Catherine & Stavros…well, Stavros or Steven, as the best man explained. “Stavros met a girl he loved so much he changed his name.” All the toasts were humorous, heart-felt, and touching. It’s so clear how in love these two are with each other. They are one of the cutest couples to watch throughout the night. The ceremony took place at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and then moved to a romantic and classy setting at the California Club in downtown LA. The day and details were awesome! Although I wouldn’t expect much less from Lindsay Longacre and LVL Events, who ran the day. Sometimes you save the best for last, and that was the case at this reception when Sweet Lucie’s Ice Cream Truck showed up…yum!
As Adrian’s best man said in his toast, “Adrian and Sara really remind you of what love is about.” The way they look at each other, treat each other, and most of all…the way they dance together! It was a beautiful day filled with love at the Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel. A ton of family and friends gathered to see this Persian/Italian combo unite as one. This was one packed dance floor — never a dull moment! I enjoyed editing this video, especially with the Persian dancers and Persian music. I spent the day alongside Victor Sizemore, who captured the photography. Adrian and Sara booked me just weeks before the wedding and I’m glad we were able to make it happen! Enjoy their wild, emotional, and fun-loving Cinematic Edit!
Not sure what went down in OKC for the Champions Festival? Watch the Champions Festival post event highlight video with speakers Sue Enquist, Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza, Andrea Duran, Caitlin Lever, Lauren Lappin, and many more. Olympians, NPF Players, and Hall of Fame Coaches gather to celebrate excellence with the softball parent, coach, and youth on main topics: mental toughness, roadmap to recruiting, nutrition, and most importantly, the common language of a champion. To see all of the graphics and banners I created for the event click here.
No one can deny this was a magical evening full of love and energy from the AZ Biltmore. Danielle and Sean have a wildly fun loving relationship — that all started at the Tin Lizzie! As you will hear in the ceremony and in the toasts, the Tin is where the foundation began. The wedding was set at the Arizona Biltmore where the day was captured by Light Rain Images Photography. It was fun wedding and a ridiculously crowded dance floor! Enjoy this Chicago couple’s Cinematic Edit! I know we did when I hand delivered it for their 4th of July BBQ — in Chicago!
I flew into Scottsdale, AZ to film the Nick Lowery Foundation Event, where Nick Lowery raised money for underpriveleged youth through charity auctions, while having 3 unique music performances. It was fun night as Kristen Dishner did the interviews and all the attendees were served amazing food and drinks in the meantime! Check out Nick Lowery’s website (http://nickloweryfoundation.org/) to learn more information on how the foundation provides leadership opportunities and skills for the youth.
“Stop pinching yourselves — it’s REAL!!!” It was a touching day, especially when that quote came from the groom’s mouth as he thanked family and friends for coming out to celebrate his special day with his gorgeous bride. Jen and Randy had such a beautiful set up at Rancho Las Lomas. The yellow and silver details by Inviting Occasion were absolutely amazing! And so are the photos that were captured by Vanessa Preziose. 24 Carrots provided the most amazing catering service, including late night milkshakes and small, bite-size churros…yum! Everything comes together when you work with such a great team, led by the coordination of LVL Events. We even learned that the awesome DJ, Peter Papadopoulos had DJ’d my assistant’s wedding a few years back…small wedding world! Enjoy all these stunning details in Jen and Randy’s Cinematic Edit!
The snippet that kicked off the first ever Champs Fest! (above)
It started out as an idea. The brainchild behind the Champions Festival is Coach Sue Enquist, UCLA Hall of Famer who coached the Bruins to 11 National Championships in her 27 years of coaching. Not only does Enquist understand the importance of educating kids, parents, and coaches in the sport, but she understands the importance of taking care of the Olympians. After softball was taken out of the Olympics, no one really took care of those Olympians as a group of Champions — until now.
The original idea started about 2-3 years ago….I won’t tell you what we called it, but if you ever find out, I will tell you this: any dot com name that matches it, we have secured. So, 12 domain names later, 2 years of interviewing Division I alumni players, Gold and Silver Olympians, and hours of tape later, Enquist finally found what she needed: a partner in Hall of Fame Coach and Softball Excellence’s Cindy Bristow. And so the idea developed into a festival. The first ever Champions Festival.
When I hear the word Champion, I think of a talented competitor. When I hear festival, I think of a fair. (Maybe even a hot dog and funnel cake — unfortunately, those were not available!) Now, add some education, interaction, excited kids, parents, and coaches and you have the Champions Festilval. And that idea, this Monday, became a dream come true — for Coach Enquist, for the Olympians, for the kids in the room, and for the future of softball. Its the first time in the history of fastpitch softball where you have that many Olympians (from 1996 to present) in one room, interacting with the kids, parents, and coaches.
Champions in attendance included USA Olympians/NPF Players Jessica Mendoza, Jennie Finch (skyped in), Crystl Bustos, Michele Smith, Leah Amico-O’Brien, Dot Richardson, Sheila Cornell-Douty, Lori Harrigan, Laura Berg, Caitlin Lowe, Vicki Galindo, Lauren Lappen, Kelly Montalvo, Kelly Kretschman, as well as Canadian Olympians/NPF Players Danielle Lawrie and Caitlin Lever. Whew, talk about being surrounded by talent!! The ulitmate idea is that the Champions Festival takes place for every sport. EVERY sport should be putting on such a magnificent annual event. I am humbled to be involved in the very first Champs Fest.
Now, what was my role in all of this? It’s no secret, I’m no Olympic Medalist. But I am the designer for Sue Enquist and many of these athletes, including Jessica Mendoza, Natasha Watley, Andrea Duran, and more. With that, I was called upon to first design the Champions Festival Logo. Next on the list was…. well, let’s just say we needed a very long, detailed, highlighted excel spreadsheet to map out my work involved. We started with 16 unique banners, a poster, a booklet cover, centerpieces, credentials, coat of arms, and well anything else that was print collateral for the event. We spent many hours back and forth on details, so it was amazing to walk into the room at the Marriott, Oklahoma City and see all of the print work displayed around the room. That’s right, I was there….and you know what that means… photos and a highlight video of the event are next. One of the fun parts of the Champs Fest was getting on the bandwagon to attend the Final of the Women’s College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium to see ASU and Florida battle it out to become the next NCAA Champion. Stay tuned for more videos and photos!
Here is some of the artwork that was designed to displayed throughout the event. Starting with a 16×20 poster (above) and all of the banners that were displayed from the lobby to the hallways, to decorate the entire room (below).
The banners in action! (left) And the brainchild of the Champions Festival, Sue Enquist, signing autographs for the parents, coaches, and kids.
USA Olympians Lauren Lappin, Michele Smith, and Jessica Mendoza
Olympians and Coach Sue Enquist
USA Olympian, Andrea Duran - someone asked if she has ever thrown her helmet!
Canada Olympian, Caitlin Lever and USA Olympian, Laura Berg (speaking)
One of the sweetest couples I’ve worked with, Diana & Rashid. They flew in from Seattle so we could film this Love Story and I’m so glad it worked out because the words they express about one another are very touching! Their wedding day was absolutely beautiful — especially Diana’s stunning Vera Wang dress. This edit with the Love Story, along with their baby photos and dating photos played at the wedding for all of their friends and family to enjoy.
The adorable couple’s Love Story is finally revealed! Joe, Engie, and I have been working the last couple months to put this video together. I’m excited about this new addition to my packages: The Love Story. I interview both the bride and groom, separately about one another. Then, I tagged along to Oceanside for their engagement shoot with their amazing photographer, Aaron Wilcox to get some footage of them together. Aaron found an awesome setting – a freeway pass that was shut down…so we walked around the underpass and up the onramp for some great photos and video. After that, we added their photo montage in – their baby pics and then pics of them dating. We all three were very excited to see it viewed at the wedding. The entire day went so smoothly at the Ritz Carlton in downtown LA, thanks for the awesome coordinator, Melissa Laudise with Let’s Do This. Everything was gorgeous and family and friends were so excited to celebrate! The final edit of this Love Story was so touching. We played it at the reception for the entire family and friends’ first view… and I must admit, even I was getting emotional watching it!
Black and yellow black and yellow….above is a snippet from Long Beach State’s end of the year video. The team went on to Regionals this year and lost to #1 seed ASU. They had a great season and placed 2nd in the Big West. The footage includes ESPN highlights from the year, pictures, senior day, and Regionals. Go Beach!
