Shaking Hands Productions

Julie + Kaveh {D.C.}

Brad — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:24:48 +0000

Julie was referred to me by Stephanie of Diamond Events early last year, I’ve been looking forward to filming their wedding for quite some time now. When I arrived at Omni Shoreham in Washington D.C. I knew this wedding would be nothing short of spectacular. In the entrance of the Shoreham, there was an homage to the star studded list of previous guests that includes royalties, famous actors and even The Beatles. Julie and Kaveh had a traditional and Persian wedding mix, which includes a beautiful Sofreh ceremonial spread.

Julie and Kaveh were amazing to work with, and it was obvious to everyone there how in love they are with each other. Being able to film their special day was an honor and a privilege. We wish all the best for Mr. and Mrs. Safa!

cinematography- Shaking Hands Productions

photography- Sonya Ruth Photography

planner- Diamond Events

sofreh design- Sofreh Atelier

venue- Omni Shoreham DC

Ashley + Michael {West Manor}

Brad — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 18:54:03 +0000

There are many benefits when shooting weddings in your hometown, obviously you do not have to travel long distances to event locations, and you get to work with a lot of familiar people. Welcome to Lynchburg, or Forest in this case (just up the road). Lynchburg is a small city, many locals refer to our town as a “bubble”…which is true b/c you are constantly running into people you know, or haven’t seen in years. It’s also a really interesting market for weddings, there is more than enough money and business to go around, but people spend money on weddings in the most bizarre ways. I can probably count on one hand how many weddings I’ve filmed in Lynchburg over the last couple of years, and I guess that’s why I travel out of town so much for weddings. Don’t get me wrong, I love where I reside, and have great relationship w/ most of the vendors in this area of Virginia..I just think we need to educate our clients on where they should invest their money wisely=)

Outside of my little rant, here is Ashley + Michael’s stunning wedding at the beautiful West Manor Estate{Forest, VA}. Just to show how small our town/world is, Ashley’s matron of honor lives across from street from my wife’s best friend. Also, during this wedding I bumped into a middle school friend which I hadn’t seen in nearly 15 years! Her husband was the DJ and they traveled all the way from Virginia Beach{where I used to live} to work this event… Michael and Ashley were so laid back during their wedding, which made my job even more enjoyable. There were so many fun details at the Dunton/Solbach wedding, and I was stunned to learn that Ashley’s aunt did all of the gorgeous flowers seen in this trailer! Enjoy!

Cinematography- Shaking Hands Productions

Photography – Sam Stroud Photography

DJ – Luke Barton

Catering- West Manor

Whitney + Clarke {Published}

Brad — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 03:06:09 +0000

Hello! I hope everyone had a splendid Holiday! It’s been too long since our last post. I keep telling myself “I need to blog more, I need to blog more!!”. It’s so hard to be self employed and literally do everything!! There were so many beautiful weddings we never had the chance to share online. Hopefully blogging will become a New Year’s resolution for us. Anyway, this fall/winter has been an absolute blur (but an amazing blur=). While I was in Japan for two weeks filming a documentary, I received word that a few our of 2012 couples’ weddings will be featured in several national publications in the coming months! Most recently, I would like to share Whitney + Clarke’s wedding as seen in the new Southern Weddings.

I became acquainted with Whitney over the past year or so as she was the director of marketing at Pippin Hill Farm, as well as an established member of Easton Events. I was so thrilled when she asked me to be a part of her wedding team. I must say that I wasn’t at all surprised that her wedding was absolutely gorgeous… I’m glad to have been a contributor to the overall event!

Katherine + Chris {Charleston, SC}

Brad — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:02:54 +0000

Where do I even begin on this one! For a long time I’ve always wanted to film a wedding in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. Tiffany Snyder and I had been chatting for awhile, and she kept saying how much they wanted to bring us down for a Charleston wedding. Well the ladies from Loluma finally blessed us with the opportunity to film a gorgeous wedding in this historic southern town. Charleston lived up to all of it’s hype and then some! This place had it all with cobblestone walkways and palm trees galore!

We couldn’t have asked for better clients while shooting down there, Katherine and Chris were so amazing to work with! Katherine had a love for super8 film which went so well with the look and feel of her big day! I loved all of the localities of this wedding. From their intimate wedding ceremony at the Confederate Home….to the beautiful formal dinner at downtown McCrady’s led by a marching band!….lastly, ending the evening a few blocks away at Marion’s in the french quarter.

I hope to blog more often, if you keep checking back and it’s still the same posts….check out our vimeo page ! We’ll post videos there before anywhere else!

Cinematographer: Shaking Hands Productions

Event Planner: Loluma

Photographer: Juliet Elizabeth Photography

Weddings Unveiled {Published}

Brad — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:53:04 +0000

Hi everyone! So excited to share that our styled shoot was recently published in the new Weddings Unveiled {summer 12}! I felt so honored to be a part of this shoot as there were so many talented vendors involved with this project. I have to say Marta Locklear did an absolute fantastic job w/ the film photographs from this shoot! Each image turned out so dreamy, and I think that was the feel we all were going for. Below you can see the images published in the magazine, as well our short film of the styled shoot!

We also found out our same styled shoot was also published in the new e-magazine {MagRouge}! You can see even more stunning images from the shoot on pages 178-193

Margaret + Noah {Eastern Shore}

Brad — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:26:14 +0000

We had an absolute blast filming Margaret and Noah’s wedding in Exmore, Va! There were so many fun details to this wedding. The unique ceremony location was held on family grounds, and each element of the day surrounded a sort of marsh land feel. It was a really cool experience to be a part of. Austin and I couldn’t wait to bring this story to life in editing! More than anything, we felt this wedding had so much love between both families. It was just a good feeling throughout the entire day. We were able to boast that this wedding was a stress free experience! When your clients are relaxed and happy, your vendors are happy…it’s a beautiful thing, but I guess it helps when the bride is in the wedding industry…Margaret gets it=)

cinematography- Shaking Hands Productions

coordinator – Brittany Barham Platinum Events

photographer – Amy Sandoval + Alice Proujansky

cake – Becca’s Cakes and More

flowers – Norfolk Wholesale Florist

catering – The Island House Restaurant

song cover – Bruce Springsteen – Should I fall behind

Styled Shoot {Venn Workshops}

Brad — Tue, 29 May 2012 18:38:05 +0000

It’s been quite awhile since our last post, so I thought I’d share this fun little super8 video we put together from Venn Workshops in DC. We had such a talented team on board! I just love shooting super8 film, it’s so timeless and cinematic…the colors and tones you get from film is just unreal! We were so excited to find our shoot was featured on both Wedding Chicks + Green Wedding Shoes! Anyway, check out the little super8 film we put together!

venue Parks House

event designer by Amber Karson Events

photographed by Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography + Jodi Miller

cakes by Charm City Cakes

Liliahn + Ibrahim || NYE || {D.C.}

Brad — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:03:45 +0000

One word to describe this New Years Eve wedding would be “epic”! From the venue, to the reception details..this wedding had it all! On a side note, I’d like to share a little about these two, because I like to brag on my clients=) Liliahn is the Senior Director of teams marketing and business operations for the National Basketball Association(NBA). Ibrahim is a M.B.A graduate of Harvard, and a Vice President of investments at Landmark Partners. You can actually read more about their engagement notice in The New York Times!

So I was more than thrilled when Liliahn asked us to film her D.C. wedding on New Years Eve! This was our very first holiday wedding and this event will be one to remember! I’ve been to a lot of hotels in my 10 years of filming weddings, and the Mandarin Oriental, DC is right up there with brands such as the W Hotels! Ibrahim and Liliahn had their “first look” at the top of the penthouse suite overlooking the National Park. The views from the suite and the amenities provided were absolutely stunning. The guests were servedt traditional chinese/mandarin cuisine during the cocktail hour…sooo delicious! Of course the best part of the night was the counting down to 2012! What a party, and what a way to welcome in the New Year! All the best to Ibrahim and Liliahn, may your marriage be blessed!!

Cinematography: Shaking Hands Productions

Photography: Michael Clark

Event Planner: Vicky Johnson

Venue: Mandarin Oriental, Washington D.C.

Enjoy=)

Sierra + Joel || Berry Hill Estate ||

Brad — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:41:00 +0000

Well this will be our last wedding trailer post for 2011! It has been an absolute fanstatic year for our small company, and I am so excited to see what God has in store for us next year:) Several new people have become part of our filming and editing team. On a side note, we are actually filming a wedding on the last day of 2011, that will carry into the first day of 2012. This New Years Eve DC wedding couldn’t come any faster, and we couldn’t be anymore thrilled to film it!

Now onto this spectacular wedding story, I first met Sierra at the beginning on this year at our local Sbux. She expressed to me how important her wedding film was to her, and all the specifics and details she wanted us to capture in her own film. Fast forward several months after booking, we randomly got a lead at our church for a couple looking to join a small group in our area…turns out it was Sierra and Joel. Joel and I hit it off real lywell, and so did the girls. We all became good friends over the past year, so when their wedding day finally came in October we couldn’t have been more excited to be a part of their big day!

Cinematography: Shaking Hands Productions

Photography: Sam Stroud Photography

Venue: Berry Hill Plantation

Lauren + Andrew || Veritas ||

Brad — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:55:00 +0000

I love filming weddings at Veritas Winery, such a beautiful backdrop for an outdoor ceremony. Lauren and Andrew had a great creative team for their wedding. I thought the stationary from Bella Figura was quite creative! I guess L&A are also big Vineyard Vines fans cause they pulled out the big pink whale hats for pictures….the bridal party was hoping to make the front page of Vineyard Vines blog…and they did=) It’s always refreshing to film so many little details that make these trailers so interesting to watch.

cinematography by Shaking Hands Productions

photography by Jen Fariello

venue: Veritas Winery

florist: Pat’s floral design

stationary: Bella Figura

grooms cake: Maliha Creations

wedding cake: Cakes Unlimited

officiant: Claire Goodman/Sacred Ground Ceremonies