June 14th, 2010 by edit1media

Alderbrook Resort

It seems like we are always so busy with running our business, shooting and editing that the only “getaway” time we have is when we are traveling to shoot a wedding or corporate video. And we certainly don’t seem to get out of town with our kids. So since we didn’t have a wedding this weekend, and it’s our only weekend with no wedding until mid-September, we decided to take the weekend off with our boys. I forgot to mention that Saturday was also our 17th wedding anniversary! So we decided to head out to Alderbrook Resort in the Hood Canal.

Mind you, I grew up in Hawaii so my idea of a vacation doesn’t usually involve pine trees and hiking…more like palm trees and boogie boarding. But we had SUCH a great time this weekend that I wanted to share it with you. We also saw two weddings taking place at the resort and of course that means we bumped in to other wedding vendors who we know too, which was cool.

We got a two bedroom cottage which was perfect for me, Chris and our two teenage boys. There was a full kitchen with all the utensils, plates, etc. so we took some food with us since we knew we would be very active and the boys would need to eat constantly. The cottage was so much nicer than I expected it to be! I was imagining a rustic, semi-bug filled place, but it was like a big hotel room but with lots of privacy. I felt like we were staying in a small house. It was great!

We arrived about noon on Saturday and were able to check in a little early, so we put our bags in our cottage and explored the grounds a bit. The resort is beautiful and we seriously could not have picked a more beautiful day to be there…perfectly sunny and 76 degrees…ah!! The tides at Alderbrook are amazing to watch…they go out so far! And there are beautiful views of the Olympic mountains. We decided to rent a pontoon boat and we saw herons, seals, jellyfish and let the boys take turns driving the boat while we sunned on the deck. Afterwards, we hiked the short trails that give a great view of the resort, water and mountains. Then we headed to pool to play a hysterical game of “beachball volleyball” and then relaxed for a while in the hot tub.

Next was an amazing dinner at the restaurant where they had a nice “Happy Anniversary” card waiting for us at the table. The food was incredible! I highly recommend the Tenderloin Gratin which they sell as an appetizer, but honestly that alone could be a meal! We were super stuffed and couldn’t stomach any dessert until they brought out a special Anniversary creme brulee…the boys attacked it and it was gone in about 35 seconds! Then we walked off dinner for a while and watched the sunset on the dock before hitting the gym and the hot tub again. When we got back to our cottage, there was a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries from our friend and wedding planner Ellen Peterson from Serenity Weddings with a sweet card. We managed to eat them all then fell in to bed tanned, full, tired and happy.

We slept in a little then made some eggs in the kitchen before heading back out to the dock to do some sea kayaking. Now, I’ve never been in a kayak before and I was a little worried that I might not even fit in to it! But David at Hood Canal Adventures reassured me that I’d be fine and would have a great time. We rented two tandem kayaks and paddled around for about an hour and a half. I was instantly in love with kayaking and can’t wait to do it again! After that we had to check out but then we headed back to the gym, pool and hot tub again.

My overall impression of Alderbrook Resort as a getaway location, is that it is top notch! Great staff, incredible food, neat cottages and plenty of activities. We can’t wait to go back again and explore some more…and maybe even check out the spa next time! My impression of Alderbrook for a wedding is also great. It’s like a mini destination wedding but still local. Having a ceremony on the lawn with that gorgeous view is stunning. A unique thing I liked about the reception room is that there are large windows that can be opened to the courtyard and guests can flow in and out and gather around the sofas at the outdoor fire pits. There are so many places to take pictures and video….I just can’t wait to shoot our first wedding there…so if you are getting married at Alderbrook Resort, make sure you call us about having the day filmed because you won’t regret it and I already have ideas flowing in my mind!

Alderbrook Resort, Destination Weddings, Personal Life

April 2nd, 2009 by edit1media

Well, we are back from shooting Bessie & Alvin’s wedding in Honolulu and taking some time off with the family to relax. We have never spent much time together as a family in Hawaii (which is where I grew up) so it was a great experience to take all three boys and spend time with my parents and siblings and Chris’ Dad (they all still live there). We did tons of boogie boarding and beach bumming and now we are refreshed and ready to take on the world again!

The last few months have been a complete blur with a ton of travel for corporate shoots (7 cities in 3 weeks during February!!) with every spare second dedicated to editing weddings and running the business. I’m proud to say we are NOT experiencing the recession at all and in fact are thriving and may need to hire more staff!

Anyway, the real reason for this post is to show off Chris’ new hobby.

I wish I could say we videotaped a lot of stuff, but the truth is we didn’t. We were just having fun being together. Maybe on our next trip we’ll be better about that! Anyway, got to get back to editing….I have TONS of stuff to work on and a wedding this weekend!

By the way, if you want to follow us on Twitter, we are @edit1media or look us up on Facebook!

Hawaii, Personal Life, Travel

December 26th, 2007 by edit1media

Come and see us at the Seattle Wedding Show on January 5th and 6th at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. We are one of the show sponsors and have two booths at the show, so you can’t miss us! This show is HUGE and all about weddings! Make sure you wear comfy shoes and plan on attending both days if you can…you can get your hand stamped on the way out on Saturday so you can return without paying again on Sunday. If you’d like some $2 off coupons, please let me know ASAP and I’ll send you some! To find out more about the show visit www.weddingshow.com.

There are over 400 vendors at the show and everyone goes all out decorating their booths. There is also lots of food and cake samples to try and a fashion show! It’s like DisneyWorld for brides!

And speaking of DisneyWorld….here’s a short video from Christmas morning with our kids. Make sure you watch for the surprise!

Business, Networking, News, Personal Life, Video Clips, Wedding Show, Weddings

November 23rd, 2007 by edit1media

This past week was pretty amazing. Matthew, our two-time cancer survivor, turned 13 yeras old. He’s such an amazing kid and I can’t help but be in awe of my kids every time I look at them. Our family went through hell and back when Matthew was sick and yet it made us such a close family and opened our eyes to what is really important.

A few days after Matthew’s birthday, Chris and I did an interview and video shoot for a photographer named Christopher Watkins. He is a cancer survivor himself and now he runs a website called The REAL Survivors. So we met Marin and her mom on Sunday and did a shoot at the Bellevue Club’s pool. Let me tell you, this girl is amazing! She was on the fast track to be an Olympic swimmer when her last surgery for a brain tumor left her partially paralyzed. But rather than give up, it made her more determined! She still beats the majority of ‘normal’ swimmers in her high school and is now training for the Paralympic trails. Talking to her mom brought back so many memories of our time at Children’s Hospital several years ago. She’s a strong woman and a great mom. I feel so honored to have met them both.

Then of course Thanksgiving…you know, after celebrating Matthew’s birthday and meeting another family going through what we did a few years back…how can you even put in to words what you are thankful for? I guess the biggest things to me are that I’m thankful I can hug my children every day and tell them how much I love them. That all my family members (including parents and siblings) are healthy. I’m thankful for having our own business and all the challenges that come with it. I’m thankful for clients who really appreciate what we do and all the work that goes in to each project. I’m thankful to be an American on so many levels. I’m thankful for emotions which sometimes seem to run my life, and yet without it life would be so boring!

What are you thankful for?

family

cancer, Personal Life

March 29th, 2007 by edit1media

March 29, 2007

The past two weeks have been crazy…filled with last minute travels and a sad story too.

One of our recent groom’s found out that his father is dying. Their wedding wasn’t quite on our radar to be completed yet, but his dad has less than two months to live. So naturally they are now top priority and are working feverishly to get a great movie out for them as soon as possible. I really want the bride and groom to experience sharing their video with his dad before he passes away. This is so close to our hearts because his dad is dying from cancer and we knew the groom back when our own son was battling cancer. It’s just so sad. I hate cancer.

One the positive side to this story, all of our other clients who are so patiently waiting for their videos have been wonderful about this. They’ve said “Of course you have to do their’s first…no problem!”. We are so grateful to have such wonderful clients!

Then in the midst of all that, we get a call to travel to several cities to record some testimonial videos for a coporate client. Chris and I spent 5 nights in 5 different hotels! We visited San Francisco, San Jose, Vacaville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Dayton. My brain was so fried when we got back home two days ago! And now in just a few more days we will head out to Tampa, Florida for another shoot.

I can’t complain because business is good and we seem to have some high demand. But it does put a crimp on my editing! I wish I could clone myself! But this does lead me to realize that we will probably need to bring on another editor in the near future. Or fast-forward that human cloning thing!

Thanks for stopping by to read our blog and I hope you take a few minutes to watch some of the videos we have and leave some comments too. It’s really cool for us to see who is visiting! And just for incentive, here is another video we are working on. It’s the opening to this couple’s wedding movie. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I have enjoyed putting it together!

wedding + corporate video

cancer, Christian Ceremony, Corporate, Crazy Schedule, Personal Life, Real Weddings, Travel, Video Clips, wedding videographer

February 14th, 2007 by edit1media

February 14, 2007

As with many things in life, there are times when you should definitely hire a pro. Chris and I have been learning that this week while trying to do some DIY projects around our home-studio. Replacing the front door, trim and base moulding in the front entrance certainly seemed like an easy thing to do. Boy were we wrong!

Apparently walls are never completey square and painting always takes longer than expected…especially if you are a perfectionist like me. It’s been three days and with the amount of editing I’ve got to do I can’t afford that sort of time away from my computer!!! The worst part is now have a raspberry pink front door with cat prints on it. I wanted a deep, dark “Edit 1 Media” red with NO cat prints.

Oh, and I have two cats with pink paws now too.

Fortunately this is something that can be fixed. In the long run it’s taken up a lot of time and will cost us quite a bit more money than if we had just hired a pro. However, unlike some things in life, at least we have an opportunity to fix it.

There are still too many couples that underestimate how much experience and skill goes in to shooting and editing a wedding video. Unfortunately some brides skimp on videography or skip it all together, only to later regret it. The worst part is all the memories that are lost can never be regained. The parts of the day that the bride and groom missed are gone forever. And as time goes on, this regret only gets worse.

So take it from me, whether you are replacing the trim in your house or looking at a wedding video, I highly recommend hiring a pro!!! You’ll be glad you did later on!

wedding video

Personal Life

January 15th, 2007 by edit1media

November 16, 2006

Matthew is 12 years old today. Amazing.

11 years and 2 days ago we were first told that our baby had cancer. Then when he relapsed a year later it was discovered that he actually had two forms of cancer and his odds of surviving were extremely low. It was very rough treatment in which he almost died 5 times just from the chemo, but here we are…8 years after his last chemotherapy celebrating his 12 birthday. He is truly a miracle and so many doors were open for just a brief moment that led to the treatment which ultimately saved his life.

Even more amazing is that he seems to be just like any other 12 year old, although a bit more mature. He has some hearing loss from the chemo and strong antibiotics he was on, but other than that (and a bunch of scars), you’d never know he was sick a day in his life. We really have many great doctors, researchers, nurses, other hospital support staff, God, and of course the children who didn’t make it before us, to thank for his life. Life has something really incredible in store for him and we are so blessed to be celebrating today instead of mourning. That fact never escapes me and make us truly humble.

cancer

cancer, Personal Life

January 15th, 2007 by edit1media

October 15, 2006

We did an amazing Greek wedding yesterday. About a month ago we got a phone call from a bride who was unhappy with the videographer they were going to use. She found our website and fell in love with our work. When she called and said they were getting married at St. Demetrio’s Greek Orthodox Church, I mentioned Camp Agape which is an awesome camp in Gig Harbor for families who have children with cancer. We were lucky enough to have been there for two years and it was an amazing break to have when going through such a hard time.

Anyway, she said yes she knew about Camp Agape and that in fact her fiancee is a counselor there. She said his name is Steve and I just about hit the floor! I quickly emailed her a picture, and sure enough…it’s the same Steve who was my kid’s counselor at camp! The bride said she definitely believes in fate and I think she decided on the spot that we were the ones who needed to film her wedding.

Cinematography, Greek, Personal Life, Real Weddings, Seattle, wedding videographer

March 3rd, 2006 by edit1media

March 6, 2007

So many thoughts are going through my head today…

1. 9 years ago today, I sat helplessly and watched a little 2-1/2 year old boy named Sean Hendrickson die in his mother’s arms from cancer. It was the most gut-wrenching day of my life. Sean and Matthew (one of our our sons) were almost exactly the same age and were both fighting cancer. Both of those boys are our inspiration in life and in our business. It’s why we feel so strongly about capturing human moments and emotion and it’s something positive that came out of horrific tradegy.

2. We are so blessed with our children! Three boys and all are HEALTHY, happy, smart, compassionate, silly, loving little sponges that soak up everything around them. Each has his own distinct personalitiy and way of discovering the world. God has blessed us infinitely!

3. Why do so many couples not hire a videographer? Is there still that misconception that we are ‘in your face’ with a huge spotlight? Is it because brides & grooms think they won’t ever watch it more than once? I wish I could shout out from the rooftops that things are SO different now! Most videographers are VERY unobtrusive and the end product is gorgeous, amazing, entertaining, and sometimes even marriage-enhacing! Life is just so short and today we have this incredible way of making a movie of one of the best days where people are happy, healhty, celebrating, and thriving! It just boggles my mind.

4. When I think back on the experiences I’ve had in life so far, I feel like I’ve been in training for this business all along. A passion for art, architecture, film & photography for as long as I can remember help with my creative side. Skills I gained in the comptuer industry are priceless. The eye for human observation that I honed in my nursing career as an RN keep me on my toes and help with finidng the right shot at the right time. Deep emotion and spirituality I didn’t necessarily want to learn but did when Matthew had cancer, opened my eyes and helps me connect with our clients.
Just some deep thoughts….

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Personal Life, wedding videographer