OPEN HOUSE!

Open House for brides and grooms who are still looking for their vendors for their 2009 weddings will be held Sunday, February 8th, 2009 from 1pm - 5pm at Studio 142 in Valley Center.

The address is 142 S. Meridian, Valley Center, 67147 for those google maps folks!

We will be having wedding movies playing in the Fat Cat Productions Blu-ray Theater and photography albums will be on display by T&J Studios, we will also have a few other vendors there for you to visit with one on one! Jubilations Events for all your event planning, Accent Mobile Music and Another Dimension DJ will also join us along with the Wild Geranium florist! Meet some previous brides of these vendors so you can ask them questions about how their special day flowed with these vendors!

We will provide snacks and of course, the best part being the admission fee- IT'S FREE! Just bring your smile and your questions for our vendors. There will be plenty of one on one time and all vendors will be available for booking for your event.

Hurry out! It's going to be a fun time! RSVP to openhouse at fatcatrocks.com!

Bridal Show Madness!

We spent the last few days preparing for the Bridal Show that is happening this weekend. Today was day one of two and it was CRAZY busy!
It was awesome. Everyone was having a great time exploring all the vendor booths and striking up some wonderful deals with the vendors! We had a lot of interest for our open dates in '09, so if you haven't made it down yet, please come and see us Sunday, January 11th, 2009 at Century II. We are on the first wall aisle as you enter the building. Doors open at Noon and close at 5pm.

Sign up for prizes and have a great Sunday afternoon planning for your day! We would love to meet you! It's not too late!
SG

New Years Pulse Check!

Hello one and all! HAPPY 2009!
We apologize for the slow blog at the end of 2008 but its been an extremely busy time just as it is for everyone. So we figured we'd better do a pulse check to let everyone know we are still here!

Just to get everyone up to date we'll fill you in briefly on all what's been going on the last month of '08.

After Tia and Tim's wedding in early November, we had no more weddings to shoot the remainder of the year and so are trying to take time to try and unravel the edit queue black hole.

In the meantime, home life has spun crazily out of control it seems with a new puppy arriving mid November from Florida. Rudy the Rottweiler is our newest addition to the canine pack and that made for 11 critters in the house. He was the replacement to the Rottie we lost about a year ago (Bruno) that we blogged about in the fall of '07. Having a new puppy around is always hectic, many nights of interrupted sleep and the usual chewing anything in sight and trying to keep up with NASCAR laps around the couch. Rudy gets to come to the studio with me since we are still potty training and he has gotten to meet many people! Stop in to see him!

Over the last several months, Hannibal, our German Shepherd had taken a turn for the worse with some health issues he had dealt with for some time. It got so bad that on a Friday, we had planned on taking him to the vet the following Monday to say goodbye. He didn't quite make it and we ended up making an unscheduled trip to the emergency vet clinic around midnight that Saturday to let him go. It was just horrible but the right thing to do for my best buddy. He was 11.5 years old and was an amazing animal. He was my first real dog when Barry and I were married and we spent insane amounts of time together training for Search and Rescue missions locally. Those are my fondest memories and I will always be grateful to him teaching me just about everything I know about dogs right now. He was always forgiving and always willing to do ANYTHING I asked of him. Never fearful, always a go getter and noble guy. So we are back down to 10 critters sharing our home.

So as the tears began to dry from losing my boy, the new puppy kept us so busy it seems we didn't hardly have time to grieve and then Clarice, the Australian Shepherd became ill and we spent more time at our vets office. She is slowly on the mend! :) Boy, when it rains it pours.

Then the Holidays arrived and it was time to finish up as many weddings as possible for delivery for the festivities! We had a nice time with our families and got to see my sister and her husband in town from North Carolina! Allyson is my Assistant Editor for weddings as some of you might remember and she's doing a great job. She works remotely for me from her home and it has been wonderful to finally start catching up in the queue a little bit. We are gaining a few months on delivery times this winter if all goes well! More info on her later and we will post some of her edits here (as time allows!)

Barry has been busy taking pre-requisite online courses for his nursing degree and hopes to be into full swing in the nursing Bridge program through Hutchinson Community College and the Kansas Board of EMS by 2010. 1 more year! He's holding an awesome 4.0! YAY! When its all said and done, I just may finish mine as well.

Speaking of Hutchinson Community College, we also finished a television broadcast version of the Field Operations Documentary we did for them in '07 and filmed the Pinning Ceremony of the Class of 2007 at the Kansas Cosmosphere! It was very impressive. The speakers took their places on a replica space shuttle wing high above the guests who were seated in the main lobby underneath the SR-71 fighter jet. Way cool. HCC rocks.

Just as the Holidays were coming to an end, we were busy helping Barry's mother downsize and move to an apartment at a retirement community. That has been an emotional stressor as well as physical, but we are very happy for her and hopefully the remainder of the move will continue to go well.

We are wrapping up time we spent with our college intern, Michelle as she returns for the spring semester. She helped keep our heads above water in the edit queue this fall. We have also updated the website for weddings and corporate work this fall and are also feverishly working on our new demo for the upcoming bridal fair.
It has been such a whirlwind last 2 months, its almost scary to think about! :)
We wish each and every one of you a prosperous, safe and happy 2009! Come see us at the bridal fair January 10th and 11th at Century II!!!

God Bless.

SG

"GO FIND, HANNI!"

Benyshek Prequel Online!

It's a little late in the evening, but the last scheduled prequel of the year is "really" up! I had a last minute corporate job slow me down this afternoon, but we're good to go now! Scroll to the Leach-Benyshek post to find it! I do need to make a slight correction. I stated in the post that Tia had about 5,000 rose petals scattering the aisle of the church as she decorated. And I thought for only a brief moment that it sure looked like alot more but didn't think anything of it (as I'd never counted that many petals before!) until Tia gently reminded me on facebook :) that there were really THIRTY THOUSAND petals scattered about! Wow! staggering, but it looked so pretty!
Enjoy! Be sure to leave us your thoughts on the comments link!!!!!!!!!

New Prequel Coming 11-18-08!

Just a note to let you know the long-awaited Benyshek prequel will be online tomorrow! We'll post as soon as it goes LIVE! Thanks for the patience with all the anticipation! SG

Junior Reading Circle

We had a fun afternoon yesterday. We were asked to host one of the meetings for the Junior Reading Circle from Newton. It's president, Barbara Bunting, is the mother of one of our brides, Molly Claassen. She had asked us a few months ago to speak to her group about how our business may be simialr to the theme they had for the year- Madonna. It was an interesting day, we were able to share some of our work, including Molly's Prequel and talk about how music influences our business and such.

The Junior Reading Circle I learned is a group of women that meet once a month to discuss a variety of topics -and they don't actually read! :) The group is 100 years old and it originally began as a reading group but has evolved through the years. There was an awesome variety of members with very different and unique backgrounds. Topics vary for their group and it is a learning opportunity for them, educational and social in nature. I believe the ladies had a great time, and we know we did :) After our talk Barry gave a brief tour of the studio and the ladies then had business minutes to tend to. One of the hostesses provided a great spread of refreshments- and the pumpkin bread was awesome! Thanks, Christine!

The afternoon really was a lot of fun, thanks to Barbara for having the group at our place! Stop in any time!

Leach - Benyshek

This past weekend we had a wonderful time at the wedding of Tia & Tim! We met Tia early in the year when they booked our most popular package, a Love Story package, and we got to know them pretty well through the planning of that.
I met Tia at Eric Fisher Salon out east on Saturday morning where she was in the best mood! Not a care in the world- so relaxed. Some of her bridesmaids also attended to get their hair styled for the day. Tia chose not to do a complete updo, but rather pulling the sides up and back with a cool twist on the top. The rest of her hair was left long and flowing with lots of curls and just a little it of bling, a classy barrette, no tiara. Afterwards we met back up at the church, University Congregational in east Wichita. Tia was enjoying herself spreading out cream colored rose petals on the front steps and lining the main aisle of the sanctuary with 5,000+ pink, white and cream colored petals!
Tim was sequestered to the basement with the groomsmen while they got dressed and started their formal photos first so that he would not see Tia prior to the ceremony.
Tia waited with her bridesmaids in the bridal parlour getting dressed. She chose a gorgeous white lace-covered strapless dress and comfortable slippers! The ladies wore tan dresses which went great with the floral arrangements of cream and pink. The flower girls were so adorable wearing angel wings as they came down the aisle!!!
Aubrey Rowden from Missouri was the couple's photographer and she took as many photos ahead of time as she could.
The ceremony went off without a hitch and was short and sweet, or as Tia and Tim said "Was it really over that fast!?" After the couple exchanged vows and lit their unity candle, the guests seated at the inner aisle's found small sachets of rose petals to toss at the couple as they exited the church. They left the church in a black stretch limo but returned to finish photos as the guests left for Andover and the reception at Terradyne Country Club.
When the bride and groom arrived, they were introduced by John Graves of Totally Legal Sound and Lighting, who also did a fabujous job of adding some great ambiance to the reception. There was pink uplighting along the walls which added so much depth and character to the room and the couple had a monogram made to project onto the dance floor. There were so many special touches through the day and into the reception, Tia and Tim had thought of everything.
The cake was huge and had several long ribbons proturuding from it. After the cutting of the cake, the bridesmaids each pulled on a ribbon which pulled a pendant from inside the cake stating different fortunes for them.
A candy "bar" loaded with sugary treats kept everyone on a sugar high all night (including the videographer), the room of guests were split in half and each side had to sing for their dinner. Tim and Tia also had crossword puzzles about themselves at each place setting and baskets full of flip flops for the guests to take home.
Another special treat was the Montage and Love Story that was played that Tim and Tia kept as a well guarded secret up until the reception, which also led right into their first dance, which was a choreographed ballroom dance! Tia also had a choreographed dance with her father and a bridesmaid sung the song live. Tim danced a traditional dance with his mother.
The party soon followed and culminated with a send off with the biggest sparklers I'd ever seen! 4-minute sparklers which had to be a good two feet long ignited the night as the couple ran through the tunnel of sparks to their awaiting car.
Tim and Tia- What a fabulous day. We really had a wonderful time getting to know you, please stay in touch- it's so great when work doesn't feel like work! We are proud to call you friends and hope you have a fabulous time on your honeymoon.

Next Prequel Online Now!

It's been a prequel day...Scroll down to find not only the Tierson prequel but the Kiesling's prequel as well! Lauren asked for their first dance song in the prequel, we rather like it! :)

Be sure to click on comments and let us know what you think and sign up for the blog to your right! It's free and we won't bug you (too often!)

Psst! Fat Cat. Pass it on.

New Prequel Online!

The Austin-Tierson prequel is finally online now! Check it out at their post below. A fun prequel for a fun couple. Be sure to leave us your comments! Stay tuned for one more prequel due up today!!!

New FCP Website Goes Live Now!

As promised, the new website for Fat Cat is now finally online! (Sorry it's about a week late as posted previously! We were very busy assisting at a photography workshop here all week!) Several weeks ago you may have noticed our web page taking a slight turn to corporate work, which we do also, and wedding information was a little tough to find- but rest assured we haven't forgotten about our brides! Quite the contrary~ the new web site, which you will need the latest version of Flash to view, can be found at http://www.fatcatrocks.com/ . Your browser will load a splash page allowing you to choose one of four options- wedding, our blog, announce my child or corporate.

The majority of our readers enter through the wedding site. Our corporate site, FCMG, will now be directed to http://www.fatcatmediagroup.com/ and linked through the main splash page. AMC resides on the splash page as well as http://www.announcemychild.com/ !

There are a few minor tweaks that will be taking care of in the coming days, and of course it will always be a work in progress! So go grab a cup of hot cocoa, curl up with a warm blanket and your favorite furry critter and check it out- we even have some new samples in the gallery! (Ya, for real!)

Palmer-Kiesling Wedding!

Apologizing once again for a late post! This past weekend we had the amazing experience of spending the day with a whole group of wonderful people for the wedding of Lauren and Brad. Lauren lives in Washington DC and called us nearly a year ago to inquire about wedding videography and was referred to us by our friends, Eric and Neal, of Lemon-Lime Photography out of Kansas-City. We met tham last year at a wedding we did in Missouri and were excited to have the opportunity to work with them again! Lauren and Brad were an absolute DELIGHT to work with all day and Eric, Neal, Barry and I came away with some great pictures and fun footage. There were absolutely no worries all day and Lauren was one of the most relaxed brides I've seen. Even a hole in the veil, her something "borrowed" didn't dampen her spirits!

We met everyone at the Cathedral downtown and documented the bride and grooms preparations. Everyone looked beautiful! Flowers were provided by Stems and added that perfect touch. Lauren wore a fitted dress with a wrapped/pleated bodice that was quite elegant. She kept jewelry to a minimum but was given a surprise by her husband to be, gorgeous diamond earrings.

They chose not to see each other prior to the ceremony and took as many photos as they could in the courtyard and then headed inside about 2 pm for the ceremony. A close friend, Fr. John Koziol, from Washington DC came to celebrate the marriage ceremony. This made it very personal and special for the couple. Afterwards they made their way through a stream of bubbles to a waiting porsche which Brad zipped them away in!

After zipping around the block, they returned to the sanctuary for some group shots and the Unified Party Bus awaited them for a crazy downtown urban shoot in Oldtown! I went along for the fun. Eric and Neal had some great poses and candid shots they captured and I was amazed at some of the killer lighting techniques they used which seems to be one of their trademarks. After the bridal party stopped in to Heroes Sports Bar for a quick Brew, it was time to board the bus and head East to Tallgrass Country Club for the reception. The couple had hired The Mikey Needleman Band from Kansas City and they were a phenominal three man show all night long! A beautiful choreographed ballroom dance to "The Luckiest" was the couples first dance and all the traditions followed. Laurens sorority and Brads fraternity serenaded Lauren during the night and you felt as if you were at a concert choir, it was really something. It was such a great time, we didn't really want to leave!

Thanks so much to Lauren and Brad for trusting us with their special day, you are an awesome couple perfect for one another and we were so thrilled to spend the day with you. Thank you so so much.

Click below to see the Kiesling's wedding day prequel!! We'll try to swipe some photos from Lemon-Lime as well!

New Prequel Online!

The newest prequel is up for your viewing pleasure! The Newby-Dugan Prequel is now online! Scroll down to their blog post to check it out! Congratulations Sarah and Brent! Coming soon, the Austin-Tierson prequel! Stick around!

Austin-Tierson Wedding!

This past weekend we were able to film the wedding of Amy and Randy. What a neat couple. Down to earth, gracious and a lot of fun. We first met Amy and Randy many months ago when they scheduled their wedding locally but later found out the reception site was double booked so had to move their wedding and their party one week away from the origianl date and to a new location. They decided on a beautiful place we'd not been in 6 years of wedding work- The Belle Plain Arboretum. What a neat place. Very wooded and natural, quiet and secluded. The owner, Robin Macey was fabulous to work with and we had a great time with her, too. The wedding took place on a rustic log stage in an open meadow surrounded by huge pine trees and other fauna. Robin described it well, "this is a stage, its a classroom, and it's a chapel of God".

Amy arrived to get dressed shortly after lunch with her bridesmaids. The bridesmaids wore classic red strapless dresses and high heels, clutches of flowers were natural and deep fall colors from Brown's Botanicals. Amy's dress was white strapless with red accents across the bodice and down the train in the back. It was also unique in a sense that her neice, the flower girl, wore an exact replica, only smaller :)

After a few last minute jitters, Amy was ready to walk down the open aisle lined with red rose petals to her groom, Randy. Barry had been with the guys earlier as they prepared and got dressed and he said Randy was ready to go for sure! I think it was a big relief off Amy's shoulders when she was finally able to see her husband for the first time. About 150 close friends and family sat in rows of white chairs to witness their vows and support them as they started their new lives together. A string quartet serenaded them throughout the ceremony. When they were pronounced as husband and wife, the couple and the bridal party lined up at the rear of the meadow for a receiving line to thank all their guests prior to heading to the reception.

The reception was back in Wichita at the Beech Activity Center where Amy had great table decor with red accents and something I had not seen before, an all red wedding cake! The groom was not to be left out, the grooms cake was a tribute to a past canine friend, Jasmine, so very cool. The guest book took its place by the entrance door along with a handmade quilt which the guests also left well wishes with permanent marker.

All the usual activities followed, dinner, cutting of cake, the toasts, first dance, parents dances and the boquet and garter tosses. Then they were on to party and everyone had a good time, the DJ was great with playing as many requests as possible for the guests and kept the atmosphere lively and upbeat all night long. Amy and Randy enjoyed visiting with all their guests and were excited to finally be husband and wife. We share the sentiment as well. Amy had spent alot of time on other details of the day and party favors. The programs were hand made fans for the outdoor ceremony, they had homemade sugar cookies as snacks and passed out heart shaped cookie cutters with accompanying recipe and artsy boxes full of cinnamon discs!

Randy and Amy, thank you so much for choosing us to film your wedding, we had a great time, what a relaxing day for us. We enjoyed meeting everyone and hope we can work with your family in the years to come. Congratulations on your wedding and good luck as you start your new life together, we wish you both the best!

Thank you to Charlene Duncan of Charlene Duncan Photography for the photographs!!! Click the flash player below to view the Tierson's wedding day prequel. A fun prequel for a fun couple!

Pursley-Johnson Prequel Online Now!

After a much anticipated wait, the Vanessa and Cory Johnson Prequel is now online! You can check it out by scrolling down to their post. Be sure to strike up the comments section, let us know what you think. Look for more stunning images of Vanessa later this month on T&J Studios website, as she will be one of the fabulous models for the Keepnitfresh workshop featuring Cory McNabb!

New Info!

Hey everybody! A few bits of info...

Just wanted to drop a line to you to let you know the Pursley-Johnson prequel is complete but won't be online until tomorrow...one more day, boo.... hang in there!

And speaking of online and the internet stuff, after a year long wait and much anticipation, we wanted to let you know that a brand new web site is coming soon to the wedding division of Fat Cat Productions this weekend! You may have noticed our current homepage at http://www.fatcatrocks.com/ has taken a slight business/corporate twist. That's because we aren't just weddings! If you or someone you know owns a small business and needs video content for web, digital signage, in lobby videos, marketing or promotional videos, or otherwise, give them a shout and let Fat Cat do the rest!

Our sister site http://www.announcemychild.com/ also has a new look- check it out and pass the word on to your friends and family that are expecting that little bundle of joy! In the meantime, sign up to be included on our mailing list for blog updates to your right (it's free and we won't bug you or sell your email address!) Don't you HATE that?

Rumor has it that October is a busy month for spring and summer bookings for the upcoming year, don't be left out in the cold so to speak without a document of your wedding day on video- call us soon to check availability for your date!

We will post as soon as the new wedding site is up and running for you to check out- it's TOO cool. We are pretty excited.

Later!

Newby-Dugan Wedding!

Last weekend, we were able to share the day with Sarah and Brent, a fabulous couple. When Brent popped the question to his girlfriend about a year ago, they decided to hire a videog-

rapher for their wedding and called us. We were thrilled to work with the Dugan's again and to get to know the Newby's. (We had filmed Brent's sister's wedding about 3 years ago) About 2 months ago we filmed Sarah and Brent's Love Story that they showed during the reception, and when we get two minutes to breathe around here, we'll try to post it! But that was a very fun day where we got to know Sarah and Brent a little better and so it was a fun, relaxing day when it came time for the wedding!

Sarah also hired Marcia Morrison and we had a good time hanging out together! Her photos are featured in this blog post. I started the day with Sarah at Sola Salons in west Wichita while she got her hair done and hung out with a few of her friends and bridesmaids. I don't believe there was a single hair on Sarah's head that wasn't curled! Before I left, Sarah shared a special story with me about her "something old" for her wedding day. An aunt hand made a purse for her made with replica lace of her wedding dress and a few pieces of Sarah's grandmothers wedding gown! It matched Sarah's attire perfectly and Sarah was able to "carry" a part of her grandmother with her during the wedding day. Afterwards, I met her at the church where Barry was documenting the grooms' preparations at St. Mary's Cathedral in downtown Wichita. Sarah was in good spirits as she and her bridesmaids got dressed and ready for photos. Sarah's gown, I can say, was one of the most stunning we've seen. Sarah found her dress in Oklahoma City. It was a Priscilla of Boston. Alencon lace with swarovski crystal beading adorned Sarah and fit her perfectly.

After everyone was ready, Sarah met Brent for the first time in the courtyard and took as many photographs with Marcia as they could prior to the ceremony. It was a gorgeous day, not too hot, not too cool. The ceremony started at 2 pm and it was a special celebration with Sarah's uncle being a priest, he was the officiant. Brent and Sarah had a full mass celebrating communion together with all their guests.

After they were announced as husband and wife, the guests made their way outside the main steps of the Cathedral and grabbed handfuls of pink rose petals to shower the newlyweds with. It was absolutely gorgeous and the ground looked as if it were colored pink after the couple exited on the trolley to take more photographs off site!

After photos, we met the couple at the Dugan Library at Kansas Newman College at a packed house for the reception and dance. All of the traditional events flowed smoothly with Mark Mazur acting as emcee for the evenings festivities. We were able to show the Love Story on two big screens the library provided and then Brent and Sarah kicked off the dancing with their first dance, special dances with their parents and then - PARTY TIME. I don't think the dance floor was ever empty- all night. Lots of happiness, laughter, smiles and hugs with family and friends proved to make a great combination for a wonderful night.

As you are reading, we might mention Sarah wanted to thank all of her friends and family that came such long distances to help her with pre-wedding day planning and also celebrate the day. You were an invaluable help and it showed with the day running so smoothly and beautiful!

Thank you to the Dugan and Newby families for having us be a part of the day, we had a wonderful time and enjoyed seeing old friends and making many new ones! Congratulations to Brent and Sarah on their marriage, new life together, and new home, what an exciting time, we are very happy for you!

Click below to watch Sarah and Brent's wedding day prequel!

Fat Cat Media Group and ExpoVenture 2008!

Fat Cat's not just weddings! Come on out Tuesday, September 23rd to ExpoVentrue 2008 sponsored by the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce at Century II Expo Hall! We'll be at Booth 1315 10 am to 6 pm promoting the non-wedding side of our business and making some great friends along the way. You might catch a glimpse of Steph and Barry hard at work, we'll be capturing scenes of the day for the Chamber to share with you at a later date. Come on down! SG

Madison-Brinckman Prequel Now Online!

Check out our newest prequel by scrolling below to find the Madison/Brinckman's video! Be sure to leave us your comments and sign up to receive information whenever we update the blog. (int he bar to your right) Click on "Subscribe". Don't worry- it's free! And we only bug you if there's something new online :) Enjoy!
Be sure to let your friends and family know we are booking into 2009 so don't delay in setting up a consultation with us before the popular dates are gone! There are some fall 2008 dates still available as well!

Pursley-Johnson Wedding

We apologize for posting late with all of the projects taking flight here at Fat Cat, but we need to fill you in on the great wedding of Vanessa and Cory we filmed over a week ago on September 6th!

Vanessa and Cory are an awesome couple. Vanessa started her day at East Heights United Methodist Church in east Wichita. She and her bridesmaids had all their hair and make up done when they arrived, so they needed very little time to don their dresses, do touch ups and assist Vanessa into her own dress. Classic strapless and fitted with buttons down the back and pleated bodice. She was incredibly elegant.

Vanessa chose to see Cory before the wedding to get many of her photos out of the way so they could have more time to party afterwards and after a few minor delays, she had her chance. Tim Davis was the photographer and together, we set up the first meeting in the sanctuary, clearing everyone out for their private moment. The groom stood at the steps of the altar facing forward and Vanessa proceeded down the aisle to meet him. Cory had a huge smile on his face, and we can only imagine what he might be thinking when she tapped him on the shoulder to signal him to turn around! Cory read aloud the card Vanessa presented to him and it was simply a great moment.

Tim worked quickly to get all the group photos taken prior to the ceremony and had time to spare! The sanctuary soon filled with guests and was almost full shortly before the wedding. We all took our places and enjoyed a very special ceremony celebrating not only their new lives together, but family. The bride entered the church alone and her groom met her in the aisle and escorted her to the front of the church. After the vows and exchange of rings they lit the unity candle and then invited their children to join them to light a second candle nearby and share a private prayer. After everyone took their places again, the pastor wasted no time in announcing them as husband and wife and they left the church past rows of their guests lined outside showering them with beautiful rose petals! The limo whisked them away to the reception!

We arrived at the Cowtown Visitors Center shortly before the bride and groom and the guests were enjoying cocktails. We captured the details with Tim while Tyler from Another Dimension DJ Service prepared to announce the couple to the party. Thunderous applause welcomed them!

The couple spent time saying hello and thanking each and every guest who attended throughout the night. The traditional events followed, dinner, cutting the cake and toasts. Cory and Vanessa even had party favors of personalized koozies that read "I partied at the Johnson Wedding 09.06.08" Too cool!

It was truly a fun night and so relaxing with such a great bride and groom. Thank you Cory and Vanessa for allowing us to capture your special day. We had a wonderful time spending the day with you and wish you every happiness together and your absolutely beautiful family and gorgeous children! You are undeniably perfect together.

The Johnson Prequel can be seen below!

Christmas Bells are Ringing!

Don't forget to plan ahead for Christmas with your holiday photomontages and VHS to DVD transfers of those old home movies! When you gather around the fireplace this December, make it easy to view those old Christmas memories by having Fat Cat transfer them to DVD for you! ...Yes, we do that, too :) Call us for more information! # 755.1389

Photo montages make great family gifts! What better gift than to give a memory.

Does your employer need the holiday Christmas party filmed to remember the awesome time you had? Are you the employer? Call us to schedule and we'll hook you up with a great party video you won't soon forget!

Geez, while we are at it, let's mention New Year's Parties, too! Fat Cat- we're not just weddings! :)

Meow.

BABY FARE!

If you are expecting or know someone who is, don't sit around watching it rain this weekend. Grab a rain coat and head downtown to Century II and the 2008 Baby Fare! Fat Cat Productions will be sharing information about our sister site http://www.announcemychild.com/ ! This division of Fat Cat produces baby stories and video birth announcements to remember that very special time of a baby's new arrival to the world! ....No, we don't film the actual birth :) Check it out at the link above!!!

There will be many booths catering to moms and tots, so come on down!

Hills- Clark Prequel Online!

The Allyson and Matt Clark Prequel is now online! You can check it out by scrolling to their post to check it out! Enjoy!

Madison/Brinckman Wedding: A Destination Wedding

This past Labor Day Weekend, we headed west to Denver, Colorado for the wedding of Candace and Marcus. We first met Candace at a wedding of one of her friends here locally and she called to see about her own wedding video and if we traveled to Denver. Of course! She had also not picked a photographer at the time but soon chose T&J Studios here in Valley Center. Candace had been planning this wedding for quite some time and her husband wanted a wedding in the mountains. Although this did not pan out for them, they chose to add an eXtreme session in Rocky Mountain National Park the day after the wedding to get the mountain shots they had hoped for originally. So it was great fun traveling with our friends Tyff and Jeff.

We drove out Thursday and got a good nights rest prior to the Friday rehearsal we all attended. We reviewed the days itinerary with the bride and groom and headed off to bed for an early start on the wedding day. Tyffany and I plugged directions into my new favorite toy, my iPhone, and off we went to Broomfield, Colorado to follow the ladies at Anthony's Salon. They all had a great time. Three stylists worked most the morning to make them all gorgeous. Tyff and I cut out early to get to the reception site, the Chateaux at Fox Meadows, to get some establishing shots and haul in some equipment. The guys were already there with Jeff and Barry documenting. The ladies wore hand made dresses by the mother of the bride. It was very interesting to hear about how the fittings went as many of the ladies lived out of town and the fittings took place long distance and through the mail! But it was worth it- they were gorgeous and the most unique bridesmaids dresses I've seen, and classy. Red, Black and Gold bold sweeping stripes. The bride wanted colors to coordinate with fall colors she had chosen. The bride wore white strapless, with intricate beadwork and a gorgeous train.

After everyone was ready, the bride and groom wanted to see each other before the ceremony and Marcus waited at the base of the grand staircase and was greeted by all the bridesmaids coming down the steps. He was given a gift from the bride by the last bridesmaid and he opened this prior to seeing Candace. It was a framed engagement photograph for their home and a CD player. He was istructed to hit "play", the music started and Candace made her way down the staircase, tears filling both thier eyes. It wa a very touching moment. Photographs followed at the Chateuax and then everyone loaded up again to head to the church in Longmont, Colorado about 30 minutes away.

The couple was married at First Evangelical Lutheran Church. It was a small, historical church and full of character with large wooden beams and pillars inside and beautiful stained glass work.

A friend of Marcus' from KU officiated and added a special humorous flair for the couple. He pronounced them for the first time as husband and wife and the couple left in an antique car to head back to the Chateaux for the reception.

Jeff and I rode together and followed the bride and groom to a new developing area on the way for some urban shots while Barry and Tyffany rode ahead to get shots of the guests at the Chateaux. When the couple arrived, every guest was on the front steps to greet them iwth noise makers and streamers.

The couple exited the car and made their way to the front steps as well for a picturesque dove release. They first head one dove each and released it into the air. Next, a carrier full of 12 were released to celebrate thier new lives together and another carrier of 12 followed in remembrance of those friends and family who could not be with them in celebrating. It was truly beautiful and one of the mot fun things we have done at a wedding!

The couple then finished a few photos outside and were announced into the reception for the BBQ dinner buffet and toasts. They cut the multi layered cake with fresh berries and shaved chocolate and headed to the dance floor for their first dance and parents dances. Then it was time for everyone to cut lose! The couple thoroughly enjoyed speaking to all their guests and thanking them for coming. It was a fabulous day for everyone.

We captured as much dance footage as we needed for the edits and said good night to Candace and Marcus. It was going to be a short night for everyone, as we were all to meet back up at the hotel lobby at 7 am the next day for the eXtreme session!

We stayed at the Omni Interlocken Resort and had an absolutely fabulous time there, customer service was absolutely impeccable. But it was short night, we recharged all batteries and I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow! When we met in the morning, Candace's hair was near perfect as it was the day before! We all grabbed a snack and headed north and west to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park for an awesome photo shoot at over 11,000 feet!

Candace had orginally wanted to get into one of the waterfalls at the end of the shoot but after Barry grabbed some shots with our underwater housing that plan quickly changed! :) I'm kind of glad, because it would have meant I had to get in the water, too to pull off the shots I envisioned! :) Maybe next time! It was just way too cold. But it was a nice thought! We still came away with some awesome shots and Tyff and Jeff got some amazing photographs as well.

Thank you to Candace and Marcus for your trust in us to capture your day, we thoroughly enjoyed every minute we spent with you guys. We love your families and your friends and fabulous. Your hospitality is second to none and we were honored to be in the mountians with you, thank you.

Fat Cat & the KSPVA Tour

We thought we would take a few moments to let you all know what has been happening again here at Fat Cat recently. Last night we hosted the Kansas Professional Videographers Association August meeting at the studio. About 20 of us met up at the Main Street Grill and Bar here in Valley Center for dinner, conversation and talking shop. Then we headed down the street to the studio to set up with our special guest, Larry Hatteburg, from the ABC affiliate KAKE-TV channel 10.

Mr. Hatteburg has spoken to our group once before earlier this year and everyone learned literally truckloads. Our favorite topic we wanted to pick his brain a bit more about was lighting techniques. So we invited Larry back and he graciously agreed to come back and share a sampling of his wealth of knowledge with us. Larry has been an award winning journalist for 41 years, so we will probably never know as much as he's forgotten over the years!

Larry brought alot of the equipment he uses on shoots for news and his series "Hatteburg's People" and explained how he uses each piece and how he works around difficult lighting situations. Then Barry hooked up a live feed from his camera to a TV monitor for us to view while he set up a typical interview setting for us see the differences in lighting set ups and camera settings and how they work together. It was amazing how such small changes in lighting can make a huge difference in your productions! We'll be sure to put to use many of his tips in future Love Stories, Baby Stories, and documentaries!

Thanks to the KSPVA for coming out for a studio tour, we enjoyed having everyone! And of course a huge thank you to Larry for being so willing to share with us and teach us, we appreciate all of the time you spent with us!

Fat Cat featured again!

We mentioned earlier that we were featured in the August issue of the trade magazine EventDV for our out of market weddings, which make up about 30% of our business currently. We also mentioned that we were going to be featured again about the state of video and the economy in September's issue. As we await the print version of the magazine this coming week, we thought we would post the video version of the article for you to enjoy. We were one of six video companies featured in the article. Each company was asked to submit a short video showcasing their studios and work. We were thrilled to be featured with such great folks in the industry, especially our friends in Southern California, Steve and Laura Moses, who we've mentioned in the previous blog entry! :) Go Steve, Go Laura! Let me know where I can find one of those high tech rapid transport systems! Here is the link if you'd like to check it out!

http://halslifervideo.typepad.com/blog/event-dv.html

More exciting news coming to Fat Cat so stay tuned!