Names: Matt Forrey, Chariane Forrey, Mark Jocobs, and David Ridgway
Location: Las Vegas, California, and Destination
Company Name: FORREY films
Number of Years in Business: 3 Years
Website: Forreyfilms.com
Blog: Forreyfilms.com/blog
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ForreyFilms

I had the pleasure of meeting with Matt Forrey of FORREY films recently and enjoyed hearing his story about his chosen profession. He loves telling stories through film and Las Vegas is lucky to welcome such a talented wedding cinematographer. As a side note, Matt and his wife Chariane recently got married in San Diego and we share the same anniversary of July 15th!

Below is a beautiful photograph of the two of them and some questions I asked to get to know him better. Hopefully, he’ll get to tell your story too!

  Matt & Chariane

MISSION STATEMENT: To inspire and enlighten generations–one story at a time.

CORE VALUES

Creativity – We are always searching, always dreaming, and always learning. We are students of storytelling, and the result we hope for is a fresh and creative way to tell your story that is both memorable and true.

Quality – We are not your run of the mill cookie cutter video factory. We pride ourselves with quality storytelling that is unique to the particular individual that it is about. Every person’s story is special, and we aim to capture and bring out those stories in a quality fashion that is timeless.

Connection – We believe that the whole world and its people share a special connection. We strive to make this world feel a bit smaller, and to connect people from across the globe through the lens of a camera.

Generosity -  We desire FORREYfilms to be marked by generosity. We believe it is important to not only be generous with our time, but also with the finances that God has given us. Therefore, FORREYfilms donates 5% of all profits received to select organizations that are dedicated to the service of others in need. Below are the organizations that we support:

International Justice Mission
The Chisomo Idea
Children of the Nations

What did you do prior to this?

I was pursuing a career in Firefighting before I discovered my passion for story telling. It was a difficult decision to just switch career paths but now I really feel that I’m doing what I was born to do.

What are some of your hobbies?
Cooking and sometimes Pottery.

Comedy or drama: Drama

Perfect Day Off? Hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro with my wife in the day, followed by a nice dinner at home with just me an her. Dinner would be a pepperoni and olive pizza with wine, followed by a good movie.

Stay in/or go out?
I enjoy going out, but not as much as staying in and making dinner with family and friends.

City or Beach?
A Beach by the City. I love the atmosphere of quiet beach town, but would also want to go to the city from time to time.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon. Iceland

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day?
Don’t sweat the small stuff and just enjoy the moment. Take it all in and have a blast!

And now for one of his recent videos…

MATTHEW H. FORREY
FORREY films
Matt{@}forreyfilms.com
619.846.8094

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For a complimentary consultation for wedding planning services, please email us: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

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ShutterBooth of Las Vegas
Phone: 702.755.1539
Check out Shutterbooth on Facebook.

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For a complimentary consultation for wedding planning services, please email us: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

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WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) was in town and for the first time, I decided to attend. I’ll admit. I’m a nerd. I’ve always enjoyed learning in a conference setting so I told Angelica that we were going to clear our schedules for a few days to attend some classes. It was definitely out of my comfort zone to attend a photography conference as a wedding planner but I felt that it was important to the growth of my business and my understanding of photographers and what they do on a daily basis. I mainly chose classes from the business/marketing track and I loved hearing about marketing from the perspective of these photographers.

Here are my personal highlights from the week:

I was so excited to hear Jasmine Star speak. I love reading her blog, recently finished reading her Exposed magazine, and I find her so inspiring. Her session was on “The Anatomy of Lips and Clicks” and she discussed her system of getting her clients to talk about her work and growing her business that way.

Celebrity Wedding and Party Planner Mindy Weiss spoke on “The Celebrity/Luxury Wedding Market” alongside Junebug Weddings founders Christy Weber and Blair deLaubenfels. I love Mindy because not only is her work fantastic, she seems so approachable. And, she responds to my tweets. Of course, the Junebug ladies, both with a background in photography, co-founded the Junebug Weddings planning resource, online magazine, and blog.

And finally…

A HUGE thank you to Joe Photo for speaking on ”What Wedding Planners Really Want From You”. He surveyed around 100 planners from all over the nation and put together some information to showcase to the photographers in the session. Panelists included MB Wedding Designs & Events from San Francisco, our friends from Scheme Events here in Las Vegas, and Santa Barbara based Soigne Productions.  I loved hearing the questions from photographers in the audience too! By the way, if you check out Joe Photo’s info section on his website, one of his bullet points includes, “I believe your wedding is a team effort and you NEED a wedding planner.” Thanks for valuing us.

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For a complimentary consultation for wedding planning services, please email us: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

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Terrence Lighten of Lighten Films has written about the difference between wedding videography and wedding cinematography for us and I am so excited to share! I hope you find it educational!

There is a new wave of wedding videos coming out – however they are no longer called videos, they’re “films.” Cinematography and event film-making has spread across the globe rapidly.

So, what’s the difference between wedding videography and cinematography? Videography is more of a traditional approach that documents and chapters the day in a very simple format.
Cinema offers much more than the upgraded filming gear of the popular DSLR cameras, steadicams, and lighting. It is not only about capturing the unique day of each couple but also developing the footage into an in-depth story that comes to life and makes the day seem even more amazing than you remember it!

Wedding videography has gotten a stigmatism for being boring and cheesy over the years. “It’ll never be watched, it’s not important, and my photos are all I need to remember my day,” were commonly uttered when anyone brought up hiring a videographer. Well, those days are over. More and more couples are declaring that their wedding film is hands down the best remembrance of their wedding day – far surpassing the best of photography. If done correctly, your wedding film brings back every emotion from that day, and oftentimes, emotions that you didn’t even have time to experience.  It’s not about watching your wedding that was recorded, it’s about reliving your wedding day when you watch it.

What are some of the differences, you ask?

1. Long form videos vs. Short form films.
The assumption that you get more for your money with longer videos is completely false. As a matter of fact, longer equals boring, which is why wedding videos are only watched maybe on anniversaries, if that.
We live in a world today that moves fast. From technology to our food, we want it fast – because that is what we have time for.  Our attention spans have even gotten shorter. Short form films are more entertaining, leaving a stronger impact, and will be watched hundreds of times over the years.

2. Coverage vs. Story Telling
Another difference is basic coverage where a couple just wants the ceremony and/or the reception recorded, which there is nothing wrong with, by the way. In this type of videography coverage, you would get your ceremony and reception in full-length, but there is no creativity behind it, which also leads to boring. Most cinematographers capture the entire day starting from 7, 8, 9 or up to 14 hours. Why? This is how much time is needed to tell an effective story of your wedding day. Also, getting to know the couple more personally is key, how can you tell their story if you do not know who they are.

It is oftentimes customary for the cinematographer to meet with all of their couples before their wedding day and hang out for an hour or two just so they can have a better idea of who they are filming on the wedding day.

One of the most frequently asked questions are: Why longer hours filming and shorter films? I personally always tell my couples, to compare us to real feature films in the theatres. They film for 3, 4, up to 6 months, and you end up with only a 2 hour movie. Short form wedding films are the same way, and you end up with an emotionally entertaining feature film that you will want to watch over and over again. Then there are other features that are offered like coming attraction trailers that give couples a sneak peak of what to expect from their films, here is our latest…

Krystal + Joshua \\ Coming Attraction from Lighten Films – 702.266.6226 on Vimeo.

Film Maker: Lighten Films ~ Photographer: Mia Dolce Photography
Getting Ready Rooms: JW Marriott ~ Wedding Venue: Bears Best Golf Course
Floral: Floral by Kathy ~ Lighting: Woolard Production ~ DJ: Knight Sounds ~ Cake: Cravin Bakery

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For a complimentary consultation for wedding planning services, please email us: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

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It was meant to be for this gorgeous couple…they have known each other since elementary school! Thank you to Ashley with Hey Aster Photography for sharing these beautiful photos. Also a shout out to Katie’s mom and dear friend of mine Carla for making the LOVE frames and to Katie for making her own belt and hair piece. I can’t wait to see Luke marry his “Galway” girl!

Photo credit: Hey Aster Photography

And you can’t see it in these photos, but LaVey has a tattoo of Elvis on her arm. Yup, it was meant to be since I’m a huge Elvis fan too!

We are so looking forward to their wedding this September out in Boulder City! Check out these absolutely gorgeous photos of LaVey and Tyson by Alt F. Makeup done by the bride herself who is one half of Your Beauty Call and hair was done by her partner Janine Cali.

And if I have to choose a favorite…this breathtaking one would be the winner!

Head over to Alt F’s blog for more photos from their engagement session.

Photos: Alt F

Makeup: LaVey Ortiz of Your Beauty Call

Hair: Janine Cali of Your Beauty Call

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Vintage Wedding Video Shot Entirely on iPhone 4 from Monachetti on Vimeo.

What do you think?

Brides, I wouldn’t suggest you allow your cousin Joe to do this for your wedding since this was still shot by a professional videographer!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Adam is running a great special for the new year for all of the newly engaged couples. For the entire month of January, take advantage of this great offer! A free 16×24 canvas as well as a “day after” or Trash the Dress session is included in any level of wedding investment.  Please let him know you heard about this great offer through us!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Prize Package:
6 hours of photography coverage
a disc of your images from the day with a release
a $500 print credit
a custom bound album
an engagement session!
Total value: $3,000

Rules:
If you’re getting married in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, St. George, Provo or Salt Lake City send an email to giveaway at megruth dot com with your names, a photo of you together and 300 words about your story or why you should win. Meg Ruth will be selecting the top five entries and then you and your friends and family can vote for the winners.

Deadline:
The 5 finalists will be posted on February 1st. There will be a week for voting from February 1st to February 7th. The winners will be announced on Valentine’s Day!

Meg Ruth Photography
Meg Ruth website Meg Ruth blog

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Photos: Chelsea Nicole

Hair and Makeup: Lori White

Locations: Red Rock Canyon and Red Rock Casino

Head over to Chelsea’s blog for additional photos from their engagement session.

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com