot was a creative collaboration that was not only fun, but quite challenging.  We had to climb over and around objects, us with our equipment and Marissa and Justin having to wrangling her dress.  No matter what we asked, they were game and we were willing to do whatever we needed to to get the shots. At the end of the day, we all agreed that it was much more fun than we had ever expected it to be and the photographs and video from the day are still among our favorites. Marissa and Justin were the first to agree to a post shoot and we have since done several shoots based on how much people love watching theirs. 

 

Since our adventure 5 years ago, Marissa and Justin have gone on to start a family. The first additions were their fur babies, Lily, their dog, and their miniature horses, which got to take part in their first maternity photo session.

Next came their three adorable sons; Caiden, Lincoln and Weston, who was just born this year.  When we were preparing to film their wedding, we learned a lot about Marissa and Justin.  One of those things was that Marissa comes from a large family and that she also wanted a large family. With three boys, they are well on their way to reaching that goal and there is no shortage of love in the family.

Marissa announced she was pregnant with Weston by posting these cute photos of Caiden and Lincoln. Though very funny, it's clear that the boys love their new baby brother just as much as mommy and daddy do.

We can't forget the original baby.  Part big sister, part babysitter, part plaything and all awesome, Lily has grown up the the boys and is great with them.  She may be up for the best dog ever award. She is a gentle and sweet and Caiden loves her so much that he insisted on getting in the kennel with her one day.

Marissa's mother died of breast cancer and, in her honor, Marissa's wedding color was pink. There were pink flowers, pink ties, pink shoes, and breast cancer ribbon shaped necklaces for her bridesmaids, but the one thing that stood out was the pink ribbon the sash on her dress created, wrapped around her waist, loosely bowed and draped. 

Marissa continues to be a breast cancer research supporter and has done charity events to honor her mother. And, if you couldn't love her enough for that, she also grows out her hair in order to donate it  for wigs, something I do as well.  Her latest donation went to Wigs for Kids.

Congratulations on 6 married years and 15 happy years together, Marissa and Justin! We know that you, along with your family, will be happy for many, many more years to come!

For more from Marisa + Justin, you can view the following:

Anniversary Session with Marissa + Justin - Includes Video

Trash the Dress with Marissa + Justin - Video Stills

Marissa + Justin: Trash the Dress Video

Post Wedding Shoot: City of Poughkeepsie - Video Stills

Post Wedding Shoot: Starbucks and the City - Video Stills

Post Wedding Shoot: Walkway Over the Hudson - Video Stills

All of these are on the old video player, prior to our upgrade, and may be difficult to play, 

but they are still cute, so I included them:

Marissa and Justin's Wedding Day Trailer
Marissa and Justin's Reception Highlights
Marissa and Justin's Wedding Day Highlights
Marissa's Bridal Prep

Marissa and Justin's Cocktail Hour

Marissa and Justin's First Look and Photo Session

 

Trash the Dress: A Post Wedding Session in Ruins

 
When Kristin and Dave got married, it was March.  The weather was cold, the trees were bare and the last snowfall had just about melted.  Kristin put so much effort into her look and the formal photography session was cut short because of the cold.  I suggested to them that we go out again when the weather was warmer and do something fun.

Mike and I have always been fans of old buildings, forgotten spaces and history and Dave has been exploring abandoned buildings with his best friend, another Mike, since they were kids. When Dave met Kristin, she found it as fun and exciting to explore these places, so she joined along for a few trips. When they told me about the places they had been, I said we should use that as the theme for their shoot. I just love taking a bride and groom all dressed up and lovely to a place that is so non-traditional and, in some cases, dirty, grungy or wet for a wedding attire shoot (see our last Trash the Dress Session with Marissa + Justin).  I couldn't resist getting the shots of her dress and her shoes before we began.  How creepy cool do those shots look?  By the way, if you haven't read the other posts on Kristin and Dave, Kristin made those sparkly shoes herself. Anyone want to place an order? They're phenomenal and they lasted the wedding day and this shoot and are still going strong. Great job, Kristin!

Mike Bowman, best friend, best man, co-photographer at their wedding and photographer for an awesome website, Desolate Places, was going to come along for the post shoot and be our connection to some of the places we would go.  When the time came to go, Mike couldn't make it, so I reached out to one of our friends that I knew would be into the theme of this shoot, Cheryl Bolton-Reuter.  Once she was on board, the five of us set out to choose some cool places to go.


The first stop was an abandoned warehouse that Kristin and Dave have been to with Mike.  Totally cool, but also falling apart dangerous and completely creepy (dark areas where someone could come out of the darkness after you creepy, but there was also plenty of light to be found on the outside).  Here are some stills from our film.

Though we could have spent all day there, we had a schedule to keep, so we moved onto our next location, the streets in the city of Beacon.  Dave and Kristin are friends with the owner of The Beacon Cafe, so made a quick stop there in our travels to do some urban shots.  While there, Kristin and Dave were serenaded by a famous opera singer from China.  What an unexpected treat!

With other places to go, we headed out to our third location, The Cornish Estate. It was quite a hike to get there (a real hike, not a figure of speech), but once we saw it, we knew it was worth it!  We were quite surprised to find that there was a crew there clearing away vines and grown in branches as part of a restoration project. We are so glad that people are taking the initiative to clean up and restore these local treasures. Among the volunteers in the crowd were Thom Johnson, who is also a member of the group restoring Bannerman's Island (He wrote a book about Bannerman's Island and has been seen on the show Off Limits telling the story about it) and Rob Yasinsac, who wrote the book Hudson Valley Ruins (along with Thomas Rinaldi). We have been following Rob's work for a long time, so it was quite a surprise and a genuine honor to meet both him and Thom while we were out that day!  We own both of their books and highly recommend them to anyone with an interest in abandoned places and historic architecture.  Here are some of the stills from our stop at the Cornish Estate.

The beautiful red rose bouquet was provided by Morgan's Florist in Poughkeepsie.  Thank you to Steve for supplying these gorgeous roses to us at the very last minute and for the tips you provided to us for keeping them fresh as we worked with them all day long.  They lasted for days after the shoot and made my kitchen smell and look great!

Kristin had a series of outfits with her that day.  In fact, the back of my truck was jam packed with dresses, shoes, accessories and other fun stuff in addition to our gear.  Sadly, we only had the time for one costume change that day.  While at the Cornish Estate, she made a few changes.  The first change was to add a pop of red with some red sparkle shoes and her wedding dress.  After a series of shots, she changed from her wedding gown into her mother's wedding gown, which she wears as a costume when she attends the Renaissance Fair.  It was fun to see her run around and play in her mom's dress. I'm a big fan of the long draping sleeves (my wedding dress had those too, just not nearly as long).  What a great reuse for a wedding gown.  It was so great to see it get some love!!  Thanks to Kathleen for letting Kristin wear your beautiful dress.  Below are shots of Kathleen wearing the dress 35 years ago and then Kristin wearing it this year in the woods.

Heavy rock walls with a dirt floor and no ceiling, a true ruin.  This is such a beautiful place.  The restoration group is trying to save this structure so it doesn't fall into complete disrepair like many of the old buildings in the area.  Like others, this is a site where kids like to go to drink and party, leaving their trash and destruction behind.  We hope their effort will save this structure from further disrepair so we can all continue to enjoy these marvelous structures.

Here is the Trash the Dress Film from our adventure with Kristin + Dave.

If you enjoyed this clip, please add a comment and/or write on our Facebook Wall (Don't forget to like us while you're there)

Again, we could have spent hours at the ruins, but we had one more stop to make.  My Mike is a big fan of all things automotive and locomotive; classic cars, trains, big steam engines, or any other engine for that matter, etc... We find every opportunity we can to ride on, photograph and visit trains (we did a great trip to The Grand Canyon by train in an old Pullman Car).  When Kristin and Dave said they knew where we could find some abandoned train cars, we jumped at the chance to go.  Here are some of the stills from the video we shot while at the trains.

Not thinking it was possible to secure a florist in time to make flowers for our shoot on such short notice, I got my craft on to create the flowers in the photographs above and below.  If only we had more time to organize some additional props, I would have brought more than the flowers and the Bride's Magazine Kristin is reading in the train shot.  We shot so much footage that day that it was impossible to get it all in that one clip.  Maybe when I have some time, I can look through the footage and edit a part two.  Of course, there's always hope for an Anniversary shoot with all the other outfits Kristin didn't get to wear!

What a wonderful adventure!!! We were so happy to be take part and are so thankful to Kristin and Dave for being so willing enter dilapidated buildings, trek into the woods and sit on rusty train cars to do this shoot with us! Kristin, you looked as beautiful as you did on your wedding day and Dave, you really came out of your shell! Below is his impression of Jack Nicholson.  "Here's Johnny!"  We had so much fun spending the day with you and exploring new places and making new memories.  I wish more couples were so brave to go out after their weddings to do shoots like this.  It is a completely different experience from your wedding day.  It's more relaxed, a lot more creative and you end up with the most phenomenal film and photos from it.  It's liberating, freeing and expressive.  It's true art! Don't just take it from me, here is what Kristin had to say about her experience.

Speaking of art, please check out this beautiful post by Cheryl Bolton-Reuter with some of the great photographs she took with us that day.  We're so glad you were available, Cheryl!  Thanks for coming along on this adventure with us!  It's always a pleasure to have a like-minded and creative photographer along with us on these shoots!

For more from Kristin and Dave, you can check out Kristin's Bridal Prep and Kristin and Dave's Preview Clip.


Remember to leave a comment if you enjoyed this post!

Kristin + Dave Trash the Dress: A Love Note

Trash the Dress and Post Wedding sessions do more than just give you an opportunity to wear your dress again (and the guys can come too!). It also gives you some great shots and footage for your wedding film that will be unique to you based on where you go and what you do. It is beautiful to see and empowering to do (like supermodel for a day). No one ever expects to have as much fun as we do on these types of shoots. With nothing to loose and everything to gain, including images like the one below (and a video soon to come), why doesn't everyone jump at the chance to go out and do it?!?!


A sweet Thank You note to prove this point follows:

Jenn, Mike and Cheryl,

Dave and I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Today was an amazing experience and we couldn't have dreamt of anything better. You made us feel so special and really took the time to make each shot perfect. It was a pleasure to work with such professionals with a passion for what they do. It really shines through in your work. It is a day we will never forget and we can't wait to see the stunning results from our adventure. Your planning, research, patience and sense of adventure really made this a spectacular day!!!

Thanks again!

Kristin + Dave




Kristin + Dave,

We were so honored to take part in this adventure with you. I don't know who had more fun, you guys or us, but I do know that the photos and video we created together that day will be special for you in so many ways. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to do what we love, filming couples in love having a great time, and in such unique and fun places too!


There will be more posts to come on this adventure.

Marissa and Justin - Trash the Dress Video

It's finally here! I'm so excited to share our first Trash the Dress video! It was a tremendous amount of fun for all involved (though this clip looks very serious). With the footage that we shot that day, I can probably edit a second video with only shots of Marissa laughing! Hope you enjoy!

If you liked this clip, please leave a comment here on the blog and/or post a comment or write on our wall on Facebook!

Trash the Dress with Marissa and Justin

We couldn't wait for this day to come!!! We have wanted to do a trash the dress for a while now and when Marissa said that she was interested, we got very excited and began dreaming up ideas. Sometimes in a trash the dress session, bride's don't want to get wet or mess up their dress too much, but Marissa welcomed anything! Here are some videos stills from our awesome shoot Memorial Day weekend. This was a BLAST and we are sad that there will be no more shoots with Marissa and Justin. They are an unforgettable couple for so many reasons and so much fun to be around that this was like a party, not work. This is why we love our job so much! I can't wait to edit this footage!! In the meantime, enjoy these stills!





Typically a trash the dress session is all about the bride, but Justin is an extraordinary groom. He came along for the shoot and not only helped his lovely wife in, out and around the landscape, but he also came with his wedding attire so we could get him into some of the shots too. As we were planning, he seemed as excited as Marissa was to get out there again. We didn't know if we could get him in the water with her or not, but we knew that we could get him close. What a treat it was to have both of them there. Although they are still newlyweds, these two have been together for almost 10 years (this July). They are so much in love and you can see it in every shot! Just imagine what they will look like in 20, 30, 40, 50 years!





Marissa was so natural in front of the camera and knew exactly what to do. When we said that it must be natural ability, Justin commented that it was probably due to her watching America's Next Top Model. She could be the next top model! When Marissa got into the water and started splashing around she was having so much fun with it. Determined to get Justin in the water, she even began splashing at him. He decided to take his revenge from the shore.






We were so excited when Justin told us that he used to go to a park where there is a waterfall. Though he hadn't been there in years and we weren't sure what it would look like, we were so happy when we got a look at it. After Marissa climbed over to it and got comfortable, it made for some of the best shots of the day. It is even better in motion and will make a great part of the video!







These guys are so fun and very adventurous. They were willing to climb and crawl anywhere for the best shots. Marissa maneuvered the park very well in her dress and Justin lent his hand to help her and showed her the best paths to take when the terrain was rough. Everyone's legs got a workout that day. Marissa was even climbing after her dress was completely soaked and weighed a ton.









Marissa kept trying to encourage Justin to join her in the water the whole time we were shooting. She even tried pulling him in at one point (see the shot immediately below). When we reached the waterfall she was having so much fun that Justin was tempted to get in too. She was very surprised and super happy when he said to her, "Make room for me." That is the start of a successful marriage for sure. Happy wife, happy life guys!! Remember that! Look at how happy Marissa was!






On the day of Marissa and Justin's wedding, we were there for their formal photography with our good friend Cheryl Bolton-Reuter of Bolton-Reuter Photography. Even though Marissa and Justin set aside time before their wedding for formal shots, we all still felt like we could shoot them all day because they were a joy to work with, the camera loves them and we had so many ideas for cool shots. When we knew that we were going out with them again to do the Trash the Dress, we invited Chery to come along for the shoot too. It's always great when we work alongside our photographer friends. We all bounce ideas off of each other and we all come up with different shots even though we are in the same place. Here are some video stills that I shot from Cheryl's camera as she was reviewing her pictures with Marissa. I can't wait to see her post on this one too. As soon as it is up, I will add a link. (Cheryl's Photo's can be seen here)







We have to end this post with a tremendous thank you to Marissa and Justin who have been a total blast to work with over the past year. We are so glad that you guys were willing to get out in the wilderness and do this shoot with us. It will make for a really great last piece to your video. And for those of you who are wondering, yes, this dress is TRASHED.