A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: We're Movie "Stars"!

If you're in the firm "we really don't need a videographer when we already have an awesome photographer" camp, then I totally get it. I was there. And then I saw wedding videos like Mrs. Kitten's, cried, and changed my mind, of course. SO glad I did.




I cry pretty much every time I watch it.

So now you're probably thinking, "oh, sure, Star, I'd love to get a videographer, but there's no way our budget can withstand one more assault." Well, here are my tips for bending that budget into submission. It was probably asking for it anyways.

1. Get a videographer as a gift. One of Mr. Star's close family friends asked us to tell them what we really wanted as a gift that would remind us of them whenever we used it. The perfect answer was for them to help us get a wedding video. They loved the idea, and we really do think of them and their generousity every time we watch it. Thank you, Cindy and Bill! There are almost always friends or family members or a group of guests (like your college buddies) who don't know what to get you, but want to make it memorable. Capitalize on this and they'll feel special, too.


2. Use professionals looking to break into the wedding business. We knew we couldn't afford standard NYC videographer prices, so we posted an ad on the big ol' Craigslist looking for a student or recent grad who wanted to work for us. What we weren't expecting is that we had several professionals who had done camera work in other areas like commercials or television and were looking to get into the wedding industry get in touch with us and offer to help. They wanted wedding footage for a reel, we got a pro who already knew how to make a great video. The key to this is making sure he or she has examples of their work, even if it isn't wedding-related. We could see that our videographer did nice work, despite having no wedding experience. This probably works best if you're in a metro area.


3. Cut down on coverage time and fancy extras. We only asked our videographer to film for about four hours, which covered all the important stuff for us -- the ceremony (especially our vows), the parade, and our first dance were what we really wanted captured on video. She offered to come a bit earlier and film me getting ready, which was an awesome bonus. Also, you don't need a million DVD copies or a fancy intro title if you're trying to cut costs. You can burn your own DVDs!


If you are in the NYC area and want to check out our awesome videographer, head on over here. She did such a great job for us and we couldn't be more pleased.


And promise me you'll think about the videographer bit? ;)

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

Subway Saga

Next Stop -- Grand Central Station!

We Had The Time of Our Lives

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: We Had the Time of Our Lives

Well, my lovelies, you're going to have to forgive me for a picture-heavy post. I couldn't help myself, because these are pretty much my favorite pictures of us from the reception!

When I left you last, we were cabbing it from Grand Central Station to our reception venue, only a few blocks away, but waaay too far for my tired feet and parched self to walk.

So we got to the downstairs lobby of the loft (please note the glam red carpet they rolled out for us!), and my gorgeous bridesmaids, Fairy Bridesmaid and Sassy Bridesmaid, who had accompanied me to my dress fittings, did a quick bustle number on my butt. I still can't describe the magic that went on back there, but suffice it to say, I loved my dress bustled even more than I did with the long train. 

Now that I was bustled, Mr. Star and I took a quick moment to run through our first dance steps, since we had never gotten the chance to have a dress rehearsal of sorts with my dress on, and that dress sure has a life of its own! It went really well, and I changed up one quick step because the poofiness of my underskirt was preventing my feet from moving quickly enough to keep up with the song.

With that out of the way, we were ready to jump on the elevator and head up to the party! I have a confession to make: that day I was WAY more nervous to do our choreography than I was to get married.

Mr. Star, my rock, was there like he always is to tell me that we could do it:

Please press play and jive along with us as we dance our hearts out:

By the time the elevator made it all the way up to the penthouse and we stepped into a gorgeous loft filled with our loved ones, we had our "game faces" on and were ready to go:

Check out that sneak peek at our Empire State Building card box up there ;)

The music started a bit too soon and we weren't in place in time to start our first steps, but as we say in showbiz, the show must go on! I whispered to Mr. Star where we could pick it up a few beats in, and we were ready to roll:

In that moment, I knew we could do it together.

And our family and friends were really getting into it, but this was nothing yet:

I love how much smiling our guests are doing. Oh yeah, and we're smiling pretty big, too...

I love how fabulous my dress looks in these pictures! We threw in a dip for good show:

Oh, and we were showing off our goofy side with a shimmy on my part and some silly chest ogling on the mister's -- check out how amused our friends are:

By this time we were rocking and rolling, and just look at how proud my Momma was:

I'm no real dancer and these were Mr. Star's first ever dance lessons, so we were pretty proud of what we were able to pull off!

Then it was time for the DANCE BREAK! We split apart and headed into the crowd. Of course, I reached for my MOH's hand first. Partly because I love her, partly because I knew she wouldn't say no as I dragged her onto the dance floor ;)

Our friends REALLY got into it, which we loved, of course...

We were partying it up as the dance break jived on. As it came to an end, I realized that it was time to head back to my new husband for our big finish. I was dancing with my fabulous friend Jamie at the time, and she told me only a few weeks ago that in my adrenaline-induced state I said to her, "Oh shit, I have to go find my husband," and ran off without another word. Oh well, she forgives me.

It was worth it for this move to open up the final verse...

One more dip, and a quick wind-up in the middle of the crowd...

And my adorable new husband swooped me and my obscenely heavy dress right off the floor for this incredible picture:

What a rush. It was, without a doubt, one of the most incredible moments in my life to be spinning around with my new husband, surrounded by cheering loved ones, and high on life.

For those of you considering doing a choreographed first dance, do it. And just have fun with it. It ended up being one of our favorite moments of the day, and so much more memorable for us than the Middle School Sway that was our only other option. 

SUPER DUPER THANKS go out to our good friend Whitney who worked so hard to choreograph (and re-choreograph once we realized the arm lifting limitations of my dress) our incredible first dance.

Now that you've seen the first dance pictures, I think it's safe to show you our wedding video trailer and give you my tips on fitting videography into your budget. That is, if you're interested in seeing it! ;)

*All photos by John Martin Photography *

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

Subway Saga
Next Stop -- Grand Central Station!

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: Next Stop -- Grand Central Station!

I had originally wanted to do our couple portraits on the steps of the main branch of the New York Public Library -- you know, the one with the lions out front (Ghostbusters, baby!):

(photo credit)

I mean, it's iconic. It's gorgeous. It's classy. Buuuuut then my smarter-than-me photographer pointed out that by the time we finished up the ceremony, it would be dark outside already. Duh, Star.

So we decided to do portraits inside of Grand Central Station -- also iconic, gorgeous, and classy. It's my go-to recommendation for NYC brides who need to take portraits when the weather outside is frightful (or dark), if you know what I mean. But don't worry, we got some photos at the library a few weeks ago during our "day-after" session...oops, have I said too much? More on that later ;)

This is about as standard of a wedding portrait as we got, and I love that:

I love that this picture reminds me of classic Hollywood. And it just feels like it could be from a wedding that took place anytime (I'm tooting my own horn a little here, don't mind me).

But just like everywhere else in New York, we were surrounded by people. Drunk Giants fans at that, as a game had just let out. Most of our onlookers were very respectful and sweet. In fact, I heard one older lady stage whisper, "Ooh, who is she??" But I'm pretty sure an underage drunk Giants fan is the one who catcalled me and asked for my number. This was our response to that:

A little late, buddy.

We checked out the train schedules for good measure:

And we snuggled together as we thought up places to hop a train to and escape on our honeymoon early:

And there's a little sneak peek of my third "costume change" -- notice the birdcage is gone, and in its place is a blingy hair comb. Yeah, I love me some drama.

We also did some snuggling and reflecting on the momentous occasion.

And it wouldn't have really been a wedding day without some making out. I mean, come on.

 Hot, right?

And just for fun:

Then, since we knew we'd be going right into our first dance once we got to the loft, we decided to spend a couple of minutes practicing:

So romantic...

Except for the fact that there were still dozens of people staring at us and my still-unbustled train was getting in the way of our little "rehearsal." But you wouldn't know it from the way we were intently focused on each other:

Must be newlyweds ;)

Then we hopped into another cab, and were on our way to the partay! Who's up for some reception pictures??

Major props go out again to my lovely MOH, who was just outside of the frame of almost all of these shots holding my crap and helping with my costume changes:

She deserves a t-shirt that says, "I was Mrs. Star's b*tch and all I got to show for it was this lousy picture:"

That's what best friends are for, right?

How did weather (or darkness!) end up affecting where you took/will take wedding day pictures?

*All photos by John Martin Photography *

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

Subway Saga

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: Subway Saga

When we last left you, we were busy making a spectacle of ourselves by parading through the streets of New York.

We made it to the station and we were very careful to keep my dress from dragging down the dirty station steps:

Our wonderful DOC (have I said that enough yet?) ran ahead and got the station attendant to take the fully-loaded metrocards we had bought and open the emergency exit so everyone didn't have to squeeze through the turnstiles.

Yeah, we got the V.I.P. treatment on the subway, yo:

Then we stood on the platform surrounded by our loved ones and waited for an unsuspecting train full of civilians to arrive.

And posed for iPhone pictures for our guests. I thought it was kinda cool that pictures from the wedding were going up online before the party even really got started! (P.S. check out the wedding wand making a cameo!):

That is one hot couple right there...

The train finally pulled up and it was already quite full -- watch out, train, we're getting on! We've got a reception to get to!

After making sure everyone made it on the train, we relaxed into the fun of being celebrities, if only for a few moments! All of the strangers on the train thought we were very exciting, as you can see from this picture -- about half of those people are our guests and half aren't:

It was, without a doubt, the best subway ride of my life.

All too quickly (for me!), we reached the stop where all of our guests were to get off and follow our DOC to the loft for cocktail hour, while Mr. Star, my MOH, and I stayed on for one more stop so we could get to Grand Central Station for some couple portraits.

We lovingly watched our guests exit the train before us...

And soon it was time for us to exit, too...

And that magical subway ride where we were packed in with all of our nearest and dearest was over forever.

Don't worry, though, everyone in the station still thought we were rockstars:

I mean, I did just ride the subway in my couture wedding gown...

We love New York, what can we say?

How did you honor your love for your wedding locale on your big day?

*All photos by John Martin Photography *

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!