Wedding Tips

Questions to Ask Your Prospective Officiant

August 16, 2010 by Leslie

• Are you available for our date and time?

• Is our ceremony venue within your travel area?

• Do you recommend a rehearsal to practice the wedding ceremony?

• May we personalize our wedding ceremony?

• How much experience do you have performing wedding ceremonies?

• Do you have any testimonials/recommendations from other brides and grooms?

• Can you refer us to other wedding vendors such as florists, videographers, photographers, cake bakers?

• Can you tell us how to get a marriage license in Florida?

• Do you have a demo tape/video featuring your services at an actual wedding?

• How much notice do we need to give you?

• What is your fee to perform as our Officiant?

• Does it include the Wedding Rehearsal?

• How much of a retainer do you require to hold the date(s)?

• When is the balance due?

• When can we sign the contract?

~Compliments of Nancy J. Taussig, Wedding Officiant, Barefoot Weddings

941/952-1440

with editing by videographer, Leslie Harris-Senac, Visions Unlimited Video Productions, Inc., of Sarasota 941/315-3456

Ceremony University Park Country Club Wedding — An experienced clergy is key to your wedding ceremony success

Wedding Toasts, Speeches & Jokes

May 11, 2010 by Leslie

Quotes that are heartfelt will help convey your love for your partner on the wedding day. Whether you use one in your wedding vows or in a wedding toast at the rehearsal dinner or your wedding reception, it should reflect your personality. Video captures so much more than photos, especially toasts and speeches.

Consider one of these famous quotes for your rehearsal dinner or wedding reception:

I am like a falling star who has finally found her place next to another in a lovely constellation, where we will sparkle in the heavens forever. ~ Amy Tan

If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you’ve made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand.~ Anonymous

Just so you know, there’s a space that only you can fill. ~ Anonymous

You call it madness, but I call it love. ~Don Byas

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul. ~ Judy Garland

You’re nothing short of my everything. ~Ralph Block

The most precious possession that ever comes to a man in this world is a woman’s heart. – Josiah G. Holland

Love one another
But make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea
Between the shores of your souls. ~Kahlil Gibran

Grow old with me! The best is yet to be. ~Robert Browning

I love you
Not for what you are
But for what I am when I am with you ~Roy Croft

I have spread my dreams under your feet
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. ~William Butler Yeats
“There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends.”
– Homer, Odyssey

“Marriage, n: The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress, and two slaves, making in all, two.”
-Ambrose Bierce

“Love is the life spring of our existence. The more love you give, the happier you feel and the more love you will have within you to give.”
-Susan L. Taylor

“He is the half part of a blessed man
Left to be finished by such as she:
And she a fair divided excellence
Whose fullness of perfection lies in him.”
– William Shakespeare

“Heaven give you many, many merry days.”
– William Shakespeare

Love is friendship set on fire. ~ Anita Hodzic

Love is letting go of fear. – Gerald Jampolsky

Romance is about the little things. – Gregory J. Godeck

Jokes for the reception toast: (Use only for bridal parties with a good sense of humor)

By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you’ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher. – Socrates
My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met. – Rodney Dangerfield
I love being married. It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. – Rita Rudner
There’s only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn what it is I’ll get married again. – Clint Eastwood
Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight. – Phyllis Diller
The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret. – Henny Youngman
Boca Grande Groomsman

~Written by Leslie Harris-Senac, film maker and owner of Visions Unlimited Video Productions of Sarasota, FL

Unique Engagement Announcements

March 22, 2010 by Leslie

Husband and wife team, Leslie and Mark shot this gorgeous sunset footage on Siesta Key at Turtle Beach.

At Visions Unlimited, we produce more than Wedding Videos. We also produce Engagement Announcement Videos that you can Email to friends and family, post to your facebook page, and mail as “Save The Date” DVDs.

This type of Love Story Tribute Video can be shown at your Rehearsal Dinner Party, during cocktail hour on a loop so that it will play over an over again, or on a large Projection Screen during your reception between salad and the main course. We can incorporate engagement photos taken by your photographertoo.

The possibilities are endless. Please reply with some ideas of your own. Some of my best creative ideas come from people like YOU!

~by Leslie Harris Senac, Filmmaker/Owner of Visions Unlimited Video Productions in Sarasota, FL

Leslie Harris-Senac with Camera on Siesta Key BeachLongboat Key coupleBride and Groom

Wedding Videography – 7 Tips for Bridal party

March 7, 2010 by Leslie

Brides and Bridesmaids – Use nice purses and carry bags. You’ll be dressed up & only a beautiful hand bag will do. Plastic grocery bags do not look good in videography or photography; neither do plastic bottles of soda and water. It’s you big day! Splurge on some nice glasses or plastic champagne cups if you’re having a beach wedding. Wear waterproof makeup. Sweat and tears cause makeup to run, and raccoon eyes are not a good look on your wedding day! Carry an adorable clutch to refresh throughout the night. (Some of my favorite video shots are brides applying make up in the mirror; sexy video footage!)
Ask everyone – bridesmaids, groomsmen, bride, groom and everyone who may be on camera, to not chew gum. Gum chewing looks awful on video and your photographer will have a terrible time getting a decent expression on unposed photographs.
The bride & groom will understandably be nervous, but when it comes to saying vows, brides and grooms need to say those marriage vows, to each other, like they mean it. (Some nervous grooms and brides try to rattle the lines as fast as they can, while looking at the minister!)
Grooms – During your first dance, try not to turn you back to the videographer. You don’t need to look at the camera, but we do want to see your face. (Trust me – it’s your best side.) This goes for all bridal party members. It’s just for one day. If you can play it up for the camera a bit, it’s all in good fun. If you’ve naturally got 2 left feet, practice a few dance moves before the wedding day, you’ll be in good form to “bust a move” at least once or twice during the reception party! ~Bride & Groom during First Dance at Boca Bay Pass Club in Gasparilla, FL
If your professional videographer is using 1-Lux video cameras, like she should be, then it is alright to have the lights turned down low during dancing at your reception, but even 1-Lux cameras have limits, so be sure to go over this with your videographer. Generally speaking, if you can read in the light, it will be fine, but if it’s too dark to read, your video won’t have good colors. It’s a good idea to alert your banquet manager to this fact. Chandeliers look best when they are turned on! Accent lighting is very popular, just don’t go overboard. Flooding your whole reception hall with once color can make everyone look strange, and it gets old after a few hours. (Unless it’s Halloween Theme Party, you don’t want to see blue or green people all night.)
Most photographers dress and conduct themselves professionally, but surprisingly about a third of them do not. To protect your wedding video, ask your photographer to not dress in bright colors or cut-off jeans, and not to get in front of the video cameras. You don’t want a loudly-dressed photographer distracting you everytime you watch your wedding video.
Relax and be yourself. You’re beautiful and a professional videographer will capture your true personality with style in a flattering manner. ~ article written by Leslie Harris-Senac

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