JF SQUARED FILMS | WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHY » We film weddings and love our brides!

#juli❤️tk | Portrait Film

Juli & Thineshan tied the knot twice just last week! We put together this intimate portrait {film} and premiered it just moments before they entered their reception at the Deer Creek Golf Club in Ajax! A big thank you to Thineshan for allowing us to use his room studio to record all of the vocal narratives for this project!!  An even bigger thank you to you both for allowing me to document something intimate, important and very personal. Be on the lookout for their next day edit that we also had the privilege of sharing with all of their friends & family during their evening reception!!! A huge shoutout to the both of your families, siblings,  my team that hustled throughout both wedding days and to the entire wedding party for being uber cool peeps + a loud bunch! Grab an ice cream on this hot day & enjoy #juli❤️tk !

Lavini & Ryan | Destination Wedding | Montego Bay, Jamaica

PIN

Our first wedding of our 2016 season starts in just a few weeks but that doesn’t mean we’re quite done with 2015! Our final and most tropical wedding of last year picked us up in a steel bird and brought us out to Montego Bay, Jamaica! From the beautiful warm weather to Red Strip beer, swimming from morning until night – this is one wedding I’ll never forget. Let me walk you through the short story of how we met Ryan and Lavini. A few years ago I was contacted by Soruban and Tarini (Lavi’s sister) to film their wedding. While their wedding ceremony + reception took place in Brampton they actually lived in Edmonton. I had the fortunate opportunity to fly out to Edmonton and film their portrait film. Not only did we have a blast shooting it but it turned out to be a big hit when we played it at their wedding reception.

PIN

PIN

Fast forward to us wrapping up their wedding film and delivering everything to Tarini and Soruban – we kept in touch and maintained a great relationship. The best learning experience I’ve taken away from running my business is to keep in touch with “clients” even after you’ve delivered a final product. I’ve always seen and placed a stigma around these interactions but I’ve changed my perception for the better and besides – what’s not to love about Tarini and Soruban?! Needless to say the both of them graciously recommended me to Ryan and Lavini and the rest is history!

The weeks and days leading up to me flying out with some of Lavi’s family was filled with errands, surprise birthdays, packing and oh yes – feeling incredibly nervous! After all, this was our first “destination wedding” right? In theory we’ve been commissioned to film weddings and portrait films in Florida, New Jersey, New York, Chicago and Edmonton but this was different. Jamaica wasn’t exactly home court and there was a lot of learning to do but I was ready for the challenge. As soon as we landed in the Montego Bay airport and hopped on our bus to the resort – the first thing I did was open my backpack and start filming.  So I grabbed my camera, lens, memory card and battery and started to shoot. I was exhausted and so was the rest of the family but we were happy to have arrived safely only to be greeted by more family at the hotel. A few short hours later and I  was finally reunited with Tani, Sor, Ryan, Lavi and all of their guests! We caught up and enjoyed a drink!

PIN

PIN

The first few days admittedly were very relaxing and we all went from jumping into the pool, eating by the beach, swimming in the ocean and having breakfast + lunch + dinner together to going on a full day excursion visiting Dunns Falls and the Bob Marley tourist site where his family was buried. Before I knew it Pranavan had flown in from Toronto to help out in shooting their wedding and the real fun started. Having a second shooter always helps in any situation of filming a wedding and this case his help was priceless. Not only did he help me out when I needed it but he took direction well and was up to the challenge to figure out the best way to get things done. We started off by filming a variety of exterior and interior shots of the the entire resort and later that night we discussed our game plan for shooting the ceremony and reception the next day. The day of the wedding we were faced with sweltering heat and a much cooler reception that featured an EPIC fire breather! This wedding was one of many that I’ll never forget and the week I spent out there was an experience I’ll always cherish. Thank you to Ryan and Lavini for bringing Pranavan & myself out to create something that will last forever. Enjoy their wedding trailer and all of the sun!

SanAli2015 | another #BigFatPakistaniWedding

What was the best part of 2015’s wedding season you ask? – travel, travel, travel. The Labour Day weekend of 2015 brought us out to the Woodbridge Township in New Jersey. Sana reached out to us early last year after hunting us down (we mean that in the best way possible :P!) via Safa’s blog MyBigFatPakistaniWedding! For the readers that aren’t familiar with this blog, Safa is one of our brides from a few years ago. From the jump, Safa wrote about her every experience of planning her wedding from decor to picking a venue, outfit options and mentioning us & along with the oh so DOPE Mir Anwar. Safa’s blog has been the go to source for many of our Pakistani brides over the years and this most definitely included Sana.

PIN

Finally, Sana and I arranged to speak via Google Hangout and she was nothing but smiles, laughter and even better – very, very laid back. She mentioned that she stumbled across our work by way of Safa’s blog and wasted no time to connect with us to make it happen. We spent many emails, texts and even more video chats genuinely getting to know each other. Along the way, I finally spoke with Ali and he was super quiet at first but let’s just say after their mehndi was done – all shyness went away and Ali turned into the next contestant for So You Think You Can Dance! Another golden moment for me was when Sana mentioned that she was commissioning Mir to photograph her wedding! Mir and I first worked together with Farah & Rohail. Since then we’ve always kept in touch and he’s definitely been a great hommie + mentor to me in the industry. So flying out to Jersey to work with Mir again was nothing short of a pleasure.

We flew into Newark and later that evening Sana & Ali’s mehndi had commenced. Shortly after we checked into our rooms we then met with Sana + Ali, took a small tour of the mehndi space, grabbed a dip into the pool (it was heavenly! Any r&r before a shoot is always a bonus), finally played catch up with Mir & Rizwan (photo ninjas), unpacked our gear and before we knew it – it was time! The mehndi was traditional but make no mistake – Sana and Ali’s families + friends threw it down on the dance floor!! The mehndi fun had begun  and after a few important customary traditions, dance performances started and the dancing never really stopped! The next day had begun before we knew it and we were off to The Palace where their reception was hosted. To our future brides + grooms reading this – make it easier on yourselves and try to get ready within the same area, house, hotel or venue space if possible during any of your events. This makes logistics for your creative vendors SO MUCH EASIER. Mir, Riz, Isuru and I hopped into an uber and jumped straight to shooting Sana and Ali’s prep. The venue was gorgeous and the decor team did a sweet job with the stage set up for Sana and Ali’s reception. From fun and energetic entrances to heartfelt and comedic speeches, it was time for one thing to happen – dancing of course! Make no mistake when I say that these folks love to PARTaaaaY. Their dance floor at the reception went strong for almost 2 hours before Sana’s rukhsati happened and before we knew it – everything came to an end.

PIN

To Sana and Ali – thank you both for taking the time to appreciate our work and for having us out with the rest of your families to witness something special. Shutouts to Mir for holding it down alongside with Rizwan + Isuru and myself and for being a rad team player! Brides – you’ve got to check out more of Mir’s work! Take a few minutes to sit back and enjoy the visuals from #SanAli2015 folks!

Photo Guru ~ Mir Anwar Photography

The Windy City

Last year we were brought out to the “windy city” aka “chi-town” aka Chicago – home of the best deep dish pizza! We were invited to document Stephina and Anish’s wedding in Chicago towards the end of summer last year. Just before the wedding we had a short day to explore the city and if there’s one thing that I can say – the pizza is deeeeee-licious!

Going into the day of the wedding ceremony and reception – it was a beautiful experience. Both Stephina and Anish are Malayalee and they are also apart of the same community of Christians that belong to the Malankara Church. For any readers out there that aren’t so familiar with the different groups of Christians that exist, the Malankara Church in particular is the Church of St. Thomas Christians that is made up of  a community of Christians rooted in Kerala, India. Now before I dig myself into any deeper of a history lesson, one thing that separates  Malayalee catholic ceremonies apart from other Catholic or Christian ceremonies – the couple and the majority of the priests officiating the ceremony are not facing the audience seated. Initially we were a little stumped but after a few minutes we re-adjusted ourselves and everything worked out. That aside, the cultural traditions during the ceremony were beautiful and it was definitely one of the few ceremonies over our 2015 wedding season that I enjoyed watching + shooting. Shortly after the ceremony, I remember quite vividly getting drenched in the rain with Isuru, as we made our way back to our hotel and then back to the reception hall.

PIN

The reception was great! Both Stephina and Anish come from large families. Many of them, friends and others were in attendance from all over the world. The reception started out very normal and nothing out of the ordinary until their respective cousins, aunts and uncles started to kick off multiple 10 minute carefully choreographed dance performances – that’s when the real fun began. I definitely forgot to mention that one of my favorite photographers whose work I’ve been following for years now, was the photographer for the day – the oh so famous and popular Nate Mathai based out of Chicago, Illinois. Once upon a time my earlier and humble beginnings were rooted in still photography and I remember reaching out to Nate seeking some feedback on some of my work. Now years later, I found myself working along side with him. Check out the images from the wedding here folks!

The ceremony was peaceful, very serene and very personal while the reception was full of high energy and big moments all around. I decided to go in a different creative direction while editing this trailer and chose a song that was dramatic but full of build ups and dramatic cues to help me bring out the best of the morning ceremony and reception without sacrificing any creative juices. Take a look at Stephina & Anish’s wedding trailer folks!

2015 | .rewind

PIN2015’s wedding season has been one of our best by far! We took part in documenting many special moments with all of our couples that included traveling all over the GTA to Florida, Chicago, New Jersey and finally to Montego Bay, Jamaica – t’was a season to remember! I remember thinking to myself, going into 2015 as 2014 wrapped up – “I hope I get to travel” said the little voice inside of my head. Travel was one of the best, busiest, crazier and overwhelming experiences of 2015’s wedding season but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  A HUGE feeling of accomplishment is definitely what I feel, when I look back at it all. Being able to experience and play a vital role in several wedding ceremonies, receptions, pre-wedding events but also in it’s simplest form – witnessing LOVE across different cultures and religions was a pleasure. A huge set of thanks goes out to God, my friends, family and team of great shooters and even more, my brothers in the industry who have helped our 2015 wedding season by shooting with me and lending their creative eye to every fiery situation, I’ve thrown them into – thank you to Suen, Stefan, Isuru, Claude and Pranavan.

PIN

This year was about growth as well as learning more about marketing our brand of wedding films, connecting with other clients + creative vendors in the industry, adapting to new trends & continuously learning how to deal with the stresses of being an entrepreneur in the wedding industry #LIKEABOSS! As a creative thinker + do’er, every wedding and creative portrait film I was a part of taught me many valuable lessons and skill sets. Another set of thanks also goes out to all of the creative vendors we had the pleasure of speaking, consulting, working and laughing with over our 2015 wedding season! It’s crazy how working on close to just over 18 weddings this year, allowed us the great fortune of also working with a diverse group of folks in the wedding industry!

Without further adieu I present to you our recap of the fun, exhilarating, stressful, emotional, over joyous, vibrant and forever upbeat – 2015 wedding season.(you might want to put on a good pair of headphones.)

Creative Vendor shout out //

Gurminder & Team from Banga Studios
Ifty from ILAM Photography
Garima & Harp from G+H PHOTOGRAPHY
Dhruv & Jonita from STROKES PHOTOGRAPHY
Mir Anwar from Mir Anwar Photography
Farhad & Raj from LTL Studios
Gulpreet & Kulvinder from MANNS PRODUCTIONS
Kelvin Young on behalf of DAVE ABREU PHOTOGRAPHY
Paul Thava from Paul & Will Photography
Nate Mathai from Nate Mathai Photography
Amer from Amber Nabulsi Photography
Pradeep from Dylan Photography

Shobana from Amplified Soul
The entire team from Concepts by Shirley Wu
Affan from GLOW BY AFFAN

Raj from Dream Party Decor
Anil from Soirée Planning + Design
Naphisa from The Perfect Setting
Ricky and team from Diya Decor

Bineesh and team from Relax Planning
Richa + team from Arora Wedding & Event Planning
Bridal Arts & Events