Categories: News

Richard Finlay (that’s me) of Bride & Groom Films has been shortlisted for the ‘Real Weddings.ie’ second annual online wedding awards, The W’Oscars.

I was delighted to actually win at Ireland’s first ever online wedding awards last year.  I was voted ‘Wedding Videographer of the Year’.  If you’d like to show your support for me, or to vote for any of your favorite Irish wedding suppliers, now is your chance.  Voting is now open to the public – whether we filmed your wedding or not.  All we need is a second of your time, and two clicks of your index finger.  Click on this link:

http://www.realweddings.ie/press/2011/01/wedding-supplier-awards-shortlist/

You can also send a quick one-line e-mail to awards@realweddings.ie, saying that you’d like to vote for Bride & Groom Films for ‘Wedding Videographer of the Year’.

The Real Weddings.ie awards is a meaningful award for a wedding supplier because in order to be nominated you first have to be voted for by the public (clients, generally) in order to even make it to the “shortlist”.

Thanks to everyone who has voted so far to give me the nomination.  Let’s kick 2011 off to a great start and get this one in the bag.

Wedding Videographer of the Year ‘Richard Finlay’ – Bride & Groom Films

In between shooting and editing weddings, I’ve recently had the pleasure of filming and editing a promotional video for my friend, and one of Ireland’s best leading vocalists, Naoise Stuart-Kelly.  Naoise is a very well trained and professional singer, definitely the best I’ve ever heard at a wedding…and perhaps she’s available for your big day too.  At every wedding I’ve seen her and her team perform at, they have literally elevated the ceremony to a special, memorable place.

Naoise started Encore Occasions in 2007 and since then has performed and co-ordinated music for hundreds of weddings in Ireland, the UK and Europe.  You can go to see Naoise in Dublin this summer, performing each evening, from June to September, in the new stage production Celtic Rising.

I thought I’d share the promo video with you.  Click on ‘More’ under the two clips below to view individual songs.  Check out Naoise’s website for Encore Occasions by clicking here.

Encore Occasions Wedding Music Promo

Quando Sento Che Mi Ami

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You’ll surely remember the snow we had at the close of ’09 and the beginning of ’10?  I’ll never forget the road conditions coming back from James & Trisha’s wedding that night in December.  I’ve never driven so slow in all my life.

The magical day preceding the harsh weather conditions was a different story for the couple who had just got married.  Trisha & James tied the knot in Edenderry, Co. Offaly and then celebrated at the gorgeous Ballykealey Manor Hotel in Co. Carlow.  Their photographer for the day was a pleasure to work with.  It was my first time working with him.  His name is Alan Mooney.  You can visit his website and view his amazing work by clicking here.

Here’s a shot taken directly from James & Trisha’s wedding video:

Trisha offers a great service that you might be interested in when planning your own big day.  It’s called ‘Little Wedding Crechers’ and you can visit the website by clicking here.

I’ve seen her services in action — and it works!  A lot of couples face a dilemma when planning their big day:  invite the children or not.  ‘Little Wedding Crechers’ are here to help you.

Trisha and James were delighted with their wedding DVD and were very nice to send in a testimonial a few weeks ago.  (Click to enlarge)

A nice testimonial from Trisha & James

Well, I’ve started a Twitter wedding video/personal page.  I want to connect with you and keep you up to date.

I’ll ‘tweet’ about all things wedding video, about all things new and what’s to come, what I’m at and what I’m working on.  And if you’re a film fan check out our weekly ‘Film of the Week’ tweet and share your thoughts.

Come and join me and we’ll see where it leads.

Join us on:

Bride & Groom Films 2010 Oscar Competition

It’s that time of year again.  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will hand out Oscar awards on March 7th 2010.  We are holding our first Oscar competition, and it is open to past, present and future clients of Bride & Groom Films. The winner will receive 10 copies of their wedding video/DVD in personalized cases, absolutely free.  Two runner-up prizes of 5 copies on DVD in personalized cases are also up for grabs.

All you have to do is pick who you think is going to win, in each category below, and e-mail your predictions to info@brideandgroom.ie, on or before 6pm on March 7th 2010.  Be sure to include your name, address, telephone numbers and the date of your wedding. (more…)

In July 2009, I had the pleasure of filming two concerts for Metallica in Copenhagen, Denmark. Metallica are one of the greatest and most successful bands of all time.  I was chosen to be part of a group of only about a dozen freelance videographers from all over the world.  It was a great experience and a dream come true to work on a project that involved artists who I greatly admire.

Here’s a photo montage of myself and the four members of Metallica.  Top left is myself with bassist Robert Trujillo, and to the right is myself and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett (always ranked 0n top ten lists as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, right up there with Hendrix).  I’m pictured with Lars Ulrich (drummer) on the bottom left, and vocalist/lyricist/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield on the bottom right.

I was there for two days in a row at The Forum in Copenhagen.  The backstage experience was fantastic.  The band are very warm and open to everyone.  I was filming the last two of five concerts in Copenhagan, the drummer’s home turf.  Since it was the first time Lars Ulrich had been home in quite some time, and the fact that he was performing for five nights at The Forum, it meant that all of his family and friends were there and he had his hands full to say the least.

Soundcheck on the first day was a great experience.  It was very intimate, and it made me stop and reflect for a moment.  I felt honored to be using my skills on a project for Metallica.  It was just us the videographers, Metallica, and the other technicians.  Here’s a low-res backstage shot I took at lunch time on my mobile phone:

In addition to the two full concerts, I shot an interview with James Hetfield, which I’m told will feature as an ‘extra’ on the DVD.  The interview took place in the “tuning room”, the holiest of holies I’m told – not just anyone is allowed to enter that space (I must be special).

Here’s a clip to show the power, ferocity and dare I say…elegance of their live performances.  Nothing Else Matters is the song (The Black Album, 1991).  I have been asked to use this song on a couple of wedding videos/DVDs in the past and it has always worked very well.

Here is a great music video (more like a short film) by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (‘Festen’).  Vinterberg was in attendance, as a guest of Lars Ulrich.  And although I didn’t see him, Vinterberg was accompanied by another well known Dane, and one of my favorite filmmakers, Lars Von Trier (‘Dancer In The Dark’, ‘Dogville’, ‘Anti-Christ’).

This music video/short film is for the first single off Metallica’s latest album ‘Death Magnetic’ and is entitled ‘The Day That Never Comes’.  It is an incredibly well shot and produced music video.  When you have a filmmaker of the calibre of Vinterberg making your music video, you wouldn’t expect anything less.

Metallica play The Odyssey Arena, Belfast on May 11th and 12th 2010.  Tickets available from Ticketmaster.

The Copenhagen DVD is due to be released sometime in 2010 I’m told.  It may be a two DVD set, and there was also talk of it being released on Blu-Ray disc in a ‘Fan Can’.  I will be proud of my on-screen credit.

I’m delighted to report that I recently won Wedding Videographer of the Year 2009, voted for by the brides and grooms of Ireland, in Ireland’s very first online wedding awards.  It was held by Real Weddings.ie

Some statistics on the awards, according to Real Weddings:

It was Ireland’s very first online wedding awards.

There were over 800 postal entries.

There were over 950 email entries.

There were 10,688 votes counted online.

Source:
http://www.realweddings.ie/press/?p=468#comments

I am also delighted to announce that I am one of the final six nominees for Wedding Videographer of the Year 2009 at the upcoming first annual Weddings Online Awards (also voted for by the brides and grooms of Ireland).

It was only last year that I was “ranked among the best videographers in the world” by the DV Awards, in the categories of ‘Outstanding Wedding Videography’ and ‘Best Demo Reel’.  To read the Press Release click here.  According to Martin Rhodes of the DV Awards (based in America), I was the first Irish winner in the wedding category.  I had previously won a DV Award in 2004 for a short film screenplay that I wrote.

I see an award as merely a pat on the back, whether received by my peers or by clients who are happy with my services.  Nonetheless, being nominated or winning is very encouraging to work harder and to push yourself further.  I would like to thank those of you, sincerely, for supporting me in the online wedding awards polls and for the taking the time to send in your written entires.  I am very grateful to you.

The Brooklodge in Macreddin Village, Wicklow is one of my favourite venues to shoot a wedding video in.  It’s only an hour drive from Dublin and is nestled away in the quiet, relaxing countryside.  There’s a beautiful, quaint white chapel on the grounds where I’ve shot many wedding ceremonies.  Having your wedding here can also save a lot of time on the day, as you don’t have to go very far for your photography session and the family photos.

The food is excellent, so nice that myself and Laura went there for dinner one Sunday last year.  The Brooklodge is known for having Ireland’s only Certified Organic restaurant, The Strawberry Tree.  There is also a Southern Italian restaurant there, La Taverna Armento, which deserves a special mention.  The bar food is also excellent if you’re a vegan or a vegetarian.

Check out the following short wedding video clip of the Brooklodge from a wedding in October 2009.  Sarah and Neasan were a wonderful couple on the day, and they were surrounded by loving family and friends who were visibly having a great time.  Their photographer was Dermot Byrne, a photographer who I have worked with a number of times, and it is always a pleasure to do so.  Dermot has a great sense of humor, and is always able to make a couple feel at ease on their wedding day.  He is also a consummate professional, and his work is second to none.  Sarah, Neasan, Dermot and myself worked together very well on day, and the ever-present smiles on the faces of the newly married couple showed me they were enjoying every minute of it.  It showed on their wedding video/DVD as well.

For more Brooklodge sample wedding video clips, please visit our new sample video page at the Bride & Groom Films website.

We’ve just joined Facebook.  Don’t forget to become a fan, and recommend us to your friends.  Feel free to write a comment about anything you like or respond to one of our posts.  Send a private message if you have any questions about wedding videography or our services.  Alternatively, visit the Experts Corner section of our Facebook page.  See you on Facebook.

I’ve recently changed the look and content of the sample video page on our website brideandgroom.ie.  It used to look like this:

Our old sample video page at brideandgroom.ie

It now looks like this:

Our new sample video page at brideandgroom.ie

We’ve enlarged the size of the clips so you can see more of what is happening, and we’re also using a new and better player to display the clips .  The new sample video page features dozens of all-new wedding video clips from venues all over Ireland.  You may see your own church and venue there.  If so, you can take a look at it to give yourself a sneak peek of what your day will be like, or to give you an idea of what someone else’s wedding was like at that particular venue.  You might even get a few ideas from it.

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Why aren't all colleges situated over Off-Licences?

As a filmmaker, I’m always learning new things about the craft.  I’m always on the look out for new skills that I can acquire so that I can apply them to my wedding videography to gain more experience, and to help improve my skills as a shooter and editor.  I’ve been producing hundreds of successful wedding videos for years, but I certainly don’t know it all.  There is always room for improvement and I am constantly upping my game.  One way to up your game is to keep on training in various different aspects of your craft. (more…)

If you’re going to book a wedding videographer, or any reputable wedding supplier in Ireland, then you must do it as soon as you can.  The problem is that if you leave it too late, when you eventually get back to us we may very well be already booked.  We often receive multiple enquiries for the same date, which means we must work on a first-come first-served basis.

I’m glad, and fortunate, to report that even in the current recession we are still very busy.  At the beginning of this week alone I sent out thirty sample DVD packs (as you can see in the below low-res images) to couples interested in booking our services for 2010 and 2011.  Some have already returned their deposit and booking form and their booking confirmation is on its way.  Visit our website www.brideandgroom.ie to check availability today, e-mail us at info@brideandgroom.ie, or phone Richard directly on 086-3704098, or phone the studio on 01-4420071.

So act fast, as your date may be gone next week.  We look forward to hearing from you.

I’ve finally set up a blog.  A new year.  A new blog.  Well, it’s my first blog.  I still don’t “get” the whole Twitter thing, so until I do I think it can wait.  One Twitter page I like is:  http://twitter.com/kevwilliamson.

I hope that you my dear readers will visit often and that we can stay connected.  Whether you are a client, a bride, a groom, sister of a bride, filmmaker, wedding supplier — you are very welcome.  Please don’t be afraid to comment on any post – it will keep the blog alive.

To my clients, I hope that you will gain a more in-depth knowledge of who I am and what I do.  Although I live in Dublin, I specialize in filming and editing weddings throughout Ireland, and have had the pleasure of filming hundreds of weddings for couples in literally every county. (more…)