Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Changing Times....

Well everyone, it has been a whirlwind for us here at Fat Cat over the last 8 years. We 'officially' began our business back in 2002 but had been doing video work for longer than that. We started out Part Time making "extra money" on the side until the workload got to be so big that we took the business Full Time, trading it in from my employment as a Paramedic after 14 years. What a change that was! We shared a beautiful studio with T&J Studios in Valley Center for almost 2 years...then, economic times changed in the world and we again had to move our business back to Part Time and I had to regain Full Time employment elsewhere back in the medical community.

This lead to another path- I started Nursing School earlier this year and am excited for it to be done at years end! But now the time has come for a change- again. We have been receiving quite a few emails and phone calls lately inquiring about our availability to film weddings in the 2011 season. As much as we have thoroughly enjoyed our time filming weddings and meeting SO MANY wonderful brides and grooms and their families, we have had to make a difficult decision for our business. With our change in our Full Time employment status this year and coming this December/January as well, Fat Cat currently will not be accepting any 2011 weddings at this time. We will still continue with our love for filming and cinematography by completing Love Stories for the wedding day and Baby Stories (a few of which are in the works currently for this fall) and other smaller projects such as our recent work with the Fire Department, local schools and Hutchinson Community College Paramedic Program.

There were several reasons behind this decision and we deeply apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment this may cause to our "future" brides we have not had the pleasure of even meeting! We have a few more weddings this year to attend with some awesome brides still, so a few more prequels to come for you to enjoy in the wedding department. We hope to share other work with you in the future as the business takes on a new change. It has been a huge part of our lives and we are not sure where new roads will lead us, only time will tell. Steph

Monday, August 09, 2010

Meister- Dopfel !!!

This past weekend, on the 7th of August, we were able to spend the day with Hilary and Nicholas for their wedding. The day not only went by in a blur for the couple, but for Fat Cat as well! We first met up with the bride and groom at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to film the preparations. The bride was running slightly late, but I truly have never seen anyone as relaxed and calm as she was when shortened on time. No concerns, no worries, no stress. Even when asked about all the traditional new, old, borrowed and blue items, she realized she had nothing old or borrowed. She simply replied "I'm not worried, I doubt it will curse me". Not a care in the world! She was ready to be married and ready to go! I believe she was ready in record time as well wearing a striking Maggie Sattero gown from Uniquely You Bridal. Strapless, lace up back, with a short lace train and embelishments across a belted waist and simple and elegant tiara with veil. The ladies wore classic black strapless gowns with lace overlay on the bodice. Barry spent his time with the groom and groomsmen making sure that the couple did not run into each other prior to the ceremony! They took as many photos as time allowed for separately before the ceremony.
At 2pm the doors to the back of the church swung open to welcome Hilary and her Dad into the sanctuary for the ceremony in front of approximately 150 friends and family. The mothers of the couple shared readings, and Fr. Mainzer from Newton was the officiant, being a long time friend of the family. It was a full mass to celebrate their new life together and the couple left with guests blowing bubbles on their way to the stretch limo.
We then met up with the couple again at the reception hall, Tallgrass Country Club that was beautifully decorated with Hilary's colors of a maroon, pink and black. A very awesome color scheme I might add! Chairs were adorned with chair covers and at the head table, they were embroidered with "Mr. and Mrs. Dopfel". The couple snuck away after arriving to grab some quick photos on the golf course before being introduced into the room as husband and wife! They were truly happy and enjoyed greeting all their guests. The cake was amazing as well and the grooms cake was simply cool as cool gets, a small airplane with the tail numbers of the grooms actual plane! Very cool.
After dinner, the couple shared their first dance together which was beautifully choreographed- the crowd went wild! Great job guys! The remainder of the night included toasts, parents dances, the boquet and garter tosses and just plain fun. It was alot of fun to hang out with Nicholas and Hilary and we wish them all the happiness and joy that can come their way to do so!
Check out their wedding day prequel below! Enjoy!