I wanted to post a trailer for Allison & Ben’s wedding back in June.  They had the ceremony at the Amphitheater  at Worlds Fair Park.  It was a beautiful venue and a very special wedding ceremony.  There were a few bumps in the road that day, but nothing could stop this very special couple from sharing their vows with their family and friends.

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Tomorrow is shaping up to be a long day and I’m looking forward to it.

I have had the past 3 weeks off with no weddings, which has been a blessing on a number of levels.  The heat has been incredible here lately with no end in sight.  The highs have been in the 90’s almost every day and the heat index, which according to the weather geeks here, is how hot it feels to our skin.  Really?  Can’t we just say it’s like a blast oven out there and just move on from there.

Having the past couple of weeks off has allowed me to really focus on editing some of the weddings I’ve had this summer.  When I finished my last wedding in July I had a total of 7 weddings sitting on my desk that needed work. As I write this I can tell you that I have finished up 3 of those weddings, two have been shipped and one is with my final editor for her approval.  So, that leaves me with four on the desk and one this weekend.  That sounds like a lot, but to me it sounds like a lot of fun.

I wanted to post some new trailers I have finished up for the three weddings I have wrapped up.  The first one is a very sweet couple, Ashley & Daniel.  They have an amazing story to share.  They have been dating for right at 8 years.  They met on a mission trip and it seemed like love at first sight. There was one little bump in the road for these two; Daniel was 18 at the time and Ashley was 14.  Her parents were not too sure about letting their 14-year-old daughter go out with a collage freshman.  But, as always, loved prevailed and these two have been by each other’s side ever since that first night.  So here is their trailer:

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There is also something really special coming very soon and I am just so excited to be a part of.  If any of you remember The Brides Lounge then you will love “Enchanted Details Event Boutique”.   The ladies at One Enchanted Evening are behind this wonderful endeavor.  “Enchanted Details” is going to be a one-stop shop for any bride in and around the East Tennessee area. Brides are going to be able to come in and browse through some of the top wedding vendors in and around Knoxville.  You will be able to look though florist, photographers, venues, rentals, caterers and the list just goes on and on.

By far one of the best assists at “Enchanted Details” will be the great people who are running the boutique.  Brenda, Lisa and all the gals at One Enchanted Evening are going to be around to help you with all your wedding decisions.  They are going to be able to match you up with the vendors that could best suit you and your needs.  But there are also going to be learning workshops where you’ll learn “How To’s” from some of the top professionals in the area.  There will also be “After Hours” events. This is going to be a venue for you to have your bridal shower, baby shower, family planning sessions, and so much more.

One of the other great things about “Enchanted Details” is it will provide a professional environment to meet with your vendors. Most vendors have a store front where you can go and meet with them at their shop, Florist, Dresses, Tux rentals are some examples.  But, many wedding vendors, myself included, work from our home.  It is much more cost effective for us to work out of our house and allows us to keep our prices completive.  The draw back to that is you may not feel comfortable meeting with a vendor at their house. So, that leaves us meeting with you at places like Starbucks or Panera Bread.  This is ok, but it is very difficult for vendors to show you their work plus we competing with the noise of the customers who are there.  “Enchanted Details” will offer several meeting areas that will allow you and the vendor to meet in a quite, relaxed environment.

There is so much more to “Enchanted Details” that I could fill pages and pages of blogs with everything.  I’m really excited to be a part of “Enchanted Details” and I know every bride in the East Tennessee area will be excited as well.

Will and Arlene are just an amazing couple.  They are completely and totally over the moon for one another and it’s just great to be around them.  They are constantly laughing and having a blast with one another.  They enjoy each other, their friends and family and life.

This shoot was done at Volunteer Landing in Knoxville, TN, which was also where Will proposed to Arlene in March 2010.

We would take pictures of them anytime because they were great to work with.  Their wedding date is October 2, 2010 and we wish them many years of happiness.

“Don Samples and Midnight Magic Video are top-notch! Let me just say that Don made my wedding the most incredible time of my life. He was there for every special moment and did not leave out a single detail. Wedding planning can be extremely stressful and time-consuming! However, I knew that my wedding videographer would be something I had absolutely no worries about and knew would be in great hands. I looked forward to every meeting we had with Don and our wedding video turned out absolutely wonderful! I believe your wedding videographer should be something you take great care in choosing. Your wedding video is what will capture all of the special memories and will be watched for years to come! It should definitely be put in capable and experienced hands. I could not be happier that we found Don Samples and Midnight Magic to help us always remember our wedding day!”

I cannot say enough great things about Whitney and Jon, they were a videographers dream to work with.  They were open to every idea and so willing to try just about anything I wanted to do.  I wish them the best of luck in their future together.

Then last weekend I had an all day bridal fun day shoot. On Friday I did a bridal luncheon on The Volunteer Princess of Knoxville Yacht. Then the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner coverage that night at Rothchilds Catering followed by a full day Saturday covering the wedding and reception at Dara’s Garden.  Then Sunday, another full day with another special wedding at Temple Beth El with the reception at The Foundry.  Then, Wednesday evening I had a rehearsal for a rare Thursday wedding at Hunter Valley Farm.

Was I tired? Yes!!  Did I have a blast with it all?  Definitely! What does it all mean?  Some marathon editing sessions in the coming weeks and I’m really looking forward to spending some time in front of the computer.  Along with those edit sessions will come some trailers and some fun video clips that are going to be posted very soon.  In the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten wedding parties dancing up the aisle and bridesmaids doing a fun toast for a very surprised bride.  All that and more… the video clips are coming soon.

At this past Thursday’s wedding I got an interesting question from one of the guests.  She asked me; “Why do you do this? Why not just work for a TV station or some cable channel?”.  Great question, why do I do this?  I mean, I could do anything.  I made a nice career in sales doing both insurance and ad sales.  I could go back to school and learn a new skill in the medical field.  I could do anything, so why do wedding videos?

I do this because I love every aspect of this business.  I love working with brides helping them capture one of the most memorable days of their lives.  I love knowing that some place right now a couple could be putting the video I did for them in their DVD player and reliving their wedding day.  I love working with all the wedding vendors I have become friends with.  I have found that these people who are working in the wedding business have some of the biggest hearts and they truly love what they do.  They give of their selves over and over again to make dreams come true.

Stay tuned… and be on the look out for great videos clips to come very soon. Hello editing chair and Final Cut Pro… here I come.

We are excited to be offering this new service and look forward to planning some sessions.

The first wedding this month was Ashley & Daniel.  Their story is a great one; they meet on a mission trip to Jacksonville, FL.  Daniel was smitten from the moment he saw her and Ashley really thought Daniel was “just too cute” (her words, not mine).  They wanted to start seeing each but there was two major hurdles standing in their way; their age difference and her parents.  See, Daniel was 18 and Ashley was 14 when they met.  Now you can see why her parents were also a hurdle.  In stepped the youth minster, who has known Daniel for a good portion of his life, to comfort Ashley’s parents that Daniel was a good guy.  The parents gave in, but with some huge rules.  Jump forward 8 years later, these two toughed it out, finished school and made their plans to make their life together forever.  The only issue during the entire day was the make up girl.  Seems this was the first time this gal had ever done make up. Period.  Add to that Ashley is not one to wear make up and you can see how uncomfortable she was.  When the make up girl left my ace assistant, Alexis, put down the camera and jumped in to save the day.  She not only got the bad make up off, she did her wedding make up and Ashley looked beautiful.  The advantage of a great second shooter is greater than words can convey.

My next wedding was for Jennifer and Daniel (yea, two Daniel’s in a row, what are the odds?).  They had their wedding at The Lilly Barn in Townsend. Their story is one of fate working it’s hand in their lives.  Jennifer decided to hike the Appalachian Trail to take some time to herself and do some soul searching in her life.  Well, along the trail she met Daniel at a rest stop, started talking and finished the rest of the trail together.

The most memorable part of the wedding day was the heat.  I think when they scheduled the wedding for mid June they had no idea it was going to be so hot.  But, they made the most of the  day and everyone at the wedding had a great time and partied well into the night.  My favorite shot of the wedding, and one I will post soon, was of the bridesmaids standing barefooted in the creek in their dresses to try and cool off from the day.  It was awesome.

That brings us to this past weekends wedding, Allison & Ben.  Their wedding was also outdoors at the Amphitheater at Worlds Fair Park.  This couple just flat out had fun most of the day.  There was one hitch in the day that could have runied the entire event.  But these two were determined to get married, so they put the issue behind them and moved forward with their life together.  I was so impressed with their determination and drive.  I hope it helps them get through some rough times they will encounter in their years to come..   There was also 2 other wedding going on that day at the Knoxville Convention Center so there were 3 photographers, 3 videographers,  and 3 sets of guest.  So the entire day we were asking each other “Which wedding are you working?”.  It was a lot of fun.

This weekend I have the pleasure of working on Kara & Nick’s wedding at The Butterfly Gap Retreat.  Yes, it is another outdoor wedding and the highs are going to be well into the 90′s, but I’m looking forward to the day.  I will be posting the trailer from this and the other weddings as soon as I can.

I did want to share with you the trailer of Autumn & Andrew.  I first met this couple over a year ago to plan their video.  In that time I have really come to know them and have enjoyed working with them.  Their wedding was on a beautiful day in May.  They both had so much fun and I think we all laughed the entire day. I think this is the saddest part of wedding videos for me, I spend so much time getting to know couples and work with them on one of the biggest day of their lives then they go their own way. I will miss working with them and wish them the best in their future together.  Here is their trailer:

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Best of luck to you guys, thanks for letting me be a part of you most special day.

First off, I want thank everyone who voted for Midnight Magic Studios in the recent WTNZ, Fox 43 Hot List. For the second year in a row Midnight Magic Studios was named the top wedding videographer in the Knoxville area.  This means a lot to me because it is voted on by the general public. Thank you so much to the ones that voted.

On the personal and family side, our life has been a little hectic to say the least.  We decided to do a kitchen renovation.  I mean we are doing a complete renovation.  We put in all new flooring (after having the entire sub floor replaced), new counter tops, new appliances and we repainted the cabinets as well.  The only thing that stayed the same was the dishwasher.  We are about 75% complete to this point, the new countertops were delayed a few days so that pushed the appliances back a few days as well.  My wonderful wife, Leeann, has done the vast majority of the work.  I painted a few walls and the ceiling but other than that, she has done it all. The flooring had to be professionally installed due to some issues from a previous owner of our home.

During all this, wedding season kicked off with a bang.  First wedding out of the gate was Jon and Whitney.  I met them back in July 2009 thanks to a referral from Rebecca Tunnel.  They were such a great couple to work with this past year.  They did so much for their video, we did a photo montage, a love story documentary and Whitney did a bridal photo shoot.  The photographer was Sabrina from Photographs by Sabrina and we did the bridal portrait session at The Bleak House in Knoxville.  We had a lot of fun doing this and Whitney could not have been any more beautiful during that session as well as her wedding day.  I also can’t say enough good things about Jon.

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The next wedding was from a referral from a bride I worked with last year, Rachel.  She and her husband were nice enough to do a short testimonial for me:

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This is Caroline & Lawerence’s Wedding Trailer

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Then my most recent wedding was with Autumn and Andrew.  Now, I have been working with this couple for over a year.  Autumn was a simply beautiful bride and both of them had so much fun during their wedding.  I laughed the entire day with them.  Autumn & Andrew have the best sense of humor which made working with them even more wonderful.  Back on April 1st, yea , April Fools Day, I pulled a little prank on Autumn.  I sent her a message on Facebook telling her that I would no longer be able to shoot weddings in the Knoxville area and I would not be able to do her wedding in May.  I told her it was due to a necessary move.  Well, she fell for it.  She called me in a panic and I couldn’t go through with it and started cracking up.  She laughed about then and still does today.  Andrew also pulled a prank on her the day of their wedding and she even came out of that laughing!!

There are many more weddings to come this year with venues like Butterfly Gap, The Lily Barn, World’s Fair Park and that’s just to name a few.  There are many fall dates still open for this year and I’m staring to get bookings for 2011.  So if you or someone you know is getting married, please get in touch with me and let me tell you or them all about Midnight Magic Studios and how we can create a special video to capture that once in a special day.

I have several springs weddings this year and have recently finished shooting the first one, which was for Whitney & Jon.  I met them last June, thanks to wedding planner Rebecca Tunnel.  I have just loved working with Whitney and Jon this past year.  They are great together and just fantastic people and I wish them the best of luck in their future together.

Whitney had a lot of great extras added to her video.  We did a photo montage, a Love Story Documentary and a Bridal Portrait shoot.  We did the photo shoot a week before her wedding at the beautiful Bleak House here in Knoxville.  Photographs by Sabrina did all of Whitney & Jon’s photography.  I love working with Sabrina, she is an award winning photographer, professional and so friendly.  I want to share Whitney’s Bridal Portrait shoot with you:

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We have several wedding coming up soon.  One next weekend, Caroline and Lawrence on the 24th of April.  Another wedding I’m really looking forward to is Autumn & Andrew’s wedding on May 22nd.  They are another couple that I have known for some time now and I’ve loved being a part of some of their pre-wedding life.  They are easy going and both have a great sense of humor and have just been fun!!  They are getting married on May 22nd.

I’ll be sure to be updating soon on some other fantastic couples that I’m working with.

I absolutely LOVE what I do!!!