Custom Magazine Style Wedding Albums by Stagi Imagery

I love creating wedding albums. It is always the final piece of the wedding that really gives you this awesome book that will be shared from generation to generation and showcases your day from start to finish. Here is a little more about the custom magazine style albums that we create.

Magazine style albums can be such a unique way to tell the story of your wedding day.  Our magazine style albums are designed from scratch without using templates so your day will be displayed in a unique layout that really reflects the style and vision of your wedding day.  We love creating these albums, they are a great way to tell the story of your day and create a heirloom piece of art for your family to cherish.  Our albums all have lifetime guarantees and are created to be something for your future generations to view and see what your day was really all about.

This was a beautiful wedding at Casa Real a Mediterranean oasis in the heart of Livermore wine country.   Casa Real is an awesome spot for your wedding and you can also view a wedding slideshow here: Casa Real Wedding Photos.

– Mark

To continue our Wednesday feature of a local venue we love today we are showing a great winery tucked back in the hills of San Martin (and for everyone who doesn’t know San Martin its just a little outside of Morgan Hill). Clos LaChance is a definate gem, although it isn’t too far off 101 you feel like you are out in the Italian countryside. The grounds are spacious, they have 100 acres of lush vineyards and golden hillsides with majestic green oak trees. The also have an awesome Mulberry Grove with a fountain in the middle it gives you a very old world feel to it and is perfect for your cocktail hour. Dinner and Clos LaChance’s hand-crafted wines are served on the Terrace, surrounded by views and beautiful gardens. The terrace not only gives you a beautiful view of the grounds in the evening but also the detail to the main building all add to the charm.

Our vendor of the week is David from A Video Reflection (AVR). We had met David a few years back at some industry events and he came across as really a genuine good guy so I had to learn more about his videography. David has a passion for his work and capturing the spirit of a wedding day, he loves what he does and is great to work with at a wedding. He even shot my sisters wedding and did a fantastic job, everyone loved how he fit into the wedding just like he was part of the family.

Check our more of his work online at: http://www.avideoreflection.net/

A little more info on David:

the reason I love what I do ….
I love making brides laugh, cry and getting praises from my couples.

your wedding specialty …
Connecting with the bride, groom and family on their wedding day
and capturing moments in custom angles and views that mix fashion angles

best wedding memory …
Seeing a bride turn for the isle at Nestldown and seeing the groom for the 1st time, as her face expresses tears of joy as her father
conforts her hand on her arm.

favorite movie …
Mine are the ones I create and get emotional about. as I call my wife over to check each of them out.

last movie rental you watched …
The Proposal

where can you be found on days off …
The Beach surfing and relaxing, Bike riding or Swimming.

what superhero would you be …
Silver Surfer of course.

if I am typically craving something it is ….
A Milk Shake….any flavor.

fav song at a wedding (and least fav) …
Book of Love – Peter Gabriel

If you are looking for a great videographer give David a call!

–Mark

Our vendor spotlight this week is Andrew of Studio MSV. We first worked with Andrew last year and were amazed by the same day edit he put together, it was a very artistic cut of the day and to have put it together so quick was pretty awesome. All of the guests at the wedding couldn’t believe the video! We have also been able to hang out with Andrew at other functions and he has a great personality and is a fun guy to hang out with, at a wedding its always a plus to have a fun videographer to capture your day. You can view his latest work on his blog at: http://studiomsv.net or check out his website: http://studiomsv.com/. Check out a little more about Andrew below:

the reason I love what I do ….
Someone once said, “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” These words are true in the sense that working won’t feel like work if you’re happily doing your job each day. But one thing that I’ve found to be even more profound and can even better affect the way you feel about your work is the people you work with. Consider this: you find your dream job and are content to wake each morning to earn your living. But your co-workers are always gossiping about you or sabotaging your projects. How long do you think you will like your dream job? Conversely, if you love the people you work with, no job – no matter how nasty (have you ever seen “Dirty Jobs”?) – will ever get you down!
That’s why I love doing what I do. The people I work with and meet are top notch! The photographers I work with, the coordinators, and especially the brides and grooms, are all so inspiring, creative, and loyal, that it’s hard to have an “off day”!

your wedding specialty …
One of the things that I’m proud to say I helped pioneer in the Bay Area is the Same-Day Edit. The “SDE” – or as I call it, the Instant Video – is a short highlight movie that is shot, edited, and played back on the day of the wedding. It usually takes me two to three hours of editing time to create a beautiful short movie of the wedding day that can be shown during dinner or toward the end of the reception. In fact, we have the capability of turning the highlight movie into a wedding favor DVD that each guest can bring home with them! The Same-Day Edit is a real crowd-pleaser and something in which I was instrumental in bringing to popularity.

But beyond the Instant Video or products like our Covert Proposal Videos, fun Engagement Music Videos, and others, it’s my style that brides gravitate toward. Our videos are never boring or “typical” and always evoke emotions. It’s my unique style that sets us apart form the rest.

best wedding memory …
I see so many memorable things at so many different events that it’s hard to pick out just one!
But if you put a gun to my head – or invited me to participate in a vendor spotlight blog post – I might choose this one as my favorite wedding memory: I think it was the second wedding I ever shot. Ever. The bride’s caterer ran out of food and she went to her room really upset. The groom went after her in order to console her and I was stuck trying to decide whether I should follow and document it or let them alone.
I decided that, as the wedding videographer hired to document the event, it was pretty much my duty to keep record of what had happened so the events could be captured for posterity. I followed them to their room and started rolling tape. Teary-eyed and flustered, the bride described to me what had happened and how she felt. It was some of the most genuine footage I’ve ever documented. The couple subsequently sent me a thank you note that said they loved the video and that I was their favorite vendor. That, I was the “most professional and most pleasant to work with!”
It’s moments like those that make doing what I do such a pleasure!

favorite movie …
My favorite movie of all time is Ben Hur. No other movie comes close. Netflix it. (A close second is Die Hard and Fight Club.)

last movie rental you watched …
The last few Netflix movies I watched were all from my wife’s queue so I’m too embarrassed to name them.

where can you be found on days off …
I rarely have days off, but most recently, I went up to Lake Tahoe with my wife, two kids, and a bunch of my church friends. On other days when I’m taking a break from working, I relax by watching TV. Some of my favorite shows are (or “were” – alas, some of my favorites tend to be less popular and, to my chagrin, get cancelled before they’re due!): The Shield; Deadwood; American Idol; Damages; Flight of the Conchords; Dexter; and others.

what superhero would you be …
I used to collect comics in my youth and still find them beautiful to look at and stimulating to think about. So you might get a much longer answer than you anticipated if I go Full Geek on this answer. But the short of it is: I appreciate Batman’s emotional complexities and raison d’etre, but who wouldn’t want to be the seemingly immortal and nearly omnipotent Superman? My answer? Superman. (But I would skip the formalities of having an alter ego. I would just be Superman all the time… and I’d play sports instead of fight super villains.

if I am typically craving something it is ….
… dangerous to be in my way.

fav song at a wedding (and least fav) …
My least favorite is probably the electric slide. No offense, folks-who-used-the-eclectic-slide-at-their-reception.

The song that I’ve heard at a wedding that became my favorite is “I Loved Her First” by Heartland. I’m not a big country music fan, but the first time I heard that song being played during a father/daughter dance, I couldn’t help but to imagine 20 years or so into the future and to picture my daughter, Hannah (7) being given away to be with her husband-to-be. ..
See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXhJ3oCg3K8

Studio MSV 2009 Demo Video from andrew msv on Vimeo.

I am going to start showcasing some of our top vendors on a weekly Vendor Spotlight blog post.  Being in business for 9 years in the Bay Area we have been able to work with so  many awesome vendors around. There really are some talented people here in the valley, you can find the best florists, cake makers and other vendors to make sure your wedding is the best!  To help all of you brides with your planning we are going to be writing a weekly vendor review on our blog.

To start it off I am going to write about one of my weaknesses….. my sweet tooth.  Normally I am a pretty healthy guy and like to eat well, but one thing I can never pass up is sweets.  There are a few really great cake makers that we have on our preferred vendor list and one of them that has been on my mind lately is Icing on the Cake in Los Gatos.  Ever since Tara’s wedding that we shot at the Cypress Hotel a few months ago I have been dreaming of their cupcakes.   They make great cakes but really, really good cupcakes.  I was too busy at Tara’s wedding and didn’t have time to grab a cupcake but saw them at a networking event at Villa Montalvo a few weeks ago and have to have 2

Their cupcakes are true to the name of the business with lots of Icing, just how I like it.   And the other great thing about them is they are right on Main St. in Los Gatos so if you ever get a mid day sweet tooth head over for a nice cupcake (or tons of other sweets).  They do close early though (6:00 on weekdays) so get there early!  Writing this is making me too hungry so I have to go!

– Mark