I was in Davao shooting a wedding, then I got this really long, touching letter from Marianne, our bride.  This letter completed the whole story of their own wedding video. It is too beautiful for our FYAM bride to share her own story to a complete stranger, whose job is to help brides have their wedding day captured by the best wedding videographers in the Philippines. Here it goes. -----

Hi Therese,

Marianne here. Thank you so much for the SDE. I thought it really captured all the emotions of the wedding, it was truly the feel good film we anticipated. When we’ve watched it with our friends there are so many “behind the scenes” stories that were captured in the SDE that make us laugh so much.

There’s a tradition that the woman buys her fiancé a watch as a gift for the engagement. So, there’s the part in the SDE when Jose thanks me for the watch I gave him and he says “I guess you’ll be washing dishes for the next two years.” It was a complete surprise to him because I was studying this year and with the wedding expenses, I always joked with him that I would get him an “I owe you” card or I’d be washing dishes for the next 2 years if I bought him a watch.

A major highlight of the wedding was “the illusive white sheet” at the church. So when the doors opened and I walked in, there was this bright light radiating behind me, which made my entrance all the more dramatic. We now call it “Special effects” and we think that the Filipinos are the best with creating film drama and it was a moment in the wedding that just struck everyone…and hence all the grown men sobbing in the SDE and in the photographs!! Hahah I love it, priceless and every guest talks about “the white sheet.”

There’s a part in the SDE when we were saying our vows and Jose said his own name instead of mine! Hahaha, It really is one of my favorite parts and Jose so badly wants it edited but I think only Jose would create an accidentally hilarious experience like that in the midst of such a serious moment. I was so tempted to rub it in by making the same mistake when it came to my part, but I didn’t want the priest to think I was mocking it all. Haha.

There’s all these little sentiments, my Tiffany present. A cross that was given to me by Jose on my birthday I lost awhile back. The boys in their tight white shirts looking all swag…

I was laughing and crying with so much happiness throughout the day and the “slow motion” effect just created that feeling where you are just so deliriously happy, you’d want it to all to just slow down so you can experience every bit. To be honest, I don’t think I went to the toilet once during he whole wedding hahaha. Can you imagine holding in your pee in such a fitted wedding dress!?? Haha, I really didn’t want to miss a thing.

Thank you for your creativity and for making it such a comfortable experience for me. I’m very camera shy! … and Thankyou for your patience with my husband! Haha he’s a marketing manager so he loves having a lot of input with these things. It was perfect, you guys are awesome. Our guests were so amazed with your work.

Thanks again,
Marianne

I have a confession: I still have a list of weddings to blog! What a way to start my 2014 – to blog about all kinds of love stories we encountered from December last year! Sheila and Richard’s SDE is on top of my list. Here it goes.

They celebrated their church wedding at San Antonio de Padua Quasi Parish, followed by a reception at Hacienda Isabella. You guys should check out how Teddy Manuel styled the church. It was beautiful! I swear Teddy can do anything you want with any space! I also love love love the wood carving of their names at the reception. (Do check out their first dance with fireworks. You will see their life-sized names at the background.) It was so romantic!

I remember playing with Ysabel, the daughter of Sheila and Richard. She was too sweet. She kissed her mom a lot. She was a little shy when all of the cameras were on to shoot her, but I’m so glad we had this money shot of her captured while she was busy playing with her cousins!

I love how Sheila and Richard decided to tie the knot with their daughter as their flower girl. It felt complete with her around.

Do watch the SDE!

The ceremony started at 10 in the morning at San Agustin church. The reception started at 7 in the evening at Edsa Shangri-la hotel, Isla Ballroom. Knowing Chinese weddings, it's always broken time. Nevertheless, getting married days before Christmas is always the best time. Why? Because most churches and  hotels are decorated impressively for the Christmas season!

We love shooting Chinese weddings. As much as we love shooting small intimate weddings, we don’t mind and we’ll always appreciate 600 guests watching our onsite video!

I remember during our meeting, Marie told me that Ralph’s parents were the ones who proposed to her! They are both doctors in profession so getting married wasn’t really on top of their minds as they are both focused on their career. Luckily for Marie and Ralph, both their parents support them all throughout! We had a grand time shooting this wedding!

To Marie & Ralph: Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your wedding, and also for feeding us steak for dinner!

Just a little trivia: If you ever get confused on why Ralph looks like one of the guests, that’s because he has a twin!

It was raining cats and dogs on the day of her garden wedding at Ville Sommet, Tagaytay. We were a little worried that we won’t be able to catch a glimpse and shoot Taal Lake because of the fog and rain. Surprisingly just before the ceremony starts, the sun was shining bright as if it never rained.

Moain, the groom, is South African and the bride, Wanda, is a Filipino.  They are both based working in Dubai, but they decided to get married here in the Philippines for the family. A bunch of friends and family flew in just to spend the day of celebration of their civil wedding.

I love how the couple particularly requested for an R&B song for their wedding video! Watch the video and feel the love!

Drs. Jorge and Lina celebrated their 25th anniversary at San Agustin Church, followed by an intimate reception at Makati Shangri-la hotel. Dr. Lina wore a stunning Francis Libiran wedding dress.

I met Drs. Jorge and Lina just a few months before the wedding. They booked us I think more than a year ago. I was wondering why they decided to do the preps at their house. It took me a while before I realized that it was not the first time of Dr. Lina to get married! She looked young, and slender, I swear I didn’t have any clue that we were shooting a 25th anniversary. I was shocked when she even shared that her eldest was the same age as mine. We had a grand time shooting their beautiful family.

They had an unusual kind of reception. The couple shared their love story on how they met, along with serenading everyone with a song that comes to it.  It was a beautiful wedding. I actually had a tear on my eye after watching their SDE.

Without a doubt, “True love stories never have endings”.

Watch the video and see how they celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary!

It was freezing cold at the Chapel on the Hill in Tagaytay last November 2013. Maita and Eman flew in from Singapore to finally tie the knot here in the Philippines.

I guess its a Filipino thing when you value the presence of family members especially during the Sacrament of Matrimony. The reception followed at Splendido, Tagaytay. The couple had a very unique entrance as they serenaded the family with a song number instead of a dance number.

I always feel giddy when the bridesmaids put the veil. I remember Maita feeling the same, and she couldn’t care less that her bridesmaids had a fun time doing it too!

Check out the video and see how FYAM captured every bit of it!

It was a gloomy day in Manila last November 29. Friday traffic. 13th month pay day. Nevertheless, Charisma and Stephen's wedding was nothing short of amazing.

5 days before the wedding, Charisma thought of meeting me and Dino Lara at their place in Serendra. I was looking for the groom and she said that Stephen was in Boracay for the bachelor’s party. So it was just her for the meeting. I remember asking her if she doesn’t mind that we shoot her even without make-up. She told me, “Look at me. Do I look like I wear make-up? I don’t mind really.” From there, I knew she was one of those heaven-sent brides who wouldn’t give a big fuss over every detail. I love love brides who just want to enjoy her wedding!

She told me she’ll be wearing a Filipiniana wedding dress. My heart jumped! I was excited. I waited so long for this. To have a bride who can pull off a Filipiniana wedding dress by Francis Libiran! She was so beautiful as she walked the aisle. I know I said this a million times, but I just need to say this again. Charisma is one of my favorite FYAM brides.

Anla and Ewart finally got married at UECP, following a reception at Sofitel. Just a little history from the couple: They knew each other since nursery. It took them a while to notice that they have feelings for each other. It was high school when they started knowing more about each other. They got engaged after college.

Anla and Ewart shared beautiful vows. I just wish most of our couples do the same. Our videos become more personal when they do.

What was truly existent from this wedding was how much I felt the love between the family and the couple.

The bride, Anla, had a speech about how hard it is to leave her family because she loves them so much. It was comforting for the family to know that their daughter was in good hands with Ewart. After all, it wasn’t about losing a member of a family. It was about having Ewart as an addition to the family.

It was a beautiful wedding. Watch the SDE!