Blog Updates!

As you can see, we are updating our blog as we speak! With the season getting ready to smother us, the blog will be getting busier and we wanted an easy way for our readers to locate exactly what is was they were looking for - easily and quickly!

In the side bar on the right hand side of the page you will find a section entitled "Labels". Click on any category you are interested in and "Voila!" the blogger gods will take you to a page with only the posts related directly to that topic! How cool is that?!

Want to watch all our Prequels without searching the archives? Click Prequels, grab a belly wash, kick back and enjoy! (Make sure you have the latest version of Flash player installed!)

Want a Baby Story? Click Baby Story for samples as we add them!

See something cool you want to mail to friends or family? Click on "email this post" at the bottom of the post and go for it!

More changes, updates, and announcements coming soon! Keep in touch!
Steph

FCP goes FCP!

OK, OK, so it's Tuesday and not Monday, sorry, things have been hectic around here.

Well, the transition is starting.

Fat Cat Productions has finally gone Final Cut Pro! It's new editing software to go with our new Mac :)

It showed up yesterday in a box weighing 20 pounds filled with books and discs. Barry was up half the night installing and playing with the new program and it's features. Hopefully it won't slow us down too much with learning the new software, but there is a learning curve with everything. Barry will be learning first as I continue editing weddings with our current software, Sony Vegas, then he gets to teach me sometime down the road.

"So what does that have to do with me?" you ask, if you are a current or future bride of FCP...

What it means to you, in combination of getting a Mac, is hopefully better render times (in brides terms, that's the computer saving the files of your wedding into something usable to put on a disc for you to enjoy!), which in turn we hope will mean a little bit faster delivery time. The Mac will allow us less crashes of the computer so we can edit uninterrupted on your wedding allowing you to enjoy it a bit sooner than you are now. That is the plan anyhow. It will take a little time to get going so please bear with us as we make the switch and learn the ropes. In the long run, it will help workflow.

As for how your wedding will look, that will remain unchanged, and if not, it will only make your wedding look better, with better slo-mo filters and better integration with other software programs we use for color correction and the like. Never fear, Fat Cat Productions will treat your wedding as we always have, with care and attention to detail so you can enjoy your memories for years to come!

Lots changing here latley! We'll keep you posted on the latest developments as they come! Check back with us to see our latest adventures!

There's a Mac in the House!

Well, we have a new addition at FCP...
It's big, it's red, and it's LOUD!
It's actually 5 and a half months old...
The newest addition is a Greenwing MACaw :)
And you thought I was talking about a computer! HA!
Louie is the newest critter at our place and we just love him. Very sweet and adorable. He is the largest macaw at our place and the second largest of the macaw species with a wing span of 4 feet when fully grown! The next time you are all at our place, hopefully you will get a chance to meet him!

Ok. Ok.
There's more news.

We crumbled.

We crumbled like a stale crunchy cookie.

There actually is a Mac in the house, a real Mac :) Yep, like of the computer variety.

We'd had our fill of one of the PC's crashing when we need to get projects out so we decided it was a good as time as any to update to a Mac. OK, Jeff we eat our words...this seems to be just the beginning of a slow cross-over at our place. As painfully as we hate to admit it. We will see how everything goes in the coming weeks and keep you posted. Although it did help that I was sold on the operating system named Tiger and Leopard and such and the internet browser is called Safari. It's just up Critter Alley here! (Ask Barry it's how he sold me on my current vehicle! "Oh, you can haul the dog where ever you want" - SOLD!)

The next update comes Monday! Watch for more exciting news here at FCP!
Steph

Luck O' the Irish to Kayla & Austin!

Yesterday, St. Patrick's Day, we had the pleasure of working with Kayla & Austin! The wedding was held at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Wichita. They hired us to film their wedding last year and we began to get to know them well ahead of the wedding when we filmed their Love Story at the end of the summer! Under a blanket of secrecy we went about planning the day of filming. The Story was meant as a surprise for the family and guests to be shown at the wedding reception- and they were surprised, many family and friends did not know the couple actually met through the Internet!

Kayla and Austin chose to see each other before the ceremony, and after getting ready separately at the church, Kayla was allowed into the sanctuary to see her Groom for the first time since the rehearsal. Tears of happiness for both flowed as they realized their Day had finally arrived!

All the photos were taken before the ceremony by Brett Schauf of T&J Studios, Inc. He was accompanied by his wife and an assistant to capture some great shots of the day! Austin had a surprise of his own when he arrived, a John Deere Tractor! (Just for photos, he unfortunately didn't get to drive it home!)

After a beautiful candle lit ceremony, the couple received an Irish Blessing for St. Patrick's Day (a date chosen specifically by Austin) and they finished a few pictures in Riverside Park at the reflecting pool before heading off for their reception at The Petroleum Club in a bright yellow '57 Chevy!

It was a great party, full of Kayla and Austin's closest friends and family. DJ'd by Mark Mazur of Signature Sound and Hosted by Kathy, who as always does an outstanding job of keeping the events of the evening flowing!

Kayla & Austin bid farewell in a stretch limo to stay the night at a local Bed and Breakfast before heading off for their honeymoon at WALT DISNEY WORLD!

Watch their Wedding Movie Prequel below! Thanks to Brett Schauf of T&J Studios for the great photo!
Congratulations Kayla & Austin, thank you for letting Fat Cat Productions be a part of your day and capturing your memories!

"Yahoo!"

Another Welcome Home!

It was another fun day at Mid-Continent Airport! As some of you know, the Engagement Proposal that is posted in our online Gallery of a Marine to his girlfriend is my sister Allyson and her fiance, Aaron. Aaron proposed just a few weeks before he was to deploy to Iraq. He has been gone about 8 months. Two weeks ago Ally flew to North Carolina where he is stationed to welcome her fiance home and today, they came back home to Wichita!

Tons of family and friends gathered at the ramp with homemade signs and American flags, many of the kids donning camo-patterned clothing or red, white and blue! They waited anxiously as the flight was slightly delayed. A KAKE News crew showed up at the request of a family member.

While we waited we saw two other soldiers (unknown what branch) saying goodbye to their families, not sure if they were headed to war or another base somewhere but several people commented on the contrast of the occassion- one family saying goodbyes and ours gaining excitement as the plane neared bringing Aaron and Ally home!

When the announcement was made that the flight had landed, everyone lined up just in time to see them walk down the ramp, with Aaron in his dress blues. Cheers rang out with applause and the kids waved their flags. After they greeted all family and friends Aaron took a moment to visit an elderly gentleman who asked to watch when he found out what all the hoopla was for, he was a retired Marine himself. My dad had pushed his wheelchair all the way up to the front of the group with the rest of our families.
Aaron gave a short interview with the news crew before gathering his bags and they walked out of the terminal on the way to Carlos O"Kelly's for lunch with many friends and family.

Ally and Aaron will be married July 27th in Wichita in a military wedding, watch the blog for their prequel this summer! (Who did you think was going to do the video!?)
Welcome home Marine Voshell!

Take a moment to watch the excitement!

Welcome Home to Our Troops!

Yesterday, I got a real treat! First, a little background-

A few months ago we received a phone call from a former Bride, Ashley Raney, telling us she frequents our site and saw a proposal on our site we filmed, by a Marine to his girlfriend just prior to his deployment to Iraq (That's my sister by the way!) Ashley stated it gave her an idea...she called to say her husband Andrew had volunteered to go to Iraq a few months prior. We knew he had been part of the Kansas Air National Guard, but didn't expect a deployment for him 1 yr. after their wedding. Ashley asked if we would be interested in filming her husband returning home at Mid-Continent Airport whenever it happened. "Of course! We would be honored!" I said. Although Ashley did warn me she did not know exactly when he would return home and we could have very short notice.

The call from Ashley finally came the 27th stating Andrew would be home at 5:10 pm yesterday! She said her face hurt from smiling so much! So we charged batteries in the camera and got everything ready.

When I walked into Mid-Continent yesterday at 4:30, the first thing I noticed was area members of the Patriot Guard getting large US Flags ready. We have a dear friend who is in the Patriot Guard and I stopped to say hello and grab a hug! Thanks for coming Glen! I waited at the ramp for Ashley to arrive shortly after. She visited with friends from her husbands group and spouses waiting for their loved ones, too. All three TV news channels were present as well as the newspaper. Area school children attended with balloons, US flags, homemade signs and red, white and blue carnations for the troops that they had written to over the last 7 months. They wanted to meet the heroes they had corresponded with and welcome them home.

The plane landed early and about ten after 5 pm, cheers rang out as family members and friends saw their loved ones from the 184th Security Forces Squadron walking down the ramp! Ashley couldn't contain herself and threw herself at Andrew, not letting go for about 5 minutes solid! It was really great. All the soldiers from his unit had big smiles on their faces! The Patriot Guard saluted and formed a long line all the way to baggage claim. A brief prayer followed welcoming home our troops safe. Every member of the Patriot Guard made it a point to thank and welcome home each and every member of the unit.

I helped grab one of Andrew's bags and walked them out to their car (yup, I filmed, too!). Ashley asked me to take their picture, I gave them hugs and left for home with a big smile on my face!
We got some great footage of this very important day of their lives on film! We will be editing a short piece in the coming weeks documenting Ashley's thoughts the last 7 months and a testimonial for Fat Cat Productions, and post that when it is completed.

You can see Andrew and Ashley on the news here. Andrew is the first troop you see :)

Thank you Ashley for contacting us, it was awesome seeing you guys again and welcome home Staff Sergeant Andrew Raney!