Studio 272 | Moving Pictures

Growing up Erika always dreamed of being married in her backyard. Things don’t always turn out exactly how you envision, but I’d say Erika came pretty close to getting her wish. The end result of countless hours of work, starting with her mother and continuing to their coordinator and staff, was an amazing, gorgeous, fill-in-the-blank-with-your-favorite-word-of-exlamation, reception in her parents’ back yard, in a 10,000 square foot tent that was designed down to the smallest detail. With tree branches creeping in overhead, it felt like a fairytale.

Enjoy!

Cailie and Jeff grew up down the street from each other. On the morning of their wedding day they each got ready in the houses they grew up in, which can’t be more than a few hundred feet apart. When you meet them you can sense immediately the comfortable love they share, one rooted in and strengthened by their deep history. It really is a pleasure to witness. So on that morning, despite being physically apart, it was impossible not to feel the presence of the other. Part of this was because cards and presents were quickly run back and forth from house to house; part of this was because each home contained small reminders of their love; and part of it was because you could sense the emotional connection between Cailie and Jeff. More than most, and no matter the distance, they felt like a pair.

That’s the first thing.

The second thing is also awesome.

As their ceremony was winding down, and at the point where, if this were a movie, the officiant would ask if anyone had any objections to please speak now or forever hold their peace, from the back of the church rose a voice over the din of the guests. There, slowly working his way down the aisle, came the priest who had wed Cailie’s parents many years ago. He was to be part of the ceremony but had mistakenly noted the wrong start time. Instead of being 90 minutes early he was 60 minutes late. Never before, never again. As he’s walking down the aisle he delivers a beautiful, heart-felt sermon on love and forgiveness. However bad he felt – and he apologizes profusely – this is a moment no one in attendance will ever forget. It was amazing. So it had to be part of their film.

Familiar love + unexpected treats. Cailie + Jeff. Enjoy!

Roksy and Jonathan met in college in Chicago. They were married on their old campus. They got ready in the same hotel, just a few floors apart, both in rooms overlooking the Chicago River. Both were surrounded by their best friends, each of whom they acknowledged with a wonderfully thoughtful gift. They both wrote each other letters. When reading them, they both cried.

At the end of their day they stood together outside on one of the balconies at the Trump Hotel, where just hours before they had been getting ready apart. As fireworks exploded outside, they laughed and kissed. Everything was as it should be.

Sometimes you see two people together and you know they’re a match. DJ and Travis are two such people. They are both fiercely intelligent and wonderfully joyful, two qualities that don’t often find a happy balance in the same person, and they compliment one another beautifully. DJ is more gregarious, Travis more reserved. As much as any couple I’ve met, they are in balance. So it’s fitting that when it came time for their vows, DJ began by talking about freed slaves and Travis broke down in tears/laughter while talking about student loans. The fruits of education on the one hand, the costs on the other. Harmony.

There were any number of moments when I knew that I was totally in the bag for Atsuko and Karl, but the one that sprang to mind most often while I was working on their film was the period right before their ceremony. Atsuko and Karl had thrown together a music mix to play as their gusts were socializing and taking their seats, and that’s when I heard Riceboy Sleeps come on. I knew Atsuko would be walking down the aisle to Sigur Ros, but I did not know their love for beautiful music extended to obscure side-projects of beautiful-music-makers.

That’s when I kept thinking, “Yes. 100x yes.”

Which is the same thought I have when I think about Atsuko and Karl together. Enjoy their film.