Wedding Cinematographer Chateau de Varenne Burgundy France

Burgundy is a land of fine wines, historic manors and delicious cuisine. It is located in Northern-East France, a couple of hours’ drive from Paris and its main city is Dijon (yes, the city of the mustard!!).

In this beautiful land is Chateau de Varenne, the venue chosen by Katrina and Guillaume for their wedding.

Katrina and Guillaume is a French-Chinese couple who lives and works in Dubai and have decided to celebrate their “Western” wedding in the groom’s homeland.

It’s June, the temperature is pleasant and the lavender field behind the manor is flowered and colourful. Perfect for wedding couple portraits and also for setting up a romantic wedding table with crystal chandeliers.

The interiors of the manor are classic but with modern details. The large rooms are excellent for bride and groom getting ready. Guillaime toasted with her closest friends with a bottle of Cognac and Katrina, after writing her wedding vows, had a few moments of fun with her bridesmaids.

The wedding ceremony was held in the shade of a huge tree in the front garden of the villa and the bride’s walk towards the aisle was spectacular and breathtaking. I have filmed several weddings in France, especially in Paris, but this was the first time the wedding cake was a traditional French one, the legendary croquembouche!

I love France. Its food and wine but also the beautiful cities. For me it is always a great pleasure to be called as a wedding cinematographer to film a wedding in this country. I enjoy hanging around looking for interesting details and “postcard” images to include in the wedding film and also I always find very stimulating to deal with different cultures and with wedding vendors from other countries. It’s what I love the most when I go to a destination wedding.

Au-revoir France!

L'articolo KATRINA&GUILLAUME//BURGUNDY//FRANCE proviene da DOLCEVITA WEDDING CINEMA - Destination Wedding Videographer Italy.

Destination Wedding Videographer Phuket Thailand

I finally got back to Phuket again. The last time I was in Phuket Thailand for a destination wedding was 2019, after that we all know what happened. I missed so much this wonderful tropical island and I missed its always friendly weddings, always relaxed and not excessively formal, always in that wonderful Thai lifestyle that make everithing chill and easy.

Tom and Jen are a British young couple who live in Singapore. Tom works for the BBC so…we’re basically colleagues right?! 🙂 About a year ago we had a Skype call for introduce each other and they told me that they love my documentary and genuine style and of course they absolutely wanted me as their wedding videographer, but the wedding would be very informal, an occasion to celebrate with close friends and family. Is it ok for you – he said? Sure, why not – I replied! I’m not one of those wedding videographers who only work with luxurious and expensive events. I like working with people and I love to tell stories. Any story, if it’s interesting. And so it was.

The wedding venue was COMO Point Yamu, a modern luxury hotel with a stunning architecture and an amazing infinity pool. In my opinion one of the best wedding venue in Phuket. The planning of the event was made by my dear friend Ilaria of Wedding Boutique Phuket, an Italian wedding planner who has been living and working in Phuket Thailand since 2015 and who has imported on the island the Italian taste for beaty and style.

As I usually do with weddings in Phuket, I ask the bride and groom for they were OK to do a pre-wedding portrait shooting so as to have more couple shots to include in the video. We then met two days before the wedding day at Kamala Beach to do some beach shooting (if you want to know, yes, it’s hot even at 9 AM!). On this occasion I also had the pleasure of working with Tim of Tropical Event, a brilliant Australian celebrant based in Phuket.

Well, I have already scheduled a wedding in Phuket for January 2024. I can’t wait to be back again in this paradise that has a place in my heart!

L'articolo JEN&TOM//COMO POINT YAMU//PHUKET proviene da DOLCEVITA WEDDING CINEMA - Destination Wedding Videographer Italy.

Luxury Wedding Cinematographer Ritz-Carlton Paris

Everyone knows Paris as the city of love. “La ville lumiere” is chosen by couples from all over the world as a location for engagements, elopements and fairytale weddings.

Jazzmin and Rayan immediately fell in love with this city and chose it as their destination wedding. The event involved family and friends for 3 days, with a suggestive and romantic “bateau” (boat) ride along the River Saine, an informal and classy cocktail party with a view through Alexander III bridge, the Eiffel Tower, the Liberty Statue and back to Notre Dame.

During this boat ride we had the chance to ride a small classic old speedboat for a pre-wedding photoshoot and couple video portraits.

The day after, a welcome dinner awaited us at the Perruche restaurant on the roof of a famous department store in Paris. The venue for the wedding day was the Hotel Ritz-Carlton in Place de la Vandome, famous for being Lady Diana’s accommodation and one of the most beautiful and luxurious hotels in Paris (I found a Gauguin painting in the bathrooms …).

The wedding planner Le Grands Moments, who also did the wedding design, did a great job and helped us with all the events. Wedding photographers were Bottega53, that came from Italy like us.

Choosing to have in video the entire event, with boat ride and rehearsal, improves the storitelling and the sense of glamour. I suggest all of our clients to book our Amarcord Film Package to have both the wedding and the pre-wedding in their final editorial wedding film.

Working for a wedding in Paris, in such an iconic city, surrounded by so much beauty, is always inspiring. Walking through the streets of the center and Montmatre looking for “postcards” footage to use in our famous wedding film intros, is one of the funniest things in our job. I can’t wait for another opportunity to filming a wedding in the city of love.

Au-revoire Paris!

L'articolo JAZZMIN&RYAN//RITZ-CARLTON//PARIS proviene da DOLCEVITA WEDDING CINEMA - Destination Wedding Videographer Italy.

Destination Wedding Cinematographer in Hummingbird Nest Ranch California

Like many others in 2020, Jennifer and James’ wedding has also been postponed for 2 years due to the pandemic. In the meantime they got married with a civil ceremony and a beautiful baby girl was born.

And so, this event was not just a wedding party, but an opportunity to celebrate their love together with friends and families, remember and honor their origins (Bride and Groom‘s families have Korean heritage and James grew up in Hawaii – this explains the “lei” garlands) and also to thank everyone for being close to them in these two years.

The wedding location was in Simi Valley, about an hour’s drive north of the city of Los Angeles. It’s surrounded by burnt sienna rocky hills and cactus plants with strong reminiscent of the sets of many Hollywood old wild west movies. The wedding venue is Hummingbird Nest Ranch, an old Spanish-style racehorse ranch. Truly an out of this world and peaceful place.

The wedding design by the wedding planner Ashley Sun of CCL WEDDINGS is minimal and elegant. For the ceremony place and the dinner tables the main decoration were candles (I would say hundreds of candles!) in glass jars that create a warm, magical and intimate environment. On the Bride and Groom’s table a cascade of magnificent red roses.

For the wedding party there was no lack of food and drink: open bars, ice cream and boba (bubble tea) kiosk, even the IN & OUT truck that provided its famous delicious burgers. What could I say more…Filming a wedding in South California is always a great pleasure. The mild weather, friendly vendors and colleagues, customers and guests always respectful, cheerful and willing to party. What’s better for a destination wedding cinematographer? 🙂 Can’t wait to see you again California!

Photographer of the event: May Iosotaluno

L'articolo JENNIFER&JAMES//HUMMINGBIRD NEST//CALIFORNIA proviene da DOLCEVITA WEDDING CINEMA - Destination Wedding Videographer Italy.

Destination Wedding Cinematographer in Los Angeles California Hotel Bel Air

After two years of postponement I flew to the City of Angels for the wedding of Isabel and Ben, an extraordinary couple who have helped and supported me through these difficult Covid moments to find a new date. And finally it has arrived!

Isabel and Ben have chosen a historic and glamorous venue, the Hotel Bel-Air, where over the years it has been frequented by Hollywood stars and VIPs and where it has also been the set for several films. The palm trees, the swimming pool (also frequented by Marylin Monroe!), The pink walls of the Hispanic-style buildings make it a place of great charm.

The elegan wedding design, with florals and details in white, crystal and wood, was designed and planned by Jeannie Yong Savage of Details Details while the tables and decors were about The Nameless Production.

Isabel wore a fantastic mermaid bridal dress by designer Ryan Patroso for couple portraits and bridal party, the first look and the ceremony, while for the first dance (or last dance as they call it in the US!) She wore a transparent and glamorous dress by Berta.

For me, as I think for every destination wedding cinematographer on earth, being able to work in luxury venues such as the Bel-Air Hotel, with renowned wedding planners, great wedding professionals such as the Spanish photographers La Dichosa, is always a great pleasure and an honor.

This wedding was also an opportunity to use the new Sony cameras for the first time and record at the amazing quality of 4K 10bit 4: 2: 2 editing the final wedding film with a brand new color grading, brighter and with a beautiful and natural skin tones. I know the technical details are boring but I assure you that when you watch your wedding video at home on a 4K 60 “TV you’ll be blown away! 🙂

L'articolo ISABEL&BEN//HOTEL BEL AIR//LOS ANGELES proviene da DOLCEVITA WEDDING CINEMA - Destination Wedding Videographer Italy.

Destination Wedding Videographer in Adare Manor Ireland

Today I have an extraordinary story to tell you. It is 2019 when Gavin, during a trip to South Africa, gets down on his knees and asks Emma the famous words “will you marry me?“. Obviously the answer was “Yes I will!” and of course (kidding!) they immediately chose the best wedding videographer in the world: Dolcevita Wedding Cinema 😉 as well as one of the most beautiful wedding location in Ireland for their destination wedding, Adare Manor.

Unfortunately, we all know what happened a few months later. Covid19 came to upset our lives and Emma and Gavin were forced to postpone their destination wedding to 2021. But not on a random day, perhaps as a good omen and a symbol of rebirth, or perhaps as Gavin said, impossible to forget it, they chose New Year’s Eve. Also for me this event was the first destination wedding abroad after two years of forced inactivity. Two difficult years, during which I experienced deep moments of despair where I came to wonder if it was still worthwhile to continue my work in the wedding industry or to change my life definitely. And I have to thank Emma and Gavin for their tenacity, their respect, their love for my work and their trust in me. This wedding has given me hope and energy to start again and I can say now I can’t wait to start working and traveling again for making this fantastic job I love.

Returning to the wedding, Adare Manor is in the top 5 luxury hotel in Ireland and easily the most prestigious wedding venue in the country. It is surrounded by one of the most important gold course in the world, immersed in the green of the Irish countryside. The ceremony was officiated in the Catholic church of the village of Adare by Father Dominic, who came from England for the event. Outstanding was Shannon Gospel Choir that I used for the wedding film intro.

The rest of the day was a party, opting for Irish tradition with creamy Guinness, Irish coffee and local whiskey. The day could not end with the countdown to New Year under the cascade of balloons, kisses and toasts. We are in 2022, a new year, a new beginning. And like Gavin … sorry, Tony Blair said: “Things can only get better!“

A special thanks to Stephen Warker Photography who I hope to see soon in Italy for some stunning destination wedding in Italy.

L'articolo EMMA&GAVIN//ADARE MANOR//IRELAND proviene da DOLCEVITA WEDDING CINEMA - Destination Wedding Videographer Italy.

Destination wedding videographer in Parice France

There is always a very first time. And this was my very first time in the Ville Lumiere! Paris is known as the city of lovers, the city of artists and bohemians. Surely it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and one of the most desirable destination wedding; expecially for wedding videographers! I have to admit, it’s nice to work on Lake Como, Venice, Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast, all of which are fantastic destination weddings and I couldn’t be happier living in a place surrounded by so much beauty like Italy, but Paris is the dream and the milestone of every wedding cinematographer. Being able to make a wedding film among the streets of this city was an honor and also a great pleasure, and I can’t thank enough Ava and Andy for giving me this fantastic opportunity.

You can see in this wedding film trailer glimpses of the Trocadero, of the Alexander III Bridge, of the view of Paris from the exclusive top roof of the Four Season Charles V Hotel. I also enjoyed getting around the streets and neighborhoods of Paris scouting and seeking interesting angles for the B-roll I usually use in my intros; I”m sure I’ve never brought home so much footage…guys, at the end of the day the pedometer counted 20km!
A big thank also to my new buddy Darek Smetiana, a great wedding photographer whom I shared two fantastic days with and … many, many kilometers 🙂

PH: Darek Smietana

L'articolo AVA & ANDY//FOUR SEASONS CHARLES V//PARIS proviene da DOLCEVITA WEDDING CINEMA - Destination Wedding Videographer Italy.