The Wright-Weber Wedding

Say that ten times fast! Yesterday we spent the day with Kyleen and Ben.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day for the first part of June! Kyleen started her day at Botanica getting ready with her 8 bridesmaids. She had 4 hair stylists on site to help the ladies with their up-do's and everyone looked absolutely stunning. They completed their make up and got dressed wearing gorgeous strapless floor-length purple dresses. Kyleen wore a beautiful strapless gown herself with intricate beadwork and a layer of organza that fit her perfectly.
She chose to see Ben before the ceremony and had a portrait session with photographer, Marcia Morrison and her assistants. With not much time to spare the couple then headed to First Baptist Church in downtown Wichita for the ceremony. The church glowed with the altar nearly surrounded in candles. The flower girls were a big hit, walking a few steps and then stopping to throw rose petals. They were adorable in white sleeveless gowns with a bright purple sash. After the ceremony the couple were sent off by their guests through a cloud of bubbles!
The reception was held back at Botanica. The entire reception hall was filled with fresh flower arrangements at every table. The couple took a few minutes for more formal portraits with Marcia and then were introduced into the room. After the bride and groom cut the cake and toast to each other, Kyleen donned a white apron sporting an embroidered "Bride" on the front to 'christen' the chocolate fountain! They fed each other chocolate dipped strawberries- and the biggest strawberries I'd ever seen to date just for your information!
It was a very nice day for Kyleen and Ben, they had a chance to relax at the reception with many family and friends. Kyleen dedicated a song to her parents at the dance for their Anniversary the day before her and Ben's wedding and to thank them for all the work they had done to make their day so special.
Thanks Kyleen and Benjamin for letting us also spend the day with you, we've enjoyed getting to know you both very much!
Thanks to Marcia Morrison for the great photos for our blog post!

Smith- Hodge Wedding

What a day! We just returned from Melissa and Ryan's wedding tonight. The ceremony was held at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in northwest Wichita. The day started for Melissa about 8 am arriving at the church for various tasks, then she was off to lunch and to have her hair and make up done. We arrived shortly before 1 pm getting detail shots of the church, flowers, dress, etc. Melissa returned to the church about 1:30 pm to continue getting ready with her bridesmaids, mother and mother-in-law and four of the most adorable flower girls we have been around to date! Ryan was sequestered to the childrens nursery to get ready with his groomsmen.

Melissa wore a beautiful strapless gown with intricate beadwork on the top of the bodess and along the edge of the hem of the dress and train. It was the first dress she tried on when shopping and she's had it for nearly a year! It looked perfect. She chose to see Ryan before the ceremony for photos and they had a private moment together about 3 pm.

Guests poured into the sanctuary and the ceremony started shortly after 5 pm. Afterwards, the bride and groom released all the guests by row from the sanctuary and had a chance to say hello to many friends and family. The bride and groom left the church through a barrage of bubbles and took an awesome limo to the newly opened Keeper of the Plains on the Arkansas River for some quick photos before heading to the reception at Exploration Place.

Their last dance concluded at 10 pm and they were off to start their new lives together! They drove off in Ryan's pick up which surprisingly escaped shoe polish, streamers and tin cans tied to strings hanging off the hitch!

Ryan and Melissa, thank you so much for choosing us to document your wedding day, we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you both and your wonderful families! Enjoy yourselves in Hawaii and take lots of pictures and video because we want to see it when you get back!

Greensburg, Class of 2007

We just returned a short time ago from Greensburg, Ks. As everyone knows now, that is the town about 2 hours west of Wichita that suffered the EF5 tornado a few weeks ago on May 4th.

This was my second trip to Greensburg in two weeks.

The first trip was May 5th when I was called to assist in the search and rescue efforts with my search and rescue dog, Clarice. I felt I was helping in some small way and I hope it helped to set some people's mind at ease that we cleared areas and everyone had been accounted for. My dog was worked by another team member on the 6th as well as I stayed home tending to more business projects.

As I went about completing projects here the last few weeks, the town of Greensburg had a Commencement Ceremony they were planning with little notice and no school left to host the ceremony. Shortly before our wedding of Chase and Ashley yesterday, we received a phone call from the local DJ's Association here in town asking our Videography Association if someone could donate their time to film the graduation today. FCP was one of the few videographers available and we felt we needed to help more. We wanted to give the graduates something to take with them when everything or most everything they had before was lost.

Working off of 4 hours sleep and recharging batteries as fast as possible overnight, restocking camera bags with tape and charging remaining batteries on the way there, we made it in time this morning to clear security checkpoints, set up and film the ceremony for the 8th Grade Graduates and the Senior Class of 2007. Several Dignitaries were present giving what advice and encouragement they could. President Bush sent a letter of Congratulations which was read and a private reception followed for graduates, friends and family only, no press.

Those that set up the ceremony were very gracious to us and allowed us free reign to get shots of the class that national media was not allowed to get. Every student will receive a copy of the graduation when it is completed.

FCP would like to thank Mark Miles of VideoVisions for volunteering and assisting us by operating a third camera- thank you!

If you would like to help in the efforts at Greensburg, follow this link to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and see how you can help financially, by donations, or in other ways.

Congratualtions class of 2007!

The Wedding of Ashley & Chase!

We just finished up a wedding tonight for Ashley & Chase! Even though it was a long day, it was a great day! The day started early afternoon at Westlink Christian Church in northwest Wichita. Ashley arrived with her bridesmaids to get their nails, hair and make up done clad in hot pink flip flops to match the bridesmaids dresses-and get ready for the day. Ashley was very excited but a calm and hospitable bride who accomodated our every request to get great shots of her throughout the day! Her biggest worry of the day was deciding which pair of four sets of earrings to wear! For the record, her final choice was striking, classy and perfect in every way! She wore a stunning strapless fitted gown with an elegant train.

Ashley and Chase chose to see each other before the wedding and had a private moment a few hours before the wedding. They then took a variety of pictures with Tyffany, Jeff, and Netanya of T&J Studios to save time after the wedding. It was obvious they were very much in love and made for each other.

The ceremony itself went off without a hitch and afterwards they left the sanctuary dancing to "This will be an Everlasting love"! Not to miss a beat, the Pastor followed suit to the crowds laughter and applause! They were then sent on their way through a rainfall of rose petals and into a limo. I was able to ride along (and Jeff, too) and we stopped at Reflection Ridge Golf Course and Sedgwick County Park to grab some fun shots of them with the sun going down and then on to Camp Hiawatha for a reception and dance. It was a great time. Ashley and Chase were surrounded by their closest family and friends and we hope it was a great day they will have happy memories of for a long, long time to come. Watch for their prequel to be posted here in the next two weeks! (And T&J Studio's Debut on their website as well!) Photo above is courtesy of T&J Studios, Inc.!

To Ashley and Chase- you were an absolute joy to work with and we wish you all the luck and happiness life can bring you! Thank you for giving us the priviledge of capturing your awesome day!

Southern California Workshop!

This Monday I left for California for a Videography Workshop hosted by Blue Skies Cinema in Corona, California. I returned last night exhausted but full of great ideas and new strategies to impliment into the business here at Fat Cat. Unfortunately, I traveled alone, as the edit que did not allow both Barry and I to go- someone had to stay behind to continue work on several of our projects and weddings.

But it was nice for me to get away from rain and tornadoes and see the sun and the sand of Corona Del Mar Beach in Newport Beach, California! It was a quick trip. Everyone met Monday night to get aquainted and Tuesday/Wednesday were the actual workshop days filled with information on shooting and editing techniques and other topics. Jeff and Andee of Blue Skies were awesome and some of the most gracious, hospitable people I've met.

We were spoiled with munchies whenever we wanted from the concession stand while we had class in Jeff and Andee's private theatre where we held class. They also treated us to all our meals including a steak and lobster dinner on the patio by the pool and a few other hot spots in Newport while we were at the beach shooting. (Great job on the grill, Jeff!)

Although I met some great folks from across the country, it wasn't a socialization-only trip, it was business for sure and we practiced several filming techniques throughout our two 14 hour long days. So much so that my thighs were feeling the burn on the way home yesterday. I still ache. :)

With what I came away with from the workshop, I am sure it will help us in our upcoming weddings and only serve to help Fat Cat grow even more. There's lots more exciting news on the horizon for our business, but we have to wait a while to announce it, so stay tuned to keep informed! Back to the edit bay! All photos are courtesy of Tom Young at Lakepoint Films. THANKS TOM!

The group climbing on rock formations looking for the perfect shot!

Tom Young with Jeff and Andee (all photos courtesy of Tom from Lakepoint Films)

Talking shop with Eric and the gang on the patio waiting for our steak and lobster dinner!

Just hanging out.

A gorgeous view of the Corona Del Mar beach we shot at.

Trash Your Dress!

Fat Cat Productions and T&J Studios were featured today on the hugely popular website www.trashthedress.com! Check it out!

Tyff and Jeff sent in some really fun pictures of our eXtreme session we did last May with Brian and Amber Koch. Fat Cat submitted the video link of the session, which is linked at the very bottom of the post.

Trash The Dress is another photographers website that promotes photography of preserving your wedding gown/dress in an entirely different way- through photos (and our case, videos). After all, you only wear it once!
We were pleased to have someone in the MidWest be featured on the site as there are many photos of beautiful beach trashing sessions, so T&J submitted our own "beach" shots on the banks of the Arkansas River!

Be sure to give Fat Cat a call to schedule your eXtreme session now! Who knows, YOU might just end up on Trash The Dress! Awe, come on, just go for it!

KSN Throws a Wedding!

Fat Cat Productions and KSN team up!

We are very excited to announce our most recent news! Fat Cat Productions has been asked by KSN (Channel 3) in Wichita if we would like to participate in their latest project, “KSN Throws a Wedding!”.

The project has been in the planning stages for several weeks now and we are excited to be a part of this special event for one lucky couple from the KSN viewing area!
Starting at the end of July, KSN will be announcing the details of the contest that will run concurrently with the national competition hosted by the Today Show on NBC.
We feel very honored to be the exclusive cinematographer for this event!

Couples who are interested in letting KSN throw them a wedding can learn how to enter to win later this summer. Watch KSN for those details. The station will choose finalists and after a winner is announced, the viewing public gets to help in planning their big day this fall!

By online voting, viewers will choose most everything for the couple, from the tux, to the wedding gown, to the rings, to the cake and honeymoon location! It will definitely be a very exciting time for the lucky couple and we cannot wait to meet whoever that might be! Other area wedding vendors will also be involved from floral design, to wedding and reception venues and entertainment.

Fat Cat Productions role will be in providing the couple memories on video of the event from the salon to the party! We hope our blog readers will follow along with all the excitement later this summer as the contest kicks off and we are able to post more information!

Stay tuned to the Fat Cat Productions blog and KSN Channel 3 for more updates as we get closer to the event!

Fat Cat Goes to the Dogs!

Yesterday and today we spent some time in the morning filming for a very different type of project. J. Mannebach of Oz Cow Dogs in Colwich, Kansas has asked Fat Cat to produce a working dog training video for them. The video will cover how to choose the right working dog and specific training methods to work a dog on stock (cattle). This is not the type of herding you see at AKC competitions with cute little geese, fluffy white sheep, and bouncing baby goats running circles and pretty patterns through gates in record setting times. This is training for real working ranch dogs. High drive dogs. The kind that will run the cattle all day if you would let them, think on their own, get rolled by and kicked at by 800 plus pound cows and they keep on going, live and breathe for the opportunity to chase after and nip at a cow- and love every minute of it. They are the take charge type dog that will bite at the heels and nose of the cows to get them to move and not blink an eye. They aren't your pretty competition show dogs either, after a good work out with the cattle they enjoy rolling in the mudholes for a job well done!

So off we went with our nice clean shiny tripods and expensive cameras we spent our hard earned money on, into a pasture full of cow pies and mudholes and about 6 or 7 head of cattle to film the dogs at work, hoping the dogs were in control enough to not cause a stampede right over top of us. Needless to say it was the most fun we've had in a while! Being the avid dog lover and trainer that I am, I even picked up a few pointers!

Filming will continue for the next couple of weeks off and on, as weather permits and this summer we will be editing the complete DVD Training Video Set, target completion date is sometime this fall. When it is completed, we will post a short clip to show you how exciting it was. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take pictures as I was busy filming!

Until then, it's time to keep Moo-ving on in the edit que. Things never seem to slow down around here!

Adam and Jena

Yesterday we were able to share the day with Adam and Jena. What a great couple! The wedding was held at Central Christian Church in Wichita with the reception at the Broadview Hotel.

It was another twist on our destination weddings in Wichita. Jena is from Wichita, but Adam is originally from New York and family was present from all over including New York, Florida and Canada!

Jena prepared at the church with her 6 bridesmaids. The bridesmaids all chose different dresses to compliment their own personal style and they looked fabulous all in a bright beautiful red. Jena was then taken to the prayer room where close family shared a prayer of blessing upon her before she walked down the isle to see Adam for the first time that day.

Stems provided beautiful flower arrangements and candles adorned the altar area for the ceremony.

After vows were exchanged, they chose to symbolize their coming together with Unity Sand instead of a Unity Candle. After being introduced as husband and wife, pictures were taken and they were wisked away in a stretch SUV limo to the Broadview hotel for the party hosted by Scott at AMM (Accent Mobile Music)!

Very touching toasts blessed the couples new lives together and they danced the night away!

It was a pleasure to work with both Jena and Adam, we hope you enjoy their wedding Prequel, set to the music that Jena marched into the church to!

New Website Launch!

We have said for some time that we had exciting news coming about a new sister site to Fat Cat Productions.

We’ve finally got things up and running with all of the hub bub around here and are proud to announce a new web site totally dedicated to… babies! So after the wedding when little ones start arriving, don't forget to keep capturing life!

www.announcemychild.com

This site is to share and promote our newest venture, Baby Stories and Video Birth Announcements! There are samples in the gallery to give clients ideas, you may have seen them here in our blog already. We can film from the first time parents perspective, existing children looking forward to a baby brother or sister, etc. It’s totally up to the client and what they are looking for to document the arrival of their child!

Thanks to Tyff and Jeff again for the great layout and design work! Not to mention some adorable baby pictures from their amazing Progressive Sessions! What a great keepsake for when your child is grown, a Progressive Session, a Baby Story, and a video Birth Announcement.

The site is not chalk full of information yet, but it has enough to go live. The more projects we are able to do, the more we will be able to share with you!
If you know of someone who would be interested in this exciting new venture, pass the info along and call Fat Cat to schedule Baby Story planning today!

Gunther D. Dog

Happy Easter to everyone. We celebrate Easter today with a mix of emotions after losing one of our greatest dogs ever yesterday morning, Gunther. Gunther was our Rottweiler of 9.5 years. Everybody was scared of him because of his breed but he was absolutely the sweetest. “Gunni” as he came to be known was the million-dollar dog, receiving surgery for hip dysplasia when he was 8 months old from the best Vets and Vet students in the world at K-State University. Later he had knee surgery in the opposite leg.

Through all that he remained a certified Search and Rescue Dog locally specializing in both Wilderness Search and Cadaver Search. He was a Certified Therapy Dog and had his Canine Good Citizen Certificate for many years. He got to meet the Governor years ago when a Bill passed for protection of Search and Rescue Dogs, as well as being on some notable search and rescue missions here locally. He retired from his working life a few years ago and enjoyed sleeping on the couch and in the bed and eating anything in sight. We eventually lost Gunther to bone cancer, and he was euthanized with us by his side and his two biggest "fans”, our great friends Wade and Carol. Thanks to all our friends for your support, you mean the world to us. Pictures of Gunni's great life are pictured here. He loved children, swimming (AKA "The Shark") and of course his Daddy!

Live Easter Edit!

Last night we didn’t get much time to think about our Gunther as we had to get ready for a live edit of the Glenville Baptist Church Easter Program “The night before Easter”. We have worked in and with the church before on many projects and think they are a fabulous group of people. We prepared all day for the event, printing DVD’s and stuffing the cases with labels, gathering all needed wiring supplies, etc.
We were blown away with the performance. There was a huge cast (even a live donkey, just for Steph!), and talented cast to say the least, an elaborate set and a wonderful message. Some cast members were actually previous wedding customers! It was great to see old friends again!
So what’s a Live Edit you ask?
We filmed the production with a three-camera HD shoot and fed the signal into a video splitter. Our colleague Alan VanPetten operated the splitter for us and acted as Director. One camera was unmanned for a cutaway shot, but Barry and I ran the other two cameras and we were both in communication with Alan via Clear Comm headsets as he would cue us when our camera was to go live.
He made the cuts and dissolves as they happened, not in post as we do at weddings, and the signal was burnt live to a DVD as it happened! After the performance, we were able to make duplications of the program rather quickly with our tower duplicator for the audience to purchase afterwards for a donation to the church. Discs were pre printed that afternoon.
It was quite the production. Set up was tedious, shooting with manual iris, focus, and gain with constantly adjusting stage lighting was a challenge. But we learned a lot and now have the experience to be able to do more work like this in the future. Thanks to Alan at AV Video Productions for his lending a hand and expertise and Nate at Glenville for thinking of us for this project! Glenville rocks!

Pictured above is Alan checking over all the equipment. Below is the cast going over final preparations before the start of the show, Barry setting up the third camera shot with our back up camera (the A-1) and the duplicator churning away!

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!

Busy, busy, busy!

We apologize for not keeping up the blog as we should lately! Things have been extremely hectic around FCP recently (but then again, what else is new right?) The running joke has been whenever someone calls and says "Hey, what are you doing?" I answer with a laugh or "I'll give you one guess". Editing.

We have delivered a couple videos here lately with another to go and starting on 2 more this weekend along with an upcoming Love Story to work in. We thank all our great brides for being so patient. We know you are excited and we will give everyone's project the same attention as we do the current projects!

Since our last posting, we have finished the videos as I mentioned above, started more, bid on some corporate projects, filmed the Hutchinson Community College Paramedic Program Pinning Ceremony, filmed a Homegoing/funeral, completed a photomontage for a local company and are editing the WA2DJA seminar as mentioned in the previous post.

We have also booked a few more weddings for this year and done some duplication projects for a colleague. We will be duplicating and packaging CD's for a friend/singer/songwriter Roy Fred Hargrove soon as well!
So things have not stopped here and are just getting busier for spring when the wedding season picks up again! So we will have more prequels for you starting mid March!

If you haven't done so recently, please check out our Visuals page for new samples we have posted! There are two pages of wedding related videos alone! More to come in the coming weeks in other sections. You can see Jenny and Thomas Lane's Love Story in the gallery on the Visuals page as well! Check it out- it's great fun! It is listed under the Upgrades section.

We have a sister web site that will be launching in the coming weeks, too- watch the blog for more info!

A few other projects are in the works we will post about at a later time, so keep in touch bloggerheads!

- Steph at FCP-

DJ's Rock!

Yesterday and today Barry and I were invited to film the Wichita Area American Disc Jockey Association's (WA2DJA) Midwest Mobile Entertainers Seminar at the Wichita Marriott Hotel. This was our second year to film for them. The seminar was for area disc jockeys to improve their knowledge base, gain business and marketing insight from leaders in their industry, to learn from and network with others. Nearly 100 attendees participated from all over the midwest, including Wichita, Dallas, Oklahoma City, St. Louis and beyond.
Mr. Scott Faver was one of the featured guests, speaking for the second year in a row. Other guests included Marc Weinstock and Randy Bartlett. The keynote address was given by Mr. Bryan Dodge on Sunday afternoon as well as later in the evening at a special event coined "Dinner with Dodge" which was by invitation only.
Even though we were tired from working both days, we had a great time meeting and visiting with everyone. How can you NOT have a good time in a room full of 100 professional DJ's and entertainers!? It just doesn't happen.
Thanks to Ron and Jeffrey for letting us be a part of your conference again, we learned alot ourselves!

Jeff from T&J Studios was on hand to take all the professional photos, I even got to play with the camera too! Thanks Jeff!


Scott Faver introduces a new ice breaker game to the attendees. The group had to stand on the sheet on the floor and flip it over as a group without letting their feet touch the carpeted floor.
Scott Faver and I share a laugh and a pose after the conference. Scott is well known for his over the top dance moves and spins!
Ron Brown of Another Dimension DJ holds a cue card for Randy Bartlett during a testimonial interview after the conference ended.

Cain Humphreys and Scott Faver share a laugh holding one of the sponsors signs behind Randy Bartlett during his interview. Take 2!
Sorry we didn't get any photos of Bryan Dodge the first day, we will have to wait for the edits from T&J Studios to get a GOOD one! :)

Bridal Show 2007!

We hope everyone was able to brave the snow and sleet for the 2007 Bridal Show at Century II! We spent a great deal of time preparing for the show and burning demos, etc. We were unable to attend on Saturday as we were documenting Thomas and Jenny's wedding (see post below) but were blessed to have friends staff the booth and answer brides questions! Thanks to Michelle and Nichole, previous FCP Brides, and our great personal friend Carol Ann for taking their Saturday to help us and our business!

The booth is forever making changes and updates, thanks to Tyff and Jeff for the picture! This is the first time we have done a double booth for the show and we feel it allows us to meet more of you and is more open and inviting, so look for the big booths in the future at FCP! We'll be adding some more and changing more for July! So pull up one of those chairs and sit and watch a while!

We gave away a free photomontage and will be contacting the winner this week! We also unveiled Blu Ray Disc at the show! We took questions Sunday from many interested brides-to-be and will be following up with those parties this week as well. We handed out almost 400 demos but unfortunately will be unable to shoot that many weddings this year! So if you are interested in having FCP film your upcoming 2007 wedding, give us a call soon for a consultation to book your date! We have several dates still available for 2007 but they are starting to fill quickly. Check our availability calendar on the 'Connect' page or better yet, just give us a call!

Remember FCP is available for travel as well!

Blu Ray Disc comes to Fat Cat Productions!

Well folks, the announcemnet is official! Blue Ray is officially at Fat Cat Productions! This is something we have been looking forward to for a very long time! (1 and a half years long...)

We were able to unveil the first High Definition DVD at the Bridal Fair this weekend. We had 13 prequels playing on an hour loop on a 50" TV as well as two 37" TV's. We couldn't be more pleased with the quality we have received!

We have been shooting, editing, and archiving all our weddings for the last year and a half in High Definition but delivering a Standard Definition disc, so until now had no way to deliver a "true" HD product other than a Windows Media File (BIG ones at that). Now that the technology has finally arrived, Barry will be working out the bugs, learning new DVD authoring software and as soon as we are able will convert all our previously shot weddings to Blu Ray disc for final delivery! Keep an eye on the blog for more announcemnets as they come!

The Lane- Rogers Wedding

Snow, Sleet, and Ice OH MY!

Nothing could possibly dampen the spirits of Thomas and Jenny Rogers! Jenny is from Wichita and Thomas from Arkansas, they met while working at church together in Little Rock. We met them when it came time to plan their destination wedding here in Wichita.

You may remember in November we posted about flying to Little Rock to document their Love Story, as Thomas and Jenny upgraded their wedding package to include this. We got to know both of them very well and truly have never had so many great laughs! Thomas and Jenny LOVE to have fun and this carried well into the wedding day! They are always laughing and enjoying life and those around them.

The wedding day started in an ice storm with Jenny at JC Stylists in west Wichita. She was quoted as saying "It may be cold outside, but our hearts are warm with love!" Tyffany from T&J Studios bummed a ride from me so Jeff could get to the church to document the groomsmen preparing for their day and carefully sliding through town, we met the guys back at Eastside Community Church. It is a beautiful church resembling more of a comfortable lodge, than a church- we loved it!

The wedding was intimate and gorgeous in front of the warm glow of the fireplace. Wonderful music was provided by the very talented music group Nameless Faces and close friends of the bride and groom. The newlyweds then both braved the cold and ice by going outside for a few shots! Jenny was a great sport in heels and halter-top gown in 12 degree weather!

The reception followed in the church hall with Corporate Caterers making sure everything ran very smoothly, and many laughs were apparent while showing the Love Story we shot in November. We will place that online for everyone to enjoy in the coming weeks!

After the most humorous and fun first dances I have ever witnessed in four years of wedding video, the couple made their exit through a barrage of fake snowflakes the gusets showered them with to the waiting limo, The Excalibur. They stayed in town at the Castle Inn Riverside and made their way to, where else but Disney World for their honeymoon!

We wish them all the best in their new lives together! Thomas and Jenny you ROCK!

Click below to see their wedding movie prequel! The music is "Captivated" by Nameless Faces from the "Songs from the Suitcase" CD. Used with permission. You can check out their MySpace page here.

Fat Cat Productions in KC!

One of our most recent and exciting pieces of news is that in growing our business this year, we don't just want to expand our creative work, but we also plan to expand our geographical horizons as well! We have travelled some the last 2 years, mostly to outlying towns and communities nearby, and we really enjoyed ourselves. (And met some wonderful people by the way)! So now we are advertising in Kansas City in the KC Weddings Magazine! We have been to KC a few times before and we love the area and would like to not only work here at home, but also out of town as well!

We received some copies of the magazine this past week and it's a great magazine full of information and ideas, you can pick one up at your local book store. This year the magazine went through a new design look and it's really awesome.

If you have friends or relatives in the Kansas City/Metro Area and they need wedding videography (or other video work) please consider dropping them a line and telling them about us!

Also, don't forget that if you are planning a wedding out of town, or beyond, Fat Cat Productions is now available to travel for destination weddings! Just call us for more information! Maui and Baha here we come! (come on Velvet, help me out! Wink! Wink!)

Thanks to Tyff and Jeff at T&J Studios, Inc. for their amazing design work this past year (and the KC Ad)! Check out their ad in KC Weddings right next to ours!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year one and all! We at Fat Cat hope this blog entry finds you well, safe, and healthy after ringing in the New Year! We are very excited about the business this year and we thank each and every one of you who have supported us over the last few years! We appreciate you very much! We have met many new friends through this business and we are grateful.

Again we appreciate your patience if you are a bride waiting for your wedding video, we are still catching up as best we can. Although I am editing full time now, there is still so much to be done to keep everything up and running, it's been a little trying at times! We continue to ask for your patience as we grow, we will keep each of you updated on your video as soon as it is captured onto the hard drives and editing started!

There are lots of new things in the works here at Fat Cat that we continue to work on in the background when not editing, so stay tuned in 2007 for new and exciting ventures!

Rock on 2007!