Nina & Alan, October 13; Gotham Hall, NYC

By choosing Gotham Hall, Nina & Alan picked one of the most amazing spots in NYC for their wedding on October 13. Gotham Hall is an impressive site when empty, but with the interiors done by Stone Kelly, lighting by Bentley Meeker and the planning and meticulous set up by Liz Glover Wilson and her team of eight, Gotham was transformed into an otherworldly space for nuptials and celebration.

When guests arrived, some were escorted to a temporary photo studio set up by Leslie Hassler and her assistant photographers. They somehow managed to get all of the nearly 300 guests by the end of the evening to pose for a portrait, which would then be mailed to them later as a wedding favor from the bride and groom.

Tim Alan Studios set up a time-lapse camera to capture the entire day from 9 a.m. until midnight. (Please see the previous blog post to view this video). For the ceremony we used 3 cameras: one stationed under the Chuppah to capture the guests and faces of the bride and groom, one at the opposite end of the aisle and a third from the balcony for a bird's eye view.

After the ceremony, guests were escorted to the opposite balcony for cocktail hour while a team efficiently transformed the space from ceremony to reception with the dismantling of the Chuppah and set up of all the tables and other decorations.

Nina and Alan were introduced once the guests found their tables and the band Soul Solution from Total Entertainment started them right off with the Horah before the couple enjoyed the intimacy of the first dance.

The dance floor was never empty- with the exception of the toasts and cutting the Challah- for the remainder of the evening. A special dance between groom and daughter and bride and son were two of the last events of the day that made the night truly unforgettable.

Fourteen hour Wedding Day in 5 minutes: Time Lapse Video at NYC's Gotham Hall

On October 13, Tim Alan Studios was commissioned to film a wedding at Gotham Hall in NYC. Event planner, Liz Glover Wilson, had the great idea of attempting to film the day- from set up to close- with a time-lapse camera.

We arrived at Gotham Hall about nine a.m. and the wedding set up had already begun. We positioned the camera on a tripod in the main balcony overlooking the reception and ceremony site below. Once the camera was set, it was going to be unmanned, automatically filming snippets of video at preset times throughout the day.

Workers from Stone Kelly (floral and event) and Gotham Hall were busy setting up all facets of the wedding day, which included the balcony where the camera was stationed. This proved to be the only problem of the day with the time-lapse camera. Workers busy setting up the balcony, closed a curtain in front of the camera at some point for nearly an hour, which causes a slight gap in the time lapse (curtain close edited out.) When we returned to Gotham Hall at three p.m., the camera was still operating, but workers informed us they needed to shut the curtain for good. We then moved the camera to the opposite balcony for the remainder of the evening.

Some highlights to look for during the time-lapse include the building of the Chuppah and set up of chairs, the 300 guests filing in for the ceremony, the transformation of the space from ceremony to reception, the Horah, special dancing and toasts as well as the amazing lighting from Bentley Meeker.

Tim Alan Featured in Weddings New York

Tim Alan Studios was once again featured as a preferred vendor in the New York Magazine's 'Weddings New York' issue that is THE bible for NYC brides.

Denise Penny and her staff have once again put together a comprehensive issue that lists many of their choices as NYC's best wedding vendors in categories including photography, videography, invitations, catering, music and more. In addition, the issue is packed with amazing photos from real NYC weddings and informative articles related to anything wedding.

The magazine hit the newsstand earlier this week, so be sure to pick one up!

Sheila & Bill, Oct. 7; Scotch Plains

Sheila bought her dress on October 7, 2006, not knowing that a year from that day she would be getting married. It was only months later, when she happened to glance at the receipt, that she realized the coincidence.

October 7, 2007 proved to be a beautiful Sunday in Scotch Plains, New Jersey for the marriage of Bill and Sheila.

Sheila got ready with her bridesmaids at the family's home in Scotch Plains, putting on her make up in the room she grew up in as a little girl.

Bill, heavily involved with the church, was given a very personal homily by Father John Paladino, who he has known and worked with for years. The homily was great in that Father John really knew the couple well, so he really had great anecdotes to draw from.

The couple was enveloped in bubbles as they left The Chapel at St. Mary's for photos before heading to Snuffy's Pantagis for an evening reception.

The music was played by A Dash of Class out of New Jersey who helped keep the dance floor packed.

Highlights included a fireshow on the dance floor, a photomontage produced by Tim Alan Studios, the best man's unique toast and Bill and Sheila never leaving the dance floor!

Veronica & Brian, Oct. 6; 632 Hudson, NYC

A former sausage factory, 632 Hudson has been transformed into an amazing space fit for the most intimate of weddings. It felt like being in a private home- five stories high- with beautiful art, furniture and unique design to enhance the unique experience. As videographers, the array of angles, mirrors, staircases and other nooks and angles made shooting at 632 a great way to work out our artistic muscles.

Veronica and Brian made sure not run into one another before the ceremony- which proved a bit difficult due to the openess of all five floors. An accidental bride/groom meeting was prevented due to event planner Valerie, from the Cleaver Company, who did a great job keeping people and events organized and on time.

The ceremony was held on the second floor in front of a fireplace. Tim Alan Studios videographer, Adam, was positioned on that level to film Veronica coming down the stairs and as well as ground level view of the couple exchanging vows. I positioned myself on the fifth floor and shot the ceremony thing from above- almost directly above- to give a real bird's eye view of the experience.

After exchanging vows, Veronica and Brian signed their marriage license and headed out to the street for photographs with Maly Blomberg and super 8 filming done by me. We then headed to the rooftop for cocktails as the sun went down on a beautiful day.

A group toast by Brian's three best men was a definite highlight along with the fantastic dinner, cutting the cake and group photo taken from the upper most level of 632 Hudson.

Emily & Michael; September 29; Red Bank

Emily and Michael were wed on Saturday at the perfect spot for a wedding- her family's home in Red Bank, NJ.

The beautiful house was the backdrop for what was an amazing wedding day. The couple took photos beforehand with Cynthia Delconte in front of the house, by the pool and on their dock on the river behind the house.

The ceremony took place on the front lawn, with chairs and a chuppah set up in a few hundred yards from the front steps of the home. Emily was led down the aisle by both her mother and father as Michael eagerly awaited under the chuppah. Beautiful singing by the cantor, words from both the rabbi and a priest and the breaking of the glass were some of the highlights.

The guests moved to expansive downstairs of the home for cocktail hour before spending the night under a tent in the backyard, entertained by the Scott Yanney Band from NYC.

Reception highlights included a group photo of ALL the guests on the dance floor, Emily's dad cracking open a 70 year old bottle of scotch from the movie 'Casablanca', Emily tossing her bouquet from the grand staircase in the foyer and the happy couple driving off into the night....

Tim Interviews with Bridal Guide Magazine

On Monday I had the opportunity to interview with Bridal Guide Magazine writer, Elaine, for an upcoming story about wedding videography.

I love the chance to speak to writers about wedding video because there are always new developments in technology as well as advances in video techniques that we like to share with brides.

Many couples have misconceptions about wedding video and reading a well-written article goes a long way to clear them up.

A few points I touched on in the interview that I think were pretty important included the importance of photographers and videographers having a good working relationship, the emergence of widescreen HDV videography and how small cameras and minimal light use dominate modern-day videography

The magazine hits the newsstands in January, so to learn more, check it out!