Posts Tagged ‘fig media sites’

by Amber McNeil

Dancing is “the best therapy you will ever pay for”

The Bride and Groom’s first dance is always a soft spot among wedding spectators.  While it is one of the favorite moments for wedding guests, it can be a potentially stressful three minutes for the bride and groom.   To help ease some of the stress, I spoke with Amber Sanders (yes, we’re both Amber) a 3 year instructor and Guest Director at Arthur Murray Dance Studio downtown.  Amber gave me the in’s and out’s of learning to boogie with your honey.  She has been dancing since she was a little girl in the south suburbs of Chicago, loves dancing ballroom and Cha Cha, and supremely enjoys teaching Rhumba and Salsa.  Amber even spent five years as a dancer on a cruise ship!  She has done it all in the way of dance and said the emergence in the last 2 years with brides and grooms taking lessons has been a lot of fun for her professionally.

Amber’s best advice is to start early.  Based on the couple’s experience the best time to start dance lessons is 4-6 months before the wedding day.  This will give the couple a chance to really get to know their song and steps and be relaxed when the big day comes.  The average couple comes about once a week to keep the music fresh in their mind.  This way, they are not playing catch up and relearning the dance at each lesson.  Also, by starting early, the couple is more than ready in the couple weeks leading up to the wedding and can concentrate on other last minute details.

The first dance is ‘the best part of wedding planning’, according to Amber.  It is a chance for the bride and groom to really work together as a couple in a long term setting.  It’s also a fun environment to blow off some steam at the end of the day.  Dance lessons can give the couple something really great to do together and look forward to during the week.  It’s also the gift that keeps on giving.  Dancing is a skill that can be used for the rest of the bride and groom’s life and can be continued well after that first dance has come and gone!

As far as picking a song is concerned, it’s very personalized depending on the couple.  Bride and groom want to make sure to pick a song that has an emotional backing and means something to them as a couple.  Amber and Arthur Murray make sure to work with each couple on an individualized basis and have a real conversation around the first dance.  They want to make sure they know if there is a DJ versus a band, the timeline of the dance, and what actually made the couple pick the song! They want to make sure the first dance is not just your run of the mill cookie cutter dance.

As for the ultimate dance question of all time:  Footloose or Flashdance??

Amber’s answer: Footloose.  I knew I liked this woman!

Get some more wedding dance advice at the Arthur Murray Wedding Homepage.

Published in 1923, Kahlil Gibran wrote his masterpiece called: The Prophet.
This poem was translated into over 20 languages and touches topics from love and marriage to friendship and death.
Gibran’s words still speak to the heart of the human condition today, offering great advice on the topics of life.

Since weddings are a part of our daily life, we look for inspiration in all forms of art, poetry and history.

We would like to share this one with you.

…on marriage
by Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
Published by Alfred A. Knopp, Inc.

Then Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, master?
And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each one of you be alone.

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow
not in each other’s shadow.

Comment on our blog from one of our brides:

“We couldn’t agree more! Our wedding wouldn’t have been complete without the awesome FIG team by our side the whole way – get the MOD Deal – SO worth it! Our only regret? That we didn’t have them stay the entire night! Thanks SO much guys!!”
Lara Miller

laramiller.net

Want to know more about the MOD Deal? Check out our video testimonial by one of our couples:

5. Have a visual reference of what you want your video to look and feel like.

Bring in a photograph, web-site, movie clip that you love and talk about why you enjoy them. If you have picked your photographer already, I like to look at their work, it helps me get ideas of what you like. I often ask couples what movies they like to watch to get a sense of their personalities and visual styles.

For example: I once met with a couple who loved, Sex and the City (Bride) and Reservoir Dogs (Groom). In the meeting, I pulled up the Sex and the City Intro and the opening for Reservoir dogs on You-Tube and after talking about what we liked about them, we decided to shoot our own version for their wedding video. It turned out so cool!

4. Have photos of important family members and friends that you want captured.

It is so helpful to me to see faces before a wedding. I am a visual person by profession. I am also not a super human mind reader. With over 100 guests, even the best videographer can not guarantee that EVERYONE at your wedding make it to your video or get the same amount of attention that your key players will. I always try to cover all my bases as best I can, getting grandparents, kids and siblings outside the obvious key players that stand up in your ceremony. SO if you have someone who is special to you, that I may not know is that special, bring me a photograph.

3. The brighter the Better.

If you choose an alternative space for your ceremony, take your videographer with you to design the lighting in the space. Dark spaces spell bad news for your video. Video needs lots of light, otherwise you get grainy, dark footage with little color range and depth. Alternative spaces and hotel ballrooms with no windows and ceremonies with chupahs need more attention paid to the lighting. I always try and make contact with the banquet manager at hotels, or your designer to work on the lighting.

My philosophy: mood lighting is romantic for an evening, your video is forever.

Take the extra step and work with your videographer, designer and manager of the space you choose on lighting your space for your video.

(if you are concerned about having a spotlight, stage like feeling…I assure you, there are tasteful ways of lighting that can still get you the feeling you want and have enough light for your video)

2. Talk to the camera and describe what you are going through as the day goes on.

This makes a great story that your editor can use to make something sweet and tailored to the both of you. One of my couples talked to the camera right before she walked down the aisle, later in the edit we used it to tell the story…and the groom had no idea. When they saw it for the first time, it was a very touching moment.

1. (Ok, so this is really 2 things.) Write your own vows and whisper to each other during your ceremony.

I have noticed that couples who write their own vows have a deeper connection with each other, more engaged faces during their ceremony and allow their emotions to flow. Which makes me shed some tears and tells a great story. I will use that audio later in an edit to make something that will pull the both of you closer to each other on the couch when you watch it.

Whispering to each other during the ceremony keeps the both of you alive and focused on the task at hand…even if you are whispering about how hot the room is, it makes a big difference in how you appear on film.
It is so easy to zone out at the alter. Brides often comment later while watching their ceremony video that they never realized how their faces looked.

By Melissa Martens, Cinematographer

Photos by: Brian Carey